All posts here are from sections of the books: "North Node Astrology; Rediscovering Your Life Direction and Soul Purpose" and "Lifting the Veil; Becoming Your Own Best Astrologer" and "Astrology for the Third Act of Life" and finally "Saturn Returns~The Private Papers of A Reluctant Astrologer" All available in paperback, Kindle and Audible on Amazon.com

To inquire about readings or for more articles on the North/South Nodes, go to: https://www.NorthNodeAstrology.com

Monday, November 24, 2008

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

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Karma and free will


Understanding Karma and Free Will through the Astrological South Node

Karma is about the law of cause and effect and reaping the consequences of what we have sown. It’s also simply “habit” and all the default, comfortable, knee-jerk patterns in our lives. We can read about that karma in our South Node, for it is here that we see the blockages, the unresolved wounds and all the self-limiting ideas we hold. We see the description of that karma in the South Node as well as in the karmic placements of all the planets in our chart.


However, it can look confusing if we forget that all the signs and planets can be read both positively and negatively. They can all play out in our lives on a high octave or a low octave, and it’s especially important to be aware of this polarity when trying to understand the karmic message of the North and South Node. We have free will to bring insight and consciousness to our reactive South Node patterns or not—


So in every karmic Node, and in fact, in every planet, there is a “story” there that reflects an ambivalence or polarity that exists within us. The Nodes in particular need to be understood as both problem and solution to problem…as the disease and the medicine to cure the disease! The Nodes are a statement about your Soul’s evolutionary situation either in a former life, or earlier in this one—and a formula or good suggestion for how to advance beyond it. Viva La Difference!

Here’s a letter that expands on that, and brings in a curious situation:

Dear Elizabeth:

Your writings on the north nodes are the best I've found, thank you! My question is this:My North Node is in Gemini, 4th house; South Node in Sag. in 10th house.My Midheaven (MC) is in Sag. 10th house.... so if my South Node representsthings to move away from, but my MC is in the same sign as my South Node,which is my "careerpath," how do you recommend managing both?I feel torn-- how can I consciously move away from South Node tendenciesthat are outworn, yet still play up my midheaven potential?Thanks so much, Ashley

This question is important and similar to the questions: “If my Sun sign and South Node sign is in the same sign, or if my Sun is conjunct the South Node, how can I understand this?” The key here is to see the difference between a high expression of a planet’s energies and a lower reactive expression of the negative aspects of the sign. In fact, all these situations underline the importance of making conscious efforts to reach for the highest expression of the sign. So, with Sagittarius for example, you want to keep the free spirited, optimistic, communicative ability of that sign, but you’ll want to move away from its tendency to speak before it thinks (foot in mouth disease!), dogmatic thinking (disguised in a jovial manner), and a tendency to not seeing the multiplicity of Truth and different points of view. Sag loves to talk, teach, and travel; it needs to keep it’s humility in the process as well. And as always, be aware of not overdoing with all Sag placements. Hope this helps clarify. ~Elizabeth Spring http://www.elizabethspring.com/

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Obama's Astrological Chart; Jung's Astrological Chart

Last week-end I taught a class at the Boston Jung Institute and while preparing for it I noticed something quite amazing! I was looking at Carl Jung’s chart when I had a moment of deja-vu—hadn’t I just recently seen this chart? I had been looking at charts all week, but this chart looked strangely familiar, because it had a striking similarity to Barack Obama’s astrological chart!


Obama and Jung both have the Sun in Leo in the 6th house of work, near the descendant, and in a wide conjunction to Uranus. Many psychotherapists have significant planets near the descendant or ascendant axis, indicative of their intense working with others in the “I-Thou relationship.” And Leos are often top leaders in their careers partly because of an inner need for self-expression.

Both Obama’s and Jung’s Uranus reflect a willingness to be independent, to think differently and freely, and are highly “individuated” as the Jungians would say. They both have Aquarius rising, reflecting their cool and level-headed personas---a way of being in the world which tends to think “outside the box” and is indicative of a tendency to retreat into their minds as a defensive strategy. They also both have Venus in Cancer, suggesting a desire to nurture and be nurtured, and both have Mercury, the planet of communication, strongly placed in the 6th house of daily work and discipline.


Yet perhaps the most fascinating aspects were the ones that spoke about their families of origin. Both have Sun square Neptune, reflecting a missing/ineffectual or “weak” father presence in their lives—Obama’s father simply wasn’t there most of the time, and Jung’s father was an uninspiring minister who didn’t quite believe in the God he preached about. Both men have a Moon/Pluto aspect suggesting the deeply powerful, complex, and mysterious or unconscious relationship with their mother. Obama’s moon is in Gemini reflecting the mental curiosity and communicative ability that is part of his maternal family inheritance, and Jung’s Moon in Taurus conjunct Pluto, reflects something of the earthy, dark feminine nature of his maternal legacy. Jung admitted to never truly understanding her, and in part, the feminine as well.

With Moon connected to Pluto, a true understanding of the mother and/or the feminine instinctual life is sometimes wounded or missing, and the mother herself may “not be there” in some fashion. Many people with this aspect often compensate for this by being emotionally powerful people. The role and importance of the mother is pronounced in their lives. Obama was tutored and trained by his mother in so many ways to be all he could be, yet died too early, and Jung delved deep into the psyche to understand the nature of the unconscious, and perhaps to understand the true nature of his own dark feminine.
~Elizabeth Spring www.elizabethspring.com

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

A Question: Where is my North Node? Where's my South Node?


North Node Chart: Find your birthday below to find the sign of your North Node based on your birth day and year. Your South Node, automatically and always, is
the sign directly opposite it in the zodiac
--180 degrees away.

June 7, 1913-Dec. 3, 1914: Pisces
Dec. 4, 1914-May 31, 1916: Aquarius
June 1, 1916-Feb. 13, 1918: Capricorn
Feb. 14, 1918-Aug. 15, 1919: Sagittarius
Aug. 16, 1919-Feb. 7, 1921: Scorpio
Feb. 8, 1921-Aug. 23, 1922: Libra
Aug. 24, 1922-Apr.23, 1924: Virgo
April 24, 1924-Oct. 26,1925: Leo
Oct. 27, 1925-Apr.16,1927: Cancer
Apr.17,1927-Dec.28,1928: Gemini
Dec.29,1928-July 7,1930: Taurus
July 8,1930-Dec.28,1931: Aries
Dec.29,1931-June 24, 1933: Pisces
June 25, 1933-Mar.8,1935: Aquarius
Mar 9, 1935-Sept. 14, 1936: Capricorn
Sept. 15, 1936-Mar. 3, 1938: Sagittarius
Mar. 4, 1938-Sept. 12, 1939: Scorpio
Sept. 13, 1939-May 24, 1941: Libra
May 25, 1941-Nov. 21,1942: Virgo
Nov. 22, 1942-May 11, 1944: Leo
May 12, 1944-Dec. 13, 1945: Cancer
Dec. 14,1945-Aug. 2, 1947: Gemini
Aug. 3, 1947-Jan. 26,1949: Taurus
Jan. 27,1949-Jul 26,1950: Aries
Jul 27, 1950-Mar.28,1952: Pisces
Mar.29, 1952-Oct. 9, 1953:Aquarius
Oct.10,1953-Apr.2, 1955: Capricorn
Apr 3,1955-Oct.4,1956: Sagittarius
Oct.5,1956-June 16,1958: Scorpio
Jun. 17,1958-Dec.15,1959: Libra
Dec.16,1959-Jun 10,1961: Virgo
June 11,1961-Dec.23,1962: Leo
Dec.24,1962-Aug.25,1964: Cancer
Aug.26,1964-Feb.19,1966: Gemini
Feb.20,1966-AQug.19,1967: Taurus
Aug.20,1967-Apr.19,1969: Aries
Apr.20,1969-Nov.2,1970: Pisces
Nov.3,1970-Apr.27,1972: Aquarius
Apr.28,1972-Oct.27,1973: Capricorn
Oct.28,1973-Jul 10,1975: Sagittarius
Jul 11, 1975-Jan. 7, 1977: Scorpio
Jan. 8, 1977-Jul 5,1978: Libra
Jul 6 1978-Jan.12,1980: Virgo
Jan.13,1980-Sept.24,1981: Leo
Sept.25,1981-Mar.16,1983: Cancer
Mar.17.1983-Sept.11,1984: Gemini
Sept.12,1984-Apr.6,1986: Taurus
Apr.7,1986-Dec.2,1987: Aries
Dec.3,1987-May 22, 1989: Pisces
May 23, 1989-Nov.18,1990: Aquarius
Nov.19,1990-Aug. 1,1992: Capricorn
Aug.2,1992-Feb.1,1994: Sagittarius
Feb.2,1994-Jul 31, 1995: Scorpio
Aug.1,1995-Jan.25,1997: Libra
Jan.26,1997-Oct.20,1998: Virgo
Oct. 21, 1998-Apr.9,2000: Leo
Apr.10,2000-Oct.12,2001: Cancer
Oct.13,2001-Apr.13,2003: Gemini
Apr.14,2003-Dec.25,2004: Taurus
Dec.26,2004-Jun 21, 2006: Aries
Jun 22,2006-Dec.18, 2007: Pisces
Dec. 19, 2007-Aug 22 2009: Aquarius
Artwork by Elizabeth Spring from http://www.elizabethspring.com/