I’ve been trying to figure out what the nodes of the Moon do for as long as I’ve been practicing astrology. I don’t know why. It’s just that these two points, and they are points because they are not planets with any gravity or size, seem to be so compelling. People use the nodes to talk about all kinds of things from generational change to morality to what we lack and what we bring.

In almost all strands of astrology, from Vedic to Hellenistic, the nodes are described as a dragon. The north node is the mouth of the dragon and the south node is the tail.

What is a dragon? I’ve been trying to find this out. I keep finding sources that are quite unconcerned about what a dragon actually is and much more concerned about its size. A dragon horse is eight feet tall. What might that matter? A dragon can be as small as an earthworm or as big as the universe. Why is size so important when it comes to discussing dragons?

Dragons are rivers. We are concerned about the height of dragons because rivers flood. How high a river floods informs everything about agriculture and architecture and geography.

Dragons sleep in the mountains because they are rivers. Rivers are created when glaciers melt. A dragon carries a pearl because pearls are found in oysters which live in brackish waters. This is the waters of the deltas that connect rivers to seas.

We typically think of the north node as something that comes harder to us. Let’s take a look at why:



This is a photo of where a dragon begins. As you can see, this is an environment that is largely prohibitive for life. You have to be hardy to survive on a mountain. The beings that live here—mountain cats, foxes, vultures, goats, yaks, and rodents are all hardy. When you watch these animals in motion, they have to climb and prowl and plan. Surviving near the north node takes a huge amount of skill.

Maybe the north node is similar to this. The north node is where we build skill. It’s where we are tested the same way a mountain lion cub may be tested on her first hunt. The north node is where goats, too, are tested for their ability to balance and dodge.

The south node, in contrast, is usually thought of as what comes easily to us. Here’s a photo of the dragon’s ass:



Marshes, rainforests, and other forms that river deltas take are very different from mountains. Here, life seems to flourish and mutate spontaneously. There’s all sorts of things that live in the south node. There’s catfish that are bigger than some human children. There’s thousands of types of caterpillars all equipped with their own special superpowers. When you walk through a mountain, everything feels very stark. That’s not true in a delta. Life is flying around and buzzing and full here. Life is so full and beings start to get very strange. This is where the weird things live.

Rivers feed everything. They also feed culture. If the river delta is the south node, then the south node is where discussion happens. It’s where questions are exchanged. It’s where musical forms blend into other forms and where mutation springs.

A lot of people seem interested in cultivating the north node. I understand why. We hear about how the area around the north node is a scarcer and more stark place so we want to feed it more. We also hear about how the north node takes work and about how we are tested there and we want to ambitiously succeed through the trials of life.

But the south node! The south node is where things come easily! The south node is the river’s delta. It’s something that you have. It’s a place that arrives well fed. It’s something that you have within you, an area of life that you are already good at.

I believe firmly that astrology isn’t a system built to diagnose all of the things that are wrong with you. I also firmly believe that effort does not always bring about better morality. Things don’t necessarily have to be hard or challenging for them to be worth your time.

That isn’t to say that the south node is all roses. There’s danger in the deltas too. Deltas get flooded very easily. Maybe you have placements near the south node that are easily fed but also easily flooded. It’s just that there’s so much there—so much energy and meaning and interest. Our south node placements tend to be very compelling to us. We flow towards them like the river.

But you also can’t stop a flood. You can’t fix it. You might plan around one but you can’t tell a flood to stop. Certainly, you won’t stop a flood by feeding the north node.

I have my Moon in Cancer very close to my south node also in Cancer. Maybe I can stop my emotions from flooding by leaning into the Capricorn north node more. Maybe not. I don’t think I can and I don’t think that this is something that I am supposed to do with my time. I think that limiting emotional expression, feeding the glacier, is what makes the south node flood.

Sometimes, a river is just a river. A current is just a current. There is no fixing a current the same way that a river doesn’t need to be fixed. There’s a whole chart around the nodal axis irrigating it and enjoying it. My advice for reading the nodes of the Moon if I have any? Read the rest of the chart with the nodes. A river is just a river but a river also informs the life around. The river doesn’t tell you what to do. The river is a source.