One day, Alex and Lily found one luscious, perfectly ripe orange. They both wanted the orange. What should they do? Fight over it? The winner takes it all? Or split it in two, so they each get their share? 

Or perhaps there’s a different way – a better way? 

On July 17th, 2023 the North Node leaves Taurus and enters Aries, and the South Node leaves Scorpio and enters Libra. 

When the Lunar Nodes change signs, that’s a big deal for everyone. The Lunar Nodes spend 18 months in a pair of signs, bringing into focus the archetypal themes connected to those signs. 

When the Lunar Nodes were in Gemini and Sagittarius (2020-2022) we had Covid and restrictions of movement, especially in international mobility (South Node in Sagittarius) – as well as changes in the way we conduct our everyday lives (North Node in Gemini). 

The North Node inflates, and the South Node deflates. The North Node is “more, more, more”, and the South Node is “less, less, less”.

So with the South Node in Sagittarius, we had fewer flights – because flying is long-term traveling (Sagittarius), and more couriers delivering takeaways in the neighborhood (Gemini). 

Then, in early 2022, the Lunar Nodes moved into Taurus and Scorpio. The South Node in Scorpio (less, less, less) brought us the energy crisis. The energy became scarce. Energy and shared resources are Scorpio themes. Which of course led to “more, more, more” Taurus, or inflation. Taurus rules money and physical resources. 

You got the idea. The South Node usually signals a problem – and then the North Node attempts to find a solution. That’s how the Lunar Nodes work together. 

Just because the North Node means “more” this doesn’t mean that the North Node is fundamentally positive, just like the “less” South Node is not fundamentally negative.

“More” can mean more inflation (North Node in Taurus), or more traffic, chaos, and Zoom overwhelm (North Node in Gemini). 

If we really want to understand the Nodes we want to go beyond the “North Node is good” and “South Node is bad” paradigm. 

The Lunar Nodes are meant to work together. They complement each other. We can’t have one without the other. The Lunar Nodes represent the evolutionary journey of our soul – the cosmic ‘push’ to continuously grow and evolve. 

The Lunar Nodes Equation

One equation I like to use to describe the Lunar Nodes is:

Problem (South Node) → Solution (North Node) → Outcome (South Node)

The trigger of a Lunar Nodes transit is always the South Node. Something stops working. Planes no longer fly (South Node in Sagittarius). The energy pipeline is shut down (South Node in Scorpio). 

And then we need to do something about it. We need to employ the North Node. The South Node is what we need to ‘sort out’. The North Node is what we do to sort out the South Node problem. We solve the South Node problem with a North Node solution. 

And once we solve the South Node problem through the North Node, the outcome is not the North Node, but the South Node. The South Node is the outcome – the ripening karma, for good and for bad. 

If what we reap (the South Node) is not what we expect, that’s because there’s something wrong with what we sow (the North Node). 

TO RECAP: the Lunar Nodes are where we want to find a balance between the old and the new, where we are called to continuously reinvent ourselves and our lives. The Lunar Node in Gemini-Sagittarius reinvented mobility and education. The Lunar Nodes in Taurus-Scorpio reshaped the economy. 

What about the North Node in Aries and South Node in Libra?

Well, this time things get personal. Aries and Libra are the axis of “me” vs. “you”. Aries-Libra is the relationship axis which we could also call the identity axis because nothing shapes us more at a personal level than our close, 1-on-1 relationships. 

If we bring in our Lunar Nodes equation, what do we have?

Problem (South Node in Libra) → Solution (North Node in Aries) → Outcome (South Node in Libra).

It’s Not Me, It’s You

The South Node in Libra will highlight the ‘problem’ that needs to be solved.

Where are we too accommodating? Where do we care too much about what others think of us? Where do we leave things unsaid just because we hate conflict? 

Where do we lose ourselves in others just because it’s more comfortable to do “we” rather than “me”?

What we’re looking at here is the stagnant, shadow side of Libra. There’s nothing wrong with being considerate. There’s nothing wrong with prioritizing relationships. There’s nothing wrong with harmony and peace. 

The problem is when we’re doing “half-Libra”. The shadow side of Libra is rooted in a lack of balance on the Libra-Aries axis. 

We don’t speak up and let our partner get away with bad behavior not necessarily because we prioritize relationships – but because we’re too comfortable in our status quo. “I won’t deal with the pain of conflict, with negative feelings that will eventually arise if I address the issue – instead, I will turn a blind eye and tell myself that I always do things for others”. 

It’s something comforting about blaming the other for what goes wrong. It justifies our decisions. It makes us feel good about ourselves. It saves us energy (conflict resolution is very draining). 

It’s Not You, It’s Me

Deep inside, we all know it (and hate to admit it): WE are the source of our own misery. 

Not because the other is faultless. But because the only person we really have control over is ourselves. It’s up to us what we tolerate and what not. It’s our duty to build boundaries, set expectations and follow through with what’s important to us. 

The solution to the South Node in Libra problem is North Node in Aries: having the courage to reclaim our identity.

Taking ownership of who we are. Setting boundaries. Following through with decisive action. Speaking the truth – even if it feels uncomfortable, even if it leads to conflict. To find long-lasting peace, sometimes we need to go to war. 

Will this be easy? No! The North Node never comes easy. We will resist the North Node in Aries. Will find millions of reasons to do the same things we’ve been doing.  

Yet, with the North Node in Aries, you want to go for it – whatever “it” may mean – a new way, a new you.

There’s Only Us

South Node in Libra is “You win”. 

North Node in Aries is “I win”

South Node in Libra + North Node in Aries is “We win”. 

When the South Node and North Node work together, we get the best of 2 words: personal growth, creative collaboration, mutual respect, and equal give-and-take in relationships. We have a strong sense of self without compromising the harmony of our relationships.

When the Aries-Libra Nodal pair is activated, a few things can happen:

• Relationships, partnerships and alliances that are not built on healthy foundations, equity and mutual respect will come to a natural end
• Relationships, partnerships and alliances that have healthy foundations will be reinvented to find an even more equitable win-win
• Separate entities that have something in common and are willing to cooperate will join forces 

At a global level, some partnerships, global organizations or trade agreements will be restructured. Some entities, organizations, or geographical regions will seek independence. Others may find new alliances. 

At an individual level, we will restructure our relationships so that they become an actualized version of who we are, as individuals. We might find things we don’t really like about the “other” – which are really things we don’t like about ourselves. 

The North Node in Aries and South Node in Libra will show us that there’s a difference between compromise, and win-win. 

When we compromise, we lose something important we value, which in the long term, leaves us empty and life force depleted. When instead we seek a win-win, we gain something by partnering with others. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. 

But to find that creative win-win, we first need to know what we want. We need to know why we want that orange: is it for the juice, or for the peel? Or for something else? 

If the answer is: “I want it all, I want it now”, then that’s perhaps because we don’t really know what exactly it is about that “all” that we want. 

How many times did you get something and it went to waste because it was not really what you wanted? Almost all of our disappointments in life – and in relationships – are sourced in a lack of self-knowledge. 

When instead we know ourselves, when we know what we want (Aries) this trait becomes very attractive to others. We effortlessly attract that partner (who has also done their Aries homework) with whom we can make orange juice and marmalade – from the same orange. 

North Node In Aries Conjunct Chiron 

The most important transit the Nodes engage in is the North Node-Chiron conjunction at 16° Aries. The transit becomes exact on February 19th, 2024 but we will feel the influence slowly building up as soon as the Nodes change signs. 

We know that the North Node is an evolutionary push forward to rewrite our destiny. And Chiron is the wounded healer – often a signature of a generational wound that has been passed down to us by our ancestors. 

Therefore, the North Node-Chiron conjunction is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to “break the generational cycle” and heal our deep-rooted identity wound.

I will write a detailed report about this very important transit closer to the date. Until then, we have 2 very important transits: Pluto square the Nodes, and Venus retrograde.

Lunar Nodes Square Pluto

Soon after the Lunar Nodes ingress into the Aries-Libra axis, they square Pluto (at 29° Capricorn). The Lunar Nodes square Pluto transit becomes exact on July 25th, 2023. 

Pluto squares the Nodes is a transit that evolutionary astrologers call a “skipped step”. 

Pluto is at the midpoint of the two Lunar Nodes, so it’s with one foot in the past, and the other in the future. Pluto acts like a bridge, like an evolutionary step forward. 

Pluto square the Lunar Nodes’ mandate is to deal with our karmic past, and re-write healthier, more constructive behavioral patterns.

Pluto square the Lunar Nodes will help us understand the subtle ways our identity is shaped by our upbringing, by our family and our formative years. This transit is a huge opportunity to release karmic patterns that we’ve been carrying for decades. 

Venus Goes Retrograde

Another very important transit that coincides with the Lunar Nodes ingress is Venus retrograde in Leo.

While the Lunar Nodes don’t make an aspect with Venus retrograde, the Venus retrograde transit is important for different reasons: in the last 18 months, when the Nodes were in the Taurus/Scorpio axis, Venus was the ruler of the North Node (since Venus rules Taurus). 

Now that the South Node enters Libra, Venus becomes the ruler of the South Node. A totally different story. 

If in the last 18 months, we’ve been encouraged to do “more” of the Venusian stuff, now we are asked to re-examine our approach. Perhaps while the North Node was in Taurus, Venus bit more than she can chew. Now it’s time for some reflection and cleansing. 

The shift from the North Node to the South Node approach is quite a disruption for Venus, especially since it coincides with her 40-day retrograde journey. 

What does this mean? We all know that Venus retrograde can bring changes in our priorities, values, and relationships. When Venus goes retrograde, we often have a change of heart. And since Venus retrograde coincides with the Lunar Nodes shift, the effect will be even more dramatic. 

Things may really change for us when Venus goes retrograde. Even more karmic stuff will be brought to our attention. 

The Lunar Nodes ingress, the square to Pluto, and Venus retrograde will really ‘push’ us to deal with some stuff we never wanted to deal with.

This is a cosmic call to release those skeletons in the closet and let go of deep-wired, generational karma that is keeping us trapped in relational models that no longer serve our growth story. 

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