{"id":53815,"date":"2012-02-27T00:01:55","date_gmt":"2012-02-27T05:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/?p=53815"},"modified":"2012-02-27T08:53:50","modified_gmt":"2012-02-27T13:53:50","slug":"sun-square-lunar-nodes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/daily-astrology\/sun-square-lunar-nodes\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Moment: Sun Square the Nodes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Between the quest for the future and the tug of the past is the present moment. The future and the past, though they don’t quite exist except in memory or plans, can become so distracting that the present moment can become difficult to locate. It can be so difficult that vast spiritual traditions and training programs are created to help us ‘find the moment’ or ‘be in the present’.<\/p>\n

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Chart for the Sun square the lunar nodes on Tuesday. The Sun is the yellow thing and the nodes are the horseshoes. That aspect is indicated by the red lines, which show the Sun at a 90-degree aspect to both nodes. Venus is approaching an opposition to Saturn, shown with the purple line.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This week, one of the standout events is that the Sun reaches a 90 degree angle to the axis of the lunar nodes<\/a>. These are calculated points in space where the Moon’s path through the sky crosses the ecliptic — the apparent path of the Sun. When the Sun and Moon are both close to nodes (during a New Moon or Full Moon) there will be an eclipse. Eclipses are some of the most palpable turning points of the year. When the Sun is square those points, we’re halfway between the eclipses, and we have a distinctive turning point to work with.<\/p>\n

The South Node is associated with the past (including past lifetimes, but more accessibly, the things in this lifetime we are comfortable with and tendencies we perhaps rely on or fall back on). The South Node contains the results of the past, which we’re living with today. The North Node is about the new territory into which we are pressing forward. The feeling of the North Node is a morph between the unknown, the irresistible and what we might want to avoid. It’s at once unfamiliar and perhaps a bit awkward but necessary. The nodes relate to the process of cause and effect, which are inextricably linked. Cause and effect are never separate<\/a>. To some the nodes might feel like a trip wire; to others they are a gust of energy available to ride boldly.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A planet aspecting the lunar nodes comes into special focus. In a natal chart, it’s the thing we have to address in order to get the nodes working. Where we have the nodes working we have progress in our lives, and that planet square the nodes becomes the thing that either stands in the way of progress or is the thing we have to address in order to make progress. The Sun square the nodes describes a turning point, which orients us between the past and what we\u2019re used to, and the other point is about the future we are heading into. The way to handle that turning point is to be here now. Just like when you come to a bend in the road you have slow down and pay extra attention, with the Sun square the nodes it’s necessary to make careful choices. <\/p>\n

When that planet is the Sun, that might look like taking a real step toward expressing yourself or your purpose; making a decision; making a commitment; or some experience that lends itself to the feeling of maturing and growing up.<\/p>\n

It’s possible to use these events to plan, but it also helps to notice what happens and recognize the ways those events and developments contribute to a turning point. This turning point relates to the events surrounding the eclipses we experienced beginning late last November and the next set that will begin in late May. So check in with what you had happening in late autumn as well as what you have planned for [Northern Hemisphere] mid-spring. The eclipses coming up are concentrated amidst much other astrology, including a Venus transit of the Sun. Events this week will help orient us and guide us toward whatever is developing in the not-so-distant future.<\/p>\n

Venus in Aries is approaching an opposition to Saturn in Libra. That’s exact next weekend, but the approach is something that will manifest even before the aspect is exact. It looks like a point of decision, or a dilemma. Venus is associated with Pisces, so that draws the Sun’s current sign into the aspect’s energy. The question is relational. Venus in Aries can be an uncomfortable place for the goddess of love, since it brings out a tendency toward self-absorption; Saturn in Libra has been pushing us to restructure and rebalance our interpersonal relationships, and since it has been retrograde, our inner experience of them. This looks like a question of balancing the need for individuality with the need for mutual benefit. The two don’t have to conflict — but they will if the situation — whatever situation this describes — is allowed to progress in an unconscious way.<\/p>\n

Venus is also associated with Saturn’s current sign, Libra. So Venus is a kind of proxy for many questions this week. Venus-Saturn can seem to be a limit, but that might include a practical limit. One question the sky seems to be describing is: do you need to be forced by circumstances to make a decision, or can you decide on your own? That question should be inscribed on every astrology chart for all eternity, but it makes a fine meditation this week. So does the idea of be here now, and notice how every decision you make has the power to resolve or complicate some element of the past; and to delay or embrace some aspect of the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are different ways to think of \u2013 and handle \u2013 turning points, and this week the sky is offering us this theme in more than one form. For starters, on Wednesday, the Sun will square the mean lunar nodes \u2013 these are two hypothetical points associated with eclipses, which we\u2019ll come back to in a moment. In addition, this week Venus opposes Saturn (exact on Sunday, but we\u2019re feeling it now). Finally, in amongst some other astrology we\u2019ll cover as the week progresses, we have the first quarter (waxing) Moon.<\/p>\n

\u2013 and this square could feel a little eclipse-like in its intensity. It\u2019s a turning point or reorientation, and may feel like a possible dilemma. Remember: squares bring tension so that we will act. <\/p>\n

Think of the turning point a bit like this: Imagine you\u2019re driving along an unfamiliar road and come to a rotary or roundabout without any signs. You drive around and around trying to figure out what to do. You could go back the way you came, since it is familiar. But like the karmic implications of the South Node, it doesn\u2019t ever get you to the goal you had when you set out on your trip.<\/p>\n

A second option is simply to choose an exit at random, and then head back to the roundabout to choose another if it\u2019s not the right one. You may get to your goal, but not very efficiently. Or, you could pull over long enough to get your bearings where you are now: check the Sun in the sky; try to recall your directions; dig out a map; hail down another car; use your cell phone to call for assistance. Then you can take decisive, clear action in accordance with the information you receive to move forward. We can loosely liken this to working with the North Node. It\u2019s not always easy to get to where you want to go in life, because the way there is unknown and others\u2019 goals can seem like your own. But it definitely beats driving around in circles until you run out of gas.<\/p>\n

When something squares the nodes, the key to progress is using the tension like leverage to take new steps. In this case, with Sun square the nodes, working with the Sun is the thing offering that leverage. Where have you been directing your life force, your will, your sense of self? Have you been projecting it onto others and hoping they\u2019ll live it out for you? Have you been driving around in circles, and now it\u2019s time to choose the way that will get where you need to go?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7221,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53815"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53815\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}