Luna Nodes

Head & Tail of the Dragon :

The Lunar Nodes

Peter J. Clark

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From the point of view of our own planet, the Sun and the Moon appear to be about the same size. This is because the Sun is four hundred times larger than the Moon, but also about four hundred times the distance from Earth. From earliest times this has exerted a strong psychological relationship to the two luminaries, encouraging the belief that they are of equal but different importance. The Sun may be the source of all energies, but it is the Moon that determines the tides and has the most immediate effect on our moods and earthly activities. The Moon in astrological practise is therefore of great significance. In fact in most systems, she is given much more importance than the current frenzy for Sun sign astrology would imply!

The Moon’s Nodes are not planets. They are points in space indicating the intersection of two orbits. The elements to be considered are a) the Ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun around the Earth, which is actually the orbit of the Earth around the Sun; and b) the orbit of the Moon that which revolves around the Earth. The planes of these two orbits intersect each other at 5 degrees, 8 minutes and 40 seconds. The line of intersection is the axis formed by the Moon's Nodes. (See Rupert, Cycles of Becoming: The Planetary Pattern of Growth. 1978 p.54).

The Nodes do not move at an entirely predictable speed and vary from day to day. They are either calculated as “True” or “Mean.” True is the ' exact' position of the Nodes at any given time, while Mean is the presumed position based on the average speed. With the assistance of computers, most astrologers have opted to use the True Node, but the matter of which is more eloquent is still debated. The Mean Node is always retrograde, whilst the True Node may occasionally be direct, as if it's wobbling. That's because the True Node takes the gyroscopic relationship of the Sun/Moon into account. It may be argued, then, that it now makes little sense to use the Mean Node when it is just as easy to calculate the True Node.

However, this is somewhat illusory, since "in the strict sense of the word, even the ”true” nodes are true only twice a month, viz. at the times when the moon crosses the ecliptic. Positions given for the times in between those two points are just a hypothesis. They are founded on the idea that celestial orbits can be approximated by elliptical elements. This works well with the planets, but not with the moon, because its orbit is strongly perturbed by the sun. Another procedure, which might be more reasonable, would be to interpolate between the true node passages. The monthly oscillation of the node would be suppressed, and the maximum deviation from the conventional ”true” node would be about 20 arc minutes" See the Swiss Ephemeris for further explanation. I would therefore recommend experimenting with both systems. An obvious advantage of using the Mean Node is that it is what was used traditionally, so most commentaries of the meanings will have used this method.

The North and South Nodes of the Moon are also known in Vedic astrology as Rahu and Ketu respectively. The North Node is considered as the head of the dragon, while the south is considered to be the tail. In Vedic astrology, the Nodes are considered malefic, with Rahu being comparable to Saturn as Ketu is to Mars. But this is true only as a loose planetary analogy, as “Ketu when inauspiciously placed, can ruin significations in an uncommonly awful and devious way. Whereas Rahu disturbs by way of lethargy, grossness and insensitivity: it does so in a manner that is much less intense and purposeful (Braha, James T. Ancient Hindu Astrology 1986. p.34).

The fascinating myth of Rahu and Ketu is told in the Mahabharata. The Hindu gods wanted to generate soma, an elixir of immortality. The idea was that the gods were to drink the elixir and become immortal. This was not an easy task, so the gods asked for help from the demons to stir the oceans to produce the elixir. Out of this churning ocean the Sun, Moon, goddesses, and magical things were produced together with the soma. Vishnu took charge of distributing the freshly made soma to the gods. However while the soma was being passed out, the demons began to battle with the gods for a taste of the elixir. There was much confusion and Rahu, one of the demons, disguised himself as a god and drank some of the elixir. The Sun and Moon recognized the imposter and advised Vishnu. As Rahu was swallowing the soma, Vishnu sliced off his head with a sword. However, because the soma had passed into the throat the head had already become immortal. To avenge the Sun and Moon, Rahu chased the Sun and Moon across the sky and tried to eat them, occasionally catching and swallows one of them. This caused an eclipse, but when the victims fell out of Rahu's mouth, the eclipse ends.

We do know that the Nodes are an important element in predicting eclipses of the Sun or Moon. NASA '"confirms that eclipses only occur if the satellite of a planet is located within 0.5 degrees of the plane of the Ecliptic, on a line which passes through the centre of the Sun and the Earth. The Moon travels along an orbit which is inclined by 5 degrees to the Ecliptic plane, so there are only two opportunities each month when it passes through the plane of the Ecliptic, called the ascending and descending nodes. These two points connected to the barycentre of the Earth- Moon system ( roughly the centre of the Earth ) define a 'line of nodes', and eclipses of the Sun and Moon will occur if this line of nodes coincides with the line drawn between the centre of the Earth and Sun. Again, the Moon also has to be within 0.5 degrees of one or the other of the nodes so that the disk of the Sun is partially or totally covered in a solar eclipse. A similar argument explains why lunar eclipses do not happen every full moon at the node opposite the Sun from the Earth." See NASA for more information.

The image below shows the conditions necessary for an eclipse. Note that the North Node is pointing to the Sun.

Modern Western astrologers do not tend to see the Nodes in the same light as either Vedic or Traditional Western astrologers and have invented some very exotic meanings without much coherent rationale. Often they take the politically correct route, suggesting nothing can be wrathful or malefic in the 'New Age' and that the very idea of 'malefic' belongs to a less 'enlightened' age. There are many who consider the nodes as essentially karmic signatures, but then become surprisingly vague or aggressively retributional and dogmatic. In the case of the latter, I'm thinking of the 'tone' of much of Schulman's work on the subject. William Lilly makes his own position clear:

The Head of the Dragon is Masculine, of the nature of Jupiter and Venus, and of himself a Fortune; yet the Ancients doe say, that being in Conjunction with the good he is good, and in conjunction with the evil Planets they account him evil.

The Tayle of the Dragon is Feminine by Nature, and clean contrary to the Head; for he is evil when joyned with good Planets, and good when in conjunction with the malignant Planets. This is the constant opinion of all the Ancients, but upon what reason grounded I know not; I ever found the North Node equivalent to either of the Fortunes, and when joyned with the evil Planets to lessen their malevolent signification; when joyned with the good to increase the good promised by them: For the Tayle of the Dragon, I always in my practise found when he was joyned with the evil Planets; their malice or the evil intended thereby was doubled and trebled, or extreamly augmented, &c. and when he chanced to be conjunction with any of the Fortunes who were significators in the question, though the matter by the principal significator was fairely promised, and likely to be perfected in a smal time; yet did there ever fal out many rubs and disturbances, much wrangling and great controversie, that the businesse was many times given over for desperate ere a perfect conclusion could be had; and unlesse the principal significators were Angular and wel fortified with essential dignities, many times unexpectedly the whole matter came to nothing. (CA. I. 82)

The nodes are crucial and revealing; not inherently malefic, but quite capable of being so. They are no more 'karmic' than any other element of the chart. However, an astrologer may use the nodes as part of chart analyses far beyond the predicting of an eclipse. They are read to determine the directional axis of a chart. They describe the flow of energy into the chart and the direction in which that energy will move. It must be understood that the Dragons' Head and tail should be read in concert with the chart as whole. This directional axis is used in natal, mundane, predictive and many other forms of astrology. In general, the South Node indicates the energy we bring into this life and feel at home with. The North Node shows where this energy is being drawn and the native challenged.

The signs will always be opposite so, for example, if the dragon’s tail is in Cancer, the head will be in Capricorn. These configurations will also lend themselves to archetypal interpretation: the chart’s native will be found to “inherit” a force that represents all that is Cancerian, including concerns with the home, feelings and of course, the Mother. In order for the soul to proceed it must overcome the limitations or gravity of the South Node in order to embrace that of the North. In the example given, there will be inevitable resistance to moving from the relative comfort of the “home” to learn the saturnine lessons of the comparatively cold, but productive and independent qualities of paternal Capricorn. If the South Node is in Pisces and the North in Virgo, the native will need to learn the importance of detail, and so on. In this sense, the nodes provide one way of seeing the soul’s journey and the challenges it is likely to encounter; but again, this does not mean that the South Node is inherently “bad.” The dragon needs a tail as well as a head and masculine needs feminine and visa versa. But if the soul is to progress, it must partake of the momentum and pull offered by its opposite sign. It is the impetus for change and transformation… for a balancing of two opposing, but connected forces within the psyche. The position and condition of the Lunar Nodes provides the astrologer with a wealth of information that can help you on your souls’ journey.

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