The lunar nodes (or the nodes of the moon) are a whole other level beyond the planets and the signs in astrology and they’re on the move, the north node into Aries and the south node into Libra.
From July 17th, 2023 until January 11th, 2025, the lunar nodes pass through the Aries-Libra axis of the zodiac, the one that rules all our relationships, so immediately this is a move that we’ll all feel on a personal level.
Aries and Libra are what we call cardinal – or doing – signs and the nodes are moving out from the two fixed signs stalwarts, Taurus and Scorpio, so it’s like putting a foot on the accelerator.
What are the lunar nodes?
The lunar nodes are points in space calculated in relation to the sun, moon and earth, and eclipses happen when a new or full moon occurs near the South or North Node.
Ancient cultures depicted the nodes of the Moon as a dragon chasing the solar and lunar light. The North Node is said to be the head of the dragon, leading the charge and bringing a hunger for the new, while the South Node is the dragon’s tail. This is about release and cleansing and the sweeping away of whatever is or was in your road. Combined, they represent your karmic gateway.
You can find out exactly what this means for you personally by booking a private reading with me where I look at their exact position in your natal chart.
Because the lunar nodes are mathematically-calculated points that move in a generally retrograde motion, going backwards through the zodiac, which is why they’re moving from Taurus and Scorpio and into Aries and Libra, in case you were wondering.
Aries and Libra are star signs that are concerned with relationships: with yourself and others
Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, always on the hunt for some new experience or other, and so might you be in the months ahead. This energy serves as a reminder that self-focus is a good thing and leads to greater self-care, taking people pleasing down a few notches in the process.
Libra is the opposite sign of Aries. Peace, love, harmony, the mechanics of social dynamics and how we all rub along collectively, plus this sign flies the flag for justice and fair play, and people pleasing that goes hand in hand with (mostly) wanting the world to always be agreeable. Libra loves beauty, you see, and will do anything to avoid tipping those sales and feeling socially awkward or discordant.
How is this going to affect you and the wider world?
I’d say that this is a time to focus on personal accomplishments and reviving that entrepreneurial spirit or sense of adventure that somehow got lost along the way, because anything connected to Aries, is great for initiating and sparking into stuff into action.
Libra, meanwhile, relates to society and politics and how we all co-exist, and you might be leaving behind a time where you were perhaps a little bit too concerned about how you related to others, or used as a gauge for how successful you were.
This move of the nodes reminds us all that life’s not a popularity contest.
Is this the same as Mercury retrograde?
No. The retrograde motion of the lunar doesn’t have the same effects or meaning as planets in retrograde, like Mercury. While the lunar nodes appear to travel backwards through the Zodiac, this is still about your future as much as your past.
The lunar nodes and the eclipses
Since the lunar nodes are tied in with the eclipses, most of them over the next 18 months will occur in Aries and Libra.
Here are some key dates:
- Solar eclipse in Libra: October 14th, 2023, at 3:55 am GMT
- Lunar eclipse in Taurus: October 28th, 2023, at 6:24 am GMT
- Lunar eclipse in Libra: March 24th, 2024, at 5:00 pm GMT
- Solar eclipse in Aries: April 8th, 2024, at 4:20 am GMT
- Lunar eclipse in Pisces: September 17th, 2024 at 12:34 pm GMT
- Solar eclipse in Libra: October 2nd, 2024, at 4:49 am GMT
The lights of the luminaries are obscured during eclipses, and yet they are often seen as sign posts to the future or times to rest and not allow our energy to be zapped or scattered, and while the nodes are in Aries and Libra, this is even more reason to think about ourselves as well as harmony and balance in all things.
What does this mean for you?
People pleasing vs pleasing yourself. That’s it in a nutshell. The nodes represent extremes, yet part of what synthesises Aries and Libra is finding a middle ground and walking that path without feeling you’re the one making all the compromises. A little is as good as a lot. You might be focussing more on your relationship or you might be moving on from one and embracing your independence if you’re kind of done with co-dependency and coasting along with someone that doesn’t fulfil you.
The North Node in Aries: light that fire under your ambition
Whatever your star sign, the north node in Aries is a chance to light or relight a fire beneath your ambition and be the hero or heroine of your own story. Not somebody else’s. Is it time to break out of an old stagnant situation, like a friend group that’s nothing much to write home about anymore or that’s full of messy politics?
This is not a time to live for nostalgia, put it that way.