Your Destiny: North Node & South Node

North Node and South Node in your Birth Chart

The lunar nodes represent the path of your soul in your astrology chart. Through understanding the placement of the north node and south node of the moon, you are able to find out what your soul has to learn in this life. We like to call the axis of the nodes – the door to destiny. 

The lunar nodes are called north node and south node in Western Astrology. In Vedic astrology (Jyotisha) they are also known as Rahu and Ketu. Even though in astrology the placement of the nodes has a very high significance, the nodes are not real existing planets. The lunar nodes are mathematically calculated points in your chart depending on the moon’s orbit at your time of birth. So it is like a hidden secret, which has been revealed. Pretty intense, right?!

North node and south node are always placed on an axis and therefore directly opposite each other in your birth chart. They form the axis that represents what you brought into this life and what you have to develop in this lifetime. Understanding these placements can bring tremendous insights and help you to find the path that your soul has chosen before your birth. 

In Vedic astrology (Jyotisha) the dragon acts as a representation of the nodes or more precisely – Rahu and Ketu. Rahu was a demon fighting against the Gods. As Rahu is very clever, he managed to conceal his identity and sneak his way to the elixir of immortality called Amrita. He drank a bit of the elixir and thus became immortal. The God of the Sun and the God of the Moon saw what was going on and told Mohini about it. Mohini was an Avatar of Vishnu, who is one of the most important personifications of the divine in Hinduism. Vishnu was very angry and cut off the head of the dragon. But Rahu had already become immortal and therefore continued to live on in two forms. The head of the dragon has since been represented by Rahu, the North Node and the tail of the dragon immersed as Ketu, the South Node. As a consequence of the act to become godlike, Vishnu decided that Rahu and Ketu would forever be responsible to help humans on their path through life. 

Rahu (North Node) is now known as the head of the dragon. It is associated with materialism, greed and an insatiable urge for progress and gains. So wherever the North Node is placed in your chart, there is an urge for progress and gains – sometimes (so it is said) at all cost. The head of the dragon is cut off the body, therefore however much progress we make in this area of our lives, Rahu is not able to fully digest that. It wants more and makes you thrive into the direction it is headed towards. The way we progress, the blockages or sacrifices we have to make and also the amount of luck and support we have reaching in the direction of our north node is also influenced by the planets and houses that Rahu sits with. Therefore our explanations are never complete. Your full birth chart has to be taken into account to understand the path of your soul in depth. However, the explanations can help you understand where your door to destiny is and how to get there. Going by the law of attraction your soul always gets signs on its way through this lifetime. Being here on our page might give you some clues or insights that you need to read now. 

Ketu (South Node) developed as the second persona of Rahu. When the body was cut off the head, it was also immortal. Therefore Ketu continued to live without the head. In your chart it stands for where you come from and what you have already mastered in your previous lifetime. The South Node shows the lessons you have learned and the areas of life where you have learned and progressed as a soul. The placement of the South Node can give you an indication of the resources your soul has developed and shows you what you can fall back on, in the struggle or path to reach your North Node.

For those of you who struggle with the concept of reincarnation, the South Node can also be seen as the first years of your life, usually childhood and early adult life. The North Node therefore stands for the phase as an adult (approximately after the age of 35) and what you have to master to fulfill your soul’s destiny.  Some astrologers believe that after the age of 35 things move quicker in the area of your north node. If you have not listened to the small knocks of destiny pushing you in this direction throughout your life, around that time you will be pushed into the north node’s direction.

Placement of the Lunar Nodes in your chart

The nodes of the moon indicate your path through life. They can help you understand which direction you should be headed to and what you can rely on. It can be said that the nodes act as a compass to navigate you in this lifetime. This page will help you understand better what your destiny in this life is and what you have to focus on. 

Before you go into the interpretations for the placements of the North Node and South Node, we want to give you a bit more background on how the nodes will influence you and your life.