Why is the North Node the Most Important Point in the Whole Chart? Why do you need to know it?
The North Node is the “prescription” you need for the challenges in your birth chart; it’s the soul remedy for the karmic challenges you came into this life with as shown by your South Node, the “diagnosis.” In effect, the Nodes summarize the whole chart into “here is the problem; the South Node, and here is the solution; the North Node.”
The Nodes are based on the idea of reincarnation, and that your Soul chose the time and place to be born into so that you would grow and experience certain things in this lifetime. The South Node is what you came into this life with, and it’s read from the viewpoint of what you didn’t get right in the last life and what you suffered from. You know how to do the South Node because it’s your default pattern in this life still, as an old habit. But it doesn’t serve you anymore. It takes courage and a willingness to try something new—to do the North Node remedy.
People make astrology seem more complicated than it needs to be. Sure, one needs to learn the basic language of the planets, signs and aspects, and the underlying principles, but it isn’t as complicated to understand if you are simply looking for what you need to do to make your life better and more in alignment with your Soul Purpose. It’s in that nugget of information in your North Node.
Doesn’t your Sun sign say everything? Not at all. It describes your personality. And you probably know that already. What about the Moon? It describes your emotional life, and the Rising Sign describes the persona-mask you show the world and your style of doing things. But none of these are as important for you to know as your North Node.
How does it work? Well, look at your chart and find the sign your North Node is in, and read about what the highest expression of that sign is about. That is your personal true North; your compass. Then look at the planet that rules that sign and see what it’s doing in your chart, for a little more information. Then find the area of your life where your karmic North Node work is most relevant; that’s the house it’s in. Read about all the expressions of that house. Now you know what and where—look next to see if there are planets conjuncting either the North or South Node and read about what those planets mean—throw them into the alchemical stew we are making.
This is where you may need help from an astrologer to more fully understand what those added planets mean to your story, and also if there are squares to the Nodes creating a “skipped step.” There are nuances and permutations which are fascinating to learn, but if you simply want the basics it’s as simple as knowing the sign and house.
You are creating an alchemical stew here and it requires a quality of intuition to bring the nodal story together…to take the intuitive leap that brings signs, houses, planets and aspects together. I guess that’s what keeps us astrologers in business! It does get nuanced and it’s not easy to read the story for yourself; but it is what evolutionary astrologers such as Steven Forrest and many of us do. We can look at your Nodes and see where there is “gold” or goodness in the South Node past life story, and we can adjust the interpretation of your Nodal story so you can see it in light of your whole chart. However, the basic information is there in your chart, in the Nodes, to see for free. It’s the gold in your chart and it’s worth having a compass in this life--it’s worth having a prescription for healing. It can change your life.
~Elizabeth Spring From Podcast: North Node Astrology