Do You Have a Code in Your Nodes?

Yours, Mine and Our US Presidential Candidates'

© 2016 by Joyce Mason

 

I’ve long felt unsure whether I’ve ever fully comprehended the lunar nodes in astrology and their degree of impact.  I used to hold the general idea that I’ve read in most astrology books and heard in many lectures. The North Node represents where we’re heading in life. The South node relates to where we’re coming from or have been. They are always opposite points, but more importantly, they’re part of the same continuum. For example, you can’t have Aries individualism without its complement, Libran relationship. Even if you could be a pure 100% of one or the other, it wouldn’t make sense unless you considered the characteristic you lack. (What is night without day for comparison?) These nodal pairings are about balancing related areas of life. So, perhaps the South Node represents the side of the paired issues spectrum that was emphasized in a prior life—or earlier in the current one—and the North Node suggests where we need more development.

The zodiac is really comprised of six archetypal pairs. Nothing makes this more obvious than the nodes. If you take it down to basics without discounting those delicious complexities and multi-levels of astrology:

These are the six paired inner and outer activities we juggle to make the best of our Earth experience. To:

1.   Be/Relate – Aries/Libra

2.   Possess/Create – Taurus/Scorpio

3.   Think/Perceive – Gemini/Sagittarius

4.   Feel/Build – Cancer/Capricorn

5.   Will/Question– Leo/Aquarius

6.   Analyze/Believe  - Virgo/Pisces

Of course, there are many other key words and concepts for each of these pairs, but the main idea is that they relate to each other and development of both constitutes a sense of wholeness along that complementary spectrum. We don’t want to throw out the South Node as passé, but rather as the part of the continuum where we probably already have bigger muscles while the North Node asks us to work out more on that side of our “issue body.” We actually don’t want to “move away from” the South Node but, rather, to carry it forward, perhaps with a little less gusto, to complement the North Node.

If the Nodes are a teeter totter of related issues that you need to balance in your life, which side is up in the air and on what playground is it housed?

Let’s look at the leading US presidential candidates, as of this writing, for some examples. Note that these are speculative, as we have some unsubstantiated birth times.

Hillary Rodham Clinton has South Node in Scorpio in the 1^st, North Node in Taurus in the 7^th. I used to wonder 20 years ago why so many people just couldn’t “take” Hillary. Her 1^st House South Node in Scorpio supports my conclusion. Many individuals, both men women, are put off by a powerful woman who’s “out there.” It goes against everything many people of a certain age were taught about what’s ladylike. While she’s an obvious born leader, I think Hillary developed her 7^th House North Node as First Lady and Secretary of State. While she was hardly a secretary in the traditional sense, in both these jobs in supportive roles to Presidents Clinton and Obama, she expanded her relationship and team player skills. (Add NY Senator.)

These skills are as invaluable to any leader as the ability to inspire and decide. I could argue that social evolution has taken the edge off some people’s feelings about Hillary, which I view, overall, to be improved today for the most part. But it also might be that seeing her in her full power while playing supporting roles made her feel less threatening and allowed those still struggling with gender issues a chance to see her in a new light and to adjust to her potential as President.

Unfortunately, Hillary’s 8:02 AM birth time has been bandied about for a long time, yet it never has been verified to my knowledge. Many astrologers are becoming believers that this is her time stamp, as they watch her in action. The Nodes for that chart sure fit!

Bernie Sanders has North Node in Virgo in the 10^th, sandwiched in-between his Sun and (closer to) Neptune. South Node is in Pisces in the 4^th. The code in his Nodes marks him a Radical Virgo, the kind capable of reorganizing the world. That’s his vision, and I believe his South Node in Pisces is an asset to him. He believes in the family of humanity, that we are One, and in the vision of an ideal America for everyone. His North Node in the house of career expresses his ability to stretch from this base to help his fellow Americans throw out what no longer works, keep what does, and to develop new ways of living that nurture all citizens.

Donald Trump has a most interesting Node Code with his Nodes conjunct the Lights. North Node is in Gemini in the 10^th closely conjunct his Sun. South Node is in Sag in the 4th, tightly conjunct the Moon. Note that, so far, the main presidential candidates have the Nodes in angular houses. It’s not surprising that Mr. Trump’s worldview and what he thinks about people is right out front in flashing lights. His Leo Mars conjunct ASC adds a forceful, often roaring and theatrical delivery style. Like Bernie, he is willing to take on his 10^th House potential as a change agent. I’ve noticed there are two Donalds, as his Gemini Sun suggests. One is the performer, when he’s at his brashest. The other is more reasoned when he’s interviewed one-on-one or in any smaller encounter that doesn’t involve a stage. And his nodes ride on the teeter-totter of his Sun/Moon opposition. What strong signatures of duality.

Marco Rubio’s Nodes are unknown, as I’m unaware of any solid information on his birth time, even on the two standard astrological data sites, Astro.com and Astrotheme.

Ted Cruz breaks the angular Nodes trend among the presidential candidates with North Node in Aquarius in the 5^th and South Node in Leo in the 11^th. Interesting that the signs of Cruz’s Nodes are in the oppose houses of where they would naturally “feel comfortable.”  The Aquarian theme of not fitting in resonates in the common knowledge that he is generally disliked in Washington and the question whether Cruz’s Canadian birth place even qualifies him to run. Keeping up our metaphor throughout this article, does he even belong on the playground? If yes, will he serve the collective good or play King of the Hill? Emphasize the needs of his constituencies, evangelicals and conservatives (his court) or humanity/Americans at large?

Finally, as I write this, there is the wildcard of a coalition coming together within the Republican Party I call ABT—anyone but Trump. If the ABT Republicans can’t derail Donald from getting the electoral votes he needs to lock up the nomination on the first ballot; there are rumblings of a brokered convention or a contested nomination, a complex scenario that’s rare. I refer you to the article on NPR, “Is A Brokered Convention The Most Likely Way Republicans Can Stop Trump? to learn more. And if this uprising continues, check Astro.com for the charts of the Trump alternatives being bandied about. I’ve already heard rumblings of John Kasich, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and even House Speaker Paul Ryan. Be sure to zero in on what their nodes have to say about their orientation and chances.

Since the Moon is so related to fulfillment, I believe that balancing the Moon’s Nodes is a major assignment in any lifetime. Evolutionary astrologers, such as Steven Forest and Jeffrey Wolf Green, relate the South Node to past lives, which supports its being the side of the continuum that’s more developed. The evolutionary style of astrology measures soul growth from life to life and assumes a belief in reincarnation. We have a popular article on the South Node from that perspective on The Radical Virgo, a guest post by British astrologer Lana Wooster, called Astrology and Past Lives.

I also attended a recent workshop with Eric Meyers on the Nodes. He has many unique insights about how the Nodes work as a system with the Moon. I’ll leave you to his website and books to discover more of his perspective, also derived from the evolutionary school of astrology. He’s a great resource on this topic.

If you want a hint of how you need to balance your life and fulfill what you came to do here on Earth, look to the code in your Nodes.

Observing the Nodes of the presidential candidates provides limelight examples, easy to observe. It’s fascinating and adds insights to the ongoing fights on the playground that the primaries have become, but what about you and me? Do the sign pairs at the beginning throw any new light on your own seesaw? I love how that metaphor fits, down to the word seesaw itself: see (looking ahead – North Node) and saw (looking back – South Node).

I have Taurus North Node in the 1^st and Scorpio South Node in the 7^th. What I “got” in writing this is that I’m generous to a fault with my creativity and sharing what I learn about the mysteries of life (South Node in Scorpio conjunct Jupiter), but I have a lot to learn about my relationship with my own possessions, self-care (Venus ruled Taurus) and my physical body. Too much Scorpio/7^th house, not enough Taurus in the 1^st.

And I had to muse: Do my angular nodes, flipped North/South from Hillary’s, mean I should run for President someday? We were born less than a month apart in the same place, and this is the first year I’ve ever followed politics with a passion. (I normally avoid them like the plague.) An astrologer in the White House.

Hmm. Who Nodes? 

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Photo Credit: Starry background of deep outer space © Clearviewstock | Dreamstime.com