The nodal axis of the planets and the Moon is the line of intersection between the plane in which

a planet accomplishes its revolution around the Sun and the plane of the ecliptic (or zodiac) in which the Earth performs its yearly motion also around the Sun. In the case of the Moon's nodes, the revolution is not around the Sun, but around the Earth. t the north node the Moon passes from the hemicycle (half!cycle) of south latitude (south of the plane of the ecliptic) to that of the north latitude" and the opposite occurs at the south node. #he entire nodal cycle of the Moon is said to be$in at the north node. #he meanin$s attributed to the north and south nodes % also to the two hemicycles which these be$in % are derived from the basic si$nificance $iven in our civilization since the dawn of history to any motion directed toward the north. &orthward motion is motion toward the spirit" southward motion is motion from the spirit, which may mean either the release of spirit toward earthly manifestation (spiritual Incarnation, sacrifice, the fall of the seed to the $round) or a withdrawal away from spiritual values or from a condition of inte$ration (thus, decay, disinte$ration, e'cavation of unassimilable elements and refuses). (onsiderin$ the north node of the Moon as a )point of inta*e) (in ancient symbolism the +ra$on's ,ead) and the south node as a )point of release)" (the +ra$on's #ail) % or in a more strictly biolo$ical and functional sense, as )mouth) and )or$ans of evacuation), (also the procreative or$ans) % the problem, however, is to define what it is that is ta*en in and released. #here is a problem, because the answer to the -uestion depends whether a strictly $eocentric or a strictly heliocentric approach is ta*en. In dealin$ with ancient man's attempt % durin$ the )vitalistic) $es % to find some *ind of principle of order in the startlin$ phenomena of eclipses, I have ta*en the archaic $eocentric approach accordin$ to which the nodal a'is represents the relationship between the solar and the lunar polarities of .ife. /hat happens at the nodes when the Sun and the Moon form characteristic eclipse % ali$nments in which there is an e'traordinary unification of these two polarities. 0enerally spea*in$, the north node, or +ra$on's ,ead, is a point at which the solar spirit is penetratin$ the lunar instrumentalities of .ife. #he power absorbed is solar power" the Moon absorbs it. #he Earth is the field in which the two polarities of life operate at all times, either for construction (anabolic action) or destruction (catabolic action). 1rom the modern, heliocentric, astronomical point of view the situation is entirely different, at least on the surface. #he plane of the ecliptic is not the plane of the apparent early motion of the Sun as much as it really is the plane of the Earth's orbit. #he nodal a'is of the Moon lin*s therefore the Moon!plane and the Earth!plane. /hatever ener$ies are bein$ absorbed by human bein$s on the Earth are therefore lunar energies" and the north node symbolizes the inta*e by earth!nature and by man's earthly personality of the power of the Moon. ,owever, the meanin$ of the Moon, in the sun!centered modern approach to the entire solar system, becomes also different from that it had in the old )vitalistic) cosmolo$ies and astrolo$y. #he Moon is now the one satellite of the Earth" more si$nificant still, the

symbolical sphere traced by the Moon in her motions around the Earth's $lobe is li*e a womb or electro!ma$netic field. It is the Mother!envelope and the Mother is the symbol of protective a$encies, and in $eneral of the faculty of ad2ustment or adaptation to the constant challen$es of the outer and inner environment. #his faculty, this power to meet the demands of embodied e'istence and, in so doin$, to $ain e'perience and )food) of all types, is what today the Moon represents. It is this power which earth!born or$anisms absorb at the )point of inta*e,) the north node. we have the followin$ description of the meanin$ of the Moon's nodes and nodal hemicycles3 North Node3 4oint of inta*e. Earth!nature is open to and receives the Moon's ener$ies. South node3 4oint of release. #he results of the assimilation by the livin$ earth!or$anism (or personality) of the Moon's ener$ies are e'teriorized, or (when ne$ative)' are evacuated or repudiated. Hemicycle beginning with north node3 +urin$ this period, when the Moon has north latitude, her power is absorbed, then (especially around the point of ma'imum north latitude) assimilated by the personality. &ew faculties or powers are built. Hemicycle beginning with south node3 s the Moon moves in south latitude, earth! nd so

nature lets $o of the results of the assimilation process (whether these be )seed) or )manure))" however, after the point of ma'imum south latitude is reached and the Moon moves a$ain northward, the or$anism or personality becomes repolarized in e'pectation for a new period of inta*e.

Application to Natal Charts

5ecause the nodes are results of the interaction of two orbital planes they must always be considered as the two ends of a line or a'is. It is the a'is which counts, and also the entire process defined by the )cycle of latitude) cut in two by this nodal line. &orth and south nodes have meanin$ properly only within the sweep of the entire cyclic process % 2ust as the mouth and the rectum have meanin$ in terms of the entire pro$ress of food! assimilation, or metabolism. Indeed, all cycles of latitudes represent processes of metabolism, the assimilated products bein$ the type of ener$y of which the planet whose nodes are bein$ considered is the (symbolical) source or outlet. It must not be for$otten, however, that even in the most modern approach to the solar system the planets still represent a$encies which differentiate the one basic ener$y radiated by the Sun. .unar ener$y is therefore still, at root, the Sun's ener$y, a reflected and )lunarized) aspect of it. 4lanets are outlets of ener$ies, rather than real sources. #here is only one source of ener$y3 the Sun.

#he Moon's nodal a'is has been considered an )a'is of fate") and much of personal fate indeed is a function of the personality's ability to adapt itself to the demands of life and society in its environment. ny factor in the total ma*eup of personality closely involved in the operations of this process of lunar adaptation is sin$led out by this involvement, which reacts thus upon the feelin$s, the moods, the psychic sense, the mental ability to )sense) situations and people % all derived from the basic lunar power of ad2ustment to the environment. #hus, the manner in which the Moon's nodal a'is is related in a birth!chart to the planets, to the horizon and meridian, and to any other natal factor or a'is (the nodes of other planets, the 4arts, etc.) is of the $reatest si$nificance. 1irst of all, the Moon's nodes a'is divides the natal chart into two hemispheres" and every natal factor ac-uires a $eneral meanin$ by its position on one side or another of this nodal a'is. #he hemisphere which is located between the north node and the south node in the usual order of zodiacal signs ( ries, #aurus, 0emini, etc.) represents the zone of assimilation and anabolic, up!buildin$ activity. #he other hemisphere, from south node to north node, is the zone of either positive or ne$ative release % release of seed!elements, or of unassimilated refuses. /e discussed recently in the pa$es of this ma$azine the U S chart erected for 6uly 7, 899:, ;38< 4. M. In this chart the Moon's north node is on .eo 9 l=>?, the south node on -uarius 9 8=>? % and the Moon on e'teriorization. #he typical -uarius >9? 8>'. #hus, the Moon has passed her south node and has an increasin$ south latitude" she is at her phase of ma'imum release or merican individual indeed releases and e'teriorizes the lunar ability to ad2ust to the challen$es of his environment, and this in an unusual manner" but this ability was actually built in his ancestral European past, after some centuries of concentration on intellectual analysis and on the ambition to master earth!materials by stressin$ the e$o's will to con-uest. #he nodal a'is passes (in the Sa$ittarius risin$ chart) throu$h the second and ei$hth houses % thus stressin$ the factor of resources and mana$ement of resources. #he second house refers to the resources of the individual and the way he uses them" and it carries the south node emphasis. #he merican individual is characterized by the way he releases (and fre-uently wastes@) his resources. /hat he fails often to see is that these resources and the positive lunar power of mastery over circumstances are built in his national eighth house" that is, as a result of partnership, commerce and commin$lin$ of efforts. merica was built throu$h partnerships and the fruits thereof" the individuals as such released her wealth, and often s-uandered it. &ow the 0overnment and lar$e!scale or$anizations do the same % perhaps because the recently revealed 4luto is in the second A. S. natal house and fairly near the Moon's south node. In the north node hemisphere of the A. S. chart we find &eptune, Saturn and 4luto" in the south node hemisphere, all other planets. #his may seem puzzlin$" but all it means, from the point of view I present here, is that the merican people are buildin$, or can best build, new powers of adaptation to the challen$es of our modern world, throu$h the use of

the &eptune, Saturn and 4luto functions % which can be said succinctly to mean3 throu$h federation and faith in distant horizons, throu$h a stron$ framewor* of law and e$o!power, throu$h lar$e!scale mana$ement and inte$ration of production. #he A. S. Aranus, Mars, Benus, 6upiter, Sun, Mercury, are, on the other hand, basically polarized in the direction of the e'teriorization and release of the lunar power which had been ac!uired in the ancestral past of the American people. In this sense, the south node refers to ac-uired tendencies, to innate $ifts, and to the instinctive, nearly automatic type of activity throu$h which these inherited tendencies, $ifts, abilities are released -uite spontaneously. #o ban* too heavily upon these inherited powers, and especially to ta"e them for granted is very often to follow the way of )self!undoin$.) It may also mean the spontaneous e'ercise of )$enius.) In both cases, character often fails to develop, because of lac* of real )self!e'ertion) % self!e'ertion bein$ one of the characteristic attributes of the north node type of activity. (haracter is built at the north node" innate talents, or $enius, or charm is released at the south node. In #ueen $ictoria%s case, the )inner) planets (Mercury, Benus) and the Sun and Moon are in the north node hemisphere" all )outer) planets (from Mars to 4luto) in the south node hemisphere. She had to build her own inner life and personality" but her ancestral position, her outer life, and all the powers of her realm made of her a $reat persona$e. Most typical is the case of Mussolini" for in his birth!chart all planets are in the south node hemisphere. In a sense, he was merely an e'teriorization of his ancestral, national past. ,e was entirely dominated by his or his people's "arma. ,is natal Sun!Mercury con2unction was moreover in s-uare to the nodal a'is at the very ape' (or bottom) of this south node hemisphere % the point of ma'imum south latitude of the Moon" the point of final self!emptyin$ and disinte$ration in chaos. &enin%s birth'chart offers another interestin$ illustration, with Saturn, risin$ in Sa$ittarius, the only planet in the north node hemisphere. ,e built his power and character with Saturnian authority, fanaticism and ruthlessness" but made himself the )1ather) of one third of the world's population in travail of a new social order % whether for $ood or ill, is not the point here.

(lanets at the Nodes

planet in con2unction with one of the Moon's nodes affects profoundly the capacity in an individual to ta*e in and deliver lunar power % or we mi$ht say, to )metabolize) (absorb, di$est, assimilate and perhaps repudiate in parts) his e'perience. #he planet may either color the -uality of this assimilation process, or set a special field for its most characteristic, destiny!establishin$ operations. In 0overnor /arren's chart 4luto is only C minutes of arc away from the Moon's north node in the fifth house. It sets a political and administrative sta$e for his life!lessons in adaptability. In 0eneral Marshall's chart, not only Mercury is one de$ree away from the Moon's north node, stressin$ his intellectual approach and the correlative power of mind

necessary for an

rmy (hief of State, but he was actually born the day of a partial solar

eclipse (Sun and Moon con2unct, some 8< de$rees ahead of the north node). In the birth! chart of &i*olai Sverni*, official head of state (but of course not actual ruler@) in Soviet Dussia, we find Saturn con2unct a tenth house north node. rnold Schoenber$, the iconoclastic composer % and of the tenth house con2unction of merican composer, also a &eptune and north node represents the musical emphasis in the life and personality of $reat pioneer, (harles Ives. #he same con2unction (with 4luto one de$ree away) in the chart of 0abriel 4ascal, the eminent motion picture director (associated with 0. 5. Shaw), led him to the &eptunian field of the films. #he Sun's pro'imity to either one of the Moon's nodes, usually reveals an eclipse before or after birth. H ( )la*ats"y was one instance, and the confi$uration is over!emphasized in +arl Marx% chart, as he was born durin$ a solar eclipse, also at the north node. #here, the two basic e'pressions of a positive soli!lunar (or earth!moon!sun) relationship, a )new moon) and the north node, are combined. #he power of inte$ration alon$ a line of destiny becomes a drivin$ force in the personal life" all else is subservient to it. solar eclipse at the south node, in an individual's chart, means theoretically a forceful release of character and an over!insistent pro2ection of inherited $ifts or powers. #he $reat 4ersian 4rophet, )aha%u%llah, had his Sun risin$ con2unct the south node and the star )&orth Scale.) ,is Moon was 7E de$rees ahead. #here had been a total solar eclipse at the south node, three days before his birth. The )ab, his ),erald,) was born also one day after a south node eclipse of the Sun and at dawn. I mentioned last year the $eneral si$nificance of the con2unction of the natal Moon with one of her nodes, and the related emphasis upon the )Mother Ima$e,) if not the actual mother, in the $rowth (or failure to $row@) of the e$o and personality. +ependence upon the mother (or a substitute) is usual, in one form or another, with the natal Moon at the north node. If at the south node, the trend is toward either a repudiation of the mother and her influence, or the transformation of the actual mother!relationship into a transcendent psychic Ima$e which becomes the channel for the stressful release of the psychic ener$y (cf. Nietzche%s case, his relation to (osima /a$ner, his powerful nima comple', etc. % and also the case of ,ichard -agner himself)" or a powerful yearnin$ for bein$ an actual mother and e'ercisin$ maternal authority over physical or intellectual!spiritual children. In (resident Truman%s chart, the north node is risin$, with the Moon below it and thus havin$ already entered the realm of north latitude" and it is a most powerful Moon, alone in the below!the!horizon hemisphere. It was stirred by a south node solar eclipse at the time of his popular personal success and re!election in the fall 8F7C. ,e had *nown how to show, character and to identify himself personally with the fate of his nation % a transcendent Mother!Ima$e replacin$ his most influential mother, who had passed away. #he south node eclipse released the ener$y of what he had built. In Henry -allace%s case, the Moon's nodes a'is coincides instead with his natal meridian. /ith the north node at the fourth house cusp his positive focus of adaptation is in

the inner life, the home" the south node focus releases the power, $ained in the inner life, in the public, political ((apricorn) sphere. In contrast, we have Mahatama .andhi with the north node at his natal Mid!,eaven. 4olitics was his line of $reatest personal e'ertion" the development of his inner life, the harvest of an ancient past.

The Nodes in the Houses

#he nodal a'is may coincide also with the cusps of two opposite, and complementary, houses of the natal chart. In these cases, the affairs and types of e'periences si$nified by these houses tend to become productive of results upon which the destiny of the person rests. #his does not mean that everythin$ in the fields of these houses is )fated) and beyond the person's will or power of choice. It means that, there, the forever lastin$ civil war between the past and the future, between the compulsions (real or ima$ined) of yesterday and the decisions which alone can build creative tomorrows, is findin$ its main battlefield. #here, decisions are made, or fail to be made" the results are either a creative life, or a fateful sense of failure or $uilt which (unless coura$eously overcome) spells spiritual re$ression. Even if the nodal a'is does not fall on the e'act location of house cusps, its position in any pair of opposite houses $ives a special type of emphasis to these houses. /here the north node is % the house, the si$n of the zodiac % there progress through personal self'exertion is most li*ely to be made. /here the south node is, there habits are more li*ely to be formed, or followed" it is the )line of least resistance,) but also of least e'ertion. It is easy to act in terms of the type of activities si$nified by the south!node emphasized house or zodiacal si$n" but this very ease may mean a ta*en!for!$ranted attitude which tends to defeat the deeper or hi$her (because most creative) purpose of the Self, the 0od! within. It may also mean an impersonal or super!personal release of power, or $enius. In both the cases of the )spiritual $eniuses,) the 4ersian 4rophets aforementioned, the south node is 2ust above the scendant. #he individuality of such bein$s was super! personal, the power of an ancient past released throu$h persona$es of e'traordinary power and completely inborn wisdom and actual *nowled$e. In contrast we see a /ohn )arrymore, with the north node below the natal horizon in the first house, see*in$ to build up his personality, to pro$ress as an individual, reachin$ occasionally hi$h, but pulled bac* by a seventh house south node % by habitual associates, by an intemperate yearnin$ for love, and by a deep sense of inner insecurity % a$ain centered at his seventh house where 6upiter and 4luto in #aurus s-uare a nearly e'act con2unction of Sun and Benus at the chart's nadir. In the chart of the $reat 1rench poet, $ictor Hugo, we see the north node con2unct Mercury in the fifth house. ,e dramatized himself, as well as became a $reat playwri$ht % this was the field of his pro$ress" he was a hard wor*er. ,is enthusiasm for social ideals and reform shows, on the other hand, in his eleventh house south node. ,e fou$ht for social causes, was e'iled, dramatized his e'ile. ,e remains *nown mostly as a $reat literary and

theatrical $enius" yet also as the poetic voice of the 1rench humanitarian movement and of 8Fth century liberalism. #hus, the north node and south node, the fifth and eleventh house meanin$s, are balanced and inte$rated in an unusually creative life. In the chart of the 1rench socialist leader and statesman, .eon 5lum, we have the opposite setup, with the north node in the eleventh house, the south node in the fifth house. ,ere personal pro$ress, inte$ration, the field of intense and sustained efforts is the field of social ideals and reform % the ma*in$ of $reat dreams come true. #he field of least resistance and of $reatest ease is the fifth house % that is, a way of meetin$ life's challen$e by personal self!pro2ection, by self!dramatization, by $amblin$ freely with self and others. Such nodal characterizations naturally must not stand alone. /hat they indicate is both very deep and subtle" factors often unrevealed by outer livin$ and public behavior. #o discover what is truly positive spiritual pro$ress in a man's life, and what is an easily successful release of ancient abilities and inherited $ifts, is often very difficult. #o *now what is a $reat talent based on stron$ personal efforts, and what is spontaneous $enius flowin$ through the personality without perhaps addin$ $reatly to personality or character % this is even more difficult. Get to the psycholo$ist, to the counselor and spiritual $uide, such a *nowled$e may prove essential. #he study of the Moon's nodes a'is at birth will $ive them invaluable clues.