Lunar nodes — Astrology glossary

The lunar nodes are the two points where the Moon's orbit intersects the ecliptic, the Sun's apparent path across the sky. The North Node is where the Moon crosses heading north; the South Node, exactly opposite, where it crosses heading south. They are mathematical points, not bodies, and they are significant astronomically because eclipses occur only when a new or full Moon falls near a node. In astrology the nodal axis is read as a single axis of meaning: the South Node for innate, familiar patterns and the North Node for the growth a person is pulled toward. In a natal chart their sign and house placement is taken to describe a life's developmental direction. For example, a nodal axis across Gemini and Sagittarius frames a tension between gathering facts and seeking larger meaning.