The Lunar Nodes

The lunar nodes are the two points where the Moon’s orbit around the Earth intersects the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Where the two orbits meet, a line of intersection is produced. This line cuts the Earth’s orbit, called the "ecliptic," at two points: the North and South Nodes. The Moon’s orbit is tilted at an angle to the Earth’s orbit. Every day, their orbits are shifting subtly. This shift is sufficient for the nodal points to move backward through a sign of the zodiac every nineteen months.

Eclipses of the Sun and Moon can only take place when their mutual conjunctions occur close in longitude to the nodal points. When the Sun and the Moon are very close to the North Node, at New Moon, a Solar Eclipse will take place. When the Sun and the Moon are very close to the South Node, at Full Moon, a Lunar Eclipse will occur. The Earth and the Moon approach the nodal points every 173.3 days. Astronomers refer to this period as an eclipse season. Two eclipse seasons make up each calendar year; one season occurring in the sign of the North Node and one season occurring in the sign of the South Node.

The lunar nodes are opposite each other across the zodiac chart. Aries faces Libra, Taurus faces Scorpio, Gemini faces Sagittarius, Cancer faces Capricorn, Leo faces Aquarius and Virgo faces Pisces. If you have a Virgo North Node, your South Node is always its opposite---Pisces.

Your South Node represents your lunar past or "Soul Pattern"-- the way you have been comfortable acting since you were a child. Your North Node represents your solar present--"Soul Potential" which can evolve during your lifetime as you learn your life’s most important lessons. If you arrive at attaining many of the characteristics of your North Node in this lifetime, you will experience a great sense of inner peace and strength. You will actually feel your soul advancing and will have a sense that you are fulfilling this lifetime’s soul mission.

Because large groups of people are born within each of the nineteen-month periods, they share nodal birth signs and reincarnational lessons. The specific aspects in each birthchart however, made by the positions of the other planets in relation to the lunar nodes, ensure that each of us will learn his or her lessons in varying degrees and through varying life experiences.

Your North and South Nodes

Your North and South nodes are referred to as your "Soul Potential" and your "Soul Pattern" in Linda Brady and Evan St. Lifer’s book Discovering Your Soul Mission: How to Use Karmic Astrology to Create the Life You Want. Your Soul Pattern sign is the energy that you are working with to approach and, hopefully assume--the energy of your Soul Potential sign.

The following material is a direct excerpt from Chapter 4 of Linda Brady and Evan St. Lifer’s book.

...Your Soul Pattern and Soul Potential signs are diametrically opposite each other. Thus, if your Soul Pattern is Gemini, your Soul Potential is in Sagittarius, or vice versa. The other five pairs are: Taurus/Scorpio, Aries/Libra, Pisces/Virgo, Aquarius/Leo, and Capricorn/Cancer. In order to determine which signs correspond to your Soul Pattern and your Soul Potential, consult Chart 1, referring to the day, month, and year you were born.

Soul Potential Signs - a Window To Your Soul

Think of your Soul Potential as a window through which you can see your soul. Through its attributes, you can understand your soul better. It’s as if your soul were saying to you, "This is who I am in this life for you, and I am making it easier for you to understand that by assuming these characteristics." The following information for each of the twelve signs will give you a good head start toward learning more about your Soul Potential and considering how to integrate it to improve the quality of your life. Remember, you may not identify immediately with the description of your sign because it does not correspond to what’s familiar to you. Rather, it signifies who you need to be and the energies your soul wants you to bring into your life to make it more fulfilling. Your Sun sign contains characteristics that are more familiar to you and more aptly describe who you are now. After you read about these energies, consider incorporating them into your life and then see how you feel about it.

Soul Potential Signs

ARIES

The spiritual warrior. Those with Soul Potential in Aries are natural athletes, pioneers, and leaders. They are also self-aware, creative, masculine, confident, and competitive. They enjoy action, speed, and taking risks. They may be assertive and bold, and they don’t mind being alone because of Aries’ extraordinary self-value. Archetypes: the Native American warrior; the sportsman who competes with self; the beginning of spring.

TAURUS
The spiritual gardener. Earthy, sensual, loyal, and practical, those with a Soul Potential in Taurus represent self-worth. Patient and determined, they follow their goals to completion. As builders, they put one block on top of the next to create stable and secure earthly foundations. They represent serenity and peace, warmth and love. Home is important because it represents security. Archetypes: the architect; the gardener; the singer; the farmer.

GEMINI
The spiritual messenger. Those with a Soul Potential in Gemini are bright and versatile and are exceptional communicators. Their curious, versatile, and intellectual tendencies make them effective information gatherers who enjoy writing and speaking. They have the gift of being able to revel in the moment. Archetypes: the news journalist, the radio personality, the wordsmith.

CANCER
The spiritual mother. Emotional, sensitive, maternal, and home-loving, with an Earth Mother orientation, those with a Soul Potential in Cancer often want to create a nest for nurturing and tending to those they love. Highly intuitional, they are devoted to supporting the child in all of us and are able to express their deepest feelings, unafraid of showing their vulnerability. Archetypes: the mother; feminine nature; the guardian of the home; the summer; and the gourmet cook.

LEO
The spiritual king. Proud, regal, dramatic, and a leader, those who have the sign of Leo representing their Soul Potential honor and respect themselves, are inspirational, and have a powerful presence. They are joyful, spontaneous, and playful, yet they can be sophisticated in leadership and teaching others to do the same. Archetypes: the actor; the leader; the child; the inspired commander; the sun; the male lion.

VIRGO
The practical healer. Those with a Soul Potential in Virgo strive to be organized, analytical, logical and precise. Their mission is to serve humanity, especially on health issues. Efficient and dependable, they can be highly discriminating and are able to prioritize their lives and help others to do the same. They should be teaching others about order and service, and they need to learn the true meaning of perfection and order to truly value themselves. Archetypes: the nurse; the accountant; the business planner; harvest time.

LIBRA
The master negotiator. Cultured, artistically refined, and diplomatic, those with Soul Potential in Libra are interested in cooperation and fairness. They strive for balance, harmony, and justice, and they seek to create compromise through negotiation. Libras need to develop harmony in their relationships and to value other points of view. They also desire to create beauty in the world. Archetypes: the judge; the artist; the relationship counselor; the diplomat; the interior designer; the scales of justice; the spiritual judge.

SCORPIO
The spiritual investigator---powerful, intense, and passionate. Those with Soul Potential in Scorpio can be captivating, probing and transformative. They seek to comprehend the mysteries of life. They are highly creative, and they know what they want and pursue it intensely. They must focus on accessing and understanding their inner power and their abilities to control it. They need to investigate the depths of their emotions and how to use them as a means for self-healing and helping others. They yearn to transform darkness into light. Archetypes: the psychiatrist; the detective; the hypnotist; the eagle.

SAGITTARIUS
The spiritual teacher. Philosophical and expansive, free in mind, body and spirit, those who have their Soul Potential in Sagittarius gravitate toward travel, which helps them develop their big-picture view of life. They strive to be highly ethical and believe in helping others to see all the rich experiences life has to offer. They are generous and inspirational, teaching by example. Freedom of thought and a devout belief in serendipity (all things happen for good reasons) are the energies they seek. Archetypes: the teacher; the philosopher; the traveler; the wild stallion; the plains.

CAPRICORN
The spiritual father. Those with Soul Potential in Capricorn are known for being responsible, sagacious, goal-oriented, loyal, committed, disciplined and reality based. They value precedent as a learning experience and place high value on maturity and wisdom. They help others see the path to their soul mission and continually make adjustments to succeed at the goals they’ve set. Archetypes: the good father; the corporate leader; the oak tree.

CAPRICORN
The spiritual father. Those with Soul Potential in Capricorn are known for being responsible, sagacious, goal-oriented, loyal, committed, disciplined and reality based. They value precedent as a learning experience and place high value on maturity and wisdom. They help others see the path to their soul mission and continually make adjustments to succeed at the goals they’ve set. Archetypes: the good father; the corporate leader; the oak tree.

AQUARIUS
The spiritual individualist. Highly innovative, those with Aquarius as their Soul Potential sign believe in causes that will help them grow spiritually and intellectually. Considered unconventional, they believe in the future and have the alacrity to change what does not work. Open to new ideas and philosophies, they can draw quick insights with their deep understanding of the mind-body-spirit connection. They may also be scientific, with an ability to grasp new technology intuitively. Archetypes: the quantum physicist; the computer tech/software developer; the revolutionary; the astrologer.

PISCES
The spiritual companion. Sensitive, adapting, imaginative, sympathetic, and holistic, those with their Soul Potential in Pisces are highly emotional and intuitional and are able to express their feelings easily. They can be musically inclined, trusting, devoted and serene. Through the creative arts, music and meditation, they are able to connect with their spiritual centers. They have a need to serve others, in order to develop their healing potential. Archetypes: the priest; the dancer; the musician; the swimmer; the ballet; creatures of the ocean.

Copyright 1998, Linda Brady and Evan St. Lifer, Discovering Your Soul Mission: How to Use Karmic Astrology to Create the Life You Want. To purchase this book go to www.creative choices.com.

Importance of the South Node

In some respect, the Soul Potential signs above can also be read as the positive aspects of Soul Pattern signs of the South Node. I personally identify with many of the positive characteristics of my South Node/Soul Pattern in Pisces in my love of the arts and my involvement in the film business. I’m also incredibly adaptable to the habits and needs of others. Growing up overseas gave me the opportunity to learn other languages and adopt foreign customs. I can be the chameleon if I want to--at the drop of a hat.

The importance of the South Node must never be overlooked. In combination with our Sun Sign and other aspects, it is the personality we identify with through much of our life. Since I discovered my Pisces Soul Pattern, I have expressed my creativity more often. I am also very attracted to the soulful and intuitional character of Pisces, which I realize is my own as well.

At the same time that I am beginning to identify with the positive characteristics of my Soul Pattern, I am consciously pulling away from the more negative aspects of Pisces (listed by Brady and St. Lifer as being: timid, feeling inadequate, martyristic, escapist, addictive, easily deceived, illusionary, codependent, fearful, introvert, indolent, impractical, sacrificing and the wounded healer.) This does not mean that I am able to sidestep these negative qualities without a struggle! I manage to put my karmic foot in my mouth every day. The difference is that now that I am aware of these negative qualities, I can consciously remind myself to avoid them.

Like it or not, we all exhibit some of the less attractive qualities of our South Node sign. Our task is to try to integrate these negative qualities with the positive ones and to move toward the positive qualities of our North Node/Soul Potential sign. It is a task that takes a lifetime.

Below is a list of some of the more negative Soul Pattern characteristics that you may recognize (however begrudgingly) in your South Node sign. This list is quoted verbatim from Linda Brady and Evan St. Lifer’s book entitled: Discovering Your Soul Mission: How to Use Karmic Astrology to Create The Life You Want.

Chart 2: Soul Pattern Energetics Model

ARIES:defiant, dominating, brash, tactless, arrogant, uncooperative, combative, self-absorbed, selfish, accident prone, angry, impetuous, hot-headed, unreliable

TAURUS: opinionated, greedy, fearful, retentive, lazy, materialistic, indulgent, jealous, stubborn, fearful of change, slow, overvalues self, undervalues self, stingy

GEMINI: deceptive, nervous, always tense, unreliable, inconsistent, moody, distracted, gossipy, easily bored, unfocused, manipulative, scattered, lost in present, high-strung

CANCER: too sensitive, crabby, manipulative, obsessed with the past, clingy, too reserved, childish, passive, needs being needed, smothering, insecure, negative, easily hurt, timid

LEO: fearful of aging, needs attention, requires applause, demands respect, melodramatic, dictating, self-centered, vain, needs center stage, pretentious, autocratic, conceited, patronizing, disdainful

VIRGO: tends to blame, judgmental, obsessive, too logical, perfectionistic, sometimes petty, melancholy, martyristic, too analytical, fussy, fears disease, work-obsessed, dissecting, needs to be right

LIBRA: ambivalent, wishy-washy, superficial, fears conflict, avoids anger, overly compromising, too relational, passive, peace at any price, status conscious, apathetic, dishonest, vain, procrastinating, fickle

SCORPIO: raging, fanatical, manipulative, withholding, secretive, too intense, loves chaos, jealous, possessive, revengeful, judgmental, caustic, distrustful, paranoid, intimidating

SAGITTARIUS: preachy, academic, outspoken, claustrophobic, hot-headed, restless, too abstract, too generous, impatient, afraid of commitment, unrealistic, too futuristic, overly expansive, irresponsible, impractical

CAPRICORN: materialistic, rigid, overly ambitious, obsessed with the past, pessimistic, unresponsive, stern, disciplinarian, always needs rules, overly cautious, arrogant, stubborn, brooding, insensitive

AQUARIUS: overly logical, too detached, oblivious, intolerant, meddlesome, cold, remote, repressed, impersonal, radical, opinionated, too predictable, erratic, aloof

PISCES: timid, feels inadequate, martyristic, escapist, addictive, easily deceived, illusionary, codependent, fearful, introvert, indolent, impractical, sacrificing, wounded healer

Copyright 1998, Linda Brady and Evan St. Lifer, Discovering Your Soul Mission: How to Use Karmic Astrology to Create the Life You Want.