Planets conjunct the Nodes

What about planets aspecting the Nodes by conjunction, trine or opposition? Attempting to understand the basics of the Nodal story is an act of imagination, and it lends itself to error if taken too literally. We are looking for emotional truth here, not literal facts. So when we look at what are the rulers and the aspects to the Nodes I think any extrapolations need to be “seconded” by the rest of the chart.

It’s key to remind yourself too that when you are looking at planets aspecting the South Node you are looking into your prior life nature. Planets that are closely conjunct the South Node are like a planet conjunct the Sun, except we are talking about in a prior life. This planet is a good description of how you were in a former life, if you chose to believe in reincarnation. The bizarre thing here is that past life aspects and situations tend to repeat themselves in this life until we bring consciousness to these patterns, and accept or reject parts of them. That’s why we can often interchange “past life” with “early childhood and young adult life.”

A planet conjunct the North Node is that North Node Medicine I’ve talked about before—there’s something about what this planet embodies that you need to bring into your life more. It operates in as a compensatory function, and it is this way because the theory postulates that you were in opposition to this planetary energy in a former life. It opposed you as a person, or a “the brick wall of reality” that you couldn’t get around. Now you can use it.

For example if you have Venus in Cancer conjuncting your North Node, you’ll know that something about the nurturing nature of love in relationship is good for you now, and is what you didn’t quite get right in a former life or earlier in this one. Then, you check on which house it’s in to tell another piece of the story.

In looking at the planets aspecting the Nodes, this is where you don’t need a cookbook answer. Just treat it for what the planet and aspect means—ie if a planet is conjuncting, or opposing, or making a trine to your Nodes, think of it “classically” the same way as you would a planet doing that to your Sun. It simply is amplifying and describing more of what that Node is about—except that because we are looking at Nodal information, the important point is the aspects to the South Node hint of your past life patterns. You probably lived that planet out quite thoroughly in a former life.

A planet tightly aspecting your South Node describes you in a former life, and like looking through a piece of stained glass, it also colors your current life today. Read it for what it is! Moon conjunct the South Node? Put the puzzle together: Moon: mother, mothering, feelings, reactivity. What sign is it in? You have Moon in Sagittarius? Is Sag concerned with the balance of freedom and issues of communication? Is it expansive and over-bearing at times in its enthusiasm? Is this Moon/South Node in the house of close committed friendships and marriage, or is it in the house of career? Where then might you be acting out these South Node tendencies?

This kind of Nodal expansiveness in a reading stretches the imagination to play out a few variations on a theme—why not? You never know what you might find. (c) Elizabeth Spring www.elizabethspring.com

*** Because I'm finishing writing my book on the Nodes this month (!) I'm not having time to respond to comments personally. However, I do appreciate them, and when possible I respond to them in the next posted article.

Near Death Experience; Retrieving the Gold in the Shadow of the South Node

The Near Death Experience, and Retrieving the “gold in the shadow” of the South Node

We retrieve the “gold in the shadow” of the South Node, of our past, when we’ve done the work of the North Node. Here’s the theory: we grow up repeating the patterns of the South Node, and we use the “vehicle” of the astrological Sun to create an ego with which to live in the world—until the time of our first Saturn return at approximately the age of twenty nine. Somewhere in that “awakening Saturnian time” we truly begin reaching for those qualities embedded in the North Node, and in so doing, compensate for the excesses and woundedness of our past. We begin to come home to our Self.


When we’ve done this long enough to sustain a workable life—that is, when we’ve worked to use both the positive qualities of each Node so that we create a balance in our lives—it is then that we are ready to begin the process of retrieving the “gold in the shadow” of the South Node. It is then that we can safely approach what the Jungians call the shadow and extract something that is not simply a default pattern.


If we think of the Nodes as being like the yin/yang symbol, we could visualize the gold to be the circular dot that is embedded within the space of each opposite. This astrological gold is a gift of grace that is available for all of us—and in my experience it tends to come around the time of the Uranus Opposition: somewhere between the ages of 38 and 41. It is at this point that the psyche intensely feels the anxiety and necessity for change—it must retrieve what it has not lived out to this time. And in so doing, people change. It is now that one sees people at this age doing all those things they’ve put off—moving cross country, divorcing, marrying, having a baby, leaving their job, finding their true vocation. They are now on a new journey.


The exciting thing about this is that we can now “take” and handle the goodness in our family karmic inheritance, and reap the rewards of latent talents. We can also take something from a past life experience that we’ve “earned” but perhaps not used skillfully in the past.

When I think of this, I remember the Near Death Experience I had around the age of twenty-one. After experiencing some of the classic luminosity of it, I also received a message—a message received through “automatic writing” saying that I would be wise to ground myself in the world in a very tangible way, and not come back to explore these “other worlds” until I had my feet firmly planted in this reality.

I took the message to heart, and became a potter for the first part of my life, married a Virgo, and had a child. It wasn’t until my forties that I returned to school to get my graduate degree in counseling and became a full time astrological counselor and writer. My North Node is in Taurus in the second house; my South Node in Scorpio in the eighth. I see this movement from South Node to North Node and back to the gold in the South Node with clients. The Nodes feel, not only like a directional pointer, but also like a tool of the psyche/Soul to create balance, and I believe we move between the two in ways that are both mysterious and yet somewhat calculable.
Elizabeth Spring © www.elizabethspring.com art: kerstin zettmar

North Node Medicine-- Jungian "Compensation"

North Node Medicine is about making conscious what is unconscious, and using that to heal yourself. Carl Jung wrote that the psyche has a natural balancing mechanism that "compensates" for itself unconsciously. However this compensation can often feel quite uncomfortable--showing up as an aching back, insomnia and difficulties in relationships. What is out of balance wants to get back in balance--but first let's look at what North Node Medicine is all about.

At the first reading of your North Node Sign you may be nodding your head in agreement, and then thinking: Well, isn’t that true for everyone? Yes, if something is deeply true, then it is true for everyone. However, each sign has a particular truth that rings truer for it than for the others. All the North Node “Medicines” have a “particularity” to that sign and house position, and a potency that is activated by that particular polar dynamic. The prescription, like a vitamin, might be good for anyone to take, but it’s really only necessary and highly effective if you have the symptoms and the chemistry particular to your own Nodal nature.

Here’s an example: Let’s compare 2 sign/house placements: the sign of Leo which naturally rules the 5th house, and Pisces which rules the 12th house.

I think of Leo and the 5th house as “the house that Joseph Campbell built.” Why? Because he popularized the phrase: Follow your own bliss. This is good medicine for those who have their North Nodes in Leo or the 5th house because it’s all about joyous self-expression, and all the life, goodness and creativity that comes when we become as little children again and just play. North Node Leos, with their South Node past in Aquarius, have had childhoods or past lifetimes when they were separated from this particular kind of creative, loose, joyful play—they could have been exiled, persecuted, a genius, a role-model (one who had to be a good example!) or one who didn’t quite fit in for some reason—they could have been ill or restrained in some way, or they may have placed duty above personal expression and joy. They come into this life having forgotten what playing and self-expression can do! Whether it be through love relationships, children, artwork, or just having a good time, there’s a need for this Soul to come into the group, take the lead, and simply follow their own bliss.

Let’s compare that with the “House that Carl Jung built”—the 12th house and Pisces. If you have a North Node in Pisces or in the 12th house, you are being summoned to explore the world of the “collective” and the unconscious. But how can consciousness enter into unconsciousness? It certainly cannot do it directly, but we can enter that world through dreams, divination, active imagination, and by noticing moments of synchronicity between what we’re feeling on the inside and what’s happening on the outside. This is Jungian territory. We are called here to go beyond traditional boundaries into the Neptunian worlds where the mind and the heart join, and where mysticism and psychology meet.

This is not for everyone. But if your North Node is in Pisces or located in the 12th house, then there is something for you to gain in exploring these worlds. There is healing medicine for you deep in your psyche, and you have been given “cosmic permission” to seek Oneness with this world. This is an area where we are not duty-bound, not having to be “right”, and not having to march to anyone else’s drummer. You are simply and quite mysteriously being called to become aware and conscious! Some might say you are called to be enlightened. Some might say you are called to peak into the” in-between lands” where fate, destiny and character all conspire to make a life.

In ancient times, the 12th house was sometimes called the house of suffering, or the “call to the monastery.” Today we could say that having an astrological 12th house emphasis calls you to serve the collective spiritually or psychologically; and that not being conscious of that world might cause you suffering.

So, North Node medicine is about many things, including the psychological law of compensation. It’s a way of describing the particular “vitamin” or anti-biotic that is just right for you in this life now. It’s the particular area to which you need to bring some compensatory behavior, for example, too much righteousness? The medicine would be a little naughtiness. Too much seriousness? A little humor is called for.

Because the Nodes are a polarity, it’s important to remember that polarization calls for balance and integration. The compensating medicine always calls you to become more whole, not good. We need the highest expression of both Nodes, but we need the North a little bit more because of its compensating effects.

The Vedic Indian tradition describes it by saying that we feed ourselves through our North Node and we can feed others through our South Node. Westerners, such as Carl Jung, talked about it in terms of compensation, and said that compensation was the truest natural law in the psyche! Meaning that all nature seeks balance, and that if we don’t do it consciously, the unconscious will do it for us. Neurosis, and distorted or repressed behaviors, will tend to leak out of us if when we are not maintaining a natural balance within. So…the right medicine at the right time is what we are seeking!

elizabeth spring (c) www.elizabethspring.com

A Question of Priorities: How Do I "Read" the North and South Nodes?

A Question of Priorities: How do I “read” the North and South Nodes? Pulling It All Together Astrologically…

When you care enough to go deeper into understanding the North and South Nodes in your birth chart, it can get very confusing indeed! With so many things to consider, it’s hard to know what is important and what isn’t. There’s not much written about how to tweak and modify a good reading of the Nodes. As we all know, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, but we all have to start at the basic understanding of the signs and houses, and work up from there. So synthesizing the various elements and “pulling it all together” by prioritizing is a crucial part of the process.


The first step is to read about the SIGN of your North and South Node, and then to read about the section of the chart, the HOUSE, that they each fall in. This tells you a lot, and is enough for many people. It’s also worth remembering that the Nodes are always directly opposite each other on a polar axis that is 180 degrees apart.


If however, you want to delve deeper and begin to unravel the details in order to more fully understand your past life karmic inheritance, or “parable,” you need to go farther. The next step to consider is what PLANET rules your South Node? What PLANET rules your North Node? And where is that planet located in your birth chart and what is it doing in terms of aspects and houses? Following this trail begins an intuitive journey….


Besides looking at the Ruling PLANETS of the Nodes, it is significant if you have a planet conjuncting the Nodes, that is, within about 8 degrees of either Node in your birth chart. If you have a planet conjuncting the South Node, then this planet describes something about who you were either in a former life or earlier in this life. For example: Do you have Mars next to your South Node? This Mars conjuncting the South Node brings an Aries survivor, pioneering, warrior, and entrepreneurial nature to who you once were. Any planet conjuncting a Node modifies the description of it.


Now if a planet is conjuncting the North Node instead of the South, then it describes two things---one is that it’s good North Node Medicine for you to integrate and embody these qualities into your life now, and, it also suggests that in the past you were UP AGAINST someone or something that opposed you in a way described by that planet. You came up against a brick wall of reality that you had trouble getting around—and it had the quality of that planet. It may indeed have been a person, and in the case of Mars, it would have a lot to do with “showing up and having courage.”


The last part of the Nodal story that is fascinating to look at revolves around the aspects to the Nodes. The aspects describe something more about the story or plot of your “past life parable.” A square to the Nodes is a possible skipped step, as Steven Forrest describes it, and describes the unfinished business or skipped/ resisted/denied thing that we need to do (or be!) in order to reach our North Node potential.


This is what Evolutionary Astrology does—it’s not a simple process, and in a post like this, there isn’t room for more examples. Perhaps in my next post I will flesh this out more—and please forgive me if I’ve missed answering some of your questions. If I can’t do it personally, I’ll try to at least address them on this blog. Elizabeth Spring © www.elizabethspring.com

"Attending to the Soul"

Who doesn’t ask themselves occasionally: “Who am I beneath this story of my life?” Or, like in the myth of the Holy Grail, we may ask ourselves: “Who is it that I truly Serve?” The gods of family, finance, freedom and romance are still there, but may not need our attending to as much in the second half of life. Who is this Self that still holds a glimmer of numinosity, like a vague memory of a half-forgotten dream?

Rediscovering life direction and soul purpose may become stronger at mid-life, as many of us begin spending more time questioning what it means to “attend to the Soul.” In Greek, the word “psychotherapy” actually means attending to the Soul. In mid-journey in our life, we are perhaps more hungry for Spirit and thirsty for meaning than ever before. Our egos may be stronger now, our children grown, our career secure, non-existent, or retired from, but still the Self remains and asks questions of us.


Who are we now? The Self, rather than the ego, wants to be attended to, and yes, psychotherapy might be a way to nurture this--as might many other possibilities. In essence, it seems as if our Soul has an increased yearning to be met by another “consciousness” in a space of freedom and possibility…and in this space to see itself more clearly.


We may have many names for this “Self” I’m speaking of. Some may think of it as Atman/Brahman; the connection between the God within and the God Out There. Others may see this Self as simply the unique individual they have grown into becoming. But some of us may still be pulled by diversions and distractions and ailments that pull us away from this part of who we are. And as Christians, Jews and Muslims know, it may take some new effort “to not put any other gods before Me.”


My sense is that the call to reconnect with a guiding vision, or deep wellspring, grows more subtly intense as we age. We want to rediscover our life direction and soul purpose. Many of us look to find ways to live a deeper life more connected to Source, and reject easy answers and old solutions to this quest. Astrology and depth psychology, yoga and meditation may intrigue us. We may want to travel down and in now, rather than wide and far. Our imagination is re-ignited to new possibilities where we don’t have to go farther than our living rooms…or the library or the internet. We take up a playing the harp or reading Rumi or decide to learn Reiki. This desire to re-discover, re-connect, and replenish this wellspring always seems to rise again….how do you do it?

Want to share your ideas or comments??? Elizabeth Spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/ elizabethspring@aol.com

And how do I understand what houses my Nodes are in?

The Houses






To understand the houses, or "sections" of the birthchart, you’ll need to have your birth chart in hand, and look at which one of the 12 sections of the chart your Nodes fall in—remembering that the North Node looks like a set of head-phones, and the South Node looks like its reversed image: a horseshoe. If you don’t have your chart, there are numerous sites on the internet which will show you your chart, for free, in minutes.

If however, you don’t have your birth time—which many people don’t have—the house information won’t be accurate, because it’s based on the time of your birth.

The house description of the Nodes always tells us in what area of our life things are happening, and where attention is needed to be paid. We are advised to move towards the area of life ruled by the house of the North Node, and away from the limitations of the house that holds the South Node.


However, remember that it is a polar axis we’re describing, and the opposing houses always have elements in common with each other. If you use the high expression of the South Node house, almost as a natural talent, you are doing well. And when you reach for the high expression of the North Node house, you are stretching beyond your comfort zone to maximize all you can be.


It is good to remember with both the sign and house description of the South Node, that there is an emotional memory here—unconscious, but similar to a dream that we can’t quite remember—the South reminds us of what we didn’t get right earlier in this life or in a former life. So be gentle with yourself in this area of life ruled by the South Node, as this is where you’ve experienced wounding before. Whether we did it, or it was done to us, the “emotional hangover” may feel somewhat similar. Elizabeth Spring www.elizabethspring.com

Squares to the Nodes: the "Skipped Step"

Squares to the Nodes—Your Karmic “Skipped Step”

How do you get to your North Node? How do you know how best to prioritize things? What has been left unresolved karmically from past lives? At this point, you understand the idea of the Nodes: the North Node is the direction your Soul longs to go towards in this life, and the South Node is the direction you need to move away from—your default patterns that you may have “brought over” from another life. But how do you get to what the North Node is all about? You’ve read the description of the North Node sign and house placement, and you’ve read the description of the South Node sign and house, but still you have questions. Good questions.


One of the hints the chart gives us to look at is the aspects to the Nodes—especially if you have squares to the Nodes. Many people have this aspect, which is called: the skipped step. To understand it you need to let your imagination roam around the meaning of the planet that is squared. Again, what sign is it in? What house? There is something in the nature of this placement that is telling you what you need to do as part of your process of getting to the North Node. You need to pick up the unfinished business here—there is something about what that skipped step is about that remains as a complex or as a forgotten way of thinking that needs to be addressed and brought into your life now. You can understand that skipped step as being a karmic “bad habit” from a former life, or simply a blind spot in your psyche.


Blind spot? The skipped step is often what we don’t want to look at or deal with—it’s the missing piece of the puzzle, the dropped stitch, the piece that needs the most priority in your life now, and often receives the least.

For example: today I did a reading for a woman who had so many skills and abilities, yet she was feeling quite stuck for a number of reasons. We touched on what those issues were about, but I was left with the feeling that if she would take care of her body/health, then the rest would fall into place rather easily. She needed to address the square to her Nodes, which pointed to the 6th house of health. And, at this point in her life I felt there was a certain urgency to it.

Jeffrey Green and Steven Forrest were the first I know of to call this aspect the skipped step. The blockages and distortions that are symbolized by the planet and house that is square to the Nodes is a critical piece to consider when looking at a chart. Yet nothing is ever truly skipped or lost—it’s just put away till another time, or done unconsciously. But for those who want more direct answers to life direction and soul purpose questions, these aspects are a wealth of information. Ironically, as easy as they are to see, they’re never easy to understand. Elizabeth Spring www.elizabethspring.com

Understanding the Polarity of the North and South Nodes

Our emotional bodies are heavy with the many unresolved past lives we carry within us unconsciously. The personal unconscious, as well as the family unconscious, seems to carry an “imprint” from these lives, as well as from our early childhood. It invites us to try again and again to find new endings to old stories, and to release and heal whatever is still undigested by the heart. Not an easy thing to do! The good news is that deep in our psyche is also a remembrance of some very deep inner truths and inclinations/talents/wisdom that we intuit within ourselves.


The North and South Nodes reflect this duality in many ways. Each Node contains a polarity within it, describing a potential for its highest and lowest expression which we express in each choice we make. So each Node speaks to both what is unresolved and undigested within us, as well as being the “medicine” that will bring us greatest relief, and help us evolve into all that we can be.


The North Node can be seen as the area in our life where we are open to an “inflow” and where we nourish our Souls. However, there’s something unfamiliar about the North Node, and like tasting a new food, we often don’t know what to think about it. Do we really like it? Are we open to it? If we can take it in, it’s our best cure; it’s the vitamin that we’re deficient in. We nourish ourselves here. In contrast, the South Node, in its highest expression, is where we can feed the world; it’s our gift—it’s something we innately understand and can give to others.


The polarities and paradoxes of the Nodes are not truly opposite—in fact, every astrological opposition carries within it the seed of its opposite, or like the yin-yang symbol, each side holds a piece of the other contained in it. So it’s not all about just reaching for the highest expression of the North Node and struggling against the lower expression of the South Node—what is truly called for is a balance and a movement between the wholeness of the two—a give and take: a dance.


When we are able to do this, what “shows up” within us is an energetic re-engagement with life, inspiration, and a growing re-enchantment with the process of our life. Ah… when we extend ourselves past our comfort zones—that’s the North Node! We reach into that place where we can love more and truly give of ourselves. The surprise is, of course, that in the giving we receive more than we expected, and nourish ourselves.

© Elizabeth Spring More information on: http://www.elizabethspring.com/

Venus,Neptune Astrological Aspects: "Dropped Stitiches" of Illusion and Disillusion

Dropped Stitches;

The Illusions of

Venus and

Neptune

Following threads
Of chosen words
One crafts a quilt
As one “pieces” a life—
Following threads
Of small acts of courage and choice—
Raveling and unraveling
The particulars of a life…
Following the story-line home.

Catching hold of a purple thread of sorrow
A yellow line of joy
I needle through the cloth
Buttoning together the places of the heart
Knurly and knotted,
Piecing and stringing such fragile threads—
I hide the back from view.
“Such a beautiful piece” they’ll say
Yet I know how I suffer the broken threads
The illusions, false engagements, subtle betrayals--
Such paradox and possibility—
At times, the fabric barely holds.

For far too long, I’ve sewed through button-eyes
Unknotted—they released themselves
As I sought to make connections
That were not mine to make.

But now the needle moves rhythmically
Through the holy quartet of a single button.
I see how singular threads
Need to be knotted and stitched—
Buttoned with the belief
That there are patterns
In this life of sixty-one years.
The stitches are beginning to hold
The torn places are mending.

But still the heart cries out—
The dropped stitches persist—
But what needs to attach, attaches—
And what needs to detach, detaches—
As I’ve become a keeper of buttons. ~

(This photo is one I took of an ancient astrolabe, and will be used on the cover of my new book: Astrological Gold; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose.)

elizabeth spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/

North Node 12th House, Pisces North Node, Virgo South Node

Is your North Node in the 12th house? Then it has an undertone of Pisces, and your South Node automatically falls into the 6th house, which has a Virgo undertone. Add the description of the sign of your North Node to this house position to deepen your understanding of your Nodal axis...and, you can deepen your understanding of North Node in Pisces, no matter what house it falls in your chart.

With a North Node in the 12th house we are deep in the “house that Carl Jung built.” This is the area of the deep psyche, the unconscious, and with a North Node here we are wise to explore beneath the surface of life to the unconscious subtle realms of the heart as expressed in music, art, poetry and painting. We are called to “the monastery” here in the sense that it is a non-verbal, solitary, spiritual call towards Self awareness. The 12th house has sometimes been called the house of troubles, because it can’t be dealt with logically and pragmatically, and to do so doesn’t benefit the person with a North Node in this house. However, the key to this house placement is that there is no longer any need for troubles, duties, obligations, humility and service! All those are embodied in the opposite 6th house. As a 12th house North Node person you have earned the right to take the deep pleasures of the unconscious: gifts of magic, insight and deep peace.

The karmic pull of your past with the South Node in the 6th house will be one that tries to pull you back to be of help to others, with an emphasis on the skillful use of the mind and duty, rather than the promptings of the heart. The default tendency here will be about thinking rather than feeling, working rather than playing, honoring logic more than intuition. The North Node goal is a move away from the particular and detailed attention that the 6th house requires, to the spiritual meaning-making, and only partially “conscious” quality of the 12th house. This evolutionary pull towards the 12th house, which is ruled by Pisces, will be to balance and correct that tendency with a more imaginative and universal type of thinking in which the goal is to create more compassion in our lives by simply loving ourselves and others more. We’ve earned a degree of rest and release from duty.

This placement is sometimes, paradoxically, not an easy one because it’s not easily accessible by rational thought and direct approaches. It almost sneeks up on us, like pleasure does sometimes. So we approach 12th house activities with our hearts, with the arts, with feelings, and obliquely through dreams and divination. There are often issues around trust and faith, when Neptunian confusion fogs the clarity that can be attained with this placement. True enlightenment and clarity are real possibilities for people with the North Node in the 12th, however “getting it” for you may often be as simple as just softening and accepting into the process of living and loving.

The high road for North Node 12th house folks is a fascinating journey into the worlds where not everything is obvious or as it appears to be. It’s a world where even limitations can be a profound gift. Who has not enjoyed the occasional “mental health day” when we’ve stayed in bed or in our pajamas without leaving the house? In the 12th house, what is buried in the unconscious is begging for conscious understanding and acceptance. Jungian psychology and counseling, with its emphasis on creative expression of non-verbal dreams and images, and its encouragement towards unique individuality rather than collective moralities, can be very nurturing and deepening for 12th house people. ~elizabeth Spring More at: www.elizabethspring.com

What Can You Expect from an Astrology Reading?

What Can You Expect from An Astrology Reading?

“You can make astrology prove anything,” she said to me with a malicious little grin. “It’s like the Bible—just pick the right verse and chapter, and you can make a case for God’s approval or disapproval on almost anything—astrology included.” My friend had been studying astrology just long enough to get both confused and excited, and I could feel the tense undertones of emotion mixed in with the pleasantries of our after dinner conversation. “Look at the choices,” she went on, “mid-points, solar arcs, transits, fixed Stars, secondary progressions—just pick a time and you can back up anything you want to say with some aspect.” She had a point there, but she was missing the larger picture of how astrologers work with the increasingly growing tool-box of choices we have at our disposal. And beyond that, she was missing something even harder to explain. But I wanted to try.


I understood her complaint about all the astrological systems: Vedic, Sidereal, Placidus, Koch….evolutionary, medieval, psychological …..can it really all be true and ‘under one sky’? And if so, how are we to know what works best? And what should we expect from an astrologer when we have a “reading?”

As astrologers, we quickly learn that there is an almost overwhelming smorgasbord of choices to make, both in how “to do” the reading, and which techniques to use. I take a strong hint from the ancient alchemists. The alchemists understood the process of things—you take things apart, separate them, let them “cook,” and then put them back together into a whole—a new synthesis. The Nodes are like the flask or cauldron that contains the heady mixture of astrological elements. In a reading you don’t have time to truly let all the elements fully cook, but you, or the client can do that after the session….or in a particularly good session, you may get a strong “whiff” of the heady stew, and see the gold that is beginning to emerge.


As a counseling astrologer, I have a Master’s degree in counseling psychology with an emphasis in the work of Carl Jung. I’ve had teachers who used the tropical Placidus house system, and who viewed the planets as mythological archetypes within the spiritual mandala of the birth chart. I believe in the priorities that most of my teachers believed—that the nuts and bolts of a good astrology reading depend on: a) a good understanding of the natal birth chart, b) the outer planet transits, and c) the inner planet progressions. I now feel that the North and South Nodes synthesize the message of the entire chart reading, so they are the gold.

Of course there has to be a solid understanding of the Sun sign, Moon sign, Rising sign and all the planets in the natal chart. The North Node and South Node, and the transits and progressions make a reading complete, and without them all I feel it’s inaccurate. I think that not to include all of these in one session is wrong-- separating the birth chart from the crucial transit “forecasting” feels like cheating—if the client is having a major life changing transit and the astrologer is only talking about the birth chart, how inaccurate is that! Or even the other way is wrong—to only look at the transits/progressions while not checking back to the birth chart can be hugely inaccurate.


For example, if the transits show a potential for being very accident prone at a certain time—say, some Mercury/Uranus/ Mars aspect is peaking, and the astrologer doesn’t look to the birth chart to see if the person shows a vulnerability in their birth chart to being “accident prone,” then it would be wrong to counsel them to avoid travel at that time. The astrologer could mention it, but not over-emphasize it, because the birth chart doesn’t substantiate the claim. And the other techniques, such as solar returns, relocation charts, etc. are good too, but I only add them to the stew when necessary. Prioritizing is key.


My bias is that my best “readings” are not the ones in which I rely heavily on technique and prediction but simply when the metaphors I use allow the client to see deeply into their life. I know this is happening when they start looking at the question behind the question that they presented initially. And when the particulars of the client’s experience match strongly with the symbolic description of the transits and progressions and the Nodal story, then there’s a feeling of rightness and resonance. And then the technique becomes secondary to the quality of the moment of insight.

In every astrology reading, I suspect that no matter what techniques are used, the hope is that there will be a synchronistic moment of “ah-hah” when there’s been an accurate mirroring of that which is above, to that which is below. Isn’t that what we long for---when some piece of the client’s truth and the astrologer’s technique rise up to a little epiphany together! Ahh…. then there is that felt moment of meaningfulness that makes all considerations of proof of technique secondary.


And so I offer you the idea that the technique that brings this about is already embedded in most systems: the idea of silence and reflection. Perhaps that is our only safeguard in truth-seeking; not forcing a prediction, symbolism or bias on our client, but honoring instead the idea that we are acting as instruments of the Divine. We can present whatever combinations of symbolism we think will be most evocative, but then, let’s allow them a moment to swallow, to digest, and to truly look at their chart. I believe they will take what they need when we make it simple, clear, and in a language they understand. And in that moment of silence we give a chance for the Spirit to enter; for what the Jungians call the numinous moment, when you or your client looks at the chart and see the “answers” projected there---upon the clear sky of the heavens above and the gods within. ~
Elizabeth Spring © www.elizabethspring.com Comments? elizabethspring@aol.com

Reversed Nodes in Signs and Houses

Reversed Nodes in Signs and Houses

How do you understand your Nodes when the direction they are pointing to by SIGN, is the opposite of the direction they’re pointing to by HOUSE? Good question! The short answer is that the SIGN describes the kind of behavior and attitude that is optimal to use, and the HOUSE describes the particular area of life—of “where”—this behavior and attitude is going to find its greatest impact. And, it’s important to realize that the Nodes are always on a polar axis with the signs and houses always opposite each other—so when there's a sign/house reversal, it calls for a more subtle understanding of the dynamic. People and charts are complex, and sometimes paradoxical!


I wrote a post on North Node Capricorn and here’s someone who replied to having a reversal in their chart—he has the North Node in Capricorn but in the 4th house, Capricorn’s opposite sign naturally, with the South Node in the 10th house, which normally rules its opposite sign---as he says:

“This is all fine and good, but what happens when you have this placement with a North Node Capricorn!!!! It turns everything inside out. What do I do?” (He has the South Node in the 10th house, North Node in 4th house.)


So with a North Node Capricorn he is called to act on all the high Saturnian qualities of good integrity, and patient, step by step, goal oriented behavior. He’s called to move away from the “lower octave” description of his South Node in Cancer---i.e. moving away from fluctuating, moody and fearful Cancerian qualities:(“nobody cares to understand me and I think I’m running out of money.”) It’s a call to accessing the highest qualities of the SIGN—in this case, Capricorn—but in the realm of the 4th HOUSE of life: which is the family of origin, the way we see and frame the story of our life (our personal mythology), and all that has to do with the 3 H’s: home, heart, and hearth. So somewhere in that area of his life, he’s called upon to be a guiding person of integrity; the one who sets the goals and integrity of the home, who moves patiently to set realistic goals within the family for himself and others…..and the one who can frame his life story in terms of what was actually done, in spite of difficulties and outcome.

We know that following the description of the North Node sign is good medicine, and a great idea for all of us. When we succeed at “doing our North Node” it’s the kind of thing we remember on our deathbed. In this case we have this confusion: the sign is descriptive of what we’re talking about, and the house describes where in life the dynamic is likely to happen. Always we look to the SIGN first as being the most important thing to consider, and the HOUSE placement next, because the house system is the weak link in astrology. We may have our birth time inaccurate (which sets the houses) or we may use different house systems according to our astrological beliefs. So trust the SIGN first!

(c) Elizabeth Spring Check out website for readings and more articles: www.elizabethspring.com