Lunar Nodes and Planetary Nodes
When we speak about Lunar and Planetary Nodes, we need to understand that this is the territory of the unseen and nonmaterial, for they represent points in space where certain orbits intersect, meaning they have no material value. In general, each pair of nodes has a strong symbolic meaning of connecting two opposing things, two sides to one coin, the head and the tail. Ancient astrologers used them much more than modern astrologers might think, and they have been linked to reincarnation, past life and karmic astrology, as well as methods to understand evolutionary processes in our natal charts. On a mundane level, we will see that planetary nodes have a strong impact on large events, speaking of a debt that needs to be paid on a collective level, or something the entire society has earned through progress (and possibly sacrifices) made.
What Is a Planetary Node?
Each node represents a meeting point of one celestial body’s orbit, with the extended plane of an orbit of any other celestial body. Nodes can pretty much be obtained for any entity moving in a closed loop across a certain plain, in comparison to any other entity doing the same. Most of us already know that the Moon has its set of Lunar Nodes in relation to Earth’s orbit around the Sun, but so does each planet, satellite, asteroid, and every minor planet in our system. Both Lunar and Planetary Nodes mentioned here are those that intersect the Earth’s orbital plane, the ecliptic. Crossing points on the ecliptic will be seen as projections in the zodiacal circle and our chart, and be presented through the South and North Nodes, or points where the body in question descends below the ecliptic, and where it rises above it, respectively.
In astrological interpretations, we will recognize Nodes of each celestial body as its “downside and upside”, or in other words - plus and minus points. The rise of the body brings benefits just as descend takes the energy away. In general, both of these points are as maleficent as they are beneficent, since they represent one whole combined in an opposition, and neither functions without the other, being part of one inseparable Unity. The more we struggle to label each of our Nodes with one specific nature, the further we’ll drift from the fact that they together tell a story of one being and our Soul with all of our previous and future embodiments gathered into the lifetime we are in.
Lunar Nodes
The influence of Lunar Nodes has always been considered the most important of all Nodal influences, probably because of the constant change of the position of the Nodes. They seem to be the most personal of all Nodes, and this is the exact reason why they take big part in Astrology software and chart readings. Without much mystification, we have to understand that these points in space are distant from reality and while we can approach other positions in our chart through the field of habits in life or relationships with people they represent, these aren’t easily reached.
The entire story behind the Lunar Nodes always comes down to similar meanings – showing South Lunar Node as a tail of the dragon, and the North Node as its head. In Western Astrology, the North Node is considered beneficent, as a point that gives us more than we needed or thought possible, while the South Node makes us give up on something or pay out a debt. Vedic Astrology, on the other hand, speaks of the North Node as the “mouth” or the “head” responsible for the debt created in the South Node, and points to extreme caution when using benefits that our North Node has to offer. Whatever our approach to this matter, the two won’t function separately and represent the primal set of opposing entities, as a karmic opposition we have to resolve. We can imagine them as two parts of our Soul that have a task to come together in one. No matter our interpretations of planets and house cusps directly connected to the Nodes, we need to remember that all we give into the South Node will come back to us through the North. In fact, the joy found in this circulation between Lunar Nodes is an obvious presentation of the level of evolution our Soul is on.
Lunar Nodes are a part of our Moon, something like images of the Moon’s in prior lives and the afterlife. Their main role is to stand for the evolution of our Soul and show us the way we have to cover, the path we are on, and what we need to embrace in order to reach the heights we wish for. If rulers of the Nodes are in a good aspect and supporting each other, our mission on Earth will be easier than if there is a conflict left between them. Harmony between rulers will speak of ancestors who took two sides but found middle ground, managed to resolve a conflict, giving us a strong push towards our own evolution in this lifetime.
Lunar Nodes always represent genetic inheritance, matters of sacrifice and gain taught by our family. They stand for things that are far beyond our reach in this lifetime, and speak of our starting point from which we left off in our past lives, and the point we need to reach in lives that are coming. While we have no way of grasping their roles and significance, we can be sure that contacts of planets with Lunar Nodes speak of people we have already met once before, and those we are about to meet again, after we leave this body.
Planetary Nodes
Each planet in the Solar system has its own pair of Nodes where its orbital plain intersects the ecliptic. While Lunar Nodes speak of our Soul’s mission on Earth and show us the way to evolve, Planetary Nodes will do something similar in their much slower pace, pointing us towards special places in our charts where something deep was left to be found once again. In this lifetime, we won’t notice the movement of Planetary Nodes, and their current position in relation to positions from our natal chart has a lifelong impact that shows only one mission or goal concerning a specific celestial entity.
The role of Planetary Nodes has been neglected in modern Astrology, and most of us fail to see the importance of their influence in our chart. Although they will be deeply sensed only when in touch with a personal point, you will come to find that if they mark the position of our Ascendant, the Moon or our first house ruler, their impact becomes vast. Their task is strong and deep, as if the evolution of an entire archetype defined by the celestial body in question stood out to light our way or hide in our shadows.
