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Lunar Nodes

We think of the universe as being flat like a pancake, and it is, pretty much, but not exactly so. Planets orbit at different angles to the sun's equator. The earth, for example. And around the earth orbits the moon at its own angle. Think of an old 12 inch vinyl record as representing the earth's orbit around the sun. Now put a dime on the record's edge. This is the moon's orbit around the earth, but it isn't flat on the record. It slices through it, sticking out above and below. The points where the moon's orbit around the earth intersects the earth's orbit around the sun (or where the dime slices through your old Elvis record) are the nodes. Why the nodes have the characteristics they do is a major metaphysical argument, for the moment, look at the books below:

February, 2006: By dint of a number of years of hard work, I find myself with what I think is objective knowledge of my most recent past life. Of late I've been informally reading astrological delineations of past life influences (nodes & such) & contrasting them to what I've worked out. When I get the chance I want to publish how well the various delineations (ie, books) fit me. The results, as they say in science circles, won't be conclusive, but might just be telling.

July 2007: Results are now in. Here is:

Dave's Method for Reading the North Node:
1. The signs the nodes are in have no value. Ignore them. Because of this, so far as natal interpretation is concerned, there is no difference between Mean & True. Aspects to the nodes, which depend upon exact degree, are another matter. One that, by the way, I am not capable of judging.

2. Nodes have value in the houses. If your north node is in Aries in the 5th house, ignore Aries. Read for the 5th house. But note this exception:

3. If the sign on the cusp of the house does not match the sign of the node itself, read your node as if it was in the next house. If, for example, your north node is in Aries in the 5th, but the sign on the cusp of the 5th is Pisces, read your node as if it were in the 6th. Compare 5th house & 6th house, select the one that seems best to you.

4. What to do with intercepted nodes? In the case of the Aries node, what if Pisces is on the 5th, and Taurus on the 6th? Since I believe that an intercepted sign in a house leads to two different "stories" about that house, then the value of a node intercepted in such a sign/house would have to be discovered, as it would not be immediately apparent. One day, all of a sudden, you catch yourself coming & realize the node was there, all along: A subtle shift of perception & the node is clear to see.

5. In the case of books, like Jan Spiller's, that only delineate nodes by sign, replace the sign with the house the node actually falls in (remembering rule 3), and then replace that house with the appropriate sign, where 1st house = Aries. In my case, my node is in Pisces in the 10th, with Aquarius on the MC. So I have an 11th house node, which, in Jan's book (11th = Aquarius), is Aquarius. My estimation of Spiller's book notched up considerably when I had that sorted out.
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In my case, to get a proper understanding of my north node meant changing both its sign and its house. My date & time of birth say it's in Pisces in the 10th. But in reality, it's in Aquarius in the 11th.

I stumbled onto this while writing notes on James Braha's How to be a Great Astrologer. It's a book on aspects with some notes on the nodes. And they're pretty good notes, once you figure out what house to read. Aside from Spiller & Braha, my opinion of the other node books did not change as much.

See also Reincarnation and Karma

Indicates a book on our Top Ten list. If you would like to find more books like it, click on the star.

	ASTROLOGY FOR THE SOUL - Jan Spiller, $20.00 *Contents:* Acknowledgments The location of your north node Introduction How to use this book North node in Aries: Overview, personality, needs, relationships, goals, healing theme song North node in Taurus: Overview, personality, needs, relationships, goals, healing theme song North node in Gemini: Overview, personality, needs, relationships, goals, healing theme song North node in Cancer: Overview, personality, needs, relationships, goals, healing theme song North node in Leo: Overview, personality, needs, relationships, goals, healing theme song North node in Virgo: Overview, personality, needs, relationships, goals, healing theme song North node in Libra: Overview, personality, needs, relationships, goals, healing theme song North node in Scorpio: Overview, personality, needs, relationships, goals, healing theme song North node in Sagittarius: Overview, personality, needs, relationships, goals, healing theme song North node in Capricorn: Overview, personality, needs, relationships, goals, healing theme song North node in Aquarius: Overview, personality, needs, relationships, goals, healing theme song North node in Pisces: Overview, personality, needs, relationships, goals, healing theme song *Comment:* Years ago when I first got this book, I went to Pisces & read about my node. That didn't make any sense, so as I have a 10th house node, and as the 10th house relates to Capricorn, I read the Capricorn chapter as well. When neither of them did anything for me, I set the book aside. And for ten years, on the shelf it sat. Meanwhile, I was experimenting with different ways of reading a chart, different ways of looking at houses & the planets in them. In 2007 I had excuse to look at Braha's How to be a Great Astrologer. He's blunt. He says to ignore the node's sign & read its house instead (the opposite of Spiller). So I applied my new rule about planets in houses (look for the cusp with the same sign as the planet & that's your house) & for the first time read a delineation of my actual node. One that made perfect sense to me. Eager to try out my new discovery, I sorted through all the various node books on the shelf. And came to Jan's. She nailed it. She nailed me. More than she herself ever knew, since she has my chart (she was once my landlady). Oddly enough, we have the same node. She thinks hers is in Cancer. By Braha's rules, and according to Spiller's presentation, it's actually in Aquarius. Same as mine. Looking at her website, she seems blissfully unaware. One interesting observation: Jan says that when your node is in the house opposite to the sign that traditionally rules that house, that you should read both your north node, by sign (the only way they're presented in this book), as well as the opposite sign. So, for example, if your node is in the 5th house, in the sign of Aquarius (according to the ephemeris, not according to Dave), you should read the Aquarius chapter as well as the Leo chapter. Is this justified? I don't have direct experience, but I can say that a planet debilitated by sign looks longingly at the house (not sign) opposite. Which is how you should interpret Bill Clinton's 11th house Saturn in Leo. If that's true - and I think it is - then Spiller's observation is probably also true. In this book, each sign gets around 40 pages of text. More than you can imagine. Far too long, I think, and as a consequence, repetitive. Bantam, 528 pages.

	THE LUNAR NODES: Your key to excellent chart interpretation - Judith Hill, $24.95 *Contents:* 1. A discourse on the Lunar Nodes (transcribed): The Lunar Nodes: Everything You Wanted to Know, from April 1988: Names for nodes, astronomy of, interpretation for nodes, signification, West vs: East, orbs, case studies for natal planet-node conjunction. The western tradtion Lunar nodes in Hindu astrology Node & sign cusps / nodes & orbs Orbs for transit to natal nodes The Western view of the nodes The north node in the Western system The occasional reversal of nodal emphasis The singleton node The examples Venus conjunct the natal north node Venus conjunct the natal south node Mercury conjunct the natal south node Mars & Mars-Mercury conjunct the natal south node Mars conjunct the natal north node Jupiter conjunct the natal north node Uranus conjunct the natal south node The south node & parents North node conjunct ascendant Moon-Jupiter conjuncct the natal north node Moon-Neptune conjunct the south node, 11th house Planets in square to both nodes South node conjunct the ascendant Guide to interpreting transits to natal nodes Doublings Transit Jupiter conjunct natal south node Transit Jupiter conjunct natal north node Transit Saturn to the natal south node Transit Mercury to the natal south node Transit Uranus & Neptune conjunct the natal south node Transit Neptune conjunct south node Transiting nodes to the natal chart Transiting nodes conjunct natal planets Eclipse discussion: four types Nodes & relationships 2. The nodal mechanism 3. Natal planet - natal node conjunctions 4. Natal planets in square to th natal nodes 5. Natal nodes in the natal twelve houses 6. The lunar nodes throgh the natal twelve signs 7. Physical appearance relating to planetary conjunctions of the lunar nodes 8. The medical nodes 9. Transit planets conjunct natal nodes 10. Transit nodes through the natal twelve houses (polarities) 11. Transit nodes conjunct natal planets 12. Death & the lunar nodes Additional reading Bibliography About the author 32 Cases chart examples, between pgs. 59 - 66. *Comment:* The book starts with a 58 page transcript of a seminar given in 1988 (more than a third of the entire book), which is a dazzling presentation of nodes. Much of it based on the author's own casework over the years. Hill is in agreement that the north node represents an incoming, the south, an outgoing. She is more subtle than most in asking, exactly, what is coming in & what is going out? Transiting Mars conjunct the south node in Virgo (pg. 43), all work is for naught & you end up broke. Transiting Sun conjunct the north node in Leo, watch out for high blood pressure, the result of too much coming in too fast. In other words, while you should make use of what the north node provides, and avoid being completely drained by the south node (often implicated in deaths, according to Hill), you should beware the excess of the north node, while taking advantage of the south node to rid yourself of what is no longer needed. This first section is a tour-de-force of a skilled working astrologer in action. The remaining chapters are shorter and tightly focused. Chapter 2, essential keywords for North vs: South. Here are a few: Power surge vs: Power outage Towards the world vs: Towards the eternal Present time, striving vs: Past time, memory Greed vs: Generosity Successful vs: Anonymous, invisible The delineations are remarkably free-wheeling. Is your Moon conjunct your north node? One possible result is success with women. Another is an excess of water, beyond what the Moon can handle (pg. 70). Mars on your south node? You could rescue others, but may be at risk as a soldier in an army (pg. 74). With natal planets square to the nodes, Judith offers difficult choices, one materialistic, the other idealistic, according to the planet & the polarity of the nodes. In reading Judith's delineations of nodes by house, follow my rules (above), in other words, if the node's sign does not agree with the sign on the cusp of the house, read the node as if it was in the next house. The results are quite good. As for nodes by signs, Judith tells me she wrote this section casually. Regardless, these are the best nodal sign delineations I have yet read. Here she is helped by her previous work with vocational astrology. As these delineations tend to point toward the houses the nodes are domiciled in, it's important to get the right houses: Boundaries are an issue with this polarity. Virgo rules boundaries, and these natives erect tight boundaries around certain issues (see house position for what & where). Pisces, your positive pole, symbolizes oneness, entropy, and the dissolving of boundaries. Learn to love, relax, sense eternity. (pg. 100) This applies to me. The axis falls, or appears to fall, in 4 & 10, which would be a universal career & a tightly restricted home life, but as the nodal signs agree with 5 & 11, not 4 & 10, the actual result is relationships where the details never work, contrasted with who are my friends, are there any really? In Chapter 7, Physical Appearance when natal planets are conjunct natal nodes, has some amazing observations. Moon conjunct south node results in physical & emotional frailty, a tendency to dehydration, light sensitivity & small breasts (pg. 103). North node Jupiter, fat & jolly, a tendency to tumors & diabetes. (pg. 104) As for Chapter 8, the north & south nodes, by signs, in medicine, checking the people I know best (all in their 40's & 50's, except my daughter), none of the delineations were good. When I translated the various south node house positions into signs (where the first house = Aries, the tenth = Capricorn, etc.) the results were better. I suspect if the author wrote these delineations for houses, rather than signs, the results would be greatly improved. I hesitate to offer this, as the author has much experience in medical astrology. Chapter 9, transiting planets to natal nodes, is solid. Chapter 10, Transiting nodes in natal houses is better, though confusing. Hill writes the delineations in house order, ie, first, second, third, fourth, but as the nodes move retrograde, the proper order would be 12, 11, 10, etc. Chapter 11 is the transiting nodes conjuncting natal planets. These are quite good. Chapter 12 is nodes & death, or, more specifically, south node & death, especially when a south node eclipse falls on an apheta, or life-giving planet (hyleg). This reminded me of Bill Clinton, who, while he was president, had an eclipse exactly on his 11th house Sun. It was a north node eclipse, and so passed without consequence to his health. Hill also notes that death may ensue when a transiting node conjuncts a previously eclipsed planet (within a certain time frame, of course), a detail I have not seen elsewhere. In the various chapters the author frequently refers us back to the first chapter, the very long seminar, crammed full of keen insights. And while there is an extensive breakdown of that chapter in the table of contents (which I have copied, above), it would be helpful, I think, if the book had an index as well. In the first chapter there are 32 chart examples, showing that when you understand the node, you understand the chart as a whole. Here is no. 23: South node, Moon & Neptune all conjunct in Aquarius in the 11th. While the chart is developed further in the text, here is Judith's one-line take: Excessive social drinking is his undoing. As Hill draws from her many years of consulting, there are many other charts discussed in the book. Each chapter also has its own pen & ink illustration (similar to the one on the cover), which add grace to the book. If I tell you this is the best of all books on the nodes, someone, somewhere, will write an even better one, just to show me up. If that's what it takes to get good books, I'm happy to eat crow. Judith Hill has written another fabulous book. Stellium Press, 149 pages, oversize. Read the book? Want to tell the world? How many stars (1-5) would you give this book?

	COSMIC LOVE: Secrets of the Astrology of Intimacy Revealed - Jan Spiller, $18.00 *Contents:* Acknowledgments The location of your north node Introduction Essential information Part 1: The Signs: Bringing out the best in love relationships Aries north node people Taurus north node people Gemini north node people Cancer north node people Leo north node people Virgo north node people Libra north node people Scorpio north node people Sagittarius north node people Capricorn north node people Aquarius north node people Pisces north node people Part 2: The Houses, Destiny's gifts Introduction to the houses Receiving love: gifts your partner brings to you Their north node falls in your 1st house 2nd house 3rd house 5th house 6th house 7th house 8th house 9th house 10th house 11th house 12th house Giving love: Gifts you bring to your partner Your north node falls in their: 1st house 2nd house 3rd house 5th house 6th house 7th house 8th house 9th house 10th house 11th house 12th house Part 3: The Aspects: Navigating the energy of past life connections Information on aspects North node conjunctions: People who help along the way South node conjunctions: Past life contracts The Composite Chart Conclusion *Comment:* January, 2008: We continue the study of node books with Jan's new book. Previous study has indicated that node books may have their own special rules. Let's see if that's the case with this book, using myself as an example. I have a north node in Pisces. It's in the 10th, but the sign on the 10th is Aquarius. Pisces is on the 11th (Placidus houses). So, according to my rules, my node is in the 11th, which, in Spiller's books, makes it Aquarius. But I start again from scratch. My node is in Pisces. But, as before, Spiller's delineation of node in Pisces was not a good fit. So I went to node in Aquarius. To my surprise, the delineation was absurd. North node Aquarians, I learn, are selfish, bullying Leos. So, on hunch, I flipped it. I read her delineation of north node Leo. And that worked. But it was simplistic & repetitive. Much more simplistic, much more repetitive than that in Astrology for the Soul. It was as if Spiller was writing a sequel. Regrettably, not a very good one. But there's more to the book than rehashed natal node delineations. There's also nodal synastry. What does your partner's node bring to your chart? What does your node bring to theirs? Spiller's technique is simple, and straight-forward: Using its zodiacal position, place your partner's node in your chart & read the result by house. So I cranked up Solar Fire & dug up all the old girlfriend charts. My relationships have tended to cluster, 1957-59. Those nodes were all in Scorpio & Libra. Did I make any "changes" to those nodes? Did I shift them from sign to sign, did I shift them from sign to house? No. I read the data straight. According to Spiller's book, most of my romantic partners have brought me issues of creatity (5th house) or responsibility (6th house), because that's where those nodes fall in my chart. Which, try as I might, I could not see. I was going back a full quarter-century. So I exchanged the signs for their house positions in the "natural" wheel. Libra became 7th house, Scorpio the 8th. And to my surprise, Spiller's definitions fit perfectly. A Libra node person (7th house) bring partnership to his/her relationships. A Scorpio node (8th house) is a soul-mate. ("Soul-mate" is a derided term, but I had a Scorpio node partner for 15 years.) I then further tested my finding with the woman with a node in Cancer (ie, 4th house). The woman with a node in Aries (1st). Sagittarius (9th). All were good. The reverse, my Piscean node in their 12ths, was also good. The next section of Jan's book are delineations of your node conjunct your partner's planets. North & south nodes are separately delineated. From what I can glean from my own experiences, the north node delineations are basically okay. I was surprised to discover that, aside from my south node conjunct everyone's Pluto, I've never had a south-node-to-planet, or planet-to-south-node relationship. I am wondering if the south node, by its nature, prohibits close relationships. The final section, on composite charts, runs a mere ten pages. I rarely ever use composite charts, so I did not look at this section. If Ms Spiller should find herself reading these notes, I would caution her against the possibility of becoming an astrological parody, "the node astrologer." She is too talented for such a fate. Bantam, 458 pages.

	LUNAR NODES - Mohan Koparkar, $6.95 *Contents:* Introduction Basic concept of lunar nodes Karmic controls Controlling aspects Nodes through the signs Nodes through the houses Aspects to the nodes in the natal chart Aspects to the nodes in the progressed chart Transiting nodes Transiting planets to the nodes Nodes in synastry. *Comment:* We were surprised to see a book so much different & so much better than the usual node books. In addition to the usual nodes in signs & houses, the key factor in this book are the planets ruling the nodes. Koparkar calls them Karmic Control Planets. As the south node is the inlet point for past karma, the planet ruling the south node is responsible for incoming karma. The planet ruling the north node is reponsible for karmic distribution. These two planets form some sort of angle to the nodal axis. Koparkar takes the shorter of the possibilities (eg, up to 90 degrees) and provides notes for conjunction, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 18, 22, 30, 36, 40 45, 51, 60, 72, 80 & 90 degree ruling-planet-to-node aspects. A lot in a small book. Mohan Enterprises, 90 pages.

	THE MOON'S NODES & THEIR IMPORTANCE IN NATAL ASTROLOGY - George White, $11.95 *Contents:* Foreword 1. Introduction 2. What is meant by the moon's nodes 3. How the position of the nodes in the horoscope affects the stature of the native 4. The part the nodes play in the popularity, success & fame of an individual 5. Nodal epochs in life 6. The moon's nodes in relation to the signs & houses 7. Eclipses generally, and their effects by direction in horoscopes 8. The lights individually & the nodes 9. The moon's nodes in relation to the planets 10. Conclusion Maps & explanatory tables: Charts for Baden-Powell, C.A. Pearson, Lord Beaconsfield Positions of the planets' nodes: Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, presumably as of 1927, though they hardly move. How to find the position of the Dragon's Head at any date *Comment:* From 1927, one of the first books on the nodes. In Chapter 3, White notes that north node, placed in the 1st, 12th, 11th, 10th, 9th or 8th house, makes one tall. The south node in these houses makes one short. South node conjunct the ascendant can make for a dwarf. Chapter 4 has useful notes on aspects to the nodes. Chapter 5 discusses the nodes in aspect to the angles. Chapter 9 details nodes & planets. He gives the secret to transiting nodes: The node must be near the planet's own node, or the planet near its own node. When they are, the transit has impact. There is also impact if, at the time of the transit, the planets are within one-half degree of parallel. A small, oddly satisfying book. AFA, 102 pages.

	WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: ANOTHER LOOK AT THE LUNAR NODES - Kathy Allan, $25.00 *Contents:* Acknowledgments List of figures List of charts Introduction 1. History: Jyotish, western 2. Nodal astronomy: Declination, latitude, eclipse, hypothesis, energy 3. Nodal delineation: Four nodal points, chart delineation, summary 4. Legalizing astrology: Evangeline Adams 5. Dabbling in spookery: Carl Jung 6. Alcoholics Anonymous: Bill Wilson 7. A poet and a madman: Ezra Pound 8. A visionary: Albert Einstein 9. A Queen (Elizabeth II) 10. Some fairy tale: Princess Diana 11. The fall: Dominique Strauss-Kahn 12. The Oracle of Omaha: Warren Buffet 13. The Microsoft king: Bill Gates 14. An unlikely corporate superstar: Steve Jobs 15. An unusual scientist: Kary Mullis 16. An unusual medical doctor: Michael Crichton 17. A master of horror: Stephen King 18. A super hero: Christopher Reeve 19. Hope and change: Barack Obama 20. Presidential challenger: Mitt Romney 21. Hero or villain: Julian Assange 22. US Psyche (July 4, 1776) 23. Beating the market (New York Stock Exchange) 24. Easy money: The Federal Reserve 25. Acts of God: Tsunamis, floods, hurricane, oil spill, storms 26. Conclusions Notes and references Natal nodal form Event nodal form Index *Comment:* The book starts with a detailed survey of previous work on the nodes. As an example, Allan gives George White's delineation of the newborn Princess Elizabeth's chart (currently England's reigning queen). South node conjunct ascendant, White feared Elizabeth would be a deformed, stunted dwarf. In pursuing the puzzle of the nodes, Allan discovers the key role played by Dane Rudhyar, and that, late in life, Rudhyar reversed his long-standing delineation of the nodes (swapping north for south) because, as he said, he was slow to realize the nodes travel backwards. Here is Allan's technique: The energy of the nodes are channeled through their rulers. Because the north node is stronger than the south node, the energy of the north node's ruling planet is often overemphasized, frequently for no obvious reason (pg. 24). By contrast, the planet ruling the south node is a planet infused with otherworld energy, is lacking in physical world know-how, and appears naive, clueless, and inexperienced, causing problems and suffering. The South Node ruler may be weak, powerless, immature, clumsy, awkward, artless, and ignorant. It lacks practical understanding and common sense. While the South Node ruler may function well in non-material pursuits, it has no clue how to operate in the physical world, and no clue how the physical world works. (pg. 24) Which for me was a rare "aha!" moment. My north node is in Pisces, the ruler, Jupiter, is in Aries in the 11th. South node is Virgo, the ruler is Mercury in Aquarius in the 9th. Which is stronger? On balance, Jupiter's placement in a cardinal sign and a succedent house overwhelms Mercury's placement in an fixed sign and a cadent house, even though Mercury is the chart ruler. Note that both planets are in tight aspect to the ascendant (sextile and trine) and are sextile to each other. The critical factor, for me, is that north node ruler Jupiter falls in an intercepted sign. Which makes planets in intercepted signs weaker than planets in cadent houses. I would not be on the verge of retirement, sitting alone in a room in a house selling obscure books to a handfull of true believers, if I had any clue how to operate in the physical world. Which means there are north node types and south node types, and I am a south node type. Additionally, Allan uses the points in square to the nodes, the "bendings." In order of signs, the "waxing square" in front of the north node is the north bending. If the node is in Aries, the north bending is Cancer. The "waning square," in Capricorn, is the south node bending. (Careful! The nodes travel backwards!) The north bending is a point of power, the south bending is a point of powerlessness, just as with the nodes themselves. So a planet in square to the nodes is not simply "in square," but is influenced by one more than the other. Check carefully. Planets in other aspects to the nodes receive energy from both of them, usually favorable. (Note that conjunctions are not aspects.) Allan also uses parallels. She says counter-parallels are pointless, since when a node is in parallel with a planet, the opposite node is counter-parallel. She also gives great emphasis to the Pre-Natal Solar Eclipse (maddeningly abbreviated PNSE in the text: see Notes and References in the back), which is more or less the degree of the node the Sun last passed over. She also pays close attention to the ruler of that eclipse, which is often the same as the ruler of the node itself, as well as the house the eclipse falls in which, again, is generally the same as that of the node. A quick check of an ephemeris will get you the exact degree of your prenatal solar eclipse. Allan summarizes her delineation technique in a box on pg. 33. Study it well! Note that Allan provides no house nor sign delineations. While Allan starts her book with James Braha (the same book I used, above), she says house delineations have been given undue importance (Conclusion, pg. 343). There are 22 chapters of case studies. These I largely skipped, which is not fair, as there are some very useful gems buried in them. (The speed of the nodal axis slows as an eclipse approaches. People born near an eclipse have near stationary nodes that progress little over a lifetime. pg. 38, from the chapter on Evangeline Adams) I cannot make myself read celebrity biographies. I would rather these be organized in some fashion: The node by sign, or the node by house, or aspected vs: unaspectd nodes, natal planets or transit planets or progressed planets at bendings, or something. The book has a nice index, but lacks a bibliography, which is a pity as the author has studied many books. I very much wish she would make summaries of key points. Overall, I like Allan's book. I wish I did not have to read through a lot of (to me, uninteresting) celebrity bios to get at the essence of her book. Allan does not give cookbook delineations as she finds cookbooks limiting. In the Conclusions she says she has not given any "new" keywords for the nodes, but does not compile the keywords she does use. I find both of these omissions limiting. Cookbook delineations hold an author's feet to the fire, it forces him to make hard choices. And they are hard. Regrettably I did not read the book closely enough to determine if people can be divided into north and south node "types." Perhaps the author will tell me. Pollux Press, 369 pages, oversize. Read the book? Want to tell the world? How many stars (1-5) would you give this book?

	LUNAR NODES: Discover your soul's karmic mission - Celeste Teal, $27.95 *Contents:* List of figures Introduction 1. The lunar nodes: The invisible nodes, astronomically; True & mean nodes; The nodes define our life mission; Four kinds of karma 2. Natal nodes chart positions: Your mission & the line of advantage; Nodes on the midheaven or overhead; Nodes on the ascendant; Nodal influence on stature & appearance 3. Extra push by higher powers: Nodes in aspect to the Part of Fortune; Nodes in aspect to the Vertex 4. Natal nodes by house position 5. Natal nodes by sign position 6. Your karmic control planets: Where the result of your past is manifesting; Where to find your pot of gold; Helpful aspects to the nodal rulers 7. Nodal aspects to inner planets in the natal chart 8. Nodal aspects to outer planets in the natal chart (includes Chiron) 9. Progressions & nodes 10. The transiting nodes: Nodal transits through the houses; The nodal transit times the result of prior choices; Nodal transits to the planets; Nodal transits to the nodes & angles 11. Transiting planets in aspect to the nodes: Planetary contacts to the nodes; Karma at work 12. Nodes in solar returns 13. Nodes in synastry: Nodal connections in chart comparisons; House & sign associations; Progressed nodal connections in chart comparison 14. Extra tips & tricks: A short story about past life therapy; How Neptune clouds the issue; Solstice points; In the degree of the nodes; Election charts; Determining the strength of planetary aspects to the nodes North node ephemeris, 1935-2054 Glossary Bibliography & website resources Chart data source notes Index *Comment:* Teal's node book delineates nodes both by house & by sign. So how well does she do with me as a test case? By house: My north node is in the 10th, but it's not in the same sign as the sign on the MC. Teal makes no mention of mismatches between cuspal signs & nodal signs, despite the fact that they are common. So, not surprisingly, Teal's 10th house delineation is not me. So we go to the 11th: This is a romantic dreamer who likes being seen as a hero or heroine. The need to be sacrificial, combined with a desire to play the lead character in an adventurous romance.... This is the Hero/Heroine, Soldier, Warrior, Knight, Rescuer, Liberator, or Messiah. (pg. 61). If that's me, then do I give you a feeling of being rescued? Saved? (From astrological drek, maybe?) This is weak. By sign: My north node is in Pisces. Teal's delineation for Pisces is good. Then, because 11th house node = Aquarius, I read that, too. And that was good. Both Pisces & Aquarius. How can this be? Because when Teal thinks about signs, she muddies them up with houses. Based on me & my chart, read Teal's sign delineations for both the sign & the house of your node. Chapter six, Karmic Control Planets, is an idea taken from Mohan Koparkar (see his book, above). By accident, no credit is given to Mr. Koparkar because, the author tells me, the page of credits was accidentally omitted from the first printing of this book. (It's there in the second printing, which I have not yet seen.) The karmic control planets are those planets which rule your nodal signs. The houses & signs of the rulers tell you how the nodes will manifest in your chart, which is similar to how I read house cusps in general. Teal gives five or six examples of node dispositor interpretation, but says there are way too many combinations for a complete cookbook. If you want that, go see the chapters on aspects. There are two chapters on aspects to the nodes. I rarely look at such chapters, as my nodes have no aspects to anything in my chart (the only completely unaspected points in my chart), so I don't feel that I'm a suitable judge. Teal's aspect delineations are limited to conjunctions & oppositions. A conjunction to one node is, of course, an opposition to the other. Read your nodal dispositors (Karmic Control Planets) as if they were conjunct your node & you will get useful insights. The chapter on nodes in synastry is interesting. The focus is on relationships brought over from past lives. The book has many charts, all of them of famous people. Llewellyn, 224 pages.

	LUNAR NODES: Keys to emotions & life experiences - Diane Ronngren, $14.99 *Contents:* Introduction 1. Symbols of destiny 2. Node basics 3. Lunar nodes, signs & houses 4. Keys to emotions 5. Moon / node aspects 6. The emotional energy field 7. Synthesis & synergy, aspects in action 8. Transiting lunar nodes (aka "astrological PacMan") 9. Keys to life experience Appendicies: Dynamic lunar nodes graphic wheel Lunar node ephemeris (true node, monthly), 1940-2040 Bibliography Acknowledgements Author's notes *Comment:* In addition to the usual chapters defining what nodes are & delineating them by sign & house, the author explains how to interpret nodes as emotional factors: First, delineate the natal moon's sign & house. Delineate the south node as if it were a secondary moon, then delineate the north node as if it were the "real" natal moon. The section on Moon/Node aspects is unique (as far as I remember) & includes the major aspects, as well as semisextile/inconjunct (30/150) and semisquare/sesquiquadrate (45/135). The chapter entitled, The Emotional Energy Field gives rules for aspects to nodes (including 30, 45, 135 & 150). Interpretations are given in the next chapter, Synthesis & synergy. The chapter on transiting nodes includes houses as well as planets. Ronngren says she uses mean as well as true nodes, depending on how the individual chart reacts. In chapter 8, Transiting Lunar Nodes, she likens the transiting nodes to "PacMan", set to swallow & gobble up hundreds of emotional experiences on its 18.5 year voyage around the zodiac. (Brownie points for a good image!) She writes: When a transiting Lunar Node (North or South) hits your personal significators, know that a "meal" is about to take place. Get ready to identify the issues represented by the planets in your chart. All manner of experiences are about to be "gobbled up" & become valuable additions to your life as a result of your planetary interaction with this transiting PacMan! (pg. 176) Ronngren's delineations of nodes transiting through the houses are better than Clara Darr's. Ronngren scores again as she writes her house delineations in reverse order, starting in the 12th house & going backwards to the first. This is to remind us that the nodes transit in retrograde, something all too easy to forget. Her notes on the nodal cycle (We can expect to see examples of important life-changing events occur at the time the transiting Lunar Nodes travel to complete their full cycle in the Zodiac. [pg. 200]) brings up several interesting observations: My mother celebrated her first node return with my birth, her first born. She was not quite finished giving birth to the last of us (9 in all) when the demi-return arrived nine years later, but it is most likely true that childbearing years coincide with the second node cycle, ages 19 to 38. The second observation is that none of the authors of these many books have observed this. From this I draw the conclusion that, a. Men aren't paying attention, and, b. The women who write these books are busy with ideas & careers & not families. A third observation would be to compare a child's node to its mother's planetary placements. A fourth observation, built on the last, is to note planetary placements & the total number of a woman's pregnancies. An interesting book. Her astrological bibliography in the back is excellent, something I rarely get to say. ETC Publishing, 236 pages.

	THE COMPLETE NODE BOOK: Understanding your life's purpose - Kevin Burk, $20.95 *Contents:* 1. Introducing the moon's nodes 2. The house axis 3. The Aries/Libra nodal axis 4. The Taurus/Scorpio nodal axis 5. The Gemini/Sagittarius nodal axis 6. The Cancer/Capricorn nodal axis 7. The Leo/Aquarius nodal axis 8. The Virgo/Pisces nodal axis 9. Aspects & Transits Appendix: "Ask Kevin". *Comment:* Burk improves on the house and/or sign model, to give us all possible combinations of nodes, signs & houses. North node in Aries in the first, north node in Aries in the second, north node in Aries in the third, etc., all the way to north node in Pisces in the 12th. How well does he do, with a chart like mine? North node in Pisces in the 10th, my actual node position, is a strikeout: I have virtually no family ties. North node in Pisces in the 11th (which how I would read it, see Dave's Method, at top), is not much better: I'm not all that creative. When I reformulate & read his section on north node in Aquarius in the 11th, I discover several things. One, Burk's writing is heavily formulistic (the same phrases repeated, word for word), and that he has a weak grasp of both houses & signs. Spiller's book, while wordy, is more penetrating. Llewellyn, 224 pages.

	NODES IN TRANSIT WITH ASPECTS - Clara M. Darr, $8.95 *Contents:* Introduction North node transits North node aspecting planets & nodes South node transits houses South node aspecting planets & nodes. *Comment:* Transiting north & south nodes taken individually through the houses & in aspect to natal planets. From the back of the book: The nodes in transit through the houses & in aspect to planets in the birth chart reveal another dimension of life potential & the promise of the birth chart as it unfolds. A valuable tool in predictive astrology, the Nodes signal opportunities to expand your horizons & delve into areas previously undiscovered. A brief monograph, newly reset (summer, 2005). AFA, 47 pages, small paper.

	THE NORTHERN MOON NODE - THE MESAGE FROM BEYOND - ASTROLOGY & REINCARNATION - Bastiaan van Wingerden, $29.95 *Contents:* Preface Reincarnation & astrology The spiritual points The spiritual process of the soul The moon's nodes, Lilith, the black Sun & cracking Pluto The progressive [sic] new & full moon The late progressive new moon Retrograde Mercury & reincarnation refusal Forms of incarnation, life's course & horoscope The message from beyond The northern moon node in the houses Aspects on the Moon nodes Appendix *Comment:* We get our first clue from the title itself. It rambles. And it starts in the Preface. In attempting to tell us where he got his system, the author rambles through his entire life story, but I needn't repeat that. The system that van Wingerden expounds is based on the work of Jean Carteret (1906-1980), a Frenchman who left no written works. His lectures, all in French, were taped. (They have been transcribed, but not yet translated.) Mr. Wingerden spent many hours listening to them. He writes, For years & years I have been listening to them. Every time I welcomed a client, I listened again to the tapes with the texts about the northern Moon node, Lilith & Pluto in the appropriate houses. Finally, I was able to dream of those tapes. I applied them in my clients' horoscopes & I experienced major identification. This system of interpretation deepened my consultations. It touches people in the depths of their souls to the point of moving them to tears... (pg. 1) This is a boilerplate definition of self-hypnosis. We will leave aside the years Mr. Wingerden needed to memorize Carteret's system, since slow learners are still, in the end, learners. To the book itself. Reincarnation & Astrology is a rehash of what Mr. Wingerden has read about the period between lives. It is clear he has no first-hand experience and has made no investigation himself. A guess would be that he bases his beliefs on those of others who were equally uninformed. Like many such people, he believes in guides. The only evidence which I have seen of guides is when living humans become aware of souls in distress & call in a guide to help them. Otherwise, I have never seen discarnates with guides. For that matter, I have never observed discarnates in groups of any kind. The Spiritual Points are the Moon's nodes, the black Moon Lilith, the black Sun, and the Diamond. In this text, Lilith is defined as the Moon's aphelion (termed "Aphelium" in the book, the term is untranslated Dutch). Priapus is the Moon's perihelion (termed "Perhelim"), again, Dutch). These terms also exist for the Earth. The Earth's apogee is the black Sun, the Earth's perigee is called the Diamond. In 2000, perihelion for the Earth was on January 3, 2000, and aphelion was on July 4, 2000. These points move in time, but very, very slowly. When the Moon is at Priapus, it is on the 5th level & pulls human consciousness up to the 4th level. (pg. 23) The black Sun is an inner conviction, a surety that always keeps you up. It is an understanding that the guides always love you. (pg. 24) The Spiritual Process of the Soul. The chapter is a ramble. The first progressive full Moon marks the beginning of two seven-year cycles in which you get more space for your self-realization. You become freed from or you free yourself from a number of chains. (pg. 33) Pluto-cracking is mentioned, the definition comes later. The Moon nodes, Lilith, the black Sun & cracking Pluto. It is as if in a former life you had a car accident and in this life the guides have again placed you behind the steering wheel as the only way to get you over your fear of driving. Thus, you create your own Plutonic hell in order to set yourself free. You have cracked Pluto as soon as you know yourself well-enough to be able to leave these fears & constraints behind you. At that moment Plutonic energies are not too big to handle any more and it becomes your power. (pg. 45) Now you know what a cracked Pluto is. And you get to do it over & over again. The next two chapters, on the Progressive Moon, are more gibberish than I want to mess with. If you have a late new Moon you are expected to hold onto your life assignment for 24 years or more. (pg. 61). A "late new Moon" is a a natal Sun/Moon angle, from waning square, to conjunction, to waxing square. This applies to half the population, something Wingerden seems unaware of. Mercury Retrograde & Reincarnation Refusal. Regrograde Mercury negates the previous two chapters. Mercury retrograde people are illogical. They are uncoordinated (pg. 65). Mercury retrograde means breech-birth, entanglement with the umbilical cord at birth, or near-death at birth (pg. 67). Mercury retrogrades are born prematurely & will suffer from asthma (pg. 69). Mercury retrograde people develop eating disorders (pg. 71). Late in life they develop an aversion to being touched (pg. 72). So if you have Mercury retrograde, your birth was a mess! So says Mr. Wingerden. This is rubbish of the first order. Wingerden introduces it to rationalize his idea that Mercury retrograde people just don't want to be here. Which is also rubbish of the first order. I am willing to contemplate all these ideas & more, but I am skeptical they can be reduced to Mercury retrograde! Overall, the writing on reincarnation is fairly good, but comes in a rambling style, and the astrology that comes with it is weak, as can be seen with Mercury retrograde. Since the heart of the book are the twelve sections on the north node through the houses, I will look at one in detail: Sixth house. The Northern Moon Node in the 6th House runs from pgs 202 to 219. The first three paragraphs set the general scene. North node in the 6th is a life of work. After little more than a page, we are introduced to Erica & her story. There is an 8th century life, there is a skip of 800 years to a brief gangster life in the US, to be reborn after only 8 years in Holland. Then we have Loretta's story, Hellen's story, Rita's story, Josanna's story, Marieke's story & Carlos's story. These stories take us to page 213. At which point Wingerden starts a general analysis, showing how the various stories can be explained by means of the theories he has earlier expounded, with the progressive moon, retrograde Mercury, etc. He summarizes 6th house node as follows: Born with an assignment to help, one is unable to do so. At the first progressive new moon, general disappointment & feeling of helplessness. At the progressive full moon (14 years later), you wake up & get down to work. When Pluto cracks, you discover spirituality & have a breakthrough. At the second progressive new moon (14 years after full) you are inspired, you complete your life mission. As this is, by definition, a 28 year cycle that begins somewhere in one's teens, then by the age of 50, the average person will have finished his life's work. There is no mention of what one is to do with the rest of his life. To be fair, there were things in this book that I liked, but that's only because I knew what they were before I opened the book. I could find them in the author's endless ramble. If you don't have a grounding in discarnates & spooks & demons, you will likely experience this book as a confusing ramble, and may be upset in places. Tighter editing, a better translation would greatly clarify the author's points. But what do I know? I'm only a bookseller. Lillalith Publications, 447 pages, hardcover.

	RAHU & KETU (MOON'S NODES) IN PREDICTIVE ASTROLOGY - Manik Chand Jain, $9.00 *Contents:* 1. Introduction 2. Rahu & Ketu in Hindu astrology 3. Rahu & Ketu in western astrology 4. True conception of Rahu & Ketu 5. Rahu & Ketu in houses 6. Rahu & Ketu in signs 7. Rahu & Ketu in aspects 8. Combinations of Rahu or Ketu with planets 9. Rahu & Ketu in vimshottari dasa 10. Rahu & Ketu in transits 11. Transit Rahu & Ketu aspecting planets 12. Transiting planets aspecting Rahu & Ketu 13. Kala-Sarpa yoga 14. Eclipses in nativities 15. Rahu & Ketu in female horoscopes 16. Rahu & Ketu in synastry 17. Karmic destiny 18. Famous people *Comment:* The Hindu conception of the nodes, as we've pointed out elsewhere, is superior to Western ideas. In Vedic astrology, the north node is known as Rahu, the south node as Ketu. This is the most difficult book on this page. While parts of this book will be clear to western astrologers, if you have no previous experience with Vedic astrology, it will be a baptism by fire, so to speak. Sagar, 169 pages.

	LUNAR NODES: NEW CONCEPTS - Bernice Prill Grebner, $14.95 *Contents:* Prologue Introduction Karma South node heritage Relationships South node through houses North node through the houses Comments Aspects to the nodes Why failure at the south node? Nodal dignities nd debilities Transits; Progressions Astronomical explanations of the nodes Nodal points in the charts of famous people (Carl Jung, the Duke of Windsor, Herbert Hoover, Manuel Garcia, Winston Churchill, Pope John 23, Bernard Baruch, Eva Braun) Synastry aspects Synastry interpretation Conclusion. Appendices: 1. Nodal theories 2. Current transiting nodes 3. Lunar nodal return 4. Additional thoughts on the nodes 5. Past lives or vocations taking little effort 6. Needs for release 7. Examples 8. Location of north & south nodes (ephemeris from 1875 to 2020) 9. Newer information about the nodes. *Comment:* The delineations in the charts of famous people are a brief paragraph each, but all have chartwheels & all are timed, though the sources are not given. AFA, 95 pages.

	THE MOON'S NODES: A Churning Process of the Soul - Agneta K. Borstein, $15.95 *Contents:* Acknowledgements Foreword Introduction Invocation Nuggets of wisdom Part 1: 1. Fundamental facts about the moon's nodes Part 2: 2. Wisdom of gods & goddesses of the moon's nodes 2. The myth of the moon's nodes Part 3: 4. Mars & the 1st house - Who are you? 5. Venus & the 2nd house - Your security 6. Mercury & the 3rd house - Listen to your voice! 7. Moon & the 4th house - Calling the moon 8. Sun & the 5th house - Invoking the sun 9. Mercury & the 6th house - Body is the temple of the soul 10. Venus 7 the 7th house - Love thyself 11. Pluto & the 8th house - Let go & let live! 12. Jupiter & the 9th house - The journey 13. Saturn & the 10th house - The initiation process 14. Uranus & the 11th house - Where are you going? 15. Neptune & the 12th house - Our reality 16. North & south nodes - The soul's desire for growth Part 4: 17. Chris, a case study Part 5: Appendix: A history of the moon's nodes Part 6: Affirmations & meditations Glossary Birth data information Bibliography Ephemeris of the moon's nodes & eclipses, 1900-2050. *Comment:* "Churning" is to liken the nodal process with that of cheese-making. The author explains it on pgs. 8 & 9: I offer this story of Churning for you to understand the Process of Life as a Process of Churning. That process may make your life "stink" at times, yet the same Process will require that you to develop [sic] your own sense of taste or true understanding of life's meaning. Only you will understand the heavenly rewards that your Churning Process will give you. The premise of the book is that a first house node is related to Mars, a second house node to Venus, a third house node to Mercury, etc. The reasoning is simple: The first house is ruled by Mars (pg. 64), so a discussion of Mars & an understanding of its various traits is essential to understanding a north node in the first house, as all first house north nodes are martial to some extent. So a north node in the 11t house is ruled by Uranus. We learn that before the discovery of Uranus in 1791, those who exhibited "Uranian" characteristics were routinely locked away in aslyums (pg. 158). My impression was the book is near gibberish, as is hinted by a close reading of the table of contents. The author has read widely, but nothing she has read impressed her as much as her own fancies, for better or worse. Crescentia Publications, 256 pages.

THE NODE BOOK (includes planetary & asteroid node tables) - Zipporah Pottenger Dobyns, $11.00

Contents:

1. Philosophizing
2. General principles
3. Planetary nodes
Asteroids
4. Nodes of the moon
5. Summing up

Directions for use
Meaning of symbols
Heliocentric positions of planetary nodes
Table of years from 1950
Node tables for the planets
Node tables for Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta

Supplement:
House/planet/sign combinations and their key phrases
Chart of aspects and minor aspects.

Comment: The idea of conflating houses & signs has been around for some time, but much of the modern misunderstanding of these two, the current belief that houses = signs, signs = houses, can be laid at the feet of this one woman & her famous "letters". I cannot tell you the harm this has caused.

Unique to this book, rudimentary delineations of the nodes of the various planets. These nodes are virtually stationary, but because the Earth moves relative to them, they appear to shift position, relative to our vantage point, as we orbit the sun. By definition, these nodes are the places where a planet's orbit around the sun intersects our own orbit around the sun, as we have no other means to judge the solar equator. Pluto's north node, for example, ranges from 18 to 21 degrees of Cancer, depending on where the Earth is in relation to that point at Plutonian distance.

Delineations of lunar nodes & houses are a notch better than average.

Tables in the back give the exact planetary nodes, for each degree of the natal sun position (ie, for every day of the year, if you convert), for 1950. And though the planetary nodes hardly move at all, there are tables to calculate the precise position for any day of any year for dates ranging from far before 1900, to far beyond 2000. North planetary nodes are given, as well as south planetary nodes, as with Mercury, Venus & Mars, these are more nearly square or trine (Mars) to each other, than opposed (why this is I have no idea). These tables, and a desire for further research, are the reasons to get this book.

TIA (Truth in Action: pg. 8) Publications, 126 pages.

See also Reincarnation and Karma

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