There is a link between the cycles we witness in the cosmos and our own sense of life purpose. The study and work of astrology is a quest to understand our collective and personal cycles of evolution and our place in the cosmos. I believe the ancient stargazers were trying to understand the events unfolding in their immediate reality, but also place themselves in the larger cosmos – much like we are still trying to do.
The difference between then and now is that their world held enchantment. It spoke to them. There was a closer and more intimate conversation happening.
Before the Age of Reason and Enlightenment, astronomers and astrologers were one and the same. One couldn’t understand the planetary dance, without attributing its meaning and applying it to one’s reality. Inherently, as human beings, we are looking for meaning and coherence of purpose in all that’s unfolding around us.
What is my life purpose?
Rarely, I get asked this question directly, but it’s always hovering in the background during sessions with clients.
I’ve always been fascinated by this question. Already at a young age, I felt that I had a ‘mission’ to do in this life, and I anxiously awaited the yellow envelope with a letter stating my mission. (I watched way too many action and detective movies!) This burning desire fueled my devotion to astrology: not as predictive art, but more about helping me understand the themes unfolding on my path. I believe the world speaks to us and serves as a compass for our evolution – individual and collective.
The Life Purpose Dragon
During my sessions, I often will speak to the Lunar Nodes and their meaning in the birth chart. What I have noticed in my own experience and in the lives of my clients, is that around midlife, the North Node starts beckoning on towards it.
There’s a lot of literature about the Lunar Nodes. My understanding of them is through the imagery of the Dragon. The North Lunar Node is the Head of the Dragon, and the South Lunar Node is the Tail of the Dragon. You can’t cut them in the middle. You have to learn how to ride the Dragon, much like Khaleesi in Game of Thrones. Plus, we have to sit near the head of the Dragon, not let its tail whip us about.
Why do the Lunar Nodes matter?
In essence, your entire birth chart speaks to your purpose and evolution in life. It’s not just the Sun or Moon, or any other planet. Granted, they may carry different weights and pull us in another direction, but our efforts should focus on BRINGING IN ALL THE SPOKES OF THE WHEEL, as I like to call it. Otherwise, we are a wonky wheel, hobbling along life’s already bumpy road.
But the Lunar Nodes add another layer to our evolution: it points clearly at an inner dichotomy and where our edge of growth and becoming lies.
The North Node – The Head of the Dragon
That’s our north, where we need to head towards and where we may feel vulnerable, unfit, afraid, and incapable. The North Node beckons us to move towards it, and it gets louder and louder as we mature.
The sign, house, and whatever planets are in conversation with it, gives us clues to what is it that we need to develop and work on in this lifetime. It will show up in our lives, and very potently too in the work we do in the world – be it in our careers or businesses we create.
It may never really feel completely comfortable or at ease. It takes effort and remembering. If you don’t drive a stick shift, it’s a bit like having to remember that you need to shift gears and use the clutch properly.
The South Node – The Tail of the Dragon
I like to say that the South Node is like a t-shirt you get while on vacation that says: BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, GOT THE T-SHIRT. You know the drill here. The South Node is like your old shoes: comfortable, loose, frayed, but also worn out. They can come in handy when needed, but you can’t keep going with them anymore.
It’s all of our resources and ways of being that have served us in the past and even may have worked well, but we can’t keep acting that way. If we stay stuck in our South Node because it’s the devil we know, we will inevitably feel stuck in our lives.
If you believe in past lives and reincarnation, the South Node speaks to themes of your past lives, things you have suffered, done, and modes of being that served then, but that won’t cut it in this life’s journey.
So the tendency if we keep doing the things that reflect our South Node (via its sign, house, and any planets around it), we will have a harder time getting out of our old stories.
Now I don’t think that we should throw out the baby with the bathwater. The Lunar Nodes is the Dragon the rides through two signs, that are complementary and opposite in themes, in your birth chart, and it calls for integration.
There are gifts in your South Node that can serve you on your journey towards the North Node.
It’s a bit like this: you are fluent in Spanish, and you move to Portugal. You can get by with your Spanish in the beginning. It can help you get a gist of what is being said to you in Portuguese, as the languages are Latin-based and similar in many respects. But if you want to make a living in Portugal and integrate into the culture, you will need to learn Portuguese. In other words, embrace the needs and demands of your North Node.
Others see the North Node as your purpose in this life. In many ways, it reveals things that you do need to bring forth in this life, but I prefer to look at the entire chart to see what is the theme of your purpose and work in this life. The Sun for one gives you a good indication of what you are, but what you are also striving to become more fully. The Moon reveals what you need to do to feel nourished and nurtured at a Soul level, so you can do what your Sun is striving to do.
As I like to say: DO YOUR MOON, AND YOUR SUN WILL THRIVE.
But also look to your Lunar Nodes. Look to the sign and houses they are and see how these themes feature in your life and work.
To get a full picture, it’s best to have an astrology session to get you started. Remember also, that reading your birth chart is not a ‘one and done’ sort of deal. Your birth chart is your COSMIC COUNTRY, and you are its AMBASSADOR.
Getting to know the unique landscape of this country, takes time. To this day, with over 20 years of being devoted to astrology, I’m still learning new things about my birth chart. Nevertheless, an astrology session will get you started and will give you much food for thought and insights about your life’s purpose and your evolution.
