Metabolizing dragon poop
Weary reflections on Libra Season and an exploration of different lunar node interpretations.
“I feel like I’ve just been run over,” someone close to me said at the end of last week.
“Yes, exactly,” I agreed. “Me too. Completely drained.”
It took me a solid few days to peel myself off horizontal surfaces, unwind from the fetal position, and take steps to thaw out the freeze in my nervous system…
…and if this is you too, it makes sense.
First of all, this may be because you are also feeling some degree of relative powerlessness and overwhelm while witnessing brutal violence in the Middle East on a distant glass screen (which is incomparable, of course, to the extreme suffering experienced by those directly impacted by it).
It could also be because we are currently in the strange, unsettling, liminal space between the solar eclipse in Libra on October 14th, and the lunar eclipse in Taurus on October 28th. You may be sifting through the pieces of a personal drama that eclipse season has activated.
This post will primarily be a reflection on the past month of Libra Season (specifically looking at the meaning of the South Node in Libra), with some forward-focused thoughts on Scorpio and the upcoming Taurus eclipse at the end.
The Moon’s South Node began sweeping backwards through Libra on July 17th, and Mars has been slowly moving through Libra since the end of August, but it’s really been since the beginning of Libra Season (which started with the Sun’s ingress into Libra on September 23), that the full force of the South Node’s edge has made itself most strongly felt.
Soon after the Sun’s ingress, Mercury joined the luminary in Libra, while on the same day, Mars fell into the South Node’s deep pit on October 4th.
The symbol for the lunar South Node looks like a hole, a cup, an upside down horseshoe, and I really do imagine it being like a deep pit in the ground that plans, goals, and other such forward-oriented things, fall into.
I remember years ago, I was anticipating a job interview in a week’s time. I checked the astro for that day and noticed some major South node Action. Perhaps the Sun was conjoining with the South Node, or it may have even been Mercury (symbolizing the voice), I can’t remember exactly.
“Interesting,” I thought. “I wonder what that means...”
The morning of the interview I was contacted by the interviewer who let me know that the interview would not be proceeding that day because “she had no voice.” It may have been due to laryngitis?
Anyway, the job interview was rescheduled, but the original plan apparently fell down the South Node pit as it swallowed the interviewer’s voice.
Again this month, as Mars passed through the South Node, and later the Sun and Mercury, I noticed plans falling through.
Repeatedly I’ve noticed that when planets are conjunct the South Node in horary charts, or when they are hanging around the edge of the SN pit when I’m making plans, nothing materializes.
The hungry North Node is where we welcome in the new, but the South Node often feels like a suction drain to me.
More on the South Node later, but these experiences fit with common interpretations of the South Node as a place of release and letting go.
With the nodal axis stretching across the Libra-Aries polarity at 24 degrees, and Pluto squaring both of the nodes at 27 degrees Capricorn, all the faster planets attempting to breeze through Libra inevitably have been getting caught in the crosshairs of this cardinal t-square that has been holding since late July, as you can see below:
If you have important planets or points around 24-27 degrees of the cardinal signs (Libra, Aries, Capricorn, or Cancer), you may be powerfully tapped into this long-term t-square tension, whose volume was recently turned up.
Mars completed the final, explosive square with Pluto, the planet of the underworld, over the weekend of October 7/8, as global news reported horrific atrocities in Israel, followed by horrific atrocities being reported in Gaza.
A week later, on October 14th, the Moon joined the Sun at 21 degrees Libra for a Solar (new moon) Eclipse, tightly conjunct the South Node at 24 degrees Libra.
(The calculated points of the south and north lunar nodes signify where eclipses will occur; eclipses amplify the meaning and ongoing process of the nodal axis.)
Then from October 18th - 21st, both the Sun and Mercury (traveling very close together and merging into a cazimi on the 20th) fell down the South Node in Libra in quick succession and opposed Pluto in Capricorn, just as Mars had done two weeks prior.
So basically all of Libra Season (September 23 - October 23rd) has been dominated by this South Node square Pluto activation x 3 + an eclipse.
This is not unequivocally “bad” astro. Definitely it can present some major challenges and unearth some very intense, stagnating shadow material, but I can think of people with strong Libra placements who have had exciting breakthroughs in the last couple weeks.
It can certainly be draining at the same time though. I feel like planets moving across (and down) the South Node often get zapped of their vitality and energy.
Exploring different interpretations of the Lunar Nodes, and the eclipses they create
I’ve used the analogy of a deep pit that things fall into to describe the South Node thus far, but here is a list of other South Node keywords and imagery, some of which I’ve already referenced:
stagnation, pollution, congestion, sewage cesspool, a vanishing hole, futile effort, nutrient deficient, purification, a toilet flush, suction drain, releasing, cleansing, asceticism, detoxing, reducing, decreasing, diminishing, emptying out, spiritual detachment, self-denial, renunciation, material loss, disengagement, withdrawal.
While many of those words may land unpleasantly, and while it is true that the South Node’s tendency to take something away is not always desired, in my opinion, the South Node is not the evil twin to its North Node opposite (which is often described in some types of astrology, as key to our evolution and growth).
The two ends of the nodal axis do not form a bad/good binary.
Judith Hill speaks to this trap when she writes:
The wise astrologer doesn’t seek “bad” interpretations for South Node eclipses, nor necessarily “good” promise for the North Node events. Ideally, the practitioner views eclipses in the same manner as one does the incoming and receding ocean tides. One never fully knows what to expect until it happens!
[…] In viewing South Node eclipses, be open to positive manifestations. The outflowing tide suggested by a South Node event is often surprisingly positive for release, cleansing, giving, accepting, forgiving, volunteering, dissemination, bequeathing, “letting go”, relaxing, and spiritual epiphanies! These are good concepts to keep at hand, especially when working with concerned clients.
Conversely, North Node eclipses bring the celestial tides rushing in, and most folks prefer arrivals to departures. However, as positive as these events so often are, (within the upcoming yearly quarter or year), they are not invariably so. Be prepared for possible “overload” in the arena of a North Node event. Or, consider, what exactly is arriving?
Another perspective is one that views both ends of the lunar nodes (and the eclipses they create) as dangerous and malefic.
For example, Rain Mason Olbert and Pallas K. Augustine, the astromagic wizards behind Idola Stellarum, strongly advise against doing any kind of magic during eclipses, when the lunar nodes are the most potent:
Historically, eclipses were considered fearsome times when the natural order of things was thrown out of balance. Eclipses are times when the light of the heavens from which all life derives goes dark. Even the word for eclipse comes from the Greek ekleipsis, meaning an abandonment or forsaking.
And as the story of the Samudra Mathana mentioned above attests, the Nodes are not considered friendly characters.
[…] Eclipses are times when the Head and Tail of the dragon are at their most terrible and most powerful. […] Quite clearly, eclipses are not auspicious and life-enhancing, but harmful, chaotic, and destructive.
The ancient Hindu story of the Samudra Mathana that they reference above, tells the tale of a power-hungry demon named Svarabhānu, who disguised himself in order to receive the elixir of immortality from Mohini, which was not meant for him.
The Sun and the Moon (aka, Surya and Chandra) witnessed the deceit and notified Mohini, who is a feminine expression of Vishnu, protector of divine order.
Vishnu/Mohini decapitated Svarabhānu, but since the demon creature had already become immortal, he continued to live on as two beings - Rahu, aka the North Node (the head and mouth of the dragon), and Ketu, aka the South Node (the tail of the dragon).
Rahu and Ketu are always seeking their revenge, but as incomplete body parts, they never succeed:
Rahu and Ketu became bitter enemies with Surya (Sun) and Chandra (Moon) for exposing his deception and leading to his decapitation. For this, Rahu pursues them and attempts to consume the Sun and Moon. Since Rahu is the head without the body, the Sun and Moon exit from his throat when he tries to swallow them. This recurring cycle creates the grahana, an eclipse of the Sun and the Moon, which represents the temporary revenge of Rahu. ~ Wikipedia
Please note: I am not a Jyotish astrologer rooted in Hindu /Vedic astrological philosophy, so I’m simply using Wikipedia here. However, the story of Rahu and Ketu have had a huge influence on the interpretations of the lunar nodes in many branches of astrology, and I think it is worth mentioning.
As far as I can tell, although Ketu (the South Node and the tail of the demon dragon) is still considered to be an unpredictable malefic in Vedic astrology, it seems to have some redeeming qualities:
Ketu signifies the spiritual process of the refinement of materialisation to spirit and is considered both malefic and benefic, as it causes sorrow and loss, and yet at the same time turns the individual to God. In other words, it causes material loss in order to force a more spiritual outlook in the person. Ketu is a karaka or indicator of intelligence, wisdom, non-attachment, fantasy, penetrating insight, derangement, and psychic abilities. ~Wikipedia
For a while now, I’ve been circling around various interpretations of the lunar nodes and eclipses (which occur either near the South or North Node, partaking in their symbolism), while attuning closely to my direct experience of them.
I don’t feel that I’ve landed on a complete and conclusive interpretation of the nodal axis yet, but as I said, I definitely have noticed that plans often do not materialize when the South Node is activated by transit or in horary charts.
So that’s one thing that feels strongly correlated to me based on numerous observations.
Consciously and intentionally letting something go, or at least, the “theme” of release and letting go, is also often present in some way.
And lately, the word “stagnation” is really coming through strongly for me, when I imagine the South Node as a dragon’s headless torso/tail.
If the dragon’s head has been severed, no new life, movement, or nutrients can reach the South Node’s tail.
Without stimulus and contraction, the material in the South Node will fester and stagnate. Like, dragon poop.
The dragon poop stuck in the South Node (in our natal charts or by transit) may be “stuff” from the past you haven’t worked through and metabolized yet. The dragon poop can also be sticky patterns of behavior that have you feeling trapped in endless repetitions.
South Node activations (like we’ve had in October thanks to Mars, the Sun, Mercury and the Moon via an eclipse) invite us to cleanse, release, purify, and metabolize stuck material.
Personally, I have a box (okay, several boxes) in the deep recesses of my psyche and soma, carefully taped up and marked “CAUTION - FRAGILE - HANDLE WITH CARE," that are sitting there waiting for when I have enough resources to address them. This Libran eclipse season gave one box in particular, A REALLY BIG SHAKE.
Dragons seldom arrive when you are “ready.”
I was initially strongly influenced by how Evolutionary Astrology views the lunar nodes. Therefore, I used to perceive the South Node as signifying something that was over-pronounced in the natal chart (or by transit). The South Node (by sign/house/aspect) was too comfortable (potentially because it described a past life), and thus people live it to its extreme, while neglecting the opposing North Node that held their future potential.
My understanding of the lunar nodes have since shifted as I noticed that many people were living their natal North Node to the extreme, and ignoring their natal South Node.
When the nodal axis moves through the collective, similarly I often witness the North Node playing out in extreme ways, while the South Node seemed underdeveloped.
And, many times the nodal axis still manifests in the opposite way with an over-developed South Node, and under-developed North Node.
What determines how someone’s natal nodal axis will play out? What determines how someone will respond to the tail and head of the dragon moving through the collective and through a new pair of houses in their birth chart?
I think the answer to this is very nuanced and dependent on each person’s unique chart configurations!
When I interpret the lunar nodes, I always consider them within the context the rest of the person’s natal chart provides.
For example, while looking at the chart as a whole, I consider whether a person is more likely to sink deep into safe and familiar stagnation (the South Node), or whether they will try to flee what feels stuck and stagnating by overcompensating via extreme expressions of the North Node.
What’s the path of least resistance for someone, based on other points of emphasis in the birth chart, and based on the placements of the ruling planets of the nodes?
Ideally, we build capacity to leave the path of least resistance and lean into growth.
Nodal growth for me, looks like a healthy rebalancing and reconnecting the dragon’s head with the dragon’s tail so that the South Node, once cleansed, receives fresh life-giving nutrients, and the North Node’s head and mouth, now no longer desperately ravenous, can seek out what it is craving with greater awareness, intention and self-control.
Of course this doesn’t fit with the Vedic interpretation of Rahu and Ketu, since why would you want to reconnect a monster?
I’m inspired by the Vedic dragon story when considering the North and South Nodes of the Moon, but my (current) interpretative analogy follows its own path.
The North and South Nodes are incomplete on their own; what would it look like to reunite them and the sign polarities that host them?
[Note: due to the length of this essay it may be cut off by your email provider. Click here to read the full post on Substack.]
Rebalancing and integrating the Libra-Aries polarity
When I wrote my year’s forecast back in February 2023, I said the following about this time period:
…we may be releasing, processing, digesting themes around relationships and codependency, fairness, peace and justice in October…
…From early - mid October (and again from November 29 - December 3, 2023 when Venus is in Libra) it’s time to tend to the Libran area of your chart and issues that involve seeking peace, justice, fairness, and harmony in relationships - in ways that make the unconscious conscious, and metabolize shadow material. Don’t ignore what’s hiding in the dark.
Here’s what my elemental collage looks like for Libra, cardinal air:
And here’s what my elemental collage looks like for Libra’s opposite sign, Aries, cardinal fire (which I created back in April 2023):
This month my global newsfeeds have tragically looked a lot more like an extreme version of the Aries collage, rather than the Libra collage.
With the South Node traveling through Libra right now, and the North Node traveling through Aries, if we don’t address what’s stagnating in Libra (e.g., outdated patterns of relating, fawning and people-pleasing, twisted ideas of justice and fairness, imbalanced compromises, conflict avoidance, losing one’s center, shallow idealism and perceptions of beauty), the North Node’s dragon head in Aries may become even more chaotic and desperate to escape the heaviness of the South Node material (e.g., reactive, impulsive rage and violence, revenge-seeking, walled off to other perspectives, single-minded inconsiderate pursuit of selfish aims).
It’s possible too, that the energy of Aries and all its positive attributes (e.g., courage, independence, self-assertion, openness to risk-taking, healthy conflict navigation) may feel even more inaccessible as this polarity is initially activated, while the pull of the Libra shadow may feel like a safe place to hide out.
The lunar nodes, as they travel through the zodiac spending 1.5 years in each pair of sign polarities (with corresponding eclipses spanning up to two years), invite us to go on a journey. At the beginning of that journey when they enter a new set of signs (e.g., October 14th was the first solar eclipse in Libra, activating the South Node), we are likely to be acutely aware of how imbalanced the expression of the two signs are - both in our personal lives, and globally.
But as the journey progresses, we will have many opportunities to metabolize the dragon poop, and seek out life nutrients that satiate us. During eclipse season (which occurs every six months) these opportunities are particularly abundant, but it is up to us to do the work, and grow.
The dates for this series of eclipses on the Aries-Libra axis are as follows:
April 19, 2023: Solar Eclipse at 29°Aries (North Node side)
*July 17, 2023: The lunar nodes leave Taurus-Scorpio & enter Aries-Libra
October 14, 2023: Solar Eclipse at 21° Libra (South Node side)
March 24, 2024: Lunar Eclipse at 05° Libra (South Node side)
April 8, 2024: Solar Eclipse at 19° Aries (North Node side)
October 2, 2024: Solar Eclipse at 10° Libra (South Node side)
*January 11, 2025: The lunar nodes leave Aries-Libra & enter Pisces-Virgo
March 29, 2025: Solar Eclipse at 9° Aries (North Node side)
Note that each series of eclipses overlap with the series that both precedes and follows it, and whichever node is being activated (the South Node or the North Node) the opposing node will always be activated simultaneously - you can’t have one without the other.
The nodes will also change the experience of the zodiac signs they are in.
There has been such a strong Libran emphasis this month, which supposedly means we should all be feeling peace, love and harmonious relationships… and yet I have never seen my social sphere online, so polarized and divisive.
Occasionally posts emphasizing words like “and,” “multiple truths,” and “nuance,” appear on my feed (such as those below), attempting to land on the unstable fulcrum between Libra’s scales - much to the disgust of others.
Meanwhile, the dehumanizing language and imagery that is circulating has been eerily reminding me of the South Node symbolism in ways that are quite disturbing, while the stocks of Aries-like weapons manufacturing firms (such as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Rheinmetall…) have had disgusting increases - devastating war and violence is extremely profitable for these groups.
The North Node placement can reflect a pull towards increase, while the South Node placement can reflect a pull toward a decrease or cleanse - but these impulses need critical examination, especially at the beginning of an eclipse series when there is so much unprocessed shadow!!!
Please take this advice into your personal lives if possible! Just because you feel pulled to release one thing, and hungrily chase another, doesn’t mean it is the best path forward.
I generally take a neutral/positive-leaning view of the nodal axis and the eclipses, but at the same time, I agree with others that they can be chaotic and we must be careful as to not be “possessed” by dragons.
Furthermore, as previously discussed, we had Mars (ruler of Aries and named after the god of war) traveling through Libra, which tends to be a crisis-driven planet, as well as four planets hitting squares to Pluto, the planet of the underworld, soon after clearing the South Node in Libra.
There were certainly additional cosmic factors that made Libra Season extra challenging.
Throughout October, how did you notice a South Node process showing up in the house in your natal chart that contains Libra? Locate your natal Venus placement (ruler of Libra) for an additional layer of clues.
Piecing together an eclipse interpretation in conversation (a true-ish story)
As the solar eclipse in Libra was literally peaking, I was on a hike with a good friend, discussing the meaning of the eclipse and its relevance to her life. This friend was born in Canada, but now lives abroad in Berlin where she met her partner. They were both visiting her birth home for a few weeks.
It was one of those times where above and below echo each other so seamlessly, and I thought it was a great example of how you can make sense of astrology one layer and one puzzle piece at a time until you can see the whole picture.
She gave me permission to share a true-ish, much-abbreviated version of our conversation. I thought it might be a helpful example for someone trying to interpret the eclipse in the context of their life and natal chart.
FRIEND: So the eclipse is happening right now?! What do you think it means for me?
ME: Well, for starters, a solar eclipse is a new moon, which symbolizes new beginnings - it’s a time when we plant seeds for what we hope will grow in the future. A new moon that is a solar eclipse might correlate with incoming opportunities or ideas that surprise you.
FRIEND: Interesting! This makes me think of how surprised me and my partner were, by how much we loved rural Cape Breton during our visit there this week. We started discussing the possibility of maybe one day buying land there and moving to Canada!
ME: Wow! That certainly sounds like a seed being planted in a way that carries an eclipse signature of surprise!
The next thing to consider is that the eclipse is happening in Libra - a sign that has to do with relationships, art, agreements, diplomacy, negotiations and compromise… and it is also landing within a few degrees of the South Node, which invokes themes of shadow work, release and letting go. Do any of these keywords resonate with your discussions around possibly buying land in Cape Breton with your partner one day?
FRIEND: Oh my god, yes!! A big focus of our conversations was what type of compromises would be involved in this decision for both of us, independently and as a couple - and what each of us would have to potentially let go of (e.g., our city life in Berlin). Although I’d love to live in a rural area, as an artist and a photographer, living in Cape Breton would be potentially really limiting for my career.
ME: So finances came up in your conversation? That would make sense if so, because the eclipse is taking place in Libra in your 2nd house of resources, assets and money. Libra may color your second house meanings by invoking themes of making art for money, and the ways in which you and your partner seek to combine funds in a fair way.
FRIEND: Definitely! We both discussed the funds we had available to invest together and explored possibilities for me to continue with my career while living in Cape Breton. I didn’t realize Cape Breton had their own airport. We talked about how I might be able to fly out to big cities regularly for photo shoots.
ME: That makes so much sense with your natal Venus, the ruler of Libra and your 2nd house of money, in the sign of Sag (which loves both wilderness and travel) in your 4th house of home and roots!
FRIEND: But I always thought that having so many Sag planets in my 4th house of home made sense for living overseas, far away from my place of birth?
ME: Those placements can certainly speak to finding “home” in a new country far away and living abroad!
There’s a bit of an inherent tension having Sagittarius (and Venus, Sun, and Mars) in the 4th house since the 4th house is the anchor of the chart and wants to be well-rooted, while Sagittarius as a sign energy, wants to be free and constantly on the move. Sagittarius loves wild nature. Therefore, moving close to your place of origin in a rural environment, while maintaining a yearly schedule that has you flying around the globe and visiting your second home-base (and your partner’s birthplace) in Berlin, is another symbolically resonant expression of those 4th house Sag placements.
This is the first eclipse in Libra so it is near the beginning of our journey (which started back in April 2023 with an intro eclipse in Aries). Eclipses on the Aries-Libra axis will be rolling out every six months until March 2025, so there’s no rush! But it is worth noting what seeds have been planted at this time so you can follow the story threads going forward.
FRIEND: Ohhhh! Cool! I’m excited to see what happens next!
ME: We’ve just layered the meanings of a new moon, a solar eclipse, the South Node, the sign of Libra… with your 2nd house ruled by Venus in Sag in your 4th house… for a pretty accurate reflection of what is happening in your life right now! How does that make you feel?
FRIEND: It gives me some peace of mind. Knowing the astrological interpretation supports me with being open, curious and accepting of these new seeds, rather than reacting against this potential big change and worrying about what happens next. Ironically it helps me to be more present with what is happening right now!
I included a lot of exclamation marks in this conversation, but it genuinely was a very enthusiastic discussion! It is always so neat when the interpretation comes together like a puzzle, and it was fun to break down the interpretation layer by layer for her.
I hope this might be helpful for you as you reflect on the first eclipse in Libra of this series, and what it might mean for you during this liminal in-between time.
Scorpio Season and a Taurus Lunar Eclipse up ahead
Today is the first day of Scorpio Season, and yet here I am writing a lengthy piece about Libra Season?!
I believe one of astrology’s most potent uses is to facilitate deep reflection and open up insight into the past, allowing for greater integration. Libra Season has certainly required some deeper processing for me, and I wanted to explore it in depth.
But yes! It is now Scorpio Season and by the end of the week on October 28th, we will experience the last eclipse on the Taurus-Scorpio axis - a lunar eclipse (aka, full moon) eclipse in Taurus with a North Node emphasis.
This eclipse feels like a loud punctuation mark (especially with Mercury and Mars conjoining in Scorpio and opposing Jupiter at the same time). Full moon lunar eclipses carry a theme of culminations - plus, the last eclipse in any series lands like a cosmic completion of something; at this time we likely have greater awareness and insight into what this process of growth means for us and our life story.
The dates for this series of eclipses on the Taurus-Scorpio axis (which is now completing) is as follows:
November 19, 2021: Lunar Eclipse at 27° Taurus (North Node side)
*January 18th 2022: The lunar nodes leave Gemini-Sag and enter Taurus-Scorpio
April 30, 2022: Solar Eclipse at 10° Taurus (North Node side)
May 15, 2022: Lunar Eclipse at 25° Scorpio (South Node side)
October 25, 2022: Solar Eclipse at 02° Scorpio (South Node side)
November 8, 2022: Lunar Eclipse at 15° Taurus (North Node side)
May 5, 2023: Lunar Eclipse at 14° Scorpio (South Node side)
*July 17, 2023: The lunar nodes leave Taurus-Scorpio & enter Aries-Libra
October 28, 2023: Lunar Eclipse at 05° Taurus (North Node side)
What correlations stand out to you so far when you track these dates, the symbology of Taurus-Scorpio, and the themes of the houses that contain Taurus and Scorpio in your birth chart?
I hope you experience heightened clarity, a sense of satisfying resolution, or a liberating new opportunity around the upcoming lunar eclipse!
In my year’s forecast report for 2023, I wrote the following in regards to the coming week:
The weekend of October 28/29th is fairly intense cosmically speaking, as Mars and Mercury conjoin in Scorpio, exactly opposite Jupiter in Taurus, while within 6 degrees another opposition is taking place on the Taurus-Scorpio axis - a lunar eclipse at 5° Taurus; the last eclipse in Taurus in this series - and the final eclipse on the Scorpio and Taurus axis for 9 years.
Because of Mercury’s upcoming retrograde it will make three conjunctions with Mars. The one that occurs on October 29th is the first of three, and it is powerful. Insight and communications are probing, deep, dark and sharp. They have an edge in ways that make them cruel, or capable of defending with skill as necessary. With the conjunction occurring opposite Jupiter, plans and communications are also expansive and potentially explosive as the lunar eclipse punctuates our journey of growth on the Taurus-Scorpio axis and highlights what we’ve learned in terms of navigating power, money and resources.
…Around October 28/29th, keep your wits about you and be careful with how you use your communications as ammunition. If you are going to uncover or expose something, steady yourself for the ripples and possible backlash. On a lighter note, as the last lunar eclipse in Taurus lands, perhaps take some time to reflect on what eclipse-related changes have unfolded in your life pertaining to the Taurus-Scorpio houses in your chart since November 2021.
What tangles have been released in Scorpio’s realm, while you’ve been leaning into the Taurus zone of financial security, ownership, nature, peaceful stability, self-sufficiency, body-oriented practices, gardening, herbalism, food, and sensual pleasure?