A note from Paul Bodrogi
Dawn titled this series with intention. “Wheels within wheels” is Mrs. Putnam’s line from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible — and Dawn knew Miller personally.The choice of title was not decorative. She saw the transiting nodes as exactly what Miller’s phrase describes: a hidden mechanism driving visible fate, the deeper pattern underneath the surface of a life. If you are reading this series and feel that something in it reaches further than ordinary astrology writing, that is why.
Dawn Bodrogi ✦ The Inner Wheel
The Crucible and The Wheel: The Nodal Cycle and The Transiting Nodes — Part Two
If, in some bizarre existence, I could look at only one thing in a chart and still hope to give profound advice on the soul’s growth, I would look at the Nodes. They are the key to the entire Nodal cycle. The Nodes provide a guide for where we are going and are the key to understanding where we have been. As they describe the interaction of the Sun and the Moon, they are the core of our being. As they rip through time and space via transit, they cut a swathe between who we have been and who we are becoming.
They do this with maximum potency at very specific times. This happens at the crossroads when the transiting Nodes square, oppose, and conjunct the natal Nodes. The chart offers no greater opportunity for change than at these points in the Nodal cycle.
The Three Critical Points of the Nodal Cycle
The Nodal Return
The return of the North Node to its own place occurs on a roughly 19-year cycle. Of the three major returns at ages 19, 37, and 56, the second return at age 37 is usually the most fraught.
All returns feel wobbly, charged, and insecure. We have just ended a cycle and are beginning another without knowing anything about it. Returns are shaky and dynamic. Even though we can chart them, the energy of the return itself will never feel stable. We may know what we need to do but feel lost and unsure how to get there.
Nodal returns are periods of confusion and possible retreat. The old world doesn’t work, but the new one remains a mystery. At their best, we use Nodal returns to break from the past and make new beginnings. They can also bring us well-deserved rewards for work well done.
The Nodal Crosses (Squares)
The Nodal Squares — or, as I call them, the Crosses — are always crisis points. At these times, we face a choice to forge ahead bravely or retreat into our comfort zones. The impetus to embrace the new may not be strong enough, or the call of the past may be too demanding. These crisis points in the Nodal cycle always feel as though a battle is going on.
With the waxing square (the first square after a return), we may feel fresh and feisty. However, a waning square may make us feel as though we are fighting an ancient war that has gone on too long. The Nodal squares are always ‘do or die’ crossroads where we must initiate some new aspect of our being. The cycle may force us to relinquish something cherished that no longer serves our spiritual purpose.
The Nodal ‘Flops’ (Oppositions)
Nodal oppositions, or ‘flops,’ can be an opportunity for new understanding and integration. The opposition reminds us that the goal is not to desert the South Node (which houses our gifts) in favor of the North. Instead, we must overcome the drawbacks of the South Node and use its gifts to aid our North Node mission.
At the time of these oppositions within the Nodal cycle, we may discover new opportunities for growth. The challenge is to remain in the strength of the South Node without letting it drown the newly emerging sensibility. During these times of integration, it is not uncommon to find partners who can help us along the way.
Dawn Bodrogi, Astrologer ✦ The Inner Wheel
Go Deeper
See how your Nodal cycle operates in your relationship chart
The Sacred Mirror Synastry Journal analyzes your nodal contacts alongside the full planetary picture — what the South Node brings to the relationship, where the North Node is calling both people, and what the nodal cycle means for where you are going together. Written fresh for your charts in the Dawn Bodrogi tradition.
Continue Reading
Part Three: The First Nodal Return
Soul Points in Synastry: The Vertex versus the Nodes
Conjunctions to the Lunar Nodes in Synastry
When Angle Hits Axis: The Most Common Long-Term Partnership Signature
The chart offers no greater opportunity for change than at these crossroads in the Nodal cycle.
Excellent article.
What about when the North Node is direct in the natal chart. Currently I am reading the chart of a young person born on 21 November 1994. She is very troubled and currently in a psychiatric ward. Is her NN in Scorpio in the 12th house (conjunct Venus and Jupiter) hit extra hard because her NN is direct?
Occasionally the Nodes will do something we’ve been calling ‘wobble,’ which means going backward and forward over the same degrees, sometimes several times. It does mean an intense development period as far as the Nodes are concerned, and is an especially challenging time.
Thank you for your answer but what I really mean is: is it challenging to have a NN direct natally, let alone when it’s transitted?
I have to say that I honestly haven’t seen a difference when the natal NN is direct. In theory, it should work like a retrograde, where the Nodes would be developed through a more inward expression, rather than external experience, but no one has done enough research to bear this out. What I can tell you is that when the Nodes are making a station in the natal chart, it means that the nodal development is of crucial importance in this life. There is something special to do.
Thanks very much. That is very helpful actually. I will study the aspects to her Nodes more. Great to talk to you.
Your Sun will guide you there. And so will the independence of Uranus. Uranus wants to go its own way, and so do you–only you might not know it yet. Don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd.
Just ran across this and found it so intiguing. Very mentally stimulating (my Gemini SN is all about that ahah.)
Anyways, I went through my first nodal return 3 1/2 years ago on the Sag/Gem access. This described it all down to a tea. I have a Sag moon as well natally, so I came to really get the Sag part of me initiated during that time, while bringing fully in all of my SN Gem qualities that needs confronting.
Since then, I’ve been a lot more focused on my sense of self and developing that (Sag NN in the 1st,) as opposed to being so focused on others and relationships (Gem SN in the 7th.) Before and during the return, I was so consumed with shape shifting to be something different for everyone I knew and always needing the validation of a relationship, but I’ve changed from that a lot now.
Saturn will soon be conjuncting my NN. I’m curious as to what this will bring!
Awesome article, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!
What if the dispositor of the NN and the dispositor of the SN are both squaring the nodes?
For example, what if the individual has Sun square the nodes and Uranus square the nodes — and the Sun disposits the NN while Uranus disposits the SN? What would this indicate?
You have to look at it in a number of ways. First, synthesize. We’re talking about Sun/NN/Leo and Uranus/SN/Aquarius–the Sun/Uranus opposition is going to be a major factor in nodal development. Most likely, there will be as much adjustment to the South Node as there will be to the North Node. Because the Sun is opposite Uranus, becoming an individual (Leo) will be a challenge to the SN, group dynamic (Aqu). The Sun is trying to put a light on Uranian behaviors. Rebellious behavior will have to be balanced by leadership. Rather than simply being unusual or erratic, the individual will have to grow into behavior that is socially responsible. There are many other interpretations, depending on houses and the position of the Moon.
Quite helpful, thank you Dawn. This particular individual has Sun in the 10th opposing Uranus in the 4th with a 12th house Leo Moon conjunct his Leo ascendant. The nodes are in the 1st (NN) and 7th (SN) houses.
Using the information you provided, would it be correct to say that this person might consider pursuing a Uranian career on his path to becoming an individual, while working on releasing erratic/unusual/shocking/rebellious behavior? How do you incorporate the Moon when analyzing the nodes?
I’m glad you asked about the Moon. With all of these books out there on the Nodes, this is one step that is always forgotten: these are the Moon’s Nodes. Other planets have Nodes, too, but these belong specifically to the Moon. You have to look at the quality of the Moon before you make a judgement on what the Nodes are telling you. You have to make it part of the story. The Moon describes our basic sensibility. The Nodes describe how we use that to greet the world.
I think you’re right about the 10/4 opposition, but there is more to the story. People with Uranus in the fourth usually have erratic childhoods and feel they are outside the family security structure. This is often why they rebel. Wherever Uranus is, we have been broken, we have lost something. And for Uranus to really work, we have to repair that. Then we can truly be unique individuals who, in this case, can lead us forward. The 12th house Leo Moon may be saying: no one paid attention to me. I wasn’t allowed to shine. And it may secretly crave this.
Thank you, Dawn. That was very nicely written and uncannily accurate. Yes, this person experienced an erratic childhood, and he had a difficult relationship with his mother, who was a hurtful figure in his life. I think what you wrote about 12th house Leo Moon was accurate as well. I appreciate the info. on looking at the condition of the moon to interpret the nodes.