The North & South Nodes:

Our Soul's Messengers
When an inner situation is not made conscious,
it happens outside as fate. ~ C.G. Jung

On my desk, and on the cover of this book, is an "astrolabe"-a globe-like
open sphere with two circular orbs connected by an arrow going right
through it. In Medieval times, these strange little spheres with their roman
numerals and astrological signs were used to make astronomical observations.
It was a navigational device. Today, as I see it "glowing" there on my
desk, I think-this is it! The arrow shooting through the astrolabe is like the
North Node in the astrological chart pointing to our personal North Star.
In ancient Indian Vedic astrology this North Node point was called "Rahu"
and the base of the arrow, the South Node, was called "Ketu." The
astrolabe´s encircling spheres have a little ball right in the center of the arrow
-reminding me of that Mystery that is our Self. The arrow itself is like a
soul messenger pointing to this North Star Node-showing the South from
where we came, and the North to where we are going.

The image of the astrolabe pulls all the details and confusion of the
astrological chart together. The chart itself is a guide, but often such a
confusing one to synthesize. Within each of us are many planetary voices and
many paradoxes. There are so many theories on what´s important to emphasize
and to prioritize in our charts but for many astrologers now, the Nodes are
becoming an increasingly significant part of the story; partly because
they contain the most unconscious karmic part of our evolutionary journey. I
honor them as alchemical gold. .

Alchemical Gold? Yes, like the alchemist's philosopher' s stone, these once
esoteric points in the birth chart give us a base to turn the Saturnian
lead of our mundane lives into philosophic gold. Some astrologers say they
offer a mercurial secret knowledge, but essentially what the Nodes do is to
synthesize the chart by describing the evolutionary needs of the Soul. The
North Node describes what your Soul yearns to learn and experience in this
life, and what "compensatory actions" we can take to make our lives better.
The South Node tells a story about the past; about the influence of
heredity and karma, or simply the "default" patterns we Yes back on when we´re
not being conscious. It describes the personal karmic habits we´ve come into
this life with, and which we are now ready to grow beyond.

The Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, wrote that the psyche has a natural
balancing mechanism that "compensates" for itself unconsciously. He personally
felt that this "theory of unconscious compensation" which delves into the
nature of our shadow selves, was one of his most important contributions to
the field of psychology. Today, Jungian analysts who use astrology think
of the North Node as "the compensatory function" in the psyche, whereas I
think of it simply as "North Node Medicine." And if we take it, it is indeed
good medicine.

Yet there´s "gold in the shadow of the South Node" as well-for just as
we inherit negative traits from our family and personal past experiences we
also inherit the good traits as well. And because we inherit goodness, or "
gold" in the South Node, we can give to others what we innately own and
understand. Vedic astrologers say we "feed others" through our South Node. As
we access the higher qualities of the South Node and offer what we know to
others, we also benefit by "feeding ourselves" by stretching towards the
North Node qualities.
The Nodes are an axis, in which both points need to be honored and
considered. Together they answer questions of soul purpose and life direction, not
from the perspective of ego and personal ambition, but from the Soul´s
perspective. For centuries, astrologers overlooked the message of the Nodes in
their search for sun-sign predictions, and Indian Vedic Astrologers viewed
the Nodes not as auspicious, but "malefic" influences. Much is changing
in that arena now.
Perhaps in India, where change in itself was viewed suspiciously the Nodes
were feared. In a time and culture where there had been little free choice
and mobility, people felt un-empowered and learned to accept their fate.
Predictions reigned, and free will was questioned.
Now these old malefics are seen differently, and have become sought after
sources of knowledge about who we are, what we may have "brought over"
from a previous life, and where we´re going in this one. So the North Node,
originally called the" head of the dragon" and South Node, "the tail of the
dragon" have emerged out of Indian astrology and mythology to offer us
clues into our past patterns and future aspirations.
Today the Nodes are perhaps the most controversial and debated Today in
astrology. Western and Eastern astrologers still view them differently, and
it has been a mistake, in my opinion, for astrologers to have written books
where they combined the sign and house position as if they were one,
because they are related but simply not the same! Signs describe the planets and
the Nodes; the houses describe in what sphere of your life the "action"
is happening.
There are an increasing number of books, websites, and blogs dedicated
simply to understanding and deciphering the Nodes. There´s a great curiosity
about what these points can tell us, and there seems to be no end of debate
over how far we can-or should-try to excavate their esoteric meanings. As
Carl Jung once said: "When an inner situation is not made conscious, it
happens outside as fate." The Nodes are a tool to help us change fate to
choice, unconsciousness to consciousness. There´s great mystery and debate here,
and yet we seem to be bravely drawn to explore this mystery-to look at our
shadow selves and to now "make conscious" what has previously been
unconscious and feared.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Spring, MA, is a counseling astrologer with a background in the
psychology of Carl Jung. Her newly released book: North Node Astrology:
Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose is available through
_www.Amazon. com_
(http://www.amazon. com/North- Node-Astrology- Rediscovering- Direction/ dp/143922689X/ ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8& s=books&qid= 1243482557& sr=8-1) as well
as _www.elizabethsprin g.com_ (http://www.elizabet hspring.com/)