The North and South nodes are not actual celestial bodies that you can point to definitively in the night sky. They are two abstract points, delineating where the path of the sun’s orbit, called the ecliptic, and the path of the moon’s orbit intersect. The South Node is Yin and the North Node is Yang. Together they make up a cosmic compass, providing direction for our life path.
Yin- Cold, quiet, cloying, intuitive, passive and nurturing. Representative of feminine qualities.
Yang- Hot, loud, light, active, daring and domineering. Representative of masculine qualities.
Figuratively speaking, the South Node is at the bottom, and represents what needs to be released. It embodies all the qualities, skills and traits we have already mastered and refined. While these gems are at our disposal, they represent remnants from the past, and must be integrated into a brand new way of being.
We have mastered the qualities of the South Node so well that they’ve become our default. Our go-to when things get rough or unfamiliar. The grand mistake of a lifetime is engaging these skills, when we should be learning new ones brought forward by the North Node.
This fits neatly with a worldview that allows for the possibility of reincarnation, but even if not, it represents lessons learned and perfected that we are born with. It might be easier for some to conceptualize the South Node as pertaining to early childhood experiences and memories.
In this lifetime, it’s time to keep the essence and extract the value from the South Node, but not relive the lessons themselves. The best case scenario entails taking the knowledge and applying it to the next stage of life. The North Node is the guidepost, pointing the way to this next phase. The transference of wisdom starts from the South Node, and ends in the North Node. This is a lifelong process, defining the trajectory of our lives.
If we’re climbing up a ladder, the North Node is the rung we can see above us, the one we next reach for. In a more playful sense, it’s the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It beckons, seduces and enchants us to keep moving forward. The territory is fresh, uncharted, unknown, and thus promises adventure.
The power of the North Node is the insatiable hunger to increase and expand itself into a brand new way of behaving, doing and thinking. In its quest to make this a reality, it is like a wellspring of motivation that compels us to keep trying to reach our goals. A part of ourselves that never gives up, or if we do, we pay the heavy price of knowing we are living far below our potential.
The spirit of the North Node resonates with the material world. It wants to see real world results and gains in the physical and corporeal sense. The South Node, being the exact opposite, is therefore associated with spirituality and more ethereal matters. Spiritual practices relate to our liberation, which requires a process of release, and a letting go of the things that bind us to the hard, material world.
We shift from one polarity to another throughout our lifetime. Sometimes, embodying the traits of the South Node seems necessary- if we’re convalescing, regrouping, licking our wounds, going into meditation, or needing a spiritual retreat. There are times when it’s natural and responsible to rely on the gifts inherited by the South Node.
The South Node fulfils a very Yin function. It provides nourishment and support to fuel the Yang necessary to engage the North Node. Yang is active, daring and domineering and needs to be fed by Yin in order to function. The gems from the South Node absolutely sparkle with delight, when enlisted to aid the North Node.
However, these same gifts can overwhelm us, and cause us to slow down our personal evolution if we ignore the pull of the North Node, and slip back into the lull of the South Node. Natural ability and talent can lead to laziness and indolence, making it easy to get stuck in the comfortable space provided by the South Node. We traverse toward the North Node direction more easily when we have released the heavy, cloying portion of ourselves. Heaviness and cloying factors are yin in nature.
Ideally, we are somewhat disinterested in, or even bored by, our South Node qualities. This increases our desire to experience that which is different- to explore the opposite modalities from that which we are familiar with. This adds excitement, new meaning and invigorates our lives.
It’s a steep learning curve however, so mistakes are fully expected as is going overboard occasionally. It’s not just exhilaration and the thrill of accomplishment, but misguided acts and just being plain wrong, that are all signs of traveling on the North/South Node path.
The Yin South Node and the Yang North Node derive mutual benefits from each other, and constantly work to balance each other out. They follow the same basic principles revealed by the Theory of Yin and Yang- they are mutually dependent on each other and one can not exist without the other.
Without knowing the opposite, we can’t know the primary. For example, if a world existed with a sun that always burned brightly, never even giving shadows a chance to manifest, this does not provide any reference, or possibility to experience light and dark. Life becomes a stalemate, and no evolution occurs.
It’s the tension between opposites which powers creation. Two sperm can happily meet at a bar, have a laugh and do some shots, but later on when they’re alone together they will never produce life. Only when the lucky sperm merges with a tiny ovum can the spark of creation fire off. So it is with the North and South Node, one node can not be experienced without having tasted the other. You can only move toward the North Node if you are coming from a strong, nourishing base provided by the South Node.
The South Node is what we inherently know already, bringing sharpened skills to our disposal. Whatever is left out of the equation, is found in the North Node. Humas, being pioneers at heart, collectively strive to climb the proverbial Mt. Everest, or take the first voyage to Mars. The rate, the daring, and the cunning at which we do this, however, is unique to each person. Even if one screams and runs in the other direction of the North node path, it is always there beckoning us.
Knowing your Nodal placements brings clarity about why you exhibit certain behaviors, tendencies and talents. This knowledge is available to help gain perspective about your life if there is doubt or confusion surrounding the issue. You can literally ask the Universe- So, how am I doing? Am I on the right track?
Of course, zooming toward the North Node, without heeding or honoring the South Node, can produce very materialistic results, burnout and skepticism. If you overstress the importance of your own personal goals and become consumed by them, Yang becomes pathological.
Like a maniac out of control, eventually it will all end badly, or with less than stellar results. Run the marathon at a pace you can handle, otherwise your outward flowing energy and vitality (Yang) will exhaust itself.
When Yang burns itself out, goals become farther away and harder to reach. This is when another principle of the Theory of Yin and Yang plays out. Yin and Yang transform into each other. This happens when either reaches its maximum, or most extreme state.
As Yang hits its peak, it signals the Yin qualities inherent in the South Node to lull us back into a secure space where we can consolidate our resources, and rebuild our strength. This is the power of a healthy South Node- to provide a place, a state of being, to be temporarily dipped into and refreshed. The purpose is to fortify you so you will spring up, reaching toward a new identity
The motion of Yin is downward and inward- putting us into a protected, quiet space until ready for the next step. In a normal spin of the wheel, according to Yin and Yang, the next movement must be Yang. This direction is up and out. The thrust boldly forces upon us the changes we are destined to make.
To sum up, metaphorically speaking, the South Node is akin to ice. Water in its frozen form represents an intense form of Yin. It is cold, solid and does not move very much. In our lifetime, the goal is to melt the South Node and decrease its sway over us.
In our lifetime, the process of minimizing the South Node and maximizing the North Node never ends. To conceptualize this, it helps to remember the Yin-Yang symbol. A circle split in two equal parts with two different colors. In the center of each part is a small circle, the same color as its opposite. This reveals that there is always a grain, or the essence, of the other half embedded in its counterpart, bringing stability to the whole.
Embracing the North Node means living with a small part of the South Node as well. This small grain lies secure, distilled to its essence, but never entirely eliminated. The Nodes develop well when they are in proper proportions, relative to each other. The more the North Node enlarges and grows, the smaller the South Node becomes.
This enables the South Node to become more refined, smarter, easier to use, and accessible. It’s the ideal tool for the North Node, enabling people to harmonize their Yang, masculine side with their Yin, feminine one. Converting ice (Yin) to steam (Yang) produces the energy needed to power the vehicle of creation you are meant to drive.
