The Moon’s Nodes in Astrology

The North and the South nodes, or Rahu and Ketu as they are also called in Vedic astrology, are not planets as such but are the orbital nodes of the Moon or rather, the result of the movement of the Moon and the Sun around the earth. They are the points where the orbit of the Moon crosses the ecliptic. In ancient times, the event and the consequences of an eclipse were feared by the townsfolk and astrologers studied its effects closely. Although some astrologers today very much take the eclipses as well as the transits of the nodes into consideration, overall, eclipses have become more of a spectacle for hobby stargazers. Although the eclipses and the transits of nodes might be more of an abstract concept as they seemingly don’t have the same obvious effect on all things living such as the Moon does on the sea’s tides, they are considered destiny producing points in both Western and Vedic astrology.   

In Western Astrology, the nodes are about a person’s spiritual evolution and our karmic pattern and baggage. While the South node signifies what we have experienced in the past and what we have to let go of, the North node is our destiny and where we are headed in this lifetime. The North node presents our challenge in life and the lessons we have to learn. The 17th century astrologer William Lilly described the North node as ‘of the nature of Jupiter and Venus and of himself a fortune. The Tail of the Dragon (the South Node) is quite contrary to the Head, for he is evil.’

Any conjunctions to the natal North node point towards particular life lessons and present a focal point in the chart.

In traditional Vedic astrology, Rahu and Ketu are naturally malefic points and are said to rule over certain signs alongside the planets.  Rahu is said to be exalted in Gemini and rules the sign of Aquarius alongside Saturn and its characteristics and influence on the chart in nature are similar to that of Saturn. Rahu is intense and outrageous and doesn’t follow rules. With its rulership of Aquarius, it is said to bring everything that is ‘foreign’ into a person’s life but also magnifies everything it touches.  It is dark, builds up illusions only to let the bubble burst again at a later point. In Vedic astrology, the times in life a person is under the influence of Rahu are said to be the more difficult ones. Although full of experience of the ‘other’ which can be enriching in itself, these times also entail a sudden loss, for example, financially, that is said to be regained when Jupiter and in some cases Saturn, as the great stabiliser, makes their mark. Having said that, this is a traditional point of view from a time the thought that everything different and foreign is bad, prevailed. 

Ketu co-rules over Scorpio alongside Mars and Pluto and displays similar characteristics of both planets. According to some schools of thought, it is exalted in Sagittarius.  Where Rahu is materialistic and represents knowledge, Ketu is spiritual, psychological and represent that which liberates us. Depending on its position on the chart and aspects, Ketu also gives sudden loss or gain. 

An example of a Rahu / Ketu transit demonstrates that (I’ve used the sidereal chart here but remember that the aspects and house positions of the transits are the same as with the tropical chart!):

In this chart, for the whole of 2011, the nodes have been transiting the 2^nd (Ketu) and 8^th (Rahu) houses putting the focal point in the chart on the person’s own income as well as joint resources and other people’s money (also that of the bank) as well as budgeting. The 8th house also signifies transformation, often life changing and with its association to Mars it is often drastic and sudden. Two years ago, the person bought a property with a partner, when Saturn was conjunct the Moon. Although planned as a longer-term arrangement, in November 2011, due to a sudden shift in circumstances, one of the partners decided to sell his share of the property. The full Moon in December 2011 conjunct Ketu and with the Sun opposite, conjunct Rahu  meant the person’s focus was put on making suitable financial arrangements to keep the property. While the full Moon firmly put the focus on sorting out own and joint finances as well as dealing with financial institutions, the Rahu / Ketu transit that still continues until late 2012 ensures that the subject will still be on the person’s mind for some time and that the whole process is not likely to end before then. With the ongoing Uranus opposition to the natal Moon, the development was sudden and disruptive. Also note how the Moon rules the 4^th house of the home and property.

Planet, signs, elements, zodiac sign rulerships

Western astrology looks at the ten major planets as well as the planetoid Chiron and asteroids such as Ceres, Juno and Vesta.

Vedic astrology only looks at the 7 'original' planets (those that can be viewed with the naked eye) and Uranus, Pluto and Neptune don`t exist here which is a shame really as you can more often than not tell when someone has Uranus, Neptun or Pluto in, for example, the 1st or even 7th house and their transits are one of the most life-changing alongside Saturn's.

Before these three planets where discovered, Western Astrology also used the traditional rulerships.  Vedic astrology still uses these today:

·         Mars rules both Aries and Scorpio

·         Jupiter rules both, Sagittarius and Pisces

·         Saturn rules both, Aquarius and Capricorn

The two lunar nodes Rahu (the North Node) and Ketu (the South Node) play a big part in Indian astrology and more often than not are also used in Western astrology. However, how they are viewed is fundamentally different – perhaps due to cultural differences and belief systems. More on this soon!

Both the systems of astrology considers planet to be strongest when in their own sign, or in the sign of exaltation. And a planet is considered to be combust when it is positioned within 6 degrees of Sun. A planet is considered weak when in sign of Debilitation or "fall". However, whereas in Western astrology, a planet is weaker when it is retrograde in the sense that it can’t display all of its strength and the person might find it more difficult to progress, move forward etc., this is not so in vedic astrology. Here, planets are much brighter when retrograding, planets with retrograde motion are considered to be powerful. A debilitated, retrograde planet is even considered to be displaying the same characteristics as though it was exalted.

Here is a useful overview of astrological signs in Western and Indian astrology with time periods, elements and ruling planets.

Western vs Indian Astrology

Here is a look at the best that Western and Indian (vedic or jyotish) astrology has to offer. Both systems have their merits but are fundamentally different in some areas. Here is an overview of the main differences of the two systems.

Tropical vs Sidereal zodiac system

Readers of this blog will be more familiar with the Western or tropical system and its star signs where the Sun enters pioneering Aries on around 20th March each year before moving to stable and loyal Taurus on around 20th April. This Western system of astrology follows the tropical zodiac system where Sun`s apparent movement around the earth defines the position of the signs. In today’s representation of astrology, forecasts and analysis are often reduced to sun sign astrology, which considers only basic relationships of planets to a person’s birth chart.

In Vedic astrology, the sidereal system is used. This means that the moment a planet changes signs depends on the whether or not the planet actually occupies the constellation in the sky. Indian astrology takes into account the gradual precession of the vernal equinox which is the gradual shift in the orientation of the Earth's axis of rotation. This means that the signs of the zodiac are aligned to the position of the corresponding constellations in the sky. Currently, there is a difference of almost 24 degrees between a planet’s position in the tropical system and the sidereal system!! For example, people born on the 1st August might pride themselves on being a Leo with the Sun at about 8° degrees, however, according to vedic astrology, the true position of the Sun on the 1st August is at around 14° degrees of Cancer. Also, in India people are more likely to give you their Moon sign when you ask them what their star sign is. Vedic astrology is a Moon-based system and chart analysis and especially forecasts are based on the nakshatra of the Moon. For example, in the tropical chart, I have a Libra Moon but this turns into a Virgo Moon in the sidereal chart. Both positions resonate with me (maybe because my Moon is also in the 6th house), however in Indian astrology, the sign that rules the nakshatra is of importance. In my case, this is the Sun as my Moon is in the nakshatra of Uttaraphalguni. This is crucial for prognosis.

The continual shift of the earth axis (procession) also means that the position of the planets in the Western zodiac will continue to shift more and more from that used by Vedic astrologers at the rate of about 1 degree every 72 years. The last time the two systems were aligned was around 285 AD.

Nevertheless, while the planets in the chart change degrees and more often than not also signs, the aspects in the birth chart as well as the aspects of the transits to the chart remain the same!! Some astrologers even ignore sign interpretations and focus only on the aspects.

Placidus vs whole house systems

While some Western astrologers also use the whole house system in their work, most tend to use the Placidus house system. This is the most commonly used house system in modern Western astrology. Using this house system, the 1st house begins with the ascendant, the 4th house with the Immum Coeli (IC), the 7th house with the DC and the 10th house with the Midheaven (MC) . The paths drawn for each degree of the ecliptic to move from the nadir to the horizon, and from the horizon to the Midheaven, are trisected to determine the cusps of houses 2, 3, 11, and 12. The cusps of houses 8, 9, 5 and 6 are opposite these.

Vedic astrology mostly uses the whole sign house system, where each house occupies a whole sign with 30° each. The ascendant designates the rising sign, and the first house begins at zero degrees of the zodiac sign in which the ascendant falls, regardless of how early or late in that sign the ascendant is. in fact, this was the main system used in the Hellenistic (Greek) tradition of astrology, and is also used in Indian astrology, as well as in some early traditions of Medieval astrology. It is thought to be the oldest system of house division (1).

Forecasting in Western and Vedic astrology

While making predictions in Western astrology, the transit of each planet, solar arc directions and progressions in relation to the birth chart are the main reference points. So for example, a Saturn, Pluto or Uranus transit to the Moon or the Sun is one of the heaviest transits that completely transform people’s lives, often for the better.

In Vedic astrology, along with planetary transits, vimshottari dasha is used most widely. Vimshottari dasha system is a 120 year long cycle of planetary positions based on the position of the Moon in one of the 27 divisions, or lunar mansions, called nakshatras. In this system, each planet is assigned a different mahadasha or major period, ranging from six to twenty years. For example, dasha of Venus lasts twenty years and will bring the karmic pattern that Venus reveals in the horoscope into the lime-light of the native's life. The remaining planets also influence life’s events in every dasha. This sub-periods is called Antardasha – the sub sub period of which is called Pratyantar dasha. Western astrology does not use this system for predictions.

Length of the dashas

·         Ketu (south node) 7 Years

·         Venus 20 Years

·         Sun 6 Years

·         Moon 10 Years

·         Mars 7 Years

·         Rahu (north node) 18 Years

·         Jupiter 16 Years

·         Saturn 19 Years

·         Mercury 17 Years

Different points of view

In Western astrology the psychological experience and transformative nature of the transits, solar arc and secondary progressions and the belief in the philosophy of ‘we live and learn’ play a major role. Vedic astrology often seems to be a lot more black and white. However, for many Vedic astrology is a much more reliable forecasting tool for when a person’s karmic tendencies are likely to unfold.

I tend to use the sideareal zodiac in chart analysis, however, I strongly believe that both Western and Indian techniques of chart interpretation and forecasting can be applied together. I don't consider the different tools as two mutually exclusive systems. Just like some astrologers prefer to use solar arc directions, while others swear by secondary progressions, I believe that Indian forecasting tools (Dasha system) can be very accurate but at the same time, I will not discard a Pluto transit over the Sun, Moon or Ascendant - or indeed a natal Uranus in the one of the angular houses.

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1 - James Holden, Ancient House Division, Journal of Research of the American Federation of Astrologers 1 (1982), pgs. 19-28. Also see Rob Hand, Whole Sign Houses: The Oldest House System, ARHAT Publications, 2000.