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Words, like people – and other significant energetic situations – have range.
They can be many – sometimes completely opposite – things all at once.
“What you should be”, for example.
“Should” is language’s loaded gun of outside opinion. And no one preaches more against the “should-ing” of existence than Adam Lambert.
But preface with “imperfectly – as happens in the Broken Open lyric “So imperfectly what you should be” – and “should” shifts from criticism to wise counsel. Reminding that you’re fully equipped with creativity’s all-important foundation: Imperfection. And that’s why “imperfect” is exactly “what you should be”.
Fortunately, imperfect is the only kind of human there is.
Forget battles with the shadows, “imperfect” is your creative birthright. There is no One Right Perfect Way you “should” be, except as the title suggests – when you’re ready – “Open”.
“Open” is the opposite of “should”.
Open can receive. In fact, if anything is “broken” about you at all it’s that you’re trying to hold onto the impossible “should”.
And the only way to fix that situation is to get broken. Drop your guard. Let go. Intwine in a new intimacy. Or as we like to say at Creative Astro School: Welcome to studying your Moon’s Nodes.
This First Classroom on the Moon’s Nodes launches a deliciously clarifying exploration of spectrum, duality, authenticity, and “What You Should Be”.
Where you will come to understand that there is no One Right Way to Be. Except open to the opportunities of openness.
And you will discover a new intimacy.
A rich and powerful true heart connection. Right where it should be: With Yourself.
Live the World Inside You
Whataya Want From You
The Moon’s Nodes are the Zodiac’s heralds of energetic higher learning.
There are two of them: South Node and North Node.
They are precise mathematical points on the natal chart’s 360 wheel calculated with considerations of the Moon’s actual orbit around the Earth and your individual chart. (More on this later.)
They are polar opposites, always precisely 180 degrees across from each other in a Natal Chart. And like many seemingly opposite energies, they are actually connected. They form an energetic spectrum.
That is the most important thing to remember about the Moons Nodes. They are an energetic spectrum. You can’t have one without the other.
While there will be many times when you choose to focus on just one Node, the other will always be part of the picture.
Free Will: Possibly the Master Plan
Symbolically, the South Node reveals energies in your make-up that feel innate, easy, second nature, “effortless” (® Slash, about Adam’s vocal virtuosity).
The sign, house placement, and aspects of your South Node represent things you can do without thinking. Things no one had to teach you to do. Energies so easy, you might over use them, fall back on their sure fire winner results. Sometimes, to the point of joy-clipping rut.
The North Node is the polar opposite: Unknown energies.
The sign and house placement of your North Node represent things foreign – in some cases to the point of clueless.
Yet, these energies, as unknown as they may be, pull sharply, especially the older you get. They beckon.
They’re energies of longing, yearning, desire, and recognition of needing to know, must know, really, truly want to learn what they are. Sometimes, to the point of paralyzing, fear-steeped, run-the-other-direction, denial. Oh, no, that can’t be me. And if it is, won’t I lose all this works-every-time good stuff?
The karmically-inclined deem the South Node what you came into this lifetime already knowing.
And the North Node what you “need to learn” over the course of this lifetime.
The cosmically-inclined consider the Nodes a nice love letter from the Universe.
With the South Node being special presents that will help you build a foundation upon which, one day, you will stand and reach for the bigger blessings of the North Node.
Others think of the Nodes as a reminder of Purpose. An indication of that part of the Totality that each of us is here to personally transform.
Not just “Permission Granted” to be what you long to be, but “Duty Assigned”. Energies you can shift inside yourself and thus help lift us all higher.
The psychologically-oriented among us, with fervent belief in Free Will, consider the Moon’s Nodes a Path to Wholeness. Energies that we do not know, but if True Authentic Self is our goal, the energies we most truly need.
You Can Only Learn What You Don’t Know.
However you choose to consider the Moon’s Nodes symbolically, their energetic spectrum offers a rich, deep theme of lifelong learning.
The energies of the North Node are, for the most part, unknown to us early in life. In fact, sometimes earliest life situations seem almost set-up to make sure our only focus is our South Node. And that the polar opposite energies of our North Node an impossibility.
Thus, studying our North Node can reveal many birthrights that are ours to claim. When we have experienced enough to be open to more.
But these energies must be learned.
There is no easy acquisition of your North Node’s life-enhancing energies. But doing the work to discover them is worth the treasure.
And if you do consider life to be one long, creative learning opportunity, the North Node is not just your PhD, it’s post-doc, post-post doc, and then going on to become Chair of the Department of Doing It Perfectly Authenticity.
Because when you reach for, and not just integrate, but celebrate the energies of your North Node, you will – sometimes to your great surprise – find yourself living in the creative freedom of being truly, completely, gloriously – and most importantly imperfectly – what you should be.
Knowing Your Own Nodes
The South Node symbol looks like a curly U. The North Node like a upside-down opposite of that.
Some charts will only show the North Node. (And use calculations calling it either “Mean” or “True” Node. They’re slightly different. Right now, we’re going to use “True”, which is also the default at Astro.com. Where they put a “T” inside the “U” to indicate that.)
Doesn’t matter if your chart only shows North, because know one Node, you automatically know the other. Because they are always 180 degrees across from each other.
Thus, if your North Node is, for example, shown at 12 SAG 18, then your South Node is directly across the wheel from that, at 12 degree and 18 minutes of Gemini.
If you look on your Natural Zodiac download chart, you will see how Sagittarius, ruler of the 9th house, is directly opposite Gemini, ruler of the 3rd. And vice versa,
You can start learning about the energies of your own personal Nodes by clicking Moon’s Nodes in the menu bar or here
Learn more about Astro School here.
If you missed:
Pre-School Basics, in First Lessons in the Menu Bar, or here.
Report from Glam Nation Tour Launch that launched the School here.
You can get a free chart at Astro.com
It is recommended that you set up a free account there, so you can save charts. But you can simply run your natal chart without an account at this link.
Saving your chart as both a PDF (or screen grab) and printing it will be more convenient for future use. Though, if you set up an account, you can always sign in at Astro .com and pop your chart up on screen.
Astro.com has both an FAQ page and help if you need it.
The Better-er Chart
After you enter your data at the link at Astro.com, you’ll be shown an on-screen chart. You want more.
In the left-hand side-bar, you’ll see an option for “Horoscope Drawings & Calculations”. Click on that. Then, chose “Chart Drawing, Ascendant”.
The chart that next appears is the one to keep. Print up and save as PDF.
Birth-time Situation
If you don’t know exactly what time you were born, you can still do some learning.
It you have a vague idea, then run several charts, at a range of times. If you have no idea, try to find out.
But there is an option of running a sort of “Generic You” chart and put the time at noon.
You can still join in the fun. But the more you know about your birth time, the more you’ll get to know about yourself.
While we are grateful for Astro.com
And want them to prosper. We have to issue a cautionary note.
The site was founded and is run by some great Astrologers.
But for unknown reasons, the click-it free portraits are not meaningful anymore. If you try them, and think “this makes no sense”, you’ve had a brush with reality.
Don’t know if their paid products are also no longer relevant or not.
Knowing Your Nodes
Hello, Students! Welcome to the real stuff. Your first moment of Astro calculation.
Get out your own personal natal chart to locate your North Node. (Free chart info here, if you need)
If your chart is from Astro.com, the North Node will be listed as “True Node” in the box that lists your entire planetary line-up. It’s likely to be the next to last listing. (Right above Chiron, which, by the way, is our next class.)
That listing will tell you the exact location of your North Node in degree, sign, and minute. Example: 12 SAG 18, means 12 degrees, 18 minutes of Sagittarius.
The North Node symbol will be depicted on your chart wheel drawing in one of the 12 houses. The symbol looks like a tiny upside down “U” with curly cue ends, shown here in blue. On an Astro.com chart the “U” will have a “T” inside it, like the green version here, to indicate it’s using the “True” node calculation.
Okay, get ready, here’s the calculation part.
Look at your Natural Zodiac pdf. (Here, if you need).
See the 1st house, 2nd house, so on. You are now going to determine in which house on your personal chart your North North node is located.
Starting with the 1st house, with the ascendant, which is in the same place on your chart as it is on the Natural Zodiac chart, count the number of pie wedges to your North Node. First house is 1, 2nd house is two, 3rd house is three, etc.
This number is your North Node’s house location. It is important. Say it’s the 8th House. Shown here, with the 12 SAG 18 example, with nothing else on the chart so you can see it.
In the Nodal Path descriptions below, you will be reading about North Node in the 8th House. Doesn’t matter what the sign is, your North Node being in the 8th House means you will be learning 8th House lessons.
Okay, What house is directly opposite the 8th House in the Natural Zodiac? The 2nd House. (For those that like math: 8-6=2. Since there are 12 houses in a circle, “directly opposite” is always just 6 pie wedges away. You can either add or subtract 6 to get there.)
Even though it’s not drawn on your Astro.com chart, in this example, the 2nd House is where your South Node is located. Again, very important. (And if you got your chart somewhere other than Astro.com, the South Node may actually be drawn in. It’s symbol, appropriately, is the mirror opposite of the North Node.
Now we know your Nodes’ House placement. Next, we’re going to determine the sign of your South Node. Continuing with this example, what is the sign that is opposite Sagittarius? Look at the Natural Zodiac chart. Find Sagittarius (Hint, it’s the 9th House). What is the sign directly opposite Sagittarius in the 3rd house? (Math: 9-6=3) Yes, Gemini. So in this example, your South Node is at 12 degrees, 18 minutes of Gemini.
Which means, in this example, you would be on the Sagittarius North Node/Gemini South Node Path. As well as the 8th House North Node/2nd House South Node Path.
(This may seem a little confusing right now. Soon, this “opposite” house and sign stuff will seem like the alphabet. Just the building blocks of a new language.)
When you read the Nodal Descriptions, remember you will read two: One for the signs of your nodes, one for the houses.
If you don’t know your birth time, unfortunately you won’t be able to read the House part. Though if a particular House path resonates strongly with you, use the knowledge. (It may also help, one day, if you decide to have an Astrologer rectify your chart. Which is figuring out your ascendant without a birth time.)
So, equipped with your nodal placements, let the freedom begin! Here are the brief introductory descriptions of the Moon’s Nodes 12 Journeys.
Fifth House Sun School of Astro Creativity 
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