Photo by Derek Sanderson
sandersonphoto.com
Elizabeth Hazel is an astrologer and
tarotist who lives in Toledo, Ohio. She has written extensively on
techniques for combining stars and cards, and enjoys researching and
writing about other occult topics, including mythology and history.
Liz has 3 cats, loves to grow flowers and
herbs, and plays keyboards for a band. Her secret wish is to be a
contestant on Jeopardy. She can be contacted via
email.
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The aim of this series is to aid the tarotist in gaining
useful information about astrology in order to assist clients. Current
phenomenon will be featured in the series.
The Moon’s nodes are a mysterious curiosity in astrology. Nodes are not planets, but indicate where the Moon is crossing from north to south across the ecliptic (the solar system’s equator). While all planets have nodes, the Moon’s nodes are commonly used in horoscopes, with glyphs that look like horseshoes:
 North Node of the Moon  South Node of the Moon
To make it more complicated, the nodes move backwards through the zodiac, their motion contrary to all but retrograde planets. This movement is extremely slow, and it takes about 2.5 years for the nodes to pass through the 30˚ of arc of an opposing pair of zodiac signs. The nodes are always 180˚ apart, so if the North Node is at 5˚ Gemini, the South Node is at 5˚ Sagittarius.
The critical feature of the nodes is their role in eclipses. Each month, the Sun and Moon participate in a lunation cycle (new and full), but only when these 2 lights are in close proximity to the nodes can eclipses occur. In the ancient view, the Nodes represented the dragon or wolf that swallowed the sun or moon during an eclipse. The Latin names for the nodes reflect this belief, with the North Node personified as the dragon’s head (caput draconis) and the South Node as the dragon’s tail (cauda draconis).
Consider the attributes of the mythical dragon. Depending on the culture, dragons are evil, hard to kill, dangerous to taunt, patient, wise, and generally have an unlimited appetite for innocence. Some of the more famous dragons, like Fafnir or Tolkein’s Smaug, are greedy creatures slumbering on their golden hoards. Dragons are not safe: should one catch the head, being burned or devoured is a looming possibility. And everyone knows that catching a dragon or snake by the tail is even more foolhardy, as the tail can lash and wriggle and the head is still free to do its dastardly deed of turning the questing knight into its luncheon hot pocket.
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So in astrology, as in legend, the nodes are misunderstood, feared, and tough to grasp. In Hindu astrology (called Jyotish, the science of light), the nodes are called Rahu and Ketu, and considered malefic (evil) shadow planets that are the enemy of everything except the trickster Mercury. The reputation of the nodes is well deserved, as recently shown on September 11, 2001, when Mars aligned with the South Node at 3˚ Capricorn. Al Queda’s capacity for chaotic destruction, their diffuse locations and ability to elude detection and capture, parallels the wriggling of the dragon’s tail.
On April 15th, 2003, the Nodes will exit the tropical Gemini-Sagittarius axis and enter the Taurus-Scorpio axis. The subsequent eclipses in May 2003 (profiled in the upcoming May 1 issue of Tarot Reflections) occur along this zodiacal borderline. For the next few years, the Taurus-Scorpio axis will host the eclipses as the dragon feeds on the solar and lunar energies in these signs.
The Nodes are not strangers to the tarot. The early pioneering astrologer-tarotist Etteilla assigned the North Node to the 8 of Coins, and the South Node to the 9 of Coins. Mary Greer uses the Ace of Cups for the North Node and the Ace of Swords for the South Node. (1) Using the Golden Dawn’s geomantic attributions to the court cards, the North Node (the figure of Caput Draconis) is assigned to the Page of Wands, and the South Node (Cauda Draconis) to the Page of Pentacles. (2) Crowley’s Book of Thoth (pg 284) shows the exultation of the North Node at 3˚ Gemini, thus this shadow planet is under the dominion of the Lovers (Gemini), the King of Swords (1st-2nd decans of Gemini), and the 8 of Swords (1st decan Gemini). The South Node exults at 3˚ Sagittarius, thus is under the domain of Temperance (Sagittarius), the King of Wands (1st – 2nd decan of Sag), and the 8 of Wands (1st decan of Sag).
The tarot can be used as a tool for inner reflection, but each person participates in the culture and times into which they were born. Some people are born when their particular skill set and personality type is a great advantage in the contemporary collective ambience, for instance, Henry Ford or Bill Gates. Others may find their greatest talents reviled or misunderstood during their lifetime (William Blake, Giordano Bruno). Each seeded incarnation should be considered in light of the ground into which it has been sown – the times and current level of cultural development and intellectual paradigm. To ignore the impact of the collective upon the individual is foolhardy. After all, if a man with Bill Gate’s personality and skill sets were born in the 15th century, he might well have ended up imprisoned, burned, or enslaved. The dragon of time requires constant feeding, and what passes through the tail after the digestive process is history.
The Nodes are karmic indicators because they delineate the role of the individual (sun/moon) as they participate in the collective (ecliptic). The North Node shows the manner in which contemporary history consumes the energies and abilities of the individual, magnetically attracting the person toward sources of fresh sustenance in their current incarnation. The South Node shows the detritus from this process: how the accumulated baggage and skills from both current and past incarnations can influence the present and future. Depending on natal placement and aspect, the Nodes can be highly spiritual or dangerously drawn to overkill. (For those who do not have a copy of their birth chart for locating their natal nodes, go to www.astrodienst.com for a free copy.)
The Draconis Spread
This spread may be used to understand either natal or current placement of the Nodes. The collective and impersonal qualities of the Nodes should be considered when examining the spread, suggesting the larger scheme of things as the individual querent (a thread) flows through and is influenced by the collective (the tapestry).
Card 1 – Self. This card places the individual in the belly of the dragon, a symbol of how the individual is being fed and digested by the times in which they exist. The Moon (the body that creates these nodes) rules feeding and digestion, and also rules one’s comfort with this process. A great deal of latitude is available for selecting this card (see end of article for further options). The simplest option is for the querent to draw a card at random from the deck, or simply shuffle the deck and use the top card as the significator.
The card in this position indicates the current karmic tasks that are required of the querent, and expresses their position in the collective. The querent may or may not recognize how this role applies to them – after all, it is hard to understand the head/tail when one is located in the gut. Nonetheless, examine this card for how the images and divinatory meanings apply to the current place of the individual in an historic context.
Card 2 – The Dragon’s Head. This card represents that which the querent faces, and what can be seen of their future path. It may show the particular facet of contemporary history where the querent’s karmic impulses are drawing them to participate, and how well their talents, skills and personality will suit this enactment. (Astrologers may wish to examine the current nodal transits in natal houses, or any impending planetary aspects to natal nodes/planets to further delineate this card and spread).
Card 3 – The Dragon’s Tail. This card shows the spiritual position of the querent, and whether elements of the past in the current or past incarnations are assisting or hindering the querent. Any behaviors or traits indicated by this card will tend toward extreme expression, and (like the dragon’s tail) be uncontrollable or risky to grasp.
Card 4 – Ingestion. Place this card horizontally. It shows what the querent is drawn to, what will nourish him/her in the future, if it can be located and consumed. There may be a magnetic attraction to the qualities shown in this card.
Card 5 – Expulsion. Also placed horizontally. This critical card shows traits, behaviors and issues from the past (of current or previous incarnations) that must be released. As a dirty colon can cause degenerative diseases like cancer, traits shown in this card can degenerate the potential unfolding of the current incarnation if they are not expelled. The querent may be fully aware that this area is problematic, but may also experience great conflict in actually resolving this issue.
Card 6 – Past. This card shows how the issues from the previous card are influencing (for better or worse) the life path of the querent’s current incarnation. It also shows how the individual has fared in various groups: family, friends, coworkers, career environment, etc. Integrate the meaning of this card with card #5.
Card 7 – Future. Shows what will result if the querent is able to ingest the qualities shown in card #4, and the potential impact on the group that will ripple through the collective if the querent is able to fully manifest the potential of their current incarnation.
Demonstration of this Spread
1. Self 8 of Pentacles This card has a synchronistic attribution to the sign of the querent’s natal North Node (Virgo, 5th house, conjunct Pluto). The querent must work in this incarnation, and develop tools and ideas for the collective. He must be diligent and focus on the process rather than the results.
2. Head 19. Sun This card suggests that recognition in the future, and it also corresponds to the 8 of Pentacles through the shared Sun attribution. The querent’s work is visible, and these efforts are at the point of overcoming obstacles to triumph that have been a problem in the past.
3. Tail Queen of Cups This card shows that the querent has issues with motherhood, marriage, bonding, accepting nurturing and tenderness. There are intuitive abilities, and the querent can be very sensitive and generous to others. This can be overdone to the querent’s detriment when people take advantage of him. This watery queen corresponds to the querent’s natal south node in Pisces/11th house, suggesting that in the past the querent has attempted to nurture the world, with mixed results.
4. Ingestion Ace of Cups Relates to the previous Queen by suit. The querent is drawn to love as a source of future nurturance. Although the ego seems strong (The Sun card), the emotional problems of the past have created insecurity. The chalice shown in this card is particularly difficult for the querent to grasp because of his own personal history.
5. Expulsion 8 of Cups Relates to the Ace and Queen of Cups. The spread now reveals a preponderance of water-type issues relating to the Nodes. The natal South Node is in Pisces, as suggested by the attribution, thus Pisces is the sign that describes the difficult past issues that must be released by the querent. The sign and card both suggest abandonment, sorrow, grieving, confinement and alienation as the querent encounters their family and group; periods of exile and wandering, and a lack of boundaries. Hanging onto sorrow and disillusionment because of past hurt is, however, poison to this querent, and must be expelled.
6. Past 7 of Wands Leo is the natural ruler of the 5th house, where the querent’s natal North Node is located. This card shows great struggles to retain identity in the face of group alienation (8 of Cups). The querent has shown valor in overcoming adversity, and by retaining inspiration and ambition (fiery qualities) in spite of emotional disappointments. There is friction for this querent in the various groups that he has encountered in this lifetime (and past lives) that have resulted in struggles with leaders, getting credit for accomplishments, and possible oppression due to prejudice (the above queen represents a woman, wife, subordinate). The battle between fire and water in the cards for the South Node show that there is much to be overcome as the querent faces the future.
7. Future 14. Temperance This card represents the crucial process of rebalancing the conscious and unconscious mind, and the importance of re-integrating love and healthy emotions into the ego (Sun card and Ace of Cups above). Although the 8 of Pentacles shows a person alone in his workshop, now the querent must embrace the group, the greater collective of which he is a part. This is the price of success (Sun), and may require travel as the querent is asked to teach about the skills and tools that he has developed. The horizontal Ace of Cups shows a slippery paradox facing the querent: he must modestly accept impersonal admiration as his efforts are recognized, but also must make an effort to renew his capacity for intimate love and tenderness. This card is attributed to Sagittarius, the current location of transiting Pluto, the planet conjunct his natal North Node. This suggests that the transformative process is being accelerated, and that the querent is prone to the heights and depths of the karmic process.
Please notice how the three Tail cards compare to the three Head cards on either side of the 8 of Pentacles. The Head cards are dynamic, exciting and joyful, indicating that the querent is reaching for the future with drive and enthusiasm. The issues from the past shown in the Tail cards indicate difficulty and loss in reaching the current position in life (the belly), but also show that the water element cannot and should not be abandoned as the querent moves into the future. The bonding and abandonment issues of the past must be recognized, processed and released for the querent to unfold to his full potential in this incarnation.
Conclusion
As the Nodes and eclipses move into the Taurus-Scorpio axis, people born under these signs will feel the tremendous push and pull of kismet in their lives. The issues of nurturing, protection, trust and steady growth are inherent in these signs, and will manifest in collective, as well as individual, situations. These two fixed zodiac signs are the “give-and-take” axis, and are known for possessiveness, obstinacy and suspicion. As the May eclipses take place, keep these qualities in mind. Growth takes place in the flow of time, and can only flourish when past obstacles are acknowledged and removed. With such stubborn and tenacious signs in the
eclipse spotlight, the issues faced in the coming 2 – 3 years will be equally stubborn and tenacious, and require enormous effort on the part of the individual to overcome successfully. This demands extra patience and level-headedness on the part of the tarot reader working with clients, particularly members of the four fixed signs (Taurus, Scorpio, and to a lesser extent, Leo and Aquarius) as they explore these issues during readings.
Additional Options for Choosing Card #1 – Self
The reader may choose to:
- select a court card that identifies the querent
- select a card that is attributed to the sign where the natal north node is located, or a card attributed to a natal planet that is conjunct either of the natal nodes. This method is preferred if the querent is experiencing an outer planet transit of natal nodes.
- select a card that represents a natal planet in the zodiac signs where the nodes are currently transiting (for instance, people born from 1959 – 1972 have Neptune in Scorpio. This planet will receive a conjunction with the South Node as it transits through Scorpio during the next 2.5 years; thus the Hanged Man = Neptune could be used as the significator). This method is preferred to delineate the effect of current node transits on natal planets.
- randomly draw a card from the deck, or shuffle and take the top card as the Self card.
(1) Mary Greer, “Tarot and Astrology: Tarot’s History and Correspondences to Astrology,” The Mountain Astrologer, April/May 1997 p. 21
(2) David Allen Hulse, “Hidden and Secret Meaning: The Court Cards Part II,” The Llewellyn Journal, May 25, 2002, found at
www.llewellynjournal.com/article/387/
Cards from the Rider Waite
Tarot, copyright U.S. Games. Used by permission.
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