The Nodes of the Moon Moving into Aries and Libra

Hey everyone, this is Adam Elenbaas from Nightlight Astrology, and today we're going to start the first of a two-part series on the nodes of the Moon changing signs. The nodes of the Moon, depending on which system of measurement you use, I use the mean node; are changing signs this week according to the mean node measurement; the nodes of the Moon move into Libra and Aries on July 12.

But right about this time, the nodes of the Moon are changing signs, and a lot of people have been asking me about it, and I thought, you know, it's probably good that we take a look at this; we took a look, you may remember back like a year and a half ago or so, we took a look at the nodes of the Moon changing signs into Taurus and Scorpio, and so it's time to look at the nodes of the Moon in Aries and Libra and see what we can learn from their placement here and refresh on the meaning of the nodes in general in ancient astrology, as well as sort of a little compare and contrast between the way that modern say evolutionary astrologers tend to look at the nodes of the Moon and the way that traditional astrologers did, whichever way you prefer is obviously your choice.

I will sort of refresh on that as well. Although I've talked about that at length, and probably won't labor that distinction too much. We'll just do a little refresher on that today. So that people who aren't familiar with that talk or the nodes of the Moon have a little more understanding. So that is our agenda for today, in part two, by the way, we will do so today; we're just going to talk about the nodes talking about the change, and then in tomorrow's video, we'll do horoscopes will actually look at what kinds of topics might be coming up for you based on the placement of the nodes through the 12 whole sign houses, so like nodal change horoscopes, you could say.

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Okay, well, let's take a look at the real-time clock so that we can see the nodes of the Moon changing signs, and I'll just draw a line between them. So here is the north node moving into Aries, the south node into Libra, the nodes of the Moon are always moving retrograde or backward in zodiacal order. Although depending on the measurement system you use, mean or true, they sometimes have little variances where it appears like they're moving forward a little bit and then backward. But generally speaking, they're consistently moving backward through the zodiac.

So the North Node was in Taurus; rather than advancing to Gemini and zodiacal order, it's moving backward into Aries. So, first of all, it's always interesting to note the previous periods as well as the length of the upcoming period. So let's take a look at how long this is going to last and then the last time that we had eclipses in these same places and then tomorrow, when today, we're also going to just talk about the nodes and what we might expect from the nodes moving into Aries and Libra overall on an archetypal level, and then we'll do some horoscopes tomorrow.

So, first of all, let's just play this out by weeks, and at first, in order to do this, I'm going to eliminate everything from our perspective except for the nodes of the Moon, and actually, you know what I'll put the Sun and Moon back in so you can see the eclipses that form. So if we advance this, although the nodes have changed signs, we won't get our eclipses in Libra and Aries for a little bit. So if we advance here, I believe this is September, roughly September 29 of this autumn, depending on which hemisphere you're in, of course.

Then we have the first big Eclipse, the Solar Eclipse in Libra, on about October 14, depends a suppose on where you are in the world. But on October 14 here in the United States, we have the Solar Eclipse in Libra, and that really is kicking off the cycle, and then, you can see that the nodes are slowly moving backward. I'm going day at a time. Let's speed this up by weeks. So you can see that the nodes are reversing through Aries and Libra, and then whenever we get to Aries or Libra season by the sun, then we have our eclipses forming right around that time.

So here you can see, for example, is another eclipse day in the spring or March of 2024; here's another eclipse that we have here a lunar eclipse. This one is in Libra on March 25, 2024, and then, if we go just a little bit further, we're going to see that there is a solar eclipse here on April 8 in Aries.

Alright, and so that's how it goes; the eclipses come around like that as the sun and Moon, as the Sun and Moon form their new and full moons through Aries and Libra season. Move this ahead by weeks again, and we can see that there's going to be we could take it to Libra season in 2024, and here we'll have a Solar Eclipse in Libra right around October 2 of 2024, and we'll go through these; you know, obviously, as the years go by, and the seasons, we will be looking, these will be our Eclipse seasons, we're going to be talking about Aries and Libra eclipses for a while now.

Then we're going to see the nodes of the moon change signs right around the beginning of 2025. This is late January 2025; the nodes shift into Virgo and Pisces. So from the summer of 2023 to the early month of the earliest part of 2020, the first in the month of 2025, the nodes of the Moon will be in Aries and Libra. So I always just say just roughly, it's like a year and a half. Something like that. Makes it easy.

Now, let's look back in time at the previous times that we had. If you look, this is the last time that we had eclipses in Aries and Libra; of course, it would have been a little bit different during this period of time because we would have had, had the south node of the Moon in Aries and the North Node in Libra, and this was from about the spring of 2014. Right, and let's just take this forward, so the spring of 2014 March all the way to looks like the fall of 2015. So spring of 2014 or we, I guess it was like winter-spring of 2014 all the way till the fall of 2015, and that was the last time that the nodes of the Moon were in Aries Libra, but they were flipped.

So that's your kind of halfway point of an 18 to 19-year cycle. If we go back prior to that, we're going to get the nodes of the Moon in Aries and Libra, and here's the actual last time that this occurred. So let's go; the actual change would have occurred about late November, early December of 2004 as the North Node entered Aries and the South Node entered Libra.

So then we can trace it out in terms of how long it stayed there. So you got 2004 November. Let's take it forward all the way till about June of 2006. Isn't that interesting? I think that's fascinating. Like for me, that coincided with a really interesting period of time in my life. It was, you know, a timeline when I was in graduate school, and so on and so forth, and when I look at the very first time that I drank Ayahuasca, and at a time in which I began to embrace sobriety coming off from a period of addiction to opiates, and it was Ayahuasca, that lent me a huge hand in becoming sober and healthy again.

Those eclipses were happening across my 12th and sixth house axis. So I think that that is that's just really fascinating in terms of the placement in the chart, and of course, there will be every cycle of Eclipse as they come back around to the same places, many of the healing adventures deepen and, and of course, there's not just one story that happens during these periods, or that recurs during subsequent Eclipse seasons, but you know, so many that are that that are present by virtue of the topics of the houses and the themes of the signs. So that's why we're going to do a separate day on horoscopes tomorrow.

But anyway, so these are the last two periods that we had the eclipses in those places, and I think, you know, the first thing you could do is just think about those periods of time in your life and what was happening, and you may see some, you may see some connection to what's coming.

I would also warn you not to freak out if those were difficult periods for you often; as we mature and grow, the challenges suit the time of life that we're in; we're not necessarily going to go back to, you know, being in our early 20s and having an opiate addiction or whatever, least, I hope not. That is my prayer. But there will be new lessons and themes that coincide with the same areas of the chart, or similar kinds of lessons, although they fit the maturity level that you're at now, spiritually, psychologically, or whatever.

So, first of all, that's the timeline, and between now and the earliest, like January of 2025, we're in Aries, Libra eclipse season, and the nodes of the Moon moving through those places. So now we have to ask the question, what did the nodes of the Moon generally indicate, and what can we specifically think about with them moving into Aries and Libra?

So, first of all, the modern evolutionary view, generally speaking, is that there is an impulse to grow and evolve and that the soul does so by following the path laid out by the north node of the Moon. Now, in your birth chart, that's sort of like the master key for evolutionary astrologers, the north node of the Moon is like, you know, it's like a signpost, pointing you toward the direction of your spiritual evolution; go do this; this is maybe unfamiliar territory, but it's the place you need to go in order to grow and evolve.

The south node of the Moon is what's already familiar to you, maybe you've already done it, or you've internalized the lessons and are very good at whatever the south node represents. But it's also the potential spot of hangups and shadows and stuff that needs to be let go of, and in order to let go of that and evolve, you will have to follow the path laid out by the North Node.

So it's a really interesting paradigm. It's an interesting way of reading the notes, and I don't, although it's not the one that I use in my practice, many of you out there, probably listening to this, are familiar with it and may use it in your own practice, or that may be a part of your own understanding. So, by contrast, I'll just read you something from a Vedic Astrologer.

In Vedic Astrology, the North Node of the Moon is referred to as Rahu, and the South Node as Ketu. He goes on to talk about the mythology that comes from the Bhagavat Purana, as well as the Mahabharat and the mythology of Rahu and Ketu, who are basically a demon who, two demons or a demon that gets cut in half and then the two parts of its body, the head and the severed body are two entities.

Anyway, so how are they to be interpreted? Rahu represents that karma which causes our worldly desires externalizing energies which push us forward or even cause us to overextend ourselves. It is only natural that if Rahu indicates worldly desires, it's capable of giving fame, power, political success, money beauty when beneficially placed. This is a real reason you'll sometimes read, especially in books by modern Western astrologers, that the North Node indicates our future direction in this life.

However, it should not be forgotten that the desires of Rahu, like most desires, are insatiable, and therefore happiness or satisfaction may not necessarily result from the attainment of these desires. So that's really important because, for Indian astrologers, Rahu is indeed associated with something that compels us to act in a certain way or in a certain direction. Follow the impulse of Rahu like you follow your appetite when you're hungry. Rahu is literally described as a hungry ghost.

Now, there's nothing wrong with, I mean, from the eternal perspective, I don't think God looks down on us for following our desires. They are exploratory, they're placed in our hearts for a reason, and you can very well say in a certain sense that they are the means by which we evolve.

However, sometimes I think what people don't understand is that evolving doesn't come by going in, like, let's say in the case of the North Node being an Aries, that evolving doesn't come by means of becoming fundamentally more assertive and courageous than you currently are, and if you do so, you will have evolved spiritually.

I think about it that when you read the Indian astrological texts and what they say about Rahu, it's a little different than that. It's more like saying within you, a hunger for a certain kind of experience is going to grow. Ultimately, if you think of that experience as the thing that will deliver you, that will bring you happiness, that will bring you fulfillment, you will be chasing it, like so many other fool's goals, and the more you reach for it, and try to satiate yourself by means of, you know, the accomplishment of this desire; to satiate this desire, the more empty that you'll feel, and the more corrupt you'll potentially become as well.

Because the things we desire make us sort of obsessive, and we can get really good at things because of that impulse, or we can develop things to an almost extreme level because of the impulse that Rahu the north node presents us with. So that's why it's associated with political power, gain, wealth, success, prestige, etc.

Ultimately the experience and exploration of these desires and realizing what they can give and what they can't give us, that allows us to evolve. So it's not like go do the North Node, get good at it, and you'll evolve; it's more like the North Node is yet another delusion or fantasy that we will have that something or someone or some experience or some archetypal field can fulfill us and ultimately, the experience that we go and seek and have isn't good or bad. It's just more divine experience in a blessed divine universe, right?

The ultimate lesson that we come back to with every experience that where we go out to seek some kind of ultimate satiation is the same thing, which is that it's here already. It's within you, it's who you are, it's what you are, and it's what is, so is there something wrong with going out and seeking the attainment of something perfect? No, there's not, but insofar as we become obsessed with the pursuit of some kind of Rahu, like desire, will always be led back to the same basic insight, that same basic spiritual value, which is that everything is beautiful blessing perfect, just as it is.

There was nothing that you needed an Aries north node because you were incomplete, there was nothing, and there's nothing bad, or you're not condemned for going off and, and trying that on and seeing if that was the answer, right, but what you find out over and over again is that it wasn't the answer. It was an experience and a valuable experience. But it didn't. It didn't change the fundamental fact that you are loved, beautiful, and perfect just the way you are, and the universe is loved and beautiful and perfect, just the way it is.

So there's always a warning built in Indian astrology about Rahu. Because Rahu is the temptation that leads us to externalize and move out of ourselves, seeking satisfaction in something. In something else, it's like a salvation impulse like I'm, I'm not happy, so I have to go and get something or whatever. But, you know, I really, again, just to emphasize, I don't think that God sits on some throne, you know, somewhere being like, Well, look, look at them foolishly pursuing all of these stupid things.

No, I think, in fact, the universe is a choose-your-own-adventure. You know, a playground that facilitates our exploration of these desires so that we can keep coming back to this basic truth and deepen into it, and that facilitation of worlds we can build an explorer, by means of these desires is merciful and beautiful and interesting and artistic. So in a sense, it's true the North Node is something you pursue for the sake of evolving, but not in that sense.

It's like an experiential field that the soul is like; I'm hungry to go check that out because maybe there's something there that will fulfill me in a way that I'm not feeling right now. That little angstyness, and it's like; it's so human. So, I think, even if we might know that pursuing various desires or impulses will not, you know, give us anything that sort of isn't already here.

That we can't help ourselves and we shouldn't. We shouldn't be hard on ourselves about that that we shouldn't, you know, look down our own noses and, you know, feel bad or that we can't help but externalize and go and pursue desires. I think life is given to us for that reason.

Again, that's quite a bit different than saying, well, go and do the North Node, and if you do it, you'll evolve spiritually, you'll get up to the next level of spiritual attainment or something like that. I don't; I don't think that's at all what Indian astrologers were talking about. So this is my opinion.

The Vedic Astrologer goes on to describe Ketu. So, repeating, Rahu represents that karma which causes our worldly desires externalizing energies that push us forward or even cause us to overextend ourselves. It's only natural if Rahu indicates worldly desires that is capable of giving power, fame, political success, money, and beauty, especially when beneficially placed; this is the real reason you'll sometimes read, especially in books by Western astrologers, that the North Node indicates our future direction however, should not be forgotten that the desires of Rahu like most desires are insatiable, and therefore happiness or satisfaction may not necessarily result from the attainment of these benefits.

Ketu indicates difficult personal karma, such as long-term addictions and compulsions, represents karma that is much more deep-seated, introverted, and internalized karmas that are less open and outgoing than the ambition and desires represented by Rahu.

On its positive side, Ketu shows karmic accomplishment, those skills, and abilities which we have perfected in previous lives, which we bring into this life fully developed. For this reason, those souls who are born with great abilities, natural psychics, healers, those with musical or mathematical skills, etc, will have a prominent South Node. So he goes on to talk a little bit more.

One of the ways that I've heard Ketu described would be to say that whereas there's an external lysing impulse to seek satisfaction through things that aren't familiar that we desire that we think, Well, if I could just have that, that I don't have, then I would be happy, and that's much more like Rahu in the North Node, that sort of pushing us in a direction. An experimental, experiential field that we feel compelled to go into that's like Rahu.

Ketu, on the other hand, has more of a; for example, it is more associated with the desire to check out of the world, which is also why it's associated with mysticism and spirituality; it's impulsive, is less about let me go into the world and explore it and rather, let me check out through either things that are dissociative, like addictions or completely dissociative use of substances to check out of the world, or the tendency to bypass it or the tendency to almost like the way in which we try to leave rather than engage with the world, it's the it's it represents the temptation in some ways to check out rather than go in.

Well, it's a really interesting connection between that and the idea of internalized karma because, whereas with Rahu, the desire is to taste and explore something that you haven't and to externalize an impulse through trying to satiate it by gaining something usually material in the world. Power, fame, money, wealth, status, and mastery are much more like Rahu impulses.

The South Node will be a little bit more like what can I go toward, that gives me satisfaction, that that doesn't cause me to have to go out and get something new, or that doesn't cause me to have to go out and engage in some kind of conquest, which is why there will be a tendency in the south node to rely on what's already there within you like the things that I'm already good at, or the things that I already find some satisfaction in that I already know because there's a way in which just relying on that is almost like a way of having to avoid going out and doing new things and gaining new experiences, which could be considered regressive but it's also about the things that we can rely on that are there for us that can keep us from the fools' errands.

For example, if the North Node in Aries wants to take on a conquest when something or be victorious, the inner South Node in Libra might be some; I'm one who says I have a peaceful, refined diplomatic sense of things, and I'm just going to sink into that because it's really well established in me and from that perspective, the need to go out and dominate is sort of crude and unrefined and so I'm going to rely on this part of me that feels poised, diplomatic, peaceful, agreeable, et cetera, because I know that and that is, like my little meditation space that keeps me from the reckless impulsiveness of this desire to win and dominate that the North Node is presenting me with.

So the thing that's interesting is that, from a traditional perspective, you know, at least the Vedic perspective, Ketu can actually be not just stuff that we know that's regressive that we have to let go of. But it can be the stuff that we know that we rely on that acts like a meditation that grants the kind of control and stability in who and what we are, that steadies us and steadies us from the temptations and impulses to go out and do things that are somewhat fruitless, that will make us obsessive and have us relentlessly pursuing things that won't fulfill us. I mean, rely on what's already within you, and don't get distracted by the things out there. Right.

So there's wisdom and other words in the south node that can actually prevent us from some of the more malefic, materialistic obsessive qualities of Rahu. But then, on the other hand, Ketu can be regressive and can rely too much on what's already known out of fear and a kind of stubborn clinging to the past, choose to ignore the call to new terrain, psychically, spiritually, emotionally.

We can't pretend to be somewhere we're not, you know, most of us, at least my experience of myself and my clients and everything, when we're not in the place where we are deeply living from the sense that we are okay, just the way we are and according to, you know, the Indian sort of karmic philosophy, there's really no way to get there other than to keep living and experiencing, and as long as we do the nodes of the Moon in the chart, like a river, like a karmic river but the interesting thing about this river is it's flowing in a direction that can change.

So sometimes growth spiritually is found through flowing into the new experiences represented by the North Node, and sometimes it's about recognizing them as insatiable, obsessive hungers that we have, and the river needs to flow in the opposite direction, toward what is already within us and toward the internalized lessons of the past that keep us from the restless temptations represented by the North Node.

The one thing I think, just as my humble opinion, the one thing I think that is not always so clear, about the way that most, you know, sort of modern astrologers look at the notes is that it's too linear, they think about the North Node as this heroic path of progress, and first of all, I'm not sure if the word progress is a great way to think, in general, about spiritual growth.

I like the word evolution well enough. I mean, it's a fine word, but the dynamism between the nodes, think of a river that's flowing in two directions at once or switches directions; it's really better to think about the nodes of the Moon as these currents of karma that can flow into the future and from the past, toward new experiences or towards internalized things we already know, towards regressive tendencies or dissociative tendencies versus experimental and explorative tendencies, materialist versus maybe more spiritual, sometimes dissociative versus an ability to be in the world and go into the world.

So it's really the dichotomy between the nodes is so beautiful, and rich and much, much richer and more diverse than just go that way, don't go that way, and wow, I had no idea; I said, I'm like, I'm not gonna go into the distinction so much, and then I just couldn't help myself. So sorry about that if you weren't expecting that or were super interested.

Anyway, all of that being said, what does it mean that the North Node is entering Aries and the South Node Libra? Well, the compulsion that we feel is to go toward Arian things, muscularity, strength, independence, assertiveness, courage, bravery, advocacy; it's the fighter. It is the sign of Mars, God of War sign of the sun, so individuation, individuality, striking out on our own, taking risks, entrepreneurial things.

The fire and passion of Aries is intense and consuming; it's youthful and energizing. It likes to start things, and it likes to do so with almost disregard for what other everyone else thinks or how to balance everything, or what if I upset someone, you know, and so the impulse toward new experience will be in that general direction.

Whereas on the other hand, the South Node brings us, maybe it puts that impulse into dynamic tension, with an internalized sense of peace, diplomacy, tact, and care and concern for the other with what is beautiful and balanced.

Aries will tip the scales, right? Aries is not necessarily going to care about what's balanced, or poised or refined, or sophisticated. Aries is a little bit more brutal but also, you know, arguably less risk-averse. Libra can be so calculated and perfectionist. Aries may push us away from that into, you know, its territory, of its new territory of conquest. You have to throw caution to the wind to do that.

Libras internalized wisdom, though, is also the peace, the diplomacy, the intelligence that keeps us from some kind of reckless bravado, or it's the sense of being able to call upon the peaceful, refined architect of beauty and imbalance that lives within us, that lives within a certain domain of life and to call on that, and say, No, I'm not going to be tempted into some kind of, you know, recklessness, you know, I'm going to call upon my wiser, more balanced perspective.

It's a concern for inclusion of others versus the tendency to go it alone or in the direction of individuality. It's about relationships versus self and so, but I would, again, just sort of, you know, like, implore everyone, like, don't think about Aries as the right direction to go and Libra as the regressive or bad direction, it's never that simple with the nodes.

They're presenting an archetypal dyad, and it's going to be important to explore the area and territory to follow that calling an urgent impulse, and we'll do the horoscopes tomorrow, and you can see what area of life you're going to feel that call in. We'll talk about that.

Again, at the same time, the Libran area of life, the sense of care, duty, responsibility, that is socially oriented, socially concerned, that cares about the scales being balanced, and that things be fair, and that not one person's will or way, including our own become too dominant, that that's going to be an incredibly important force that checks the urges or impulses of Aries because this is a wisdom that's there to be like the rudder that's guiding us through the new territory that is represented by Aries.

On the other hand, there's also, you know, anytime that you want to, you're so concerned about what everyone else thinks that there's no room to take a stand or take a risk, that can be problematic. There is the addiction and allure and dissociative tendencies of Libra that are vain or, you know, overly concerned with wealth and beauty and status and social critique, social standing, and those elements will step up and get loud, and in a sense, be temptations for us to escape and not step forward in the ways that the North Node of the Moon might be calling us to step forward.

In ancient Greek astrology, the North Node of the Moon was associated with things that grow for better or worse, whereas the South Node of the Moon was associated with things that diminish or decrease for better or worse. So there's a relativity about the nodes that the North Node tends to amplify things like Jupiter, whereas the South Node tends to reduce things. Make them sort of deteriorate like Saturn.

Saturn is associated with deterioration, death, and decay. Well, I've always used this example if you don't want a tumor with the North Node of the Moon because it'll make it grow. You do want a tumor with the south node because it'll shrink it, and that's the relativity of the nodes as the Western astrologers saw it.

The north node of the Moon will amplify Arian things for better or worse, whereas the south node of the Moon has the power to diminish problematic things with Libran tact. But it also has the ability to cause harm; there are some very good things that could be diminished because of an overly conservative Libran tendency or something like that. Or too much of a reliance on Libra could, you know, just like Saturn is exalted in Libra, could act as a kind of well, like ancient astrologers that if you took a benefic, and you put it with the south node of the Moon, that the south node would actually curb and limit the power or, you know, effectiveness of the benefic planet.

So if you think of Libra in its potential to act as something benevolent could be curbed or sort of limited by the south node so that you have almost a compromised and somewhat more malefic form of Libra that can come out.

These are just different ways of talking about really the same exact formula for interpretation that Indian and Western astrologers had. So the same, but the same point generally applies, all of the Arian tendencies are going to call to us and teach us through new experiences and desires that we can't help ourselves; we've got to go and check out.

There will be some way in which we can get carried away obsessive, and these desires are not necessarily good for us. So you have to be careful, it's not just some general, you know, green light that says go this way, and all will be well; it's not that simple. You know, and on the other hand, there's going to be a sense of relying on internalized Libran wisdom, for better or worse, sometimes regressively or dissociatively, and other times as a curbing or checking influence that will help us avoid pitfalls. So, we will internalize Libra and wisdom to we will deepen our Libra wisdom as a power that can keep the temptations that day in life overall.

It's like you're gonna get a crash course and, like, all of the best things about Libra that will keep you on the right course in your life. You'll also have to explore those periods of time in which those exact Libra and virtues could be holding you back from something that the Arian north node is calling you into. Isn't that fascinating? I just love it.

The nodes of the Moon are really fascinating. I've written an article about it for the Mountain Astrologer that was published it was last year and taught many courses on it. If you go back in my videos, you can find if you just search keyword search Nodes of the Moon, you can find quite a few talks that I've done on the nodes of the Moon from the traditional and modern perspectives, kind of comparing and contrasting them.

So anyway, I hope you found this useful. We'll be doing horoscopes on the nodes of the Moon changing signs tomorrow, and hopefully, that will add to your understanding as well. So that's it for today. Hope you're having a good one. And we'll see you again soon. Bye, everyone.