The Lunar Nodes

On a birth chart, the lunar nodes refer to the two points at which the moon’s orbit intercepts the sun’s yearly path (as observed from earth). These are called the North Node and the South Node and they represent your trajectory of inner or spiritual development.

As you can see from the diagram, your north node sign and house will be exactly opposite to your south node sign and house (sorry about the quality but I hope you get the idea!).

The lunar nodes change approximately every 1 year and 5 months, there are many ways to find out your own (they are normally included in natal charts!). Here is a useful website to find your node signs.

The south node is all about patterns and behaviours from your early childhood or even your past lives. It is your safe place and is often closely linked to who you are and how you act. However, as well as the positive characteristics and talents this placement brings that come naturally to you, there are also just as many (if not more) destructive habits that are especially easy to lean into that immensely restrict your growth.

Assume you have a Pisces south node - this would mean that you are a very creative and ‘go with the flow’ type of person. However, you may find yourself retreating into the dreamworld when things start to go badly, or you may have very idealistic views of people and situations that in the end are detrimental and inaccurate.

The north node on the other hand refers to where you should be aiming. It shows you the direction in which you have the most potential for new and fulfilling growth. It is not easy to adopt the characteristics of your north node sign, because it is the literal opposite of what you are used to doing, the furthest point from your safe space. However, this placement can really shed light onto your life’s purpose and bring you closer to being the best version of yourself.

Continuing with the example earlier of a Pisces south node, imagine a Virgo north node. This placement hints that you will find the most fulfillment from helping people and you work best within structure and order. It also indicates that it is very important for you to set boundaries both in your inner world and for your outer world interactions. For example, you may have trouble with your inner critic and how you subconsciously project that voice onto others.

The key is to balance the expression of the South and North nodes. Using your natural strengths to achieve goals that push you to grow rather than allowing yourself to stagnate.

You may have read your own lunar node placements’ signs and not 100% identified with their individual characteristics or advice. What is very important when trying to get the most guidance from the lunar node placements is the houses they occur in as well as their rulers. These two extra pieces of information provide a great deal of context that really helps apply the signs to specific areas in your life and behaviour.

Using the earlier example, a Pisces south node would have Neptune as it’s ruler and a Virgo north node would have Mercury as it’s ruler. Here is a table of the nodes and their rulers (classical rulers are second if applicable). To find out the houses your lunar nodes lie in you will need your birth chart (that takes into account your birth time).

The houses your nodes lie in will show the area of life in which you often retreat or get stuck in (the south node) and the area of life which you need to work on the most and has the biggest potential for growth and fulfillment (the north node). The ruler of each node’s sign will give you some pointers on what other influences and talents specifically you can draw upon to help you.

Using my own chart as an example, I have a north node in Virgo which is ruled by Mercury and lies in the 7th house (the house of relationships). A lot of my development work is to do with relationships - setting boundaries and frequently checking in with myself to ensure they remain strong and rooted in reality. Using the ruler, I can see that the easiest way for me to do this is by working on my communication with people and making sure I learn to communicate effectively and accurately what’s on my mind. For some extra guidance, I can also refer to the house that Mercury is in in my chart - the 10th house. Communicating with people and sharing my ideas in an understandable way is one of the best ways I can achieve fulfillment in life. Even though it doesn’t come easily to me, it truly makes me happy!

This process of analysis might sound slightly complicated or confusing but with your own chart in front of you the different connections you can make becomes quite intuitive. The best way to analyse your lunar node placements is through examples, so it’s also worth journaling to see where you find yourself truly fulfilled in your life and seeing whether you can spot any patterns. Feel free to comment and we can brainstorm together!

This topic has been one of my favorite ones to research so far - so I really hope you enjoyed this post! Please do comment any questions you have. There are also things like aspects and transits I didn’t mention in this post, but let me know if I should do a follow up part 2 covering those as well!

Have a wonderful week and well done if you made it this far! <3 :D