I suddenly realized that I neglected to complete this series on the transiting nodes. There was a three part series on the transiting nodes and a description of the third nodal return in another article about aspects in our fifties. And of course, the omission is the greatest one: a description of that life-changer (or life-crisis), the second nodal return. To paraphrase a song, if we can make it (over the threshold) here, we can make it anywhere.
Yes, it’s that important. Think about it. At age 37, we’re at the height of our powers, a time when we are ripe for experience. We have cleaned out our psycho-spiritual closets at the progressed lunar return (27-28), reoriented ourselves to reality at the Saturn return (29-30), and questioned our integrity when the progressed Sun makes its first aspect to natal Sun (30-31). We get a short time to breathe and adjust the two halves of our brain before we get the balsamic year of our second Jupiter return, followed by the great three sequence of the third Jupiter return at age 36. At the third Jupiter return, we step into our spiritual adulthood. We take full responsibility for the development of the soul. We grow into our wisdom. The balsamic year, at age 35, is very much about changing directions, getting rid of what is not instinctively true to us. At 36, we are asked to step into that truth.
Unfortunately, we often feel rather naked without all those nice, secure falsities of the spirit to cling to. With Jupiter’s bidding, we feel inspired, but we also know that we have a new cycle of spiritual development ahead of us. Or rather, we feel it, more than know it. Jupiter is very big on instinct. With much trepidation, we step into our grown-up shoes. As with all Jupiter returns, there is some letting go, but also some luck that usually steers us in the right direction. The house in which Jupiter resides is emphasized.
The minute that we start moving forward (if we are lucky) we hit a wall. This is the wall of the nodal return, which comes to us all at about the age of 37 and three months. I once heard a doctor say that this is a threshold year for mental health–if you can make it past this year, you should survive anything else that gets thrown at you. Just to emphasize the importance of this return, I believe the list of people who did not survive this nodal return is longer than the infamous list of the 27 Club.
What happens is this: we know we can no longer avoid change, but we haven’t a clue what to change, or how. Spiritually, we often become lost, victim to false starts and stops. We feel vulnerable. No longer able to hide under a shell, and no compass to show us the way forward. We can see, off in some vague distance, the place we need to be, but it seems as though we have to walk over miles of thin, cracked ice to get there. The old doesn’t work anymore–that’s what the last 10 years have taught us. But if we haven’t moved in a new direction yet (and we have been given opportunities), now is the time. We feel pressured, we feel broken, we feel failed. Far from a confident new beginning, we are wracked with doubts. Can I do this? Can this really be happening? Why do I feel this thing on my shoulder, whispering in my ear, spurring me on? And of course–what of the old me can I legitimately retain?
Throwing the baby out with the bathwater is typical of this nodal return. At least, for a start. We are prone to chuck it all and begin something entirely new. Sometimes that works, many times it does not. The reason is that, at this time in particular, we are being coaxed to use our talents and abilities, our spiritual inheritance, to create something new. We get pulled back. If we’re actors or writers, we might dump our cherished novel or stop auditioning, only to be invited to teach, direct, or write something in another genre. We might give up what we are already doing entirely, only to spend a few years exploring and come back to it anew. Not that our nodal returns are all about what we do for a living, but they imply an integration of the Sun and Moon, North Node and South Node, that can manifest on the midheaven and the IC, no matter where your nodes are at birth. This nodal return in particular has a lot to do with ‘who am I in the world?’ And here is the rub–there shouldn’t be a conflict between who I am inside (IC) and who I am outside (MC). This is only one of the questions this nodal return tries to solve.
It was only after studying hundreds of draconic charts that the crisis mode of nodal returns made sense to me. The struggle of past to become future was not enough to cause the strife I saw on a daily basis. After all, the past becomes the present becomes the future every second of our lives. In draconic charts, which is the natal chart looked at from the point of view of the nodes, all nodes are moved to NN 0 Aries and SN 0 Libra. The measurement between the natal nodes and these nodes is added to every planet and point in the chart. We end up with a chart that looks exactly like the natal chart (except for the nodes, of course) but the planets, angles and points are in different signs. And this puzzled me for a while. Not because it is a directed chart–this is an old astrology technique, moving everything by a certain measurement (such as Solar Arc charts). But because of the emphasis on zero cardinal.
Cardinal signs are about initiation. This is where we begin. This is where we are born from the cosmic soup. This is why the angles matter–they initiate us into space and time. They become the reference point for the soul. Space and time are all about Saturn. We move from the endless sea of potential to the specific. The first ‘set’ of zero cardinal is Aries/Libra. There is a power to zero Aries that is often ignored. A special power of individuation. Of being unique. Of beginnings.
In a draconic chart, the South node is at 0 Libra. This is where we come from, according to the Nodes. This is what we come into this world with. What does that mean? Whatever sign is on the SN in the natal chart, from a draconic point of view it is 0 Libra. Now, zero Libra also has a power of its own. It’s the power of integration, of the union of self and other, of the known and the shadow. But if we are put into this world to individuate, and to balance the nodes, it seems like an odd place to start.
Not if we take into consideration that we come into this world as a unique being, but we experience it in terms of duality. I versus other. Me in here versus you out there. What is me and what is not me? This has to do with Libra being represented by Venus, and relating to the 7 (also to the 2, via Taurus). First there is one (Aries) but the one cannot see itself unless it can be reflected (Libra). And this is how we construct ourselves from birth; the idea of “I” is actually based on “not I.” (There will be more of this in a short course on Sacred Number and aspect which I will be teaching next month.) We are hollow at core.
The North Node is so difficult to achieve precisely because we must get out of this way of defining Self. The Libran South Node is how we relate, how we fit in, how we compromise our identity. The North Node is asking us to get rid of all that and redefine ourselves and live our lives by what is genuinely within. (No accident that the draconic NN ruler is always Mars and the draconic SN ruler always Venus. No accident that the first two polarities of the zodiac are Mars/Venus, Venus/Mars). Who are we without our trappings–home, money, family, friends. Who are we, really? And how to we get to this place of authenticity? The natal North Node is the path.
I have heard astrologers say that 90 per cent of people never get near their North Nodes. I don’t know if it’s quite that much, but it’s a high number. Authenticity is a bitch. It often means going against the grain. Being an outsider. Taking our own road. It’s a lonely place. We stumble. We fall. No one helps us up. To make matters worse, often the North Node ruler turns out to be a trickster, and can’t be relied upon to take us in the right direction. Sometimes he takes us to the wrong place, deliberately. He wants to test us, our worth, our integrity. He will cause us to make mistakes so that we can cross that path off of our list. If we have a problematic North Node ruler, full of conflict, getting to the North Node may take a long, long time. So much easier to stay in the land of Venus.
This authenticity is what the second nodal return is all about. If we have complicated Nodes, planets on both the North and South Nodes, for example, we may be especially conflicted, and see saw back and forth between what is and what should be. Not that we should delve into our North Nodes at the expense of the South Node–in that way lies solipsism, if not psychopathology. No, the relational Libran South Node needs to be in balance with the authentic North Node. If this happens, it automatically helps the essential problem of the MC/IC with the ‘me in here’ vs ‘you out there’ issue. We move on to be authentic, productive individuals. And this is what the third nodal return, which happens in our mid-fifties, is all about.
The recently announced second article on Jupiter will be appearing in next month’s edition of The Widening Gyre. If you’d like to read it and the other original content, please subscribe.
Thank you for this Dawn. Wonderful addition to the past articles. At 37, I moved to LA, and had little problem finding a job in video working and leading students, when I could find nothing substantial in Chicago. And I especially like the Draconic chart and feel it resonates strongly with me.
I find the story of the nodes repeats in the Draconic. In the Natal Chart, SN ruler, Jupiter in Gemini in the 12th is the focus of a yod with Venus in the 7th and the Vertex in 5th. Mercury, my NN ruler in Sag conj the SN, and square 9th house Saturn. It makes a yod with Vesta on the Asc.
In the Draconic, Venus is more important as the Asc. ruler, and in involved with the Vertex-Jupiter yod. Mars in the 7th (ruler of NN) opposes Vesta on the Asc, and its ruler, Pluto is in the third conj. Uranus sextile Neptune and opposing the MC with Chiron and Saturn in the 9th opposite also.
Again, I see the themes repeat themselves – fill in the gaps as you suggest. In this case, communication, the sacred and Neptune/12th, as well as the 9th & 7th as repeated themes.
Hi Dawn!
As nodes are so important, got a basic newbie question on the fundamental issue of house placement.
In some astrological circles, any close proximity to house cusps (more so with angles), the designation of House placement seems to become “flexible”; or should I say, more a judgement call than a rule.
For instance, if a node is within (or close to) 3-degrees of a cusp, (like mine are) some astrologers will assign that node entirely to the next house, NOT the one it’s technically within (mathematically).
I can understand that a potent planet like Uranus or the Sun nearly conjunct the IC but from within the 3rd house, has an influence on 4th house matters via the IC – but the planet still remains in the 3rd, right? Or perhaps not?
Or perhaps if the pull of a planet or even the soli-lunar midpoint from across the other side of a cusp, that close conjunction (from across the cusp) brings a melding of influence – yet does the node remain assigned the house it sits within, mathematically? — Or is it “flexible”, potentially shifting to the next one?
I can also appreciate that if a node is exactly conjunct the cusp (or a few minutes from), both houses likely become relevant (it acts as a bridge between them, tying the two together in a sense), but does this notion of a house cusp “sucking” a receptive node fully into the next house hold any veracity, within your own experience?
For chart specifics, my 5th House node is 3-degree29′ away from conjunction with my 6th house cusp. Technically, charting software says it lies within my 5th House. Yet it was assigned (by an astrologer) to my otherwise empty 6th House. Without any mention of the 5th / 11th Houses playing any role whatsoever with my nodal axis…?
Any clarification on this thorny issue of cusps and house placements would be most welcome! thanks.
This is one of the most popular questions. My answer is absolutely strict–whatever house system you use, that planet or point belongs to the house it lands in. We can’t just move everything willy-nilly. I think all this comes from astrologers not knowing how to use dispositors. Say, for example, you have Mars at 13 Libra in the third and the IC at 16 Libra. Mars will still act in the third house, but the dispositor of both will be Venus: therefore, Venus is an angle ruler also influencing Mars. The position of Venus would be important for both Mars and the IC, and any planets in Libra. But Mars has nothing to say to the fourth house. It’s firmly in the third. I think Stephen Arroyo said that there is a window between the houses but not a door. The planet knows what’s going on, but has no access to the action. Is Mars conjunct the IC in this circumstance? Yes, absolutely. Is that the same as being involved in the fourth house? Decidedly not. Angles and the houses they rule are not interchangeable. This is why I tell people to pick a house system and stick with it. You will learn, eventually, how planets behave within that system. But even so, the rules are cut and dried in my opinion. In fact, if you fudge it, you can be downright wrong. For example, planets on the 12th house side of the Asc behave very differently (or we use them differently) from planets in the first. If you expect someone to be totally conscious of that planet, you’d be wrong. The 9th is very different from the 10th regarding the MC. People with sixth house planets conjunct the Desc have a lot of balancing and healing to do. It’s not as exaggerated with ordinary house cusps, but the same thing applies.
thanks Dawn! This is very helpful! 🙂 At least I now have a baseline from which to work. What you suggest makes a lot of sense now I’ve had a few days to digest it.
Turns out the chart I had drawn up was also Placidus, but it was rectified, with the proviso that it may be a few minutes out. (Perhaps some hedging of bets?..)
As an aside, when I contemplate the deep symbolism of sabian degrees with life-themes for my ascendant and MC, I find a far better fit if I shift my birthtime back by 4mins, but I’m averse to the possible self-deception involved (?)
As for the thorny issue of different ‘House Systems’, after your reply I spent some time exploring the alternatives. oh wow! What a can of worms that could turn into!!
But I take heart from your unambiguous statement of consistency, and sticking to the rules!
I can fully appreciate how beginners in astrology (like myself), or those with a very factual or geminian slant would be unnerved or confused (or even sceptical) by the diversity of house systems! It took me a few days to get my head around it – in fact, I take great comfort from something I read long ago by author Jack Schwager – he researched many top professional traders, and their very diverse trading systems – from technical, to fundamental to market tone, etc. To summarise Jack’s own grasp of such diversity– with something so vast, complex, non-linear and reflexive as the global financial system, any rule-based trading system (no matter how robust) can only capture an aspect not the totality of the dynamics involved – and the key was to work with the rule-based system with disciplined consistency and lots of practice, allowing intuition to bridge the connections.
I guess it’s only fair to grant the same to a far more vast system: that of a living, dynamic Universe, captured in small part by the planets and constellations, and set down to rules within diverse astrological “systems” by humans.
— at least, that’s how I’m making sense of it!! 😉
thanks again for the invaluable feedback!
Oh thank goddess I found this article Dawn! With this Scorpio new moon I was like “Why am I so tragic?” haha. Everything was going along swimmingly with my new career (authentic, transparent, of my own creating) and then all of a sudden all these gaps showed up again–self-worth issues, fear of commitment and rejection in relationship (north node in Virgo with Saturn in the 7th), feeling empathically vulnerable and physically weak (south node in Pisces in the first house). I suppose my “baby with the bathwater” was moving from Brooklyn to Oakland California in the spring after only intending to visit for a month. I just never went back. Though I’m firmly on the path of my spiritual calling and manifesting that in one-on-one consulting (NN 7th), I am still unmarried. As a Leo woman I don’t like to admit how important that is to me–my Aquarius moon just doesn’t want to give up her freedom. So, now I’ve met someone wonderful in additon to my long distance twin flame and created transparency with both of them around being a bisexual polyamorous woman amd wanting an open marriage. There is both joy and fear around being in this completely new realm. I have a past filled with loss and heartache, yet a newfound happiness and confidence that is like the wind at my back, pushing me reluctant toward an unknown horizon. Dare I hope that true fulfillment awaits?? #cliffhanger
I realize this comment is very late so may not get an answer, but given the Aries-Libra dynamic of the North and South Nodes, what does one make of a North Node in Libra?
I’m not just asking for myself (though my North Node is in Libra)–I just don’t quite get how the reversal of the archetypal relationship of Aries/South Node to Libra/North Node works. I find it interesting, though perplexing, that in a Libra North Node draconic chart the signs of all the planets will basically flip almost 180 degrees. It seems like it should be simple and yet…
From my own experience, I must say none of the interpretations of Libra North Node that I’ve read has resonated at all. Aries-like attitudes and perspectives do not come naturally to me at all, and feel awkward and embarrassing; I’ve always been strongly other- and relation-focused, putting my own needs and desires last when I can even figure out what they are, etc. (I suspect my Cancer Moon plays into that too.) However, that was drilled into me growing up, so I wonder if it could be the result of “nurture” that only feels like “nature.”
Most people have a very hard time relating to the North Node. But sometimes, due to other circumstances (the positioning of the ruler of the Nodes, for example) it becomes difficult to relate to the South Node. Libra should be about balance in relationships. With Aries on the South Node, one has either dominated relationships or been the victim of domination. One has not allowed one’s true Self to enter into the relationship.
Fascinating. Thank you so much, there is a lot to think about there.
Well, this has really clarified things for me. My Aries/2nd SN is ruled by Mars in Leo/6th which mostly has easy aspects, except a square to Uranus in Scorpio/9th.
But Uranus is conjunct my NN ruler Venus in Scorpio/9th (which also conjoins Ceres, though Ceres is in Sag/10th, and trines my Pisces AC). Oh and my NN (Libra/8th) is conjunct Pluto (goody!).
I thought I was very other-focused rather than self-focused, but now I see that my pattern is to throw myself into service, because in service I can remain safely detached as long as I deny my expression, drive, sexuality, etc. So I feel like I’m sacrificing myself for others–and if I say so myself (haha) I have performed some impressive acts of self-sacrifice–but on another level I’m just keeping my precious self hermetically sealed off from others (I am a rock, I am an island, you need me I don’t need you). Romantic relationships are either unrequited or I end up feeling, or actually being, victimized and it takes several years to recover enough to try again; or if it’s going well some insurmountable obstacle gets in the way and I pine for years. (I’m not saying that to be maudlin, just in case it helps someone.) So a relationship of equals remains elusive, I literally do not know what that even is.
Wow! What incredible insights.
In addition to everything, your reply to Richard about planets 3 degrees away from cusps just hit the nail on the head for me.
This has always been a vague and evasive concept for me, and every time I read it somewhere my gut just tells me something isn’t totally right.
THANK YOU for such an amazing and accurate explanation.
It definitely resonates and makes sense.
Very good write-up. I definitely love this site. Keep writing!
Just stumbled on this article. Great read! I will he having my nodal return exact Sept. 20th 2020. NN Gemini in 1st, SN sag in 7th. It has been quite the journey of self in this life with many tragic endings in relationships. Does this mean I’m living up to my destiny?! LOL
What does it mean when Lilith is conjunct your north node 😩 and in the 12th house no less.
Hello, wow what a fantastic writing!! I am 11 days away from my 2nd nodal return, and my natal nodes are conjunct my Ac/Dc, plus a few other big transits happening at once like Neptune transiting my IC… really great reading, buckling down, thank you so much!
I love this !!! I recently turn 37 and you hit everything on the head ages in point !! I myself have an extremely traumatic balsamic year but it was all worth the knowledge and power I gained from it ! I have an Aries NN and Libra SN and that nagging feeling always is there !! I feel it louder than ever once I turn 37!! I enjoyed this piece made me not feel so alone!