(“The Mystery of Life” No. 2, 2006)
Every person, at least once in life, asks themselves about the meaning of their birth and existence. For spiritually oriented individuals, there is no doubt that birth and life are primarily connected with the necessity of soul evolution and the acquisition of certain experience—experience that will be unique and essential for each individual.
In an individual astrological chart, the program of evolutionary development of the personality, taking into account its past karmic experience, is shown by the Lunar Nodes. A qualified astrologer can tell a great deal about an individual’s life purpose, as well as the difficulties, obstacles, and distortions that will arise along their life path, simply by analyzing the position of the Nodes. What exactly are the Lunar Nodes? Astronomically, they are the points where the Moon’s orbit intersects the Earth’s orbit. Although not actual planets but merely points on the celestial sphere, the Nodes possess a fateful character, clearly defining the main vector of the soul’s development in the current incarnation. If a person follows their “development vector,” life offers them every opportunity for successful “functioning” in our embodied world. However, if they move in the opposite direction, various obstacles, illnesses, and catastrophes arise on their path, causing their structure to suffer damage and eventually leading to destruction. The Lunar Node indicating the evolutionary path, the path of spiritual growth, is called Rahu (the North or East Node). It reveals the purpose of this incarnation—a completely new experience for the soul. In practical life, it is a strengthening factor, an accelerator of processes, a catalyst. Moreover, Rahu is associated with processes of individuation, differentiation, and the establishment of the personality as such. Here, the individual receives significant assistance from providence. Intuitively, everyone senses this direction. By following it, a person gains the ability to transform every obstacle into a pathway toward future growth. With each step closer to the Node, their life begins to acquire new meaning. Yet one cannot reach their North Node without mastering the highest lessons of the South Node. The individual must learn to discard negative habits, reactions, and ways of living that no longer serve the beneficial purpose of their life. The South (or Ingress) Node (Ketu) is the key to the past. It reveals accumulated experience—both positive and negative. Although we do not remember past incarnations, we often subconsciously use their experience, especially during the first half of life. Behavior aligned with Ketu slows down any processes, turns inward, undermines, and delays. We must become conscious of past experience, recognize its shortcomings, and draw appropriate conclusions regarding the opposite Node—Rahu. However, the past often exerts a compelling fascination, tempting us to return to old behavioral patterns. A person may suddenly rush backward, forgetting the reason for delving into the past, and make its revival the actual goal of their existence. The South Node can be like shifting sand: one may only glance backward, but must not take steps. One step in the reverse direction may require years—or even the help of others—to return to the present day. If a person shifts their life orientation backward, attempting to revive past experience and make it the goal of their current incarnation, life situations begin to take on a fatal character. A particularly illustrative example is the horoscope of A.S. Pushkin. His North Node was in Taurus, and his South Node in Scorpio. Accordingly, the new experience should have been connected with harmony, art, developing a personal value system, and, most importantly, the ability to find a positive way out of any situation. The position of the South Node in Scorpio often triggers opposite feelings—such as jealousy, sensitivity to negativity, suggestibility, and manipulativeness. It was precisely the imbalance toward Ketu’s qualities that contributed to his tragic end. Additionally, the fatality of what occurred is indicated by the poet’s age—37 years—the period of the Nodes’ return. (More on these periods later). Among those with Rahu in Taurus, we find many representatives of the art world—Raphael, Aivazovsky, Balzac, and Tsvetaeva. In contrast, Rahu in Scorpio compels its bearer to gain experience of crises and losses in this life, to confront all their fears, and sometimes to pass through the very fires of this existence. In literature, masters of Scorpio Rahu included Edgar Poe and Gogol. An interesting position is the Ascending Lunar Node in Cancer. Here, in addition to acquiring emotional experience and experience of family life, the individual also develops an exceptionally strong sense of homeland and patriotism. Not by chance did many leaders possess this placement. Despite the undeniable controversy of some of their political actions, there remains no doubt that all of them genuinely desired the best for their homeland and truly lived through its problems. These include Alexander I, Seraphim of Sarov, V.I. Lenin, surprisingly Hitler (whose death was also fateful during the third Nodes’ return at ages 56–57), Fidel Castro, and Gennady Zyuganov. In a person’s life, the themes represented by the individual placement of the Lunar Nodes become especially accentuated during the years corresponding to the Nodes’ return cycle and counter-phase. This is a kind of life test, a karmic examination, which sometimes brings difficult crisis periods and the necessity of making responsible choices. The full cycle of the Lunar Nodes lasts 18.5 years, and the counter-phase lasts 9.35 years. The first Nodes’ return occurs at ages 18–19. The individual is offered a choice concerning their North Node. If the person regresses toward the choice of the South Node, a severe test is still not arranged at this age, as the person remains in the phase of cosmic childhood. The Nodes in counter-phase occur at age 27. At this time, the individual experiences a spiritual crisis. There is an opportunity to become conscious of past experience and to free oneself from its burden in order to move forward. Ages 37–38 mark the second Nodes’ return. If the individual has still not made their choice, serious trials are arranged, which may not be survived (Belinsky, Pushkin, and Mayakovsky died at age 37). Ages 46–47—the Nodes in counter-phase (Baudelaire and J. Kennedy died). Ages 56–57—the third Nodes’ return (Caesar, Nietzsche, and Hitler died). Then at age 65—counter-phase, at 74—the Nodes’ return, at 84—counter-phase. The format of a newspaper article does not allow for presenting the Nodes’ positions in all zodiac signs or a more detailed examination of the time periods associated with the Nodes’ phases, and we do not set ourselves this task. A full understanding of the motives of one’s behavior, as well as the causes and circumstances of one’s life, can always be achieved during a consultation with a professional astrologer. Nevertheless, becoming acquainted with the theme of the Lunar Nodes allows even those inexperienced in astrological knowledge to better understand the potential of this ancient science, which is not limited merely to predictions, but offers an enriching experience of self-knowledge.
Author: Perestoronina N.M.
