The Space between the Stars: The Nature and

Function of the Planetary Nodes

The fact that the Moon has nodes is commonly taken

into account by astrologers. What is not always known

or understood is that all the planets have nodes. The

essence of astrology is found within the ecliptic, since

the circle of the zodiac itself is formed around it.

Because the apparent motion of the Sun forms the

ecliptic, it is the only body in the solar system that

does not have a nodal axis.

It is important to emphasize that there is no thing

found at the north or south node of a planetary body;

it is instead an abstract point in space that marks the

intersection of the motion of the planet as it crosses

the ecliptic. When the planet rises above the ecliptic,

this forms the ascending or north node, and when the

planet falls below the ecliptic, this forms the

descending or south node. (See Figure, at left.)

During the UranusPluto conjunction of the mid-to-late

1960s and very early 70s, Theodor Landscheidt

initially presented a paper (1965) and then a workshop

(1971) on the nature of the planetary nodes. In 1971,

Dane Rudhyar published a pamphlet in the Humanistic

Astrology Series: The Planetary and Lunar Nodes (CSA

Press). During 1973, Dr. Zipporah Dobbins, who had

attended Landscheidts workshop, published The Node

Book (TIA Publications), which included her reflections

on the planetary nodes.

Now, during the waxing First Quarter square of Uranus

and Pluto, it seems an opportune moment to assess

the importance of the revolutionary idea of the

planetary nodes as originally presented at the onset of

the current UranusPluto synodic cycle. In the

intervening decades, the recognition of the nodes

importance with some exceptions, such as the

teachings of Jeffrey Wolf Green seems to have

slipped from collective awareness. I believe that the

significance of the planetary nodes is worth our while

to acknowledge at this time.

Dane Rudhyar was clear that, because the planetary

nodes refer to the point at which a planets orbit

intersects the ecliptic, and since the ecliptic is the

apparent path of the Suns movement from the

perspective of the Earth, they symbolize a critical

factor in the meaning of the planet as it impacts the

nature of life on Earth:

This intersection and the nodes it produces symbolize

the fundamental relationship between a planet and the

Earth considered as two components in the solar

system. The relationship has significance in terms of

this solar system as a vast cosmic field of dynamic

existence. When, therefore, we apply it to the chart of

an individual human being it should be evident that

what this relationship and therefore the planetary

north and south nodes mean in that chart should be

referred to the most basic factors in that individual

person, i.e., factors that are inherent in the essential

destiny of the individual. They are factors which reach

deeper than the natural bio-psychic functions which

planets normally represent in a birth-chart just

because the planet as a moving small disc of light in

the sky is something that the personal consciousness

can normally perceive while the entire orbit of that

planet is a cosmic fact which transcends sense-

perception.1

What Rudhyar is alluding to is that the planetary node

symbolizes the entire orbital motion of the planet as it

relates to the Earth. In that sense, the planetary nodes

are in some ways more significant than the position of

the planets in the horoscope, since these nodes refer

to the complete evolutionary arc of that planet and the

archetype that it represents. The planetary nodes,

then, refer to the meaning of the entire orbital cycle of

that planet. This can include the whole history of that

archetype as it operates on an individual and collective

level just as it refers to the very idea of the

planetary archetypes themselves evolving within a

dynamic system or cosmos.

We will limit ourselves to an introduction to the

position and meaning of the planetary nodes of Jupiter

and beyond; this is partially because of space

limitations (my upcoming book, The Planetary Node

Handbook, will allow more exploration) and partly

because of the question of using geocentric or

heliocentric nodal positions. With the nodes of Jupiter

outwards, there is less difference between the

geocentric and heliocentric positions of the nodes.

While Rudhyar used the heliocentric nodes, I employ

the geocentric nodes (after Landscheidt and Jeffrey

Green). My intention is to re-introduce the idea of the

planetary nodes at this prescient moment in the

synodic cycle of Uranus and Pluto without such

technical questions proving divisive, or getting

entangled in articulating the distinctions between

heliocentric and geocentric.

The particular approach I use to the nodal axis of the

Moon was presented in my book, Healing the Soul:

Pluto, Uranus and the Lunar Nodes (2011, Raven

Dreams Press). As described therein, the South Node

of the Moon can be viewed as the past history of the

Moons archetype (the persons ego, the early home

life and formation of the personality), and the North

Node of the Moon is representative of the intended

evolutionary direction of that archetype in this case,

the development of the personality towards its most

fulfilling goals.

The south node of a planet represents its past, either

in the form of what has been assimilated (e.g., a gift

or a previously developed capacity) or what remains

unassimilated: a restriction or unresolved aspect of the

planetary archetype. Whereas the north node of a

planet represents that which is ready to be absorbed

and expressed: the intended evolutionary direction or

goal of development.

So, to apply this approach to the planetary archetypes

of Jupiter and outwards, we gain a threefold

understanding of each planetary archetype: The past,

or what has been already assimilated or has failed to

assimilate, is revealed via the south node. The present

functioning of the planet is shown by its present

placement within the horoscope. Then, the north node

of the planet would reveal the intended evolution of

the archetype embodied by that planet. I will now give

examples of this trinity method with the archetypes we

are considering.

The positions of both the geocentric and heliocentric

planetary nodes can be found in Astrolabes software,

Solar Fire. When you open a chart, you simply click on

Reports and scroll down to the Planetary Nodes. Note:

The term Ascending Node refers to the north node,

and Descending Node refers to the south node. To

switch between geocentric and heliocentric positions,

you use the Edit feature to open a new chart and then

use the arrow by Coordinate System to switch between

them.

The Outer Planets and Their Nodes

The geocentric and heliocentric south node of Neptune

is in Aquarius and the north node is in Leo, just as the

south node of Uranus is in Sagittarius and the north

node in Gemini for everyone born within the last few

centuries. (See Table, below.)

The south nodes of Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto for all

people are currently in Capricorn, with the north nodes

in Cancer. It is difficult to be sure what such a

bunching of Planetary Nodes means, but it must be

significant , wrote Rudhyar, inconclusively.2 We can

see that the collective beliefs (Jupiter), primary

conditioning (Saturn), and deepest psychological

attachments (Pluto) of present humanity lie in the

history of civilization (Capricorn) and its attempts to

structure consciousness through the rise and fall of

empires, patriarchy, and the dominance of nature as

the foundations for the ascendancy of human

civilization (Capricorn).

Lets recap the qualities of the natal planets and their

nodes, from Jupiter on out.

Natal Jupiter symbolizes the nature of an individuals

beliefs, faith, or vision of life. The south node of

Jupiter represents the prior nature of that individuals

beliefs and vision, the history of those beliefs, and the

systems of thought that generated them. The north

node of Jupiter represents the most progressive vision

on an individual and collective level.

Natal Saturn denotes the nature of how we structure

our consciousness, the conditioning factors, how we

psychologically mature (or fail to). The south node of

Saturn represents our prior individual attempts to

structure our life and mature; it also represents the

history of our conditioning and the factors that

structure society as a whole. The north node of Saturn

represents the potential for maturation of the

individual and society itself.

Natal Uranus symbolizes the nonlinear mind, the far

memory in which traumatic experiences can be held,

the capacity of the individual to liberate and become

truly independent of conditioning factors, the power of

science and technology to impact human life. The

south node of Uranus represents the collective origins

of trauma as well as the history of the individuals

attempts to individuate. The north node of Uranus

represents the greatest potential of the individual and

the collective to liberate from trauma and restrictive

conditioning factors.

Natal Pluto signifies the core focus of emotional/

psychological security within the individual. The south

node of Pluto represents the history of what the

individual or collective experience has compulsively

gravitated towards to gratify a deep, often unconscious

need for security. The north node of Pluto represents

the greatest possible psychological transformation for

the individual or the collective.

Natal Neptune reflects the deepest dreams or

aspirations of the individual or the collective, their

relationship to the divine or ultimate truth, the nature

of the collective unconscious. The south node of

Neptune represents the history of the individual and

the collectives relationship to their greatest

aspirational dreams or their vision of the divine. The

north node of Neptune represents the deepest vision

of healing on an individual and collective level.

Planetary Nodes in Action

That Pluto itself is sensitive to its own nodal axis is

reflected in its discovery chart (not shown), where

Pluto is at 1745^ Cancer conjunct its own north node

at 1827^ Cancer and the north node of Saturn at

1858^ Cancer. Plutos conjunction with its north node

seems to offer a prominence or visibility allied to its

emergence from the detailed analysis of Clyde

Tombaugh who, night after night, tracked the tiny

moving speck that identified the planetary body. Many

have noted the powerful Plutonic forces that

accompanied the discovery of this body, leading to the

rise of National Socialism in post-Depression Europe

and sowing the seeds of the Second World War.

If the planetary nodes represent the symbolic meaning

of the entire orbital motion of the planetary

archetypes, then we would expect to see them active

in charts referring to events of profound collective

significance. The astrology of the bombings of

Hiroshima and Nagasaki shows us the considerable

and precise involvement of the planetary nodes.

In the summer of 1945, Pluto was transiting in Leo

and conjoining Neptunes north node. The discovery of

the true extent of the Holocaust by Russian, British,

and American soldiers going into the death camps and

the first aggressive use of atomic weaponry occurred

during this time. The Holocaust revealed the scale of

the potential of mans inhumanity to man a misuse

of power so saturated with hatred and darkness and

on such an industrialized scale that it is still hard to

comprehend, many decades on. The dropping of the

atomic bomb on Hiroshima is the first time the world

recognized the power of the nuclear world. Both

events disclosed a dark power (Pluto) emerging from

the collective unconscious (Neptunes north node).

The Midheaven (MC) of the chart for the moment the

bomb struck Hiroshima was 1644^ Gemini, exactly

conjunct Uranus at 1629^, which is conjunct its own

north node in the same degree. (See Chart 1, **.)

Falling from the sky above was the terrible culmination

of the revolution in physics created by splitting the

atom. Here, with Uranus conjoining its own north node

conjunct the MC and squaring the Ascendant, we see

one of the most public traumatic actions ever

witnessed.

Just as Pluto was discovered on its own north node

and its influence spread over the decade of its

discovery, so with Uranus on its own north node, a

huge scientific breakthrough occurred in the splitting

of the atom and the Manhattan Projects creation of a

weapon that was first successfully tested (July 16,

1945; 12:29 p.m.; Alamogordo, New Mexico) and used

under the exact conjunction.

The fact that Pluto conjoins the north node of Neptune

in the test chart and the charts of the Hiroshima and

Nagasaki events indicates the spiritual insight

(Neptunes north node) as humankind came to the

understanding that, in their technological

advancement, they had reached the point where they

could destroy not just their enemies, nor just

themselves, but the great majority of life on Earth,

endangering the entire planet in the process. This was

an event of profound significance for our future as

underlined by the heightened planetary nodal activity

at this crucial juncture. Specifically, our psychological

attachment to power (Pluto) is found within our

creative expression (Neptunes north node in Leo), a

power that can turn our ultimate gift (Neptunes north

node) of creativity (Leo) into mass destruction.

Interestingly, the placement of the planetary nodes on

the MC of these event charts describes their impact

very specifically. The Hiroshima bombing (Chart

above) shows the shock through the MC conjunct

Uranus and Uranuss north node. In the chart (not

shown) for the Nagasaki bombing, three days after

Hiroshima, the MC was at 2538^ Cancer, exactly

conjunct Saturns north node at 2526^ Cancer. At this

event, the significance of what had occurred finally

sank in, and the Japanese emperor and his generals

(Saturn) finally voted to end the war. Even then it was

a tie, until the emperor himself cast the final vote to

cease fire.

The Elevation of the Personal

Just as the planetary nodes may illustrate the

significance of collective events, so may they also

indicate within the natal chart where areas of personal

concern (natal planets/the Moons nodes) are elevated

to the status of collective import. So, when personal

planets are conjunct the planetary nodes of Jupiter

outwards, within an orb of 3, I have found that there

is a tendency for the personal issue represented by the

natal planet to rise to a level of collective significance

symbolized by the nature of the planetary node it

conjoins. Following are some examples that can be

used to briefly illustrate this principle.

Sigmund Freud had the natal Moon at 1440^ Gemini

conjunct the north node of Uranus (1157^) right on

the cusp of the 8th house. (See Chart, at above.)

Here, we see one mans courageous struggle to follow

his insight and break through (Uranus) the restrictive

moral codes of his era to expose the taboo of sexuality

(8th house) and its role within infancy (Moon).

Furthermore, it is clear that Freuds isolated attempts

to understand his early family environment and the

development of his ego structure in infancy (Moon)

were elevated to the status of a major breakthrough

(north node of Uranus) and became the foundations of

the depth psychology movement an event among

the most significant in its impact upon the culture of

the 20th century.

From another point of view, we can see that Sigmund

Freuds mother complex (Moon) originating in his

older father marrying a much younger, attractive

woman who doted on her Ziggy and believed in his

special destiny is elevated through myth to become

a blueprint for every man. Thus, the fascinating but

problematic Oedipus complex was born. The planetary

nodes appear to raise personal issues towards a

greater significance.

Carl Jungs Venus at 1730^ Cancer conjoined the

north node of Pluto at 1858^ Cancer. Jung is famous

in part for seeing that inside every man there is an

inner woman: his anima. This term, which Jung

adapted from one of Aristotles meditations on the

nature of Soul, became the crucial inner teacher to the

hidden depths of the psyche (north node of Pluto). And

inside every woman there is the animus. This

understanding was the basis for the inner side of

Venus (Taurus) animating relationship (Libra) from the

depths of the self (Pluto) through uniting the opposites

within.

Roberto Assagioli, a teenage student of Freud and a

friend and colleague of Jung, had the natal North

Lunar Node at 931^ Leo exactly conjunct the north

node of Neptune at 938^ Leo (charts not shown).

Assagioli was the first person within the depth

psychology movement to create a system that was

explicitly transpersonal; he was the creator of the first

spiritual psychology.

A Special Case Study

The excellent biography of Alan Turing by Andrew

Hodges makes clear in its title, The Enigma,3 that

much of Turings life was shrouded in secrecy, due to

both the nature of his work for the British Secret

Service in World War II and the nature of his personal

life. Ironically, this enigmatic quality has also shrouded

his renown, for although he was listed as one of Time

magazines 100 most influential figures of the 20th

century, he is far from well known in the current public

imagination. This case study will seek to illuminate

some of his life and work, and serve to illustrate the

quality of personal planets when they are combined

with planetary nodes in the natal chart and their

capacity to symbolize the elevation of the individual

life onto the plane of collective significance.

For the purposes of simplicity, I am going to focus on

only one placement, that of Turings Mercury at 800^

Cancer closely conjunct the north node of Jupiter at

811^ Cancer, to show how understanding the

planetary nodes can transform the horoscope. (See

Chart 3, **.) At only 11 minutes of orb, this is a very

close contact. As an aspect that speaks of the

enlargement of the personal horizons of the mind into

an arena of collective impact, it seems a critical

feature of the most important figure in breaking

German ciphers during the Second World War, in

particular the naval signals vital in the battle of the

Atlantic. Turings biographer also emphasizes the

conception of the electronic computer and his

founding of artificial intelligence.

Turings Pluto placement in Gemini underscores the

importance of the development of the intellect, of

curiosity, and the desire to expand; Plutos applying

conjunction with Venus and their placement in the 2nd

house indicate a stubborn mind literally stuck on

one idea. Yet, without wishing to slander the Cancer

archetype or its potential, Mercury in Cancer in and of

itself is rarely seen as a particularly visionary

placement. However, I present the thesis that there

could be no more coherent symbolism of the personal

mind breaking through to a vision of collective

significance than that of natal Mercury conjunct

Jupiters north node.

In fact, Turings work had even more than just a

collective significance. It could be argued that, by

adapting the breakthrough of a team of Polish

mathematicians to create the Enigma Code breaker

that would tilt the balance of power in the Atlantic

from the Axis powers to the Allies, Turing answered

the collective need of humanity the individual

expression (Mercury) of a new and needed (north

node) faith (Jupiter) during a desperate time. For

whilst Germany had spent the 1930s gearing up its

industrial war machine, the United Kingdom, initially a

lonely barricade against the forces of National

Socialism in Europe, had no such preparation, and the

Atlantic was a critical avenue for supplies and

eventually reinforcements. Few people can claim to

have singlehandedly shifted the outcome of the war so

fiercely towards the Allies!

If my thesis of the role of the planetary nodes in

elevating individual qualities and lives to that of

collective importance is to stand up, it must provide

examples of significant individual close contact, both

natally (Turings Mercury conjunct the north node of

Jupiter within 11 minutes of orb) and through transit

activity at significant times within that individuals

development. Following are several events of

significance in the life of Alan Turing, to explore

thoroughly the nature and meaning of any contact with

the Mercury conjunct the north node of Jupiter at 8

Cancer.

On February 13, 1930, Christopher Morcom, Turings

best friend at school, was taken ill and died from

complications of a life-long health condition that Alan

did not know about. The two had not been friends for

very long, but they shared a love of science and the

stars. In his last letter to Turing, Morcom wrote of a

satellite near Jupiter (!) that he had witnessed on a

clear night with his telescope, and he commiserated

with Turing for failing to get the scholarship that he

himself had received.

Hodges quotes the letter of a school friend: poor old

Turing is nearly knocked out by the shock, and indeed

Alan would continue to be haunted by Christophers

being called away for years to come. In many ways,

this was the trigger for a profound loss of faith; yet,

amid the grief and loss, Turing worked hard at the

mathematics of codes and ciphers to vie for the prize

the school set up in his dead friends name. In his loss,

he also used discipline to gain first-hand knowledge of

the field in which he would eventually become a world

authority.

On the day that Christopher died, transiting Saturn

was at 827^ Capricorn in Turings 8th house and in

close opposition to his Mercury conjunction with

Jupiters north node. Saturn would not fully move

away from that point until the following year, marking

the young mathematician with his first grief, the

dilemma of his homosexual feelings, and a renewed

discipline in his chosen field.

Also, on the day of his friends death, transiting Uranus

was at 850^ Aries, squaring (within less than a 1

orb) the MercuryJupiter north node conjunction: This

was the most sudden, shocking, and traumatic event

that had befallen Alan, and it marked him in many

ways for life. It triggered a detachment from others

and a lonely dedication that, as Uranus came closer to

Alans North Lunar Node in the following year, created

a period of inspirational work that would become the

foundation for his later discoveries.

On September 4, 1938, Turing started work for the

Government Code and Cypher School, which he would

go on to revolutionise; the resulting fame proved to be

problematic for his personal life. On that day,

transiting Chiron was at 836^ Cancer, conjoining the

MercuryJupiter north node conjunction. The

institution to which he brought its greatest success

was the very force that would both make and destroy

his personal reputation and play a critical role in his

future suicide at the age of only 42.

For on March 31, 1952 at the crown court in Wilmslow,

U.K. (his home town), Turing was prosecuted as a

homosexual after his impoverished young lover, to

whom Alan had repeatedly offered money, had told a

petty criminal friend about this rich and famous

homosexual, so the friend had robbed Turings home.

When Turing reported the incident to the police, in his

naivety he named the person who was responsible and

thus inadvertently alerted the authorities to the nature

of his personal life.

On that fateful day, transiting Uranus was at 958^

Cancer within a 2 orb of the MercuryJupiter north

node conjunction in the 2nd house (it had been even

more exact in orb during the actual robbery): Again, a

sudden loss would break Turing. After the court case,

whilst he still had standing in some quarters, Turing

was put on a forced program of hormone therapy,

which engendered powerful mood swings in a man

who struggled anyway with excessive public exposure.

This led to a lonely suicide by consuming a cyanide-

laced apple only a few years later.

On September 10, 2009, then British Prime Minister

Gordon Brown apologised for the dreadful treatment of

Turing by the establishment and called him a real war

hero. That day, transiting Mars was at you guessed

it 9 Cancer, conjunct Turings MercuryJupiter north

node conjunction! Finally, the value of his work, known

by many through the campaigning of gay rights

activists, was publically acknowledged at the highest

level.

Looking Ahead

Currently, Pluto is transiting Capricorn. By 2018, it will

complete a long on/off conjunction with the south

node of Jupiter and begin to conjoin its own south

node an event that we have seen, through the

discovery chart, that Pluto is sensitive to. Pluto will

stay within a 1 orb of this conjunction to its own

south node in 2019, by which time it will also enter

into a conjunction with Saturns south node. This

whole series of nodal conjunctions coincides with the

start of a new synodic cycle of Pluto and Saturn at

their conjunction in 2020. Hopefully, even this briefest

of introductions to this deep subject conveys a sense

of how meaningful these events are in the collective

life of contemporary civilization.

What can we expect? The symbolism is clear. Our

collective psychological process (Pluto) involves a

profound re-examination of our collective vision

(Jupiters south node), our deepest attachments to

power and security (Plutos south node), and the way

we structure our society and civilization as a whole

(Saturns south node). The fact that this occurs at the

start of a new SaturnPluto cycle in January 2020

suggests that we will be dealing with the implications

of this encounter with our collective past and its

assumptions for decades to come. We may have to

recognize that civilization as a whole has health

issues:

there is one question which I can hardly evade. If

the development of civilization has such similarity to

the development of the individual may we not be

justified in reaching the diagnosis that some epochs

of civilizations possibly the whole of mankind

have become neurotic? An analytic dissection of such

neuroses might lead to therapeutic recommendations

which could lay claim to great practical interest.4

We can see that environmental issues (deforestation,

pollution of the oceans, chemical dumping), alongside

the depletion of oil and gas reserves (the fuel of

civilization), will transcend political positioning as they

become bottom-line material realities. We can also see

that the fundamental model of civilization, with its

emphasis on the dominance of mankind, will be called

into question as we are challenged to explore more

deeply what it means to be human and live on the

Earth.

The north nodes of Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto are all in

Cancer: We are being asked to adopt a more feminine

mode of consciousness in which we envision the Earth

as a living home where the human family can find its

right position. That the north node of Uranus is in

Gemini shows how much inspiration can be found just

by bringing this to our conscious awareness, studying

it, and talking with our friends and communities about

it, in order to overcome the south node of Uranus in

Sagittarius shadow of fundamentalism to share the

realization that there are many faces of truth as it

expresses through the multitude of peoples on Earth.

Neptunes north node is in Leo, and every one of us is

being asked what the nature of our creativity will bring

to the collective table. Do we just take from life? Are

we simply neutral and passive observers? Or can we

find our most profound and beautiful healing vision

(north node of Neptune) and create (Leo) our lives

from that place?

Authors Note: I would like to thank Jeffrey Wolf Green

for first introducing me to the idea of the planetary

nodes; Keith Hackwood (M.A. Psych. Synth. Dip.) for

spending a week with me in a cottage in Wales in the

summer of 2009, exploring whether the concept had

escape velocity, which we quickly concluded it did, so

an intense period of research followed; and Patrick

Graham for technical and software support in

expressing that vision. The culmination of this work,

The Planetary Node Handbook, will be published in

2014.