Evolutionary Astrology Notes: the Moon Nodes

Last time I shared my notes on Pluto in the 8th house which are also relevant for Pluto in Scorpio. Now we’ve covered the sign and house placements of Pluto, we need to look at the rest of the Evolutionary Axis: the Moon Nodes and their aspects and rulers. Some of these notes are from Healing the Soul by Mark Jones.

In Evolutionary Astrology, Pluto represents the soul and its deep unconscious security patterns, as well as gifts and talents that may be hidden. The Moon Nodes are more conscious and represent the evolutionary potential of the ego. The south node shows how the soul (Pluto) tried to fulfil its purpose in the past, while the north node shows how it could develop into the future.

The rulers of the nodes show how you’ve fulfilled or manifested the nodes in the past or how you can evolve new ways to do that in this life as part of your evolutionary intent.

Aspects to the nodes show planets that have played a role in shaping your experiences for evolutionary and karmic reasons. The type of aspect shows how you’ve responded to these experiences as well as the karmic condition of those planets. They may show issues that you’ve worked on before or talents and gifts that you’ve developed, or could develop.

As an example, I have Pluto conjunct Mercury in Virgo in the 8th house which was fulfilled in the past through the south node in Virgo in the 7th house. The ruler of the south node is Mercury which is conjunct Pluto, showing issues and talents being brought forward into this life. The south node is also conjunct the Sun in Virgo and Mars in Leo both in the 7th house, showing prior experiences and potential gifts.

The polarity point of Pluto is in Pisces in the 2nd house which can be fulfilled through the north node in Pisces in the 1st house. The rulers of the north node are Jupiter in Scorpio in the 8th house and Neptune in Scorpio in the 9th house. These planets are both in aspect to the nodes, with Jupiter trine the north node and Neptune square the nodes.

Let’s unpack this, starting with the sign placement of the nodes:

The south node in Virgo shows past experiences of self-analysis that’s designed to overcome too much egotism so you can relate to others on an equal basis. You have a strong need to be of service and a talent for planning, organisation and keeping track of details which you can channel into appropriate work. That means avoiding anything that doesn’t allow you to serve others in a practical or useful way.

You may spend a lot of time thinking about how you can improve yourself so you can be less selfish. But this can lead to self-obsession where you spend all your time thinking about yourself in an effort to be less self-centred! 🤣 This is likely if you don’t understand yourself and how the ego is constructed.

You may seek out humbling or even humiliating experiences in order to avoid being selfish and could become fixated on how bad you are and feel guilty about everything. As Mark Jones explains, these feelings of inferiority create an inner void that you can’t fill which:

“…arises as the result of having ripped the heart out of [your] personal sense of self in order to clean it of its egocentric delusion.”

For me, this is reinforced by my natal Pluto in Virgo so it’s clearly something my soul has been working on for a while. The image of the ripped-out heart is interesting because I was born with a heart defect and had an operation to correct it as a baby – some kind of karmic residue perhaps? (More about that here)

The north node in Pisces shows that your evolutionary intention is to learn faith and compassion for yourself as well as others, and to forgive yourself for your perceived shortcomings and failures. This doesn’t mean that you should stop thinking or discriminating between things. The correct use of Virgo discernment is to analyse yourself so that you can move towards your true potential.

This will be found by surrendering to your true self and learning to trust that life is unfolding as it should. By surrendering to the divine you can find peace through self-acceptance and recognise that samsara is nirvana and your ordinary mind is Buddha nature.

The ruler of the south node is Mercury in Virgo conjunct Pluto in the 8th house which reinforces the obsessive thinking and the need to transform my mind so I can serve others more effectively. The rulers of the north node can help me to evolve towards the experience of Pisces. Jupiter in Scorpio in the 8th house offers an expansive view of the process of transformation, while Neptune in Scorpio in the 9th reinforces the need for surrender through religious experience.

All of this will play out through the house placements of the nodes and their rulers:

The south node in the 7th house shows that your past experience was to learn about yourself through relationships and by comparing yourself to others. You may have developed a deep understanding of relationships and have a talent for cooperation. But relationships may also dominate your life, either practically or by thinking about them all the time. This can be draining and you may experience cycles of involvement with others followed by withdrawal in order to recover.

These patterns of relating reflect the feelings you have about yourself and show a need to learn balance in your relationships. This can be complicated because your identity can be so bound up with others that you get lost in their opinions and points of view. There can be a lot of shadow projection and assumptions to work through before you can see yourself clearly.

With Virgo in the 7th house it’s easy to see how the desire to be of service coupled with the tendency to criticise and put yourself down could turn relationships into a nightmare of self-abasement. I used to lose myself in relationships to the point where my identity was almost erased in the other. I also used to try too hard to be sociable in order to be liked, but this just made me hate myself and withdraw in disgust.

When I was 20, I realised that I didn’t know who I was without the mirror of another person. It triggered a breakdown and forced me to withdraw in order to heal. In the end, I felt the only way to find myself was to stay away from other people completely, at least for a while – and that takes us to the north node.

The north node in the 1st house shows the need to evolve into your authentic self and develop your individuality without reference to others. You need a healthy amount of self-assertion so you can find the courage to be true to yourself and take the initiative to act on your own terms. You may need to let go of the fear that by not pandering to others you’ll end up alone. You also need to overcome the tendency to flip between too much activity followed by exhausted withdrawal.

With Pisces here it creates a paradox with the north node: the need to assert and define yourself as an individual while also surrendering to the divine and becoming more selfless. This could be expressed through creative work and imagination, but also by awakening to your true self in the divine and acting from there rather than your ego. You can then form relationships with others on an equal basis as a whole person.

Now we need to add the influence from aspects to the nodes:

The south node is conjunct the Sun in Virgo and Mars in Leo in the 7th house and shows experiences that were important in the past. They could represent an ability or awareness that has been developed and/or an issue or something unresolved that has been brought forward into the present.

Both of these placements create further paradoxes. The Sun conjunct the south node shows a strong will to be yourself and a feeling of being special which may be expressed through creativity or being a self-centred drama queen. This contradicts the Virgo need for self-effacement and the 7th house need for equality, creating inner conflict.

Mars conjunct the south node is similar and shows a strong will and need for self-assertion and independence and the freedom to go your own way. Again, this contradicts the need of the south node in Virgo to be less selfish and the 7th house need for compromise, leading to more inner conflict.

It’s hard to square this with my experience of losing my identity in relationships. Then again, there were times when I was able to stand up for myself and act ‘out of character’ when a little warrior would appear from the shadows and assert itself – and usually upset somebody. Followed by me beating myself up for being selfish! I also had a lot of rage that got bottled up and turned into health issues with my guts (Virgo).

This sounds like both the Sun and Mars were operating from the unconscious, at least in part. As a child, I was able to express myself through music and this became the centre of my identity until the breakdown in my 20s. Hopefully I’ve been able to tap into the positive expression of these planets since then.

There’s an alternative way to interpret the nodes which adds another dimension to this where the south node creates a loss or reduction in whatever it touches. This could indicate a loss of identity and will through relationships, as well as the loss of the relationship itself. It may also be relevant to add Neptune to the mix as my natal Neptune squares the Sun and Mars and the nodes.

When a planet squares the nodes, it indicates a skipped step or interrupted process of development in the past. It shows that you’ve worked on these issues before but haven’t been able to resolve them yet. There could be talents and gifts associated with them but also blind spots and unresolved obstacles to growth. They’re tricky to work with because you keep flipping back and forth between the past and the future, unable to move forward.

Mark Jones uses massive orbs for aspects to the nodes of up to 12–15 degrees which means I have two squares to my nodal axis: one from Neptune and the other from Saturn which also opposes Neptune making a Grand Cross – oh joy!

here’s my chart so you can see what we’re working with

With Neptune square the nodes you may have unresolved issues with your dreams and ideals and need for transcendence. There may be past experiences with the loss of meaning, disillusionment and despair that undermines your will and life force. You may have fallen into dissociation, drug problems or other kinds of escapism, or suffer from psychic attacks, although this could also be a delusion.

This is a difficult energy to work with because of the way Neptune obscures and dissolves everything it touches. You need great discernment to distinguish between fantasy and reality (whatever that is!). But it can lead to a spiritual crisis and transformation.

In my case, Neptune squares the nodes from the 9th house which indicates unresolved issues around religious teachings, beliefs and faith. There may have been experiences with dishonesty or a distortion of the truth that becomes the basis of a crisis of identity. There could also be a crisis of faith and feelings of alienation.

This may explain my resistance to surrender fuelled by self-deception and false beliefs about the nature of reality and who I am. Neptune square the nodes could be the ‘real’ reason I feel trapped in this apparently never-ending dark night of the soul because I keep doubting myself and the reality of my experience of grace. This undermines the experience (and me) and keeps me stuck.

I can’t surrender because deep down I feel unworthy of God’s love (Pluto in Virgo) – and yet that doesn’t seem to bother God who appears to be infinite in his mercy. However, the roots of my resistance may have more to do with the terror of facing the implications of surrender – as expounded on by Sumo in this excellent episode of the Mystical American Patriot’s Society (after they finish rioting).

To resolve the dilemma in a square to the nodes you need to focus on the node that has most recently transited the planet. Since the nodes move retrograde through the zodiac you can find the right one by looking at which node is moving away from the planet in a clockwise direction.

With the south node in the 7th house in Virgo and the north node in the 1st house in Pisces, Neptune squares them both from the 9th house in Scorpio. That means the north node is moving towards Neptune and the south node is moving away from it. So I need to resolve this issue through the south node.

To resolve the dilemma through the south node you need to rediscover the cause of the problem in the past or retrieve a lost aspect of the issues involved. By going back to the past you can then move towards the potential of the future. In this case, I need to use my Virgo discernment in a positive way to cut through the crap and discard all the false ideas that are holding me back.

With Saturn square the nodes you may have unresolved issues with conditioning from the family, society, or religion that has become repressive. You may also need to take responsibility for your life at a core level without falling into fear, blame or too much self-control. It may also indicate issues with guilt or having done something wrong, as shown by the nodes and their aspects. This is different to the Virgo guilt because it involves recognising real past mistakes and the need to make reparation for them.

With the south node in the 7th house in Virgo and the north node in the 1st house in Pisces, Saturn squares them both from the 3rd house in Taurus. That means the south node is moving towards Saturn and the north node is moving away from it. So I need to resolve this issue through the north node.

To resolve the dilemma through the north node you need to develop your evolutionary potential while dealing with the unresolved issues of the past. In this case, I need to use the discipline of Saturn to give up my negative thinking so I can develop a more realistic view of myself grounded in the divine. Doing this will also dissolve the conditioning that’s keeping me stuck and allow me to actualise myself by surrendering and having faith.

The more I explore this material, the more it seems that the roots of my problems will never be found in this life – it all comes from before. This life just mirrored my false perceptions back to me and all the wailing and gnashing of teeth is merely an avoidance of reality and the need to surrender. And the thing driving it is trauma which is mostly unconscious.

And for that we need to look at Uranus…