North and South Nodes Astrology: Your Life Purpose and Past Lives

What’s your life purpose? In your birth chart, the lunar nodes—known as the North and South Nodes—hold the keys to your destiny and ultimate life lessons.

What do the North and South Nodes mean in astrology?

In astrology, your life purpose is encoded in the North and South Nodes of the moon. The lunar nodes are directly opposite each other in the chart.

They aren’t planets, but rather mathematical points on the chart that fall in two opposite zodiac signs. For example, if your North Node is in Capricorn, your South node Will be in its opposite sign of Cancer, and so on.

To get a little geekier: The lunar nodes are determined by the points where the moon’s orbit crosses the “ecliptic”—the apparent path the Sun makes around the earth. (We say “apparent” because in reality, the earth is revolving around the Sun…but from our vantage point on the planet, it appears that the Sun is moving.) The nodes take into account the Sun, the moon and the Earth. They fall in the same signs that the eclipses are in when you’re born.

How do astrologers interpret the North and South Nodes?

Astrologers use the lunar nodes to determine where your destiny lies (North Node) and what you were in past lifetimes (South Node). The nodes change signs every 18 months, approximately. People born within your same lunar node group are like your “soul squad.” You incarnated with to learn the same lessons.

So what exactly is the difference between the North and South Nodes?

The North Node represents our karmic paths and the lessons we came here to learn—or the language we are learning to speak.

The South Node reveals the challenges and gifts we bring in from previous lifetimes.

The South Node: Reveals past lives, natural abilities

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The South Node reveals the gifts that you bring into this lifetime, your sweet spot, your comfort zone. You will be innately good in these areas of life, and may begin your early path based on your South Node leanings. While this can bring a sense of satisfaction, it is unlikely to elevate you to Blissville. There’s a sense of “been there, done that” in the field of South Node activities. And indeed you have: in many past lifetimes. The key is to use your South Node as a springboard into your North Node destiny, much like an expat living abroad will always feel most comfortable speaking her native language, even if she’s lived in her new country for many years. The South Node is your horoscope hometown, perhaps not the place you want to settle permanently, but somewhere cozy to visit when you need to feel a sense of place or belonging.

The North Node: Destiny’s calling

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The north node is the exact opposite zodiac sign of the south node. It illuminates the terrain that’s calling your name, but climbing to the peak of this mountain is like trekking up Mt. Everest. You’ll have to lighten up your baggage and enlist a proverbial Sherpa to get you there. It’s your learning curve. North Node activities require you to stretch out of your comfort zone. Once you do, you’ll be amazed by how fulfilled you feel. It’s like the activation of your life’s mission. The sooner you align yourself with this path, the more purpose-driven your life becomes. However, you will often return to your South Node as that “ace in the hole”—kind of like returning home to your roots, even after you’ve made your way in the world.

We often think that just because we’re good at something—or it comes easily to us—that it’s what we should “do” with our lives. Yet, sometimes, the easy way doesn’t feel spiritually satisfying. Maybe you’ve taken this path enough times in past lives, and you’re ready for something new. One of our favorite books on this topic (and actually, one of the few written) is Jan Spiller’s Astrology for the Soul.

How do I find my North and South Nodes?

Scroll to the bottom of this article for a table or use the North and South Nodes calculator below:

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Find your North and South Nodes

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North and South Nodes in the houses

The meaning of the placement of the north and south nodes in the houses

Do other types of astrology work with the nodes?

The lunar nodes help us answer questions like: What am I supposed to do with my life? Why am I here and what’s my mission? What was I in a past life?

Kabbalah’s astrology focuses primarily on the lunar nodes. This system calls the North Node your tikkun (“correction”) and view it as the karmic adjustment your soul must make. Vedic astrology calls the nodes the head (Rahu/North Node) and tail (Ketu/South Node) of the dragon and take a harsher view of the south node’s karma.

North and South Nodes Compatibility

If you have a child around the age of 18-19 or 36-37, you’ll share the same nodes. And if you date, marry or join forces with someone 9-10 years older or younger than you, there’s a good chance they’ll have the opposite nodes. (For example, your South Node is Virgo and their North Node is Virgo). This can be a powerful but polarizing pairing—you’ve both mastered what the other one has come here to learn. If you combine your natural skills, you can be unstoppable.

The ultimate book on the North and South Nodes is Astrology for the Soul by Jan Spiller. A huge influencer who we learned so much from, Spiller passed away July 2016. We are forever grateful for what we learned about the nodes from her writing.

North and South Nodes dates tables

To find your lunar nodes, choose the date range that includes your birthday. Note, due to period retrogrades, we recommend confirming your exact nodes using the calculator found earlier in this article.