What are the North and South Nodes? Vedic Nodes, vs Western Nodes...

As many of you know, the North and South Nodes are mathematical points rather than planets, and are calculated by the intersecting orbits between the Earth, Sun, and Moon. Throughout the history of astrology these points have pointed to our re-incarnation history. The South Node describes the qualities of past incarnations and present spiritual lessons in this life, and the North Node describes the life direction, soul purpose, and compensatory behavior that is 'good medicine' for you now.

     The Nodes can be seen as the trajectory of the Soul. Similar to the ancient astroglobes with an arrow piercing a circle (now often seen as garden sculptures) the arrow tip points in the direction of your North Node, like a North Star, and the South Node is the end tail of the arrow, and speaks symbolically of the past and the direction you want to move away from....old default habits. There needs to be a balance between the ends, because we cannot get rid of the past and the emotional memory (the lunar memory) of the South Node because it still resides below the surface of consciousness.

    Western astrology, as practiced in the US and Europe see these Nodes quite differently from the Indian Vedic perspective which see the North and South Nodes negatively, and are known as Rahu and Ketu, representing the head and tail of the dragon. For Eastern Vedic astrologers, neither of these points are a blessing, nor are they understood within the context of the free will based Western astrology. Vedic astrology is more predictive and perhaps because it comes out of a culture that had few free will choices for the individual, the emphasis on the Nodes is quite different, and chart readings usually hold more fear and negativity. Charms and stones are recommended to undo the effects of the Nodes, and Westerners see this as superstition--rightly so!

     Western astrology accepts reincarnation and a belief that karmic conditions can be seen in the chart, but that we have more power to change our lives now, based on self-understanding.

    If you are looking at your chart to find the Nodes, the North Node looks like a pair of headphones and the South Node looks like a horseshoe. In the book, North Node Astrology, there is also a Table where you can find your North and South Node based simply on your birth day and year.
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