What is it?
The short answer:
The lunar north node is the remedy for this lifetime: it is the medicine that heals the pain and trauma of past lives.
The long answer:
Our astrological charts are snapshots of the sky at the moment we are born. Each region of the sky is assigned a constellation (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, and so forth). If we study our charts, we learn where the sun, the moon, all the planets (think Venus, Saturn, and Mars), and the asteroids (think Juno, Vesta, and Chiron) were at our times of birth. There are other key aspects of a chart, including the ascendant or rising sign (what constellation was on the horizon at the time of birth) and (drum roll) the lunar nodes.
The lunar nodes–the south node and the north node–indicate the position of the moon in the ecliptic path at the time of birth. One key to understanding this is that the ecliptic path is theoretical: it is the path the sun WOULD travel were it revolving around Earth. (It’s not.)
The south node gives us clues into the lessons learned and skills honed in the previous incarnation. In addition, the south node tells us about the wounds suffered and, therefore, the pain carried in the soul at birth.
The north node is our karmic destiny; it tells us where we are headed in this lifetime, what lessons we will be challenged to learn, and what skills we will develop. The sign where our north node lies contains the antidote to the karmic trauma we brought with us.
The lunar nodes shift roughly every 18 months. The most recent shift was April 28, 2017, when the south node shifted from Pisces to Aquarius, and the north node shifted from Virgo to Leo. On November 18, 2018, they will shift again, to Capricorn and Cancer, respectively. All the new humans born since April 28, 2017, have their south node in Aquarius and their north node in Leo. Very generally speaking, this means these new folks are born with a penchant for revolution, a healthy questioning of authority, and strong convictions. Aquarius is the epitome of calm, cool, collected; Aquarius energy is energy you want in a crisis. This is our clue to the crutch Aquarius south nodes must address: they are too skilled at dissociation and emotional detachment, and they may resort to people-pleasing to avoid conflict.
Regarding the north node of these new people, Leo energy is creative, demonstrative energy: diva energy. Folks with their north node in Leo will be healed through creating spaces, relationships, and structures where their emotional expression and empathy can be nurtured and developed. Demonstrative and dramatic people can get reputations for being too sensitive or too reactive, and, if you think about it, those are exactly the qualities needed to counter dissociation, excessive distance, or coldness that someone with an Aquarius south node needs to outgrow and shed in this lifetime.
That was a pretty long answer to the question, “What does north node mean?” The great news: there is way more to know. Steven Forrest is a phenomenal teacher and a deep resource for further exploration. We also offer north node readings with general chart interpretations.
Whether or not you have an appetite for more north node know-how (and know-what), we hope you will open yourself to the medicine to heal your hurts, both current and historical.