What does It mean to have a planet conjunct, opposite or square the Nodes?

What does it mean to have a planet conjunct, opposing or square to the Nodes of the Moon? If a planet is conjunct the South Node that planet describes something of what the person was like earlier in this life and in a past life. It blends it's nature with the South Node sign.Remember that the South Node speaks of our reincarnation past as well as our default patterns in this life, and the North Node speaks to the direct our Soul longs to go towards in this life. We can discern our life lessons by understanding the Nodes. (Read: "North Node Astrology; Re-discovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose" on amazon.) If a planet is opposite the South Node or conjunct the North Node that planet describes what the person was up against in a former life, and earlier in this one, and may represent something that was blocked or repressed in the past, and thus the higher octave of the planet is longed for in this life. For example, if that planet was Uranus, freedom may have been an issue in the past and is something still longed for. If a planet is square to the Nodes, it is called a skipped step, which means the qualities of that planet must be faced again in this life and resolved in order for evolutionary progress to continue. It's an issue left unresolved from the past, which needs attention in this life. For example, if Mars in Aries is square the Nodes then the person might need to harness their courage and ability to act effectively and assertively in this life. They might have been blocked in a former life by a person who acted like "Mars in Aries." Elizabeth Spring. www.elizabethspring.com

What if the Nodes are reversed?

In trying to understand my North Node, what if the nodes and houses are reversed? As in a Pisces North Node in the 6th house? You need to find the integration of those opposing functions and blend their energies. For example in this case with a North Node Pisces (Pisces normally ruling the 12th house but now in the 6th house) you'd want to emphasize Piscean qualities in the arena of 6th house activities--so you'd want to bring the heartfelt, imaginative and intuitive qualities of Pisces into your daily work life (6th house). With the Nodal reversal it's always the challenge of integrating what the sign and house mean, even if it feels awkward at first. With a South Node in Virgo in the 12th you might realize that your default pattern and your reincarnation story has to do with not being able to make order and sense out of your deep psyche--the unconscious. In this case, paying attention to dreams, synchronicities and having psychoanalysis might be the wise thing to do. The Pisces/Virgo axis is also about blending the energies of the heart with the head. The North Node is the evolutionary cutting edge of the Soul, so always look to it by sign and house to be your guiding North Star even if it feels unfamiliar. Elizabeth. www.elizabethspring.com

Lifting the Veil; Becoming Your Own Best Astrologer: Lifting the Veil; Becoming Your Own Best Astrologe...

Lifting the Veil; Becoming Your Own Best Astrologer: Lifting the Veil; Becoming Your Own Best Astrologer: This book will help you learn the Soul Language of astrology. It's not as difficult as you may think! This book simplifies and prioritizes what you need to know and what you don't need to know; lifting the veil on old ideas and confusions. It explains signs, houses, planets, aspects and the Nodes in a way that will help you be able to understand your chart in a way you never did before. It will help you see your life journey and direction in a way you've never understood before.

Understanding the North and South Nodes

Many astrologers believe the Nodes are the single most important point in the chart. I am certainly one of them. They are unique to each person and describe what your Soul wants to learn and experience in this life. The Nodes are Soul Messengers, describing the evolutionary needs of your Soul. They show the arc, or journey of our lives and summarize the direction of the whole chart.   When we act out the qualities of the North Node we heal and nurture ourselves. It tells us in what area of life we need to bring emphasis, and some of the ways to do it.  The North Node has a sign, a house position, and aspects, and is an excellent suggestion---similar to the idea of a personal guiding North Star.The North Node is the direction we are called to move towards in this life. It holds hints of what qualities we need to bring into our life more.

By contrast, the South Node describes the qualities brought over from our previous life, and describes how we lived when we were young. Our deeply habitual ways of being and thinking are shown here, and as we mature we tend to act out the qualities of our South Node less. It shows both the unhelpful and negative qualities that our Soul wishes to move away from, as well as containing what Carl Jung talked about as the “gold in the shadow”. This gold is the unconscious unrecognized talents and abilities that we bring over from a former life or that are simply latent or repressed qualities. It is wise to uncover and use the gold in the South Node, while leaving the negative old patterns behind, and to move in the direction of the North Node.

Most astrologers would agree that the South Node reflects karmic qualities of our previous life, describing the unfinished business and things that we didn't 'get quite right.' Although there are gifts and talents shown there, it is the North Node that points to the qualities our Soul wants to use and acquire in this life. So when you have a chart reading, take a long look at what your North Node tells you, even if it feels a little unfamiliar and challenging. It offers a potent suggestion.                            

So how does this all work together in a chart? Let’s look at my chart as an example. My Sun is in Libra, North Node in Taurus in the 2nd house, and South Node in Scorpio in the 8th house. “Houses” are the areas of life where things get acted out, and the Nodes are each in different houses. In many ways I acted out my South Node till my Saturn Return at age 28. I have tended to learn things the hard way, to be ungrounded and to go to excesses when I was young. It has taken me a long time to live into my true profession as an astrologer.  I married late, and after 20 years of marriage was divorced for five years, and then I remarried my first husband. We've been married now since 2001, and continue to do the wonderful/horrible work that soul mates do with each other---we help each other grow. His independence and my desire 'to merge' are not comfortable together, yet I can see how he naturally pushes me to live out the independence and grounded values of my Taurus North Node. I encourage and stimulate the curiosity and expansiveness of his North Node in Gemini. There's grace and grit here; a true marriage.

My South Node in Scorpio suggests that my Soul purpose is, in part, to move away from hurtful melodramas and to ground myself in my own talents and resources.  It speaks of the desire for serenity and to move away from the dramatic reactivity and the excesses of my earlier years and former life. I’ve needed to take on the qualities of loyalty and persistence of the Taurus North Node and to find the sacred in the commonplace, which is a beautiful quality of that sign. The “gold” in my Scorpio shadow-South Node is my intuitive ability and emotional intensity. 

One could speculate that with my South Node in Scorpio (conjuncting Jupiter, the planet of expansion and privilege) I may have been the 'power behind the throne' to someone of importance, and was used to enjoying the largesse of another person and a more dramatic life. That is not the case in this life–I need to use my own resources and power based on that grounded Taurus in the 2nd house of personal values and resources. The Universe gives me strong hints whenever I move into territory that is not my own to claim anymore.

My Sun sign in Libra wants serenity, harmony and beauty. Yet it thinks in terms of opposing ideas, and about the paradoxical nature of life. I can get easily stressed, yet look poised. The North Node points to the necessity of creating calmness and living off my own values and resources.  It's also significant that I have no earth signs in my chart—except the North Node in Taurus, and yet I was unconsciously drawn to compensate for that (the pull of the North Node) as I make pottery as well as do astrology. For many years I lived in a stone house, and married an earth sign, Virgo. Jungian psychologists would call this the unconscious compensation of my inferior function; the sensate.  

An astrologer sees a chart like my mine and says this is an air and fire sign personality, whereas a Jungian therapist would say I was an intuitive-thinking type. This is labeling, and just the beginning of a deeper discussion, but it’s still useful.  

The movement towards the North Node is a continuous process, not just one decision you make. For me, I needed to get lost, and found, many times--- I divorced and remarried the same man.  I write and do astrological counseling, which is my true vocation, but I have ‘followed several gods home’. I continually need to recommit to ever deeper levels of grounding and persistence in my work and life. Serenity and home life is very important. I know I survived a difficult family karmic inheritance, yet I strive to act out the highest octave of the Libra Sun which pulls me towards tactfulness and deep thinking.  And that South Node in Scorpio still tries to seduce me in every way you can imagine. 

So, I come back to the chart and to the astrological work again and again as a spiritual practice. It helps me remember my commitment to the work of being a healer; an intuitive astrologer who is grounded and practical.  Astrology reflects the internal dialog between the different parts of oneself, but at least now I know who to listen to and why. I am grateful to have this divinatory tool that helps make conscious what is unconscious in the psyche, and I delight in sharing the gifts of this Soul Messenger to whoever asks.

Elizabeth Spring, MA, is a counseling astrologer and therapist who has studied astrology and the psychology of Carl Jung since 1969. She has studied and taught in England, Switzerland, and California, and has been a professional astrologer since 1992. She specializes in relationship, career, and soul direction and life purpose issues. Consultations are done by phone or at her office in Wickford, RI. Other articles can be read on www.elizabethspring.com  

You can contact Elizabeth Spring at ElizabethSpring@aol.com

All of these sign placements are on www.NorthNodeAstrologyBlogspot.com : ie North Node in Aries, South Node in Libra, North Node in Pisces, South Node in Aries, North Node in Gemini, South Node in Sagittarius, North Node in Virgo, South Node in Pisces, North Node in Cancer, South Node in Capricorn.etc.  The houses that the Nodes fall in are very important and you need your chart to see that. To truly understand how it all fits together I recommend a personal reading.  Email me: elizabethspring@aol.com

New Workshop at Boston Jung Institute

Journey of the Astrological Archetypes Through the Third Act of Life, with Elizabeth Spring

From the age of 40 to the age of 88 there are symbolic movements of the planets that mark times of significant life transitions.  Planets are archetypal energies and will be explored at each life passage. We will delve into the meanings of the Uranus Opposition at age 40, the Chiron Return at age 50, the Saturn Return at age 59, the Uranus Square at age 63, the Jupiter Return at age 71, the Saturn Opposition at age 73, the Nodal Return at age 76, the Uranus Return at age 84, and the Third Saturn Return at age 88.   A basic understanding of astrology is helpful but not required.

Each participant will receive a copy of Elizabeth’s new book: “Astrology for the Third Act of Life”

Saturday, March 30, 20189:30am – 12:30pm
Cost: $45

To Register: https://cgjungboston.com/public-programs/ or call 617-796-0108