THE MOON NODES AND CHIRON

In astrology the Sun represents the life project, and the vital energy of the individual. On the other hand, the Axis of the Moon Nodes represent a deeper component, connected to the Soul and his deepest memory and karmic meaning on one side (South Node) and the evolutionary purpose of his life on the other (North Node).

From a technical point of view, the Moon Nodes are not two planets, nor celestial bodies, but two spatial coordinates that relate to the points of intersection between the ecliptic (the apparent orbit of the Sun) and the orbit Moon. The Ascending or North Node is where the Moon crosses from the South to the North of the ecliptic.

In a Natal Chart, the North Node corresponds to the diametrically opposed South Lunar Node (or in the same degrees of the opposite sign): their opposition is kind of automatic, because the axis is considered to be the evolutionary path of karmic current incarnation of the person. Souls are coming from the South Node and they are called to evolve, to pay their karmic debt, to make a new evolutionary experience, and point to the North Node.

South Node

North Node

The South Node refers to the habits in our souls of the karmic memory. The South Node represents all those actions in which we are naturally good at because we have already done them in a previous life. It is the past, the starting point we have already achieved and fixed in our system. The South Node is like a door we open tons of times that bring us to a "room" in which are crammed all the actions we took during other lifetimes, or what we just call the individual Karma.

The North Node represents what we are not spontaneously capable of doing, what could be very difficult, the scenario in which we can grow and acquire a new skill in the long evolutionary journey towards our personal illumination. It can also represent what we opened in a previous life, or what we missed, a karmic debt/credit, and a door to open to travel a new path of life, the Dharma and a new vision.

The Sun represents the ego, the identity, our true self, and it contains the past, present and future of the person, as well as the plan of life. The South Node represents the success that we have achieved in another life, what we have already self-realized, while the North Node suggests new patterns of behavior to be acquired from the spiritual part that could evolve during the overall life process.

If we decide to go toward the South Node, with all our resistance to change, doing only what comes easy and convenient, it will be a step back from our possibility to evolve. On the other hand, the risk and the challenge mixed with a curious approach toward change, could bring us to an inner (r)evolution. Which one would you choose?

Chiron was discovered in 1977 and it was first classified as an asteroid, and then as a comet. It is currently recognized as a leader of a new class of trans-neptunian and trans-plutonian objects called "Centaurs". These objects have an elliptical orbit and it takes a longer time to cross certain signs than others. Chiron has a precise meaning that can be attributed to the personal karma, and to understand its characteristic will be necessary to check in which house and sign is positioned in your personal natal chart.

Chiron, whose glyph is shaped like an ancient key, literally opens the door to a room in which is contained the luggage from our childhood, and from our past lives. If you are looking for the deepest wound of your Soul, this is one of the places where you should go.

His role as an healed healer could be understood through the myth that concerns him. Chiron was the son of Cronus and the nymph Philyra, who was seduced by Cronus when he had taken the form of a horse. For this reason, their son was half a man and half a horse, and because of his appearance, he was abandoned by Philyra, who begged the gods to be transformed into anything else (and thus became a lime tree) to avoid being the mother of that strange creature. Chiron was adopted by Apollo, who taught him medicine and hunting, until he became himself the mentor of many Greek heroes. Among them there was Hercules, who accidentally wounded him with a poisoned arrow.

Chiron was immortal and could not die, but the poison caused unbearable pain to him. So, he happily gave up his immortality in exchange for Prometheus' freedom, when he was asked to do so by Heracles. Chiron then took a space on Mount Olympus along with the gods.

This story seems to tell us about the need to lose attachment to suffering, at its own time in relationship with the aspects that Chiron forms with itself during our lifetime. The most critical points are the first two squares during the life of a person. During the first square, the wound of Ercole with the poisoned arrow brings us to deepest suffering (mother's abandonment) and it is necessary to face it. It can be an accident, a mourning, a disease or any other experience that awakes our "primary wound", and only re-opening the wound could help us to begin the healing process. Chiron's opposition to himself replicates suffering, but with a new awareness: something comes back, like a disease, or a problem that we have never really faced, and we are irrevocably faced with the need to change what keeps us distant from the essence of our true Self. The second square (if we did a good job of self-analysis), corresponds to the acceptance: if you deny the wound at this point, the impact on the physical and the emotional stability can be devastating.
Then, around the age of 50, there will be the Chiron's return on itself: it's time to let go of everything that did not work out, the poisoning conditioning and so on. It is time to forgive, to stop blaming others, to work on pain and anger, and to go further. It seems that at the end of its cycle Chiron expresses his best, allowing the transition from the condition of the injured individual to the healer.

Chiron's position is indicative of the type of lesson that could be learned through the process of self-healing during our lifetime. Chiron is just one element of the whole chart, and the interpretation needs to be collocated in a wider context, and for this reason would be suggested to book a personal consultation.