The Lunar Nodes

And Its Dignities and Debilities

The lunar nodes' significance in astrology is based off a number of tales regarding the orbital path of the moon, as it crosses the two ecliptic points; the Nodes. According to ancient European texts, the Nodes were representative of the body of a dragon. The north node is considered the dragons's head (Caput Draconis); the south node is considered the dragon's tail (Cauda Draconis). They have various names according to culture. However, the nodes have the most significance to Vedic astrologers in India. To Vedic astrologers the north node is referred to as Rahu (a being with only a head but no body), and the tail is referred to as Ketu (a body with no head). Both nodes are considered positions of misfortune. Rahu is said to swallow the sun every once in a while (which causes a solar eclipse). Rahu is considered a personification of darkness and a being that causes misfortune. Ketu is considered a "shadowy" figure, that is both benefic and malefic. This is because it represents our need for spiritual collection that may result in both losses and gains. With Ketu, when material things are lost, a person can achieve great spiritual heights. Ketu was often said to block the moon (causing a lunar eclipse). Rahu usually encouraged people to focus on those areas of our lives that we were ignorant about in the past. Rahu would encourage people to go the extra mile which can lead to either chaotic situations or discipline. Ketu could lead others to dissatisfaction with one's own life yet it can also lead to a person's greatest achievement. In the European astrological understanding of the nodes, while the south node does represent comfort, this is considered a place that is relatively unfortunate because it leads to deep dissatisfaction. The north node is considered more fortunate, despite the fact that it represents areas of our lives that are not so comfortable because from these events we learn and grow. Solicepoint.com described these nodal points excellently:

"Folk lore and fairy tales are filled with unfriendly, flame belching dragons, who lurk in caves, fill poor villagers with fear and terrorize the countryside when rambling about on their infrequent forays. The dragon is often depicted as an ancient and rare creature with inscrutable habits, whose sheer size and terrible reputation deter all from his vicinity.

A brave knight or hero always takes up the challenge, chooses to leave his mundane existence behind as he sets out on a crusade, and slays or tames the dragon to win the hand of a beautiful maiden. Other stories may say he finds a treasure guarded by the dragon.

No matter the particulars of the tale, the champion receives great rewards by traveling to meet the Dragon on his own ground, and by demonstrating his previously untested and unrecognized skills he emerges victorious and enriched."

Astronomically, the "lunar pathways" do not truly exist. Rather, the "pathways" represent an invisible gravitational orbit that the moon makes around the earth. The Nodes are those estimated points in the sky at which the moon and the sun meet. This usually takes about 29 days, and when they meet, there is a possibility that shadows will be casted on the moon (the moon's phases) or an eclipse could occur. The solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, completely or partially blocking the sun (from how we see it on earth, that is). A Lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is in between the sun and moon, and all three are equally aligned with one another (there would usually be a full moon). During a lunar eclipse, the moon is usually a reddish-orange color. These are two ecliptic points that represent the Nodes in astrology, with the north node positioned where a solar eclipse would occur and the south node positioned where a lunar eclipse would occur.

In astrology, the lunar nodes represent Karmic connections with a higher spiritual power. There are some modern astrologers who ignore the Lunar Nodes' connection to astrology. This is because the nodes represent our fate/destiny, that may lead us to become better people and find a true sense of spiritual purpose in the world. Many modern astrologers would rather believe that everything in our lives is dependent on our individual choices. However, there are some astrologers that also see the significance of the Nodal plane in a person's everyday life...and they have found that these two ecliptic points have given insight on why many people tend to feel more fulfilled in life than others. I also believe that the Lunar Nodes can give insight on mankind's true spiritual purpose in the world. After all, while 90% of what happens to us is in our control, the other 10% of what happens to us in our lives is controlled by another force. While the sun represents our physical lifestyle choices, the nodes will represent our spiritual lifestyle.

The South Node: The south node is usually representative of our past lives. These are the experiences we may be used to or we somehow feel more comfortable with these experiences. Therefore, the south node could represent a life goal that we may either fight to hold on to (because it's easy or natural to us) or a life that we feel is unsatisfactory. Usually, we have inborn abilities that may have come from our past life. They usually feel more natural to us because we were born with them. We have a tendency to be more reliant on these abilities. Yet, the only way they may be of use to us is if we use them to achieve our north node purpose.

The North Node: The North Node represents our future lives. We either feel very uncomfortable with these experiences or we may feel as if these experiences give us something to live for. Therefore, the north node could represent our spiritual destiny or experiences that we may feel is our "fatal calling". While the abilities representative of the north node are harder to achieve, we feel more fulfilment when we have new experiences than when we continue to experience the same things as in the past.

While, the south node is usually considered "unlucky" (and the north node is considered more "lucky"), the south node is not something we can get away from because this is what we are used to. Therefore, modern astrologers usually encourage people to balance the energies of the lunar nodes by using the innate talents of the south node to help them achieve their spiritual destiny that awaits them in the north node.

Usually the nodes last for about a year in signs opposite each other. What is interesting about the lunar nodes is that they travel through the signs in retrograde motion...in other words, they travel backwards through the signs. Retrograde motion has always been considered unfortunate (some planets go retrograde at some periods of transit). In some modern astrological interpretations, the lunar nodes do not have dignified/debilitated positions. This could be because many astrologers do not want to see one person's destiny as more fortunate than another's. However, in some ancient astrological texts, the lunar nodes were treated very similarly to the planets where they did have exalted and falling positions (possibly because these lunar nodes were just as important to astrologers back then as the planets were). Still, they did not have positions of domicile nor detriment. After all, these are not positions we could ever really truly feel "at home" in or "exiled" in. They can, however, show an easier lifestyle to adapt to in comparison to a more challenging lifestyle to adapt to. This is why an exaltation (which usually shows energy and support) and a fall (which usually shows blockage and limitations) can be present within the realms of the lunar nodes.

The following descriptions only represent "possibilities" that could come from these dignities/debilities. After all, even our karmic experiences can be influenced by our own decisions in life. There are two different ways to determine the nodes. There is the Mean Node (which assumes the moon orbits the center of the earth) and then there is the True Node (which considers the "wobble" of the earth, showing the ecliptic point as close, but not exactly at the center of the earth). While there is controversy as to which one should be used, the choice comes down to whichever one relates to people as individuals.

The Lunar Nodes of

Gemini and Sagittarius

Gemini is symbolized by the infamous twins in Greek stories, known as Castor and Pollux. Castor was born to human parents, while Pollux was born to the same mother as Castor (Leda) but his father was Zeus. Even though Castor was mortal and Pollux was immortal, they were still very close and both had excellent skills when it came to combat. Their bond was especially shown when Pollux split some of his immortality with his brother Castor after he died (with Zeus's permission). This story is very true of twins in our everyday world: they tend to be highly connected to one another from the time they enter the world. Because of their connection, they are able to communicate with one another in ways that others may not understand. This is often referred to as "twin telepathy", where they almost seem to read each other's minds and be a voice of reason to one another. Twins are usually born at the same time in their lives, and most of their lives are shared with one another. As a result, some researchers say that twins adapt to situations faster than most other people. Twins can come in many different forms. Identical twins are usually born from the same egg that splits into two embryos. Fraternal twins are usually born from two different eggs that were fertilized by two different sperm cells.

Sagittarius is representative of an archer that is typically a centaur (half horse, half man). The depiction is based off one of the most noble centaurs in Greek stories, Chiron. Chiron had helped many warriors on their journey. Achilles is one such example because Chiron trained him in the art of archery (centaurs were considered excellent when it came to the art of war). Chiron was considered a good teacher and more "humane" than his other Centaur bretheren who acted more "beastial". Another interpretation of this sign is of Crotus, who was also half horse and a hunter. For the sake of this description, I will be using the archer and the horse species as an example. An archer is typically a person who practices using a bow to propel arrows. Many Archery techniques require eye coordination, using your best eye to see, while the bow and arrow is aimed from the opposite side towards a target. Some forms of archery techniques require shooting according to the strongest hand. Regardless, archery, according to some researchers, is a form of combat that can help us improve our sight as well as other senses if we ever wanted to take archery up as a sport.

The art of archery is similar to the behavior style of a horse. Horses rely on their good sight, nostrils, and hearing to determine their environment. Horses are said to have "360 degree" binocular vision, where they can see on both sides of their body (unfortunately they have a blind spot directly in front of them). Because of the nature of their eyes, many horse trainers believed that horses saw the world much larger than we do. Male horses are known to use a flehmen response (curling of their lips) to smell their environment. Horses usually have excellent memories...to the point that even when they return to the wild they revert back to their previous wild behavior. Surprisingly, while horses are probably the easiest to train than most other species of animal, they are easily spooked especially in confined areas where running far distances is limited. Horses need a lot of space to roam freely.

South Node in Sagittarius

North Node in Gemini

SN+Sagittarius=A Natural Sense of Adventure

NN+Gemini=A Longing for Versatility

The south node is considered exalted in the sign of Sagittarius according to the traditional understanding of the nodes. While many modern astrologers do not feel that it is possible for the nodes to have a "better" or "worse" way of doing things, I can see how the nodal ranking system came to be, thus I can see how this dignity can be possible.

The south node of the ecliptic path represents our past life; the lifestyle we may long to hold on to (but can never seem to maintain) or the lifestyle we may feel too comfortable (or unsatisfied) with and yet can never seem to get away from. The south node also represents natural born abilities we've developed from our past life. Sagittarius is the sign of travel, philosophy, optimism, broadness, and freedom. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of luck, expansion/experiences, beliefs, and opportunity. In this sign, the south node definitely has a lot of benefits to fall back on...and yet it is in a sign that is comfortable with new adventures and experiences that could be found in the north node (north node in Gemini).

With the south node in Sagittarius, this indicates that the past life of this native may have been very fortunate indeed. The native may have lived a life filled with opportunities to travel and expand their horizons. Or the native may have had a very spiritual lifestyle that expanded their minds to new things. This native may have a variety of different talents...one of their talents is that they know how to spot good opportunities that come their way (the ruling planet of this sign may better paint the picture as to which kind of opportunities are the easiest to find). Some natives with this position are longing to keep their lucky lifestyle, where oportunities just seem to fall in their lap. And yet, they may also long to find the true meaning of their life. Their ability to spot opportunities thus comes in handy, because they will more than likely be willing to venture out using their gift of "chance". These natives will have an easier time letting go of their bad habits more than most because of their willingness to experience and learn from their experiences.

The downside to this position is that it can also represent a native that is too reliant on their luck to get them through life. They may be lazy, constantly believing that things will come falling into their laps. They may believe life is easy, unprepared for the unpredictable parts of the future. There are some natives with this position that may be constantly trying to travel long distances to find more meaning in their life, only to feel unfulfilled after it is all over. These natives may be so eager to teach, that they may struggle to open their minds. Natives with this position are learning the life lesson that the meaning they are seeking may be in their immediate environment if they look closer rather than farther. They will be learning throughout their lifetime that life is not something they can learn about from simple understanding. Life is filled with twists and turns that may be a lot more complicated, yet more beneficial to the growth of an individual.

With the South Node being in Sagittarius, the North node is usually in Gemini...the sign opposite. The north node is considered exalted in Gemini according to the traditional understanding of the nodes. The north node of the ecliptic path represents our future life; our karmic spiritual destiny. With the north node, it may represent a lifestyle that we may not be comfortable with...but events always seem to come that lead us in those situations. Or it may represent the lifestyle we long for but can never seem to get as easily. The north node also represents abilities that are harder to develop because we were not born with these abilities. Yet, our life may be pushing us to develop them or we may be longing to develop them with much trial. While many may believe that the north node is a more unfortunate placement, it is actually the more fortunate side of the ecliptic path because when it is embraced there is fulfillment. Gemini is the sign of versatility/adaptability, communication, commuting, duality, and curiosity. Gemini is ruled by the planet Mercury, the planet of the mind/intellect, learning, communication, commuting, and skills. In this sign, the north node will find it easier to encourage change because the position shows a yearning to be versatile and adaptable. Gemini is the sign of learning...which means the soul will be more willing to learn from the north node's lesson. In this sign, the north node can better fulfill both the yearning for versatility as well as the longing for adventure much easier than in other signs.

The north node in Gemini indicates that natives will be learning to be more versatile and adaptable in their lifetime. The native will be encouraged not to overlook the adventures/experiences/opportunities that are right in front of them in their immediate environment. They will be encouraged to be more open minded and communicative with neighbors and intimates. Natives with this position may also be yearning to connect with those around them. While this experience may seem limiting to some, the natives show that they have a yearning to learn new things more than most natives of the lunar nodes. These natives will have an abundence of experiences headed their way as a result, and satisfying their longing will be much easier. In the end, these natives may find it easier to feel fulfilled. They may be naturally skilled at balancing their longing for versatility with their natural sense of adventure.

With the north node, it is never too easy to learn our lessons. The more evolved natives of this position may see this as an opportunity. The less evolved natives may see all of these changes as overwhelming and challenging. After all, these are natives who may be used to living a life full of adventure (south node in Sagittarius)...now it may seem as if they have to settle for a more mundane life that seems less exciting. Of course, there are some natives that are so "obsessed" with getting involved with their own communities (north node in Gemini) that they lose appreciation for all the sense of adventure they had (which will also make them feel dissatisfied). Natives of this position are learning to use their past life experiences to satisfy their longing for versatility. Balance is the key. A person cannot run from the past nor can they change it. A person can only learn from it and use their past to better their future. Otherwise, a native that refuses to face the past will subconsciously revert back into old bad habits. The talents and abilities that natives have learned in their past life can actually help them when trying to achieve the life presented in one's future.

South Node in Gemini

North Node in Sagittarius

SN+Gemini=A Natural Sense of Curiosity

NN+Sagittarius=A Longing for Expansion

The south node is considered falling in the sign of Gemini. While some astrologers may feel that it is impossible for the lunar nodes to have an "easier" or more "limited" way of expressing, I can understand the mindset of the traditional understanding of the lunar nodes, therefore I can see the possibilities. When a position is a falling one, this means that there will be a conflict of desires.

The south node of the ecliptic path represents our past life; the lifestyle we may long to hold on to (but can never seem to maintain) or the lifestyle we may feel too comfortable (or unsatisfied) with and yet can never seem to get away from. Gemini is the sign of adaptability/versatility, curiosity, commuting, duality, and communication. Gemini is ruled by the planet Mercury, the planet of intellect/mind, learning, communication, transportation, and skills. In this sign, the south node may not have many talents to utilize. It represents a past life where the focus was 'taking on trades, but mastering none'. In this position, the south node is not in a sign that is extremely expansive or spiritual. In fact, the south node is now in a sign that is more interested in the immediate surroundings, rather than expanding forward.

With the south node in Gemini, this indicates that the past life of these natives lacked meaning and substance. They may have been constantly bored with their life or they may have been constantly trying new things, but never finishing any of the things they have started. They may have a strong curiosity developed from the past life, but may have been very easily distracted from their goals. As a result, the may always feel that they have nothing to offer the world because their past life never gave them the opportunities or they never seemed to take up the opportunities to develop themselves. It's not that the native can never get over this hump; they just seem to fall behind in life, directionless, never knowing where they are headed. This is a native that may be used to their life being this way (directionless) to the point they cannot see the signs that are leading them towards their destiny. They will be learning throughout their lifetime to get in tune with their spiritual self, and focus on their goals. They need to develop more faith in life in order to feel more self-fulfillment. Otherwise, the karmic cycle will continue in this life and the next life.

The upside to this position may be difficult to see. But their lack of past development can actually make them more adaptable and open minded in the future. If they can stay focused long enough to complete goals in life, they may not have to worry about falling into bad habits as quickly as everyone else. While their destination may seem further to reach than everyone else, at the end of their road they may have the strongest appreciation of their karmic experiences in comparison to others. Since this is a sign that is willing to learn, they will always benefit fom learning more about their past. The north node will be the very path that can help them "find themselves".

With the south node being in Gemini, that would mean the north node would be in the opposite sign Sagittarius. The north node is considered falling in the sign of Sagittarius according to the traditional understanding of the nodes. Here, there is also a conflict of desires.

The north node of the ecliptic path represents our future life; our karmic spiritual destiny. With the north node, it may represent a lifestyle that we may not be comfortable with...but events always seem to come that lead us in those situations. Or it may represent the lifestyle we long for but can never seem to get as easily. The north node also represents abilities that are harder to develop because we were not born with these abilities. Yet, our life may be pushing us to develop them or we may be longing to develop them with much trial. While many may believe that the north node is a more unfortunate placement, it is actually the more fortunate side of the ecliptic path because when it is embraced there is fulfillment. The sign of Sagittarius represents travel, philosophy, faith, optimism, broadness, and freedom. Sagittarius is ruled by the planet Jupiter, the planet of luck, chance, expansion, and beliefs. The north node is in a sign that is requiring a journey..perhaps a long journey in order to feel more fulfilled. The soul is easily dissatisfied with life and will constantly be yearning for something. Karmic balance between the south and north nodes will be more challenging for natives of this position as a result.

Natives with the North Node in Sagittarius will be learning in their lifetime to broaden their horizons and develop faith. They may be on a constant adventure throughout their life, yearning to have an experience of a lifetime. Yet, enough will never feel like enough with these natives. They may feel like they are on a never-ending journey with no destination. Some of these natives yearn to be on a never-ending journey, only to fall back on previous bad habits. They may want to be teachers, but they may not honestly have enough experience to help them. The north node is very difficult to learn from...yet, this is one the hardest lessons to learn, especially because the natives do not have much to rely on from the past life (south node in Gemini). Natives with this position will be learning to be thankful for all of their experiences; both small and large experiences throughout their lifetime. This is the only way true karmic balance can be achieved. They must remember the purpose of the journey in order to understand the importance of the "destination". Otherwise, purpose will be lost behind meaningless experiences. Taking on more opportunities for long term projects/activities can be beneficial, especially projects/activities involving spiritual awakening (the planet Jupiter can give insight on what projects would be the most beneficial).

The upside to this position is that there is a lot of room for growth. This is a native that will possibly have the most experiences in life. Their life always seems to be leading them to either spiritual places or long distance travels. They may seem to get opportunities out of nowhere, even when they are not looking for it. They may also be one of the most knowledgable natives of the lunar nodes because they truly want to learn and understand themselves and the world around them. While they may feel they are behind others, they may have the most spiritual fulfillment once they balance their need to feed their curiosity with their need to expand their horizons and find meaning.

If natives have the North or South Nodes in the 3rd house, they may relate to the descriptions of the Nodes in Gemini. If there are planets in signs in the native's natal chart that agrees with Mercury (Aquarius, Virgo, Gemini) than the node in the sign of Gemini will be the easist to embrace in the native's personaity. However, this would also mean the opposite node will be the hardest to embrace. If there are negative aspects, or the nodes are accidentally debilitated by house placement, then there will be much affliction and setbacks. If there are positive aspects, or the nodes are accidentally dignified by house placement, there will be more advantages and benefits.

If natives have the North or South Nodes in the 9th house, they may relate to the descriptions of the Nodes in Sagittarius. If there are planets in signs in the native's natal chart that agree with Jupiter (Pisces, Cancer, Sagittarius) than the node of Sagittarius will be the easiest to embrace. However, this would also mean the opposite node will be the hardest to embrace. If there are negative aspects, or the nodes are accidentally debilitated by house placement, then there will be much affliction and setbacks. If there are positive aspects, or the nodes are accidentally dignified by house placement, there will be more advantages and benefits.

The Lunar Nodes cross through all twelve signs of the Zodiac. For the sake of this website have only focus on the positions of debility/dignity. However, from these description one could still learn more about the Nodes, planets, as well as the signs through the dignity/debility ranking system.