North Node in Scorpio - Accepting the Chaos

nce in your childhood or taking the karmic astrology point of view, in past lifetimes, your life was calm and peaceful, steady, stable and comfortable. Building was the most important thing for you, step by step, slowly, to achieve what you wanted.

Everyday a predictable small routine with food, comfort, peace, money and savings, working diligently for the things you want to have and buy as a certainty. That`s your South Node in Taurus whispering.

 Now, those with North Node in Scorpio have a upheaval in their lives. Working hard for material rewards doesn't bring the comfort and fulfillment you expected, peace brings stagnation and deepness, passion and shadows involve your life and calls you to their embrace. I have the opposite North Node, in Taurus, and I feel the past of South Node in Scorpio, making me understand what those with North Node in Scorpio subconsciously yearn for. All the intensity, passion, seduction, mystery and dangerous life you could get without killing (literally) yourself in the process. Life can't be stagnant anymore! You need a passion, something to give your all to, just watch out about entering into dangerous obssessions. You can always bring the positive into your life, even with this North Node, I believe.

You can make wonders through healing other people, giving your all to the relationship, bonding and merging with passion and intensity, but this doesn't deplete you as it does most people (specially as with those with NN in Taurus), it can actually bring you satisfaction.

It must be a hard North Node to have, since your transition is from the known comfortable routine and rooted habits to the unknown deep waters of Scorpio. Is not an easy road, but probably as you cross those waters, or even better, dive into it with confidence and courage, you will feel full of power and holding a knowledge that many try to hide from themselves.

Psychoanalysis and psychology might catch your attention very strongly and it can be a good way to channel your intensity without getting burned in the process, but merely transformed into a new stronger more powerful version of yourself (after all, what doesnt kill you make you stronger, goes the famous saying).Self or guided soul analysis can easy the transition and maybe even become a profession. Because nothing is just a hobby/pastime anymore, everything needs to be done with energy and boundless enthusiasm, like if lives depended on it. That gives you courage and something people with this node may need to learn how to deal with and appreciate: strong, deep and complex emotions.

Another topic that might help you in your destination, as karma calls you, is the occult. From astrology itself to tarot, mystical and taboo subjects, rituals, magic. The unknown is your destination.

Maybe that's why this node is so associated with death and darkness. What is more unknown than them? What is more feared than the unknown? This path will require great courage, bravery and a fearless heart, but will turn you into a phoenix, re-birthing stronger every time you confront your fears and darkness, instead of distracting yourself with the same daily routine.

Prepare yourself also for rocky relationships, with lots of one way giving and taking. You might marry someone with money, that gives you everything you need and more, but that demands unconditional attention and submission to their values and beliefs. Or you might be, on the other side, the master of the relationship, being there for your partner or family as a rock, supporting them as the provider and leader, but craving their love and acceptance as the way to be fulfilled and happy. Working undercover, using strategy and slyness to get what you want, indirectly, but not through sheer straightforward force (like Aries) or open direct stubbornness of Taurus, is also something that will help you through this life path. Now is the time to use your hidden works to get where you want, to be secretive about your plans and make them see the light of the day almost mysteriously, like a magic trick to those that didn't predict what you had as goal.

The Phoenix: the mythical bird who is reborn from the ashes, transformed (no longer himself) by the fire.

Again this is not an easy path, but it can be one of noble and powerful transformation and healing of yourself and the whole society as well. Embrace your inner chaos and accept that change is a constant in the Universe and you will learn how to be reborn every day stronger as the Phoenix of the astrological signs, transforming into a fearful force of nature yourself.

So here are some ideas for people that came to their present life in Earth with the North Node in Scorpio challenge:

- Making constructive changes happen

-  Staying strong and surviving

- Appreciating high adrenaline situations

- Enjoying things and activities that makes you feel alive

-Understanding others subconscious motivations 

 - Being a master in psychological reasoning (awareness of other's desires, thoughts and needs)

          -  Releasing what causes lethargy and stagnation

- Separating from possessions that are too heavy 

of a burden to hold (or simply not useful to your development)

- Merging power and bonding with others

Symbols to inspire the spirit of North Node in Scorpio: 

Professions: criminal investigator, detective, psychoanalysis (including psychology, therapy, couple counseling), astrologer and tarot reader, finance and taxes, spy, careers in Secret Service (FBI,CIA, etc), surgeon, oncologist, funeral services, sensual modelling, drama/theater (intense emotions channeling), extreme sports, emergency room doctors/workers, divers, hunters, bodyguards, research, nuclear chemist.

Objects: Steel sharp objects, daggers, syringe, tarot cards, velvet objects, lace and leather, lingerie, sex toys, intoxicating substances, crimson roses and thorny bushes.

Foods: Spicy and strong foods, intense and strange flavors, funghi (portobello, porcini, shiitake), red wine, spirits (cognac), ginger, radish, capers, onions, garlic.

 

Colors: Black, deep purple, crimson red, maroon, dark blue.

  
  Gems: Sulphur

Red garnet

Fire Opal and

Lodestone (magnetic gem)

Why we act the way we do? Understanding yourself better with Jung types/sixteen Myers-Briggs types of personality

 

 his is not an astrological post, but I have always enjoyed Psychology, studied it deeper some years ago and came back to some practical aspects of it, recently, in need of a better understanding why I was feeling so alone in a sea of people, or even after apparently reaching one of my deary, but seemly impossible, goals.

Well, the answer had to be inside, since the outer circumstances seemed OK... but something seemed wrong inside me. Sometimes we have to look a little inward to find our answers. Sometimes our whole life design is not working for us. Many questions come: "I don't know who I have become and who I really am? Why I am unhappy with how my life is unfolding? Why I am not feeling that warmth good feeling within my heart?"

The Theory of psychological types described by C. G. Jung and the Myers-Briggs Personality Types might help you with understanding better why you act like you act, why you encounter the obstacles you normally do in life, and how can you be happier by accepting yourself and being it without feeling guilty.

There are so many sites with information about it, I will post here some of those I find really helpful reading:

- For figuring out your type you can do the following tests, although is safer, after doing the tests, to read the descriptions so that you can see if it really sounds true to your heart, if you feel a deep connection and a click of "thats it!" while reading it; if you do, then that is highly likely your main Jungiang/Myers-Briggs personality type (I know, because I always get 2 different results at most tests and one of them never clicked at all and the other after reading the description was very straightforward to get that was clearly my inner self):

Paid (official test): https://www.mbticomplete.com/contents/learnmore.aspx

Free: http://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test (very good test and very good website descriptions)

http://www.123test.com/jung-personality-test/ (simple test, also has other personalities tests)

http://personality-testing.info/tests/JUNG.php

http://similarminds.com/jung.html (very precise and good test!)

 - For reading deeply about the types, what careers are recommended and other topics:
http://www.personalitypage.com/careers.html (very deep, but easy reading site, very complete)

http://www.16personalities.com/personal-development (you can also read comments from and connect with other people identified within the same type as you)

http://www.personalitypathways.com/faces.html

-Very helpful blogs:

http://infjcoachblog.com/

http://www.infpblog.com/infp/infp-description/


When feeling lost, sometimes is very relieving reading about how not so uncommon is being you (you are not alone, you are part of a group of people that share same flaws and ways of dealing with situations), but also knowing that yours flaws and your quirks are things that also make you unique and special (usually people are one type or a combination of some types out of the sixteen possibilities and those types are not supposed to be better or worse than others in absolute terms, they are just different and is not wrong to be who you are). It can really open a new world when you deal with the fact that you cant run away from yourself, because you start forgiving yourself for the flaws, treating yourself with more understanding when you try to do something that you now know is naturally hard for you.

Nobody is equal and shouldn't be, is the great Creator's will. You don't need to be as smart with money as your coworker, or as tidy as your neighbor, or a perfect cook even before you practice cooking: your personality defines who you are, you were born with this special view of the world, you came here to enjoy it and help making this planet a better place.

Saturn in Scorpio and compulsive/obsessive behavior

oday I was reading and commenting about Saturn in Scorpio current transit in Donna Cunningham`s blog, Sky Writer, and I tumbled upon an article in Cafe astrology website that attracted me deeply, for its connections with a thing that can be very damaging to our lives without we even perceiving it: obsession, compulsive behavior and unreasonable superstitions; or pretty much, any type of vice/addiction we do to try to have a feeling we control something in our lives.

I will paste the link and some parts of the text that I found very interesting and that I can relate in a personal experience level (since my Ascendant is in Aries):


http://www.cafeastrology.com/saturninscorpiotransit.html

"Saturn in Scorpio and the Signs of the Zodiac (Horoscopes)

In a general sense, this is how Saturn's transit through Scorpio affects the different Sun signs (or, more appropriately, Ascendant signs):

            Aries

Dealing with deep-seated fears, anger, resentment, and grief may be necessary during this cycle.

You might face some of your fears that are of a compulsive nature—those fears that lead you to believe that you need certain things in order to survive. Take a small example of a superstition. Perhaps we perform some kind of small ritual that we feel will help protect us or give us good luck. If we do it often enough, it becomes an addiction.

We are afraid that if we don't do this little ritual, we will set ourselves up for bad luck. If we get rid of this superstition, we feel stronger.

Something as simple as a superstition or ritual for good luck can undermine us. Why? Because we are giving away our power over ourselves to this compulsive behavior! We are denying that we have power over our own lives.

The same is true of any form of compulsive behavior and addiction. We attempt to control our lives through these behaviors, but what we are really doing is letting the addictions control us. When we give in to compulsive behaviors, we give up self-control, and guilt undermines our lives. We are not ourselves.By attempting to control others, we give away our own power.

Towards the end of the transit, you may have eliminated some deep-seated habits and attachments that have been preventing you from feeling emotionally free. You emerge healthier and stronger. You may have nixed some of your addictions and superstitions. You might feel more powerful because you have given up attempting to control things you cannot or should not control, and you will have gained a healthy feeling of self-mastery. "

I have past through a period in my life where those things really were happening, the let go of personal self-control, feeling guilty because of some compulsive pattern in my routine daily. Is really interesting how can we relate this to the transit of Saturn to our eight house. And the feeling that trying to control makes us even less powerful and self-willed is so empowering! When I read this made me feel alive and even more wishing to embrace this freedom. The sentence in bold also reflects one more important thing for me: that somethings we should leave to the powerful being that create all our Universe, God,  and give us this wonderful experience. We cant control everything and leaving up to God sometimes can make us feel better. Knowing we were born not all knowing and that we are all learning together about this mystery that is life and existence.

Is very hard to give up on those ingrained habits and rituals and maybe that happens so we can learn our lesson on the subject. Although I studied some time Jungian psychology and other specific subjects with a guided group by two very wise psychologists I met along life, I sometimes get surprised, or simply forget, how astrology, its symbols, its transits and how our mind works and the psychological study of it can be so intertwined.

The dance of planets and the working of the Universe  as well as your daily experiences seem to be guided by something more grand than us and that we can't control by ourselves, but trust and believe.

Love,

Lina

For Beginners in Astrology

If you came to my blog and are in the dark about those astrological details, or have no idea how to find your planets in signs or house, or wish to understand more in depth about some astrological themes, I suggest strongly the following sites:

Astrodienst: One of the most reliable serious sites in the internet for astrology. They have great reports, and even a section of the site that is free. You need to register first though.

You can calculate your birth chart for free and get a free pdf report with a list containing your main planets positions in your chart, in which sign your Sun, Moon, etc. are in your birth chart.

I strongly recommend if you want to know about your planets in signs and houses as well as making your synastry chart and composite relationship chart.


Cafe astrology: Very interesting site, simpler than Astrodienst, but you can check easily, with the help of tables, in which sign Sun, Venus, Mars, North Node, etc. are placed in your Natal Chart. (for venus, for example: http://www.cafeastrology.com/venussignstables.html).

Is a site full of very well written content, pretty innovative! In regard of paid reports, I would still prefer Astrodienst, because cafe astrology`s reports are a little more generic and not as deep as the one from the site above.


Astrotheme: Great site where you can calculate and see where are your planets in your chart, and you don't need to register for that. Also is interesting because you can see what celebrities have similar chart to you, and they have a huge database of celebrities and known people, if you are interested in checking how compatible you are with Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie ;) .

They have very interesting and cute articles about the 12 ascendants, Venus in signs/houses, Mars in signs/houses.

I would recommend to take a look. Is a good second site for beginners in astrology, since the articles are short and fun.

For a start these are one of the best sites to take a look, if you are curious about astrology more than just knowing if you are Aries or Cancer, i.e., your Sun is in Aries or Cancer.

See you on next post,

Lina

Finding your perfect love match!

have tried many techniques related to relationships, even with my past ones and checking about a person character. When you get involved with someone, for me, the most important is their character strength, their maturity and so on.

So depending on what you seek in a partner, you might want to look for certain clues in your candidates to date/boyfriend/girlfriend's birth chart to understand better who she/he is under the masks we commonly use everyday to present ourselves to the world.

This post will try to show the link between the main aspects that you might wish in a partner to get involved in a relationship and what to avoid or look for in a birth chart to see a fruitful romance bloom, avoiding disappointment and big hurts. So lets see what to look for (or avoid) in the natal chart of your possible love interest!

So, If you are looking for a:

 

What to look for in his/her chart: 

*Moon in Aries, Leo, Scorpio, sometimes Moon in Cancer or in Sagittarius can give also predisposition for being a fiery lover;

*Mars in Aries, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Sagittarius;
*Aspects between planets like: Venus conjunct Mars; Mars square/conjunct/opposite Pluto;  Moon conjunct Mars or Pluto; Jupiter conjunct Sun or Mars.

What to avoid:
*Sun in Pisces or Aquarius;
*Moon in Gemini, Virgo, Capricorn.
*Aspects between planets: Venus and Mars not in aspect to each other or another personal planet (Sun, Moon, Mercury), Saturn conjunct Moon, Saturn in bad aspect with Mars or Moon.

 If you desire a family man/woman in your life, that will bring    romance, an old-fashioned romantic kinda person, loyalty and seriousness to a relationship look for these hints:  

What to look for in his/her chart: 

*Moon in Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Capricorn,  sometimes Moon in Cancer or in Sagittarius can give also predisposition for being a fiery lover;

*Sun in Pisces (but watch out, only sun is not a good evaluation when we are talking about feelings!);
*Mars in Taurus, Libra, Capricorn.
*Venus in Taurus, Capricorn, Virgo, Cancer, Pisces.
*Aspects between planets: Venus conjunct Jupiter or Moon or good aspects between these planets; Saturn trine or sextile Moon;  in lesser degree, Sun well related to Venus. Neptune in good aspect with Moon or Venus can also indicate someone romantic in love, but not necessarily he will be trustful or loyal, family type of person.

What to avoid:
*Sun in Gemini, Aquarius (unless with other planets in signs and aspects that indicate romance, see paragraphs above);
*Moon in Gemini, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Aquarius.
* Venus or/and Mars in Gemini, Sagittarius, Aquarius
*Aspects between planets: Sun and Moon in bad aspect to each other or another personal planet (squares and oppositions), Uranus in hard aspects (including conjunction) to Moon and Venus and Mars, since indicates a person that usually has problems with old/traditional values, Neptune hard aspects to Moon, Venus or Mercury (this last one having less effect, but can indicate a liar or an elusive person).

  
If you are looking for an independent, more brainy type of loving person, that usually would like  unconventional relationships like open relationship, unusual love making, unpredictable or/and exciting, adventurous relationships this are the clues you should look in your future partner chart:

What to look for in his/her chart: 

* Moon in Gemini, Sagittarius, Aquarius, somewhat Pisces (depends of rest of chart);

* Venus or/and Mars in Aries, Gemini, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Pisces, Libra (somewhat);

 *Aspects between planets: Moon conjunct or in any close aspect with Uranus; Venus or Mars in contact with Uranus (also Neptune, in relationships where one is the savior and the other the underdog); Pluto with hard aspects (including conjunction) to Venus/Mars (unusual love making, taboos).  

What to avoid:
* Moon in the Earth signs; Moon in Leo (he/she needs a lot of devotion and attention to accept unusual sharing of your love with anybody else, including your dog (kinda joking));
* Venus in Earth signs; Venus/Mars in Scorpio (if in a committed relationship though, since when they enter a real partnership, you should be consumed by their deep waters of passion, if you look to the side or don't correspond their intensity, watch out for the wrath of revenge to come in your way; but if you don't desire a long term romantic involvement with them, is OK, they can be very unpredictable and exciting in love making!);
*Aspects between planets: Saturn conjunct (also trine and sextile somewhat) Sun/Moon (these people are serious and generally take love serious too!); Moon conjunct Pluto (people with deep intense emotions); Moon conjunct Venus/Jupiter (they need lots of affection and cuddling!).

In next post, I will write a little about synastry and how to relate our natal chart to our partner (or potential candidate)'s chart.

But watch out! Of course, this observations are based on astrological literature, my personal/practical experience with readings and intuition, but one has to keep in mind that the whole chart should be taken in consideration, not only one aspect or a planet in a sign alone. I just highlighted the most common points I found in charts and literature along the years. If you have a different experience or observation, chime in!

Willpower: is it finite? Why is so hard to be determined and have willpower?

Did you ever have that feeling when you have to resist a temptation and later you can't resist anything else? You wanna loose 10 kg this week, start a rigid diet, but then end up losing control over your house organization, your chores at work/university?

Interestingly, scientific researches are suggesting that our willpower is a limited resource, like food, money and so on.

Sure, there are critics to the matter, but an interesting article discuss about this new finding and how it relates even to the fact that poorer people don't choose to be poor: the more they have to resist temptation of buying things due to a restricted budget, the harder is to keep self-control to study long hours, have creativity, so on, and to develop yourself. The fact of being under big restrictions and having to exert strong self control in one are might take a huge toll in our psyches.

So, If you feel depleted on your willpower to achieve your goals, one line of research "has found reason to think that drained willpower can be restored in the short term—by taking a walk in nature or watching a humorous video, for instance"— studies on how to make your total willpower bigger in the long term are not yet clear. 

For improving studying or working, a small break to walk around some green area, having a tea or watching an youtube video on something funny might help you return to those important tasks that wait your diligence to build up for them to be finished. Some psychologists suggest for each hour of study, 10 minutes of break are recommended for the best results. 

So don't put too much on yourself or feel guilty if you take a small break. The important thing in life is living a fruitful happy existence. God loves you and all of us, and so we should love and care for our own well-being (and when we are well, we can also take better care of our loved ones). 

Reference: http://www.tnr.com/article/environment-energy/89377/poverty-escape-psychology-self-control?page=0,1

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45195530/ns/today-today_health/t/self-control-tips-pump-your-willpower/

North Node in Aries - Awakening the Inner Warrior

So, here we start with North Node in Aries, one of the most straightforward paths to follow (as are the people born with this Sun, direct and without frills):  be bold, be active, act fast.

As explained before, the North Node is always the hardest way  (in the beginning) to view life but the most fulfilling in the (not so) long run, and the South Node is the easiest way, but that`s an energy that you wouldn't find enjoyment/fun if you follow you since you "been there, done that".

I know particularly well about the Aries energy, since my Ascendant is in it. But most interestingly, I married a lovely Mr. whose North Node Aries is in exact conjunct to it.

Is funny, since people with South Node in Libra (i.e. North Node in Aries, since the North and South node are always in opposite signs, see my introduction post to the nodes to understand why) are always trying to solve things with diplomacy, adapting to others to avoid fights, giving up a little to get to an agreement, without breaking peace and I (ascendant aries) am always going for an argument in a straightforward open manner to solve things.

So you can imagine that in the start my husband was deeply annoyed and afraid of showing me openly who he was, what he wanted, when we had an argument and that made him quite frustrated sometimes. With time and incentive (and a little of astrology analysis of how to do it ;) ), he started to bloom and even began acting sometimes a little too bossy. And he feels good acting like that after awhile (just hope he doesn't become a dictator though *crossing fingers*) and I see how fulfilled he is.

But jokes aside, the person with North Node in Aries, most than everything, needs partners and friends who will understand that leading, bringing the action, and the apparently me first mentality is what their inner soul wants to develop it most, even when (and because) it seems so difficult to them.

They are like babies in being fearless leaders, impulsive (like a kid) and daring; those are part of a group of characteristics of a side of their personality that needs to be developed specially because they lacked that side so much (in past lives, if you believe so, or in growing up environment/genetics/education/culture/family ancestry).

One thing that helps me when I need to get inspiration for working with my North Node is looking for a role model figure/symbol and seeing if it has the main qualities of the sign of my node, and which ones I lack most, and that I would feel good developing. For me one easy role model is the sign associated own mythological figure: Aries - greek God of war - or Mars, the ruler of the sign, the roman version of Aries.

Both of them represented powerful action and strong leadership, but of course with negative repercussions if acting without consciousness and responsibility for the society and our loved ones well being. In antique Greece, he was not seen with good eyes for it's irrationality and fighting/brawling initiator, wars, but the Romans loved him for his heroic, brave spirit, he was seen as second in line after Jupiter (Zeus equivalent for the Romans).

In this case, Aries,

So here are some tips for people that came to their present life in Earth with the North Node in Aries challenge:

Tips:  - Take action
          -  Be decisive
          -  Practice leadership
          -  Be independent (don't depend on others for taking action and getting what you want)
              -  Exercise your Willpower
          -  Fight for what you want, don't ignore your wishes and hide personality just for the sake of keeping appearances or peace in relationships (fake peace is not peace at all, is more like cold war)
          -  Develop your strength, physical and psychological
          -  Enjoy some challenge (competitive sports and games, active hobbies, etc.), but don't forget     the sportsmanship
          -  Practice something that gives you the feeling of speed or that makes you take quick actions (playing a car race video game, doing adrenaline sports, like motorbike racing, kart, so on)
          -  Enjoy the strength, intensity and volatile spirit of fire

          -  Act as a boss, even if you think is an evil thing to do, take responsible leadership, but avoid being a controlling dictator or you would risk ending up as a loner, and depending on the rest of your chart (the North Node is not the only indicator of what can make you a happy person) that might make you "gain the world but lose your soul".

Symbols to inspire the spirit of North Node in Aries: 

Professions: Surgeon, warrior, soldier, military/armed forces (position in command), butcher, athlete,firefighter, pioneer, explorer, adventurer, racing driver, political leader, work with fire.

Objects: Swords, fireworks, metals, cars, tools, knives, sharp instruments

Foods: Spicy foods, big meals, red meat, prosciutto, coffee, high content of protein meals

Colors: Red, Gold, Orange, Metallic colors 

Gems: Agate of fire

 Jasper

  

Happy New Year!

A new year is coming, a symbolic time for us to remember what are our priorities in life. My favorite picture for today:

This makes me remember is ok to be who we are without being ashamed; is ok to be positive and happy. Guilty wont cure our wounds or make things right, we need to transform it in something positive for us and society!

Being naively who we are and not caring for what society expects us to be, as long as nobody is deeply hurt by our actions and we dont interfere on people rights or force them to do something against their will is one of the best things to make us self feel serene and happiness a state of being, not a short momentary instinctual satisfaction of a materialistic desire, like over consuming or overeating.

Happy Loving New Year for all of us!

Nodes of the Moon - General Introduction

The Nodes of the moon are the main aspect of karmic and the general indicators (in particular, the North Node) of the mission you came to fulfill in life, if you believe in a God who connects us and that have a plan or a calling for us in this life experience. 

I tend to believe in this calling, as my inner self is always trying to grasp it, and when it can't or when I distance myself from its path, it makes me feel sad, down, anguished, or any of those types of bad emotions. If you are an agnostic, I would describe those nodes to you as a main theme for your life that, if you followed, would make you feel like the right thing is being done, bringing you peace of mind and enjoyment of your life experience.

Exactly what would be those nodes? They are not physical bodies, as planets, but 2 specific positions in space representing the intersection of the plane of the ecliptic of Earth (path the suns apparently does around the Earth during an year as seen in Figure below) and the plane of Moon revolution around our planet.

 

Figure 1 - Plane of the Ecliptic (1)

Figure 2 - Nodes of Moon

The North Node is when the intersection that the Moon passes when is coming from the South Celestial Pole of Earth in Direction to the North Celestial Pole. The South Node is the intersection that the Moon passes coming from the North Pole to the South Pole. That means the North Node and South Node, as you can see from Figure 2, will always be opposite from each other in your birth chart (that captures the positions of the planets in the Ecliptic Plane).

When we talk about North Node, as the own name implies, it means an orientation of the main direction you would feel fulfilled if you followed it along your life. The South Node are behaviors, paths, a basic view of life that won't work anymore in this present life (if you believe in reincarnation and past lives). It might work for others, but is something you should see as the modus operandi you should leave aside as a guiding line for your life. 

In the next posts, the meaning of each North Node in the 12 Zodiac Signs will be discussed and exemplified.

 If you don't know the position of your North Node, you can check easily it in the North Node Sign Table provided by Cafeastrology: http://www.cafeastrology.com/northnodetables.html.

References for the images:

(1)http://www.herongyang.com/astrology_horoscope/Astronomy_The_Ecliptic.html; http://www.wikipedia.com

(2) http://www.astrologyclub.org/articles/nodes/nodes.htm

Astrology: What's behind? Does it make sense to use it?

ow does astrology work? Is there a way to explain it? Have trusted research been conducted related to it?

That it works when you are using it to help friends, family or yourself is for me something that is showing true, as I used it and tested it through many time and cases. Sure, someone could say is my personal and therefore subjective, non valid, experience. But, even friends or acquaintances who are either atheists or scientific skeptics of it, joking before being shown its results, now even ask me for astrological advice or got impressed by its accuracy, even not knowing though how it works, but that in practice it works most of time, depending, of course, of the skill and inspiration of the interpret of the birth charts and symbols related to it.

You probably will see this a lot around astrologers practitioners: "I don’t believe in astrology. I practice it". That's the thing for most people, including me, that nobody knows exactly how astrology works and why, but most of times it does! (You can understand this view a lot better in this person journal: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/04/i-dont-believe-in-astrology-yet-im-an-astrologer/ ).

According to one of the most recognized astrologers out there, Stephen Arroyo, there are numerous paths to explain how astrology works, as published in his book "Astrology Psychology and the Four Elements", a very impressive work on astrology, in a serious, no nonsense approach.

One of the most interesting in terms of more realistic/non-metaphysical approach to astrology would be explaining it through the mechanism that makes it function, in other words, the causal approach. As seen in the diagram below presented in the book mentioned, a PhD in electromagnetic wave theory, named Glynn, published an article in 1972, through the AFA Bulletin, stating his belief that there is a fully scientific explanation for astrology and that probably is not far from being more clearly understood by us. As expressed in the diagram, the small changes in the gravitational field associated with the sun causing  geomagnetic storms (disturbances in our terrestrial magnetosphere) and small changes in the lunar gravitational field would provoke changes in the spectrum of electromagnetic frequencies that would influence our own brain states (is known that brain works through diverse ranges of frequencies that are connected/cause our mind states, for example, alpha waves is related to relaxation state and is in the range of frequency of 8-12 Hz, beta waves to alertness, so on).

Electro-magnetic Wave Theory as Causal Explanation of Astrology (Arroyo, 1975)

That said, this influence would be stronger on a personal level, according to him in the time of birth.

The explanation for this comes from another experiments made by a medical doctor in the past and by recent researches about time of gestation that suggests that at the time of birth, the "mom-baby system" is in its peak/maximum of metabolic cycle and "causes" the birth (see explanation here). Although, the doctor who proposed the bolder "Birth Quickening of Child" goes further and affirms, according to his experiments, that the baby metabolism is the main responsible for this forcing to being born and also that the this peak of his metabolism will always be repeated during his life when the sun-moon are in the same angle that happened when birth occurred.

This would explain why you use your zodiac sign and ascendent related to your time of birth when you read an horoscope.

What in reality all this means is that your birth chart would show the planetary alignments to which you are, personally, more sensitive to.  Hence, astrology would not imply that everybody born at same time would act the same way though and that everything would happen the same to those individuals. It merely says how you are personally affected by the Universe, by the alignments and forces of the planets and stars.
The detailed characteristics of enviroment you were born in, global events, relation to other people you met along your life and your own self will and response to how your feel are the other elements that writes your own path in life, not only astrological alignments of planets and planets positioned in signs and houses (actually, when you answers the typical question "What zodiac sign you are? I am Leo" you mean the Sun was positioned in the constellation of Leo, as seen from Earth, when you were born).

Personally, I think this scientific explanation, reviewed by Arroyo, deserves further research and seems promising in the future (provided there is still interest in devising why astrology works and the physical mechanisms that would make it viable to affect human experience). But, this theory is by no means definite or solid and will need to wait for more development in the fields of physics, genetics, obstetrician and understanding of human brain in a much deeper and less mechanicist method that science has been adopting (for the self-limiting materialistic paradigm of science, how it`s practiced nowadays, you can read articles from a very interesting philosopher, Neal Grossman, and his solid arguments here and here).

A very promising direction would be the kinda of research like the one did recently by  Vanderbilt University which unintentionally provides scientific support for the fundamental principle of astrology -- namely, that the position of the planets at your time of birth influences how the person you are experience things, in some way. They observed that birth month impact personality and behavior through whole life of mice and resulted in measurable functional changes in the brain (for learning more details of this new research: http://www.naturalnews.com/030698_astrology_scientific_basis.html#ixzz2GTf9Z9vF)

Other less scientific approaches and more symbolic, psychological ones can also be called to answer why would astrology work or make sense. One of the most appealing for me would be the symbolic approach (maybe cause my brain works primarily better with maths, symbols, pictures - like tarot and astrology - and so on than pure words). This Symbolic Approach considers that planets, stars and signs represents symbols of universal principles, human experience, natural events and processes. For example, is possible to correlate the yearly rhythm of the seasons and cycles with the signs of zodiac: Aries, a firey sign representing germination, beginnings of action, the real end of winter and the "waiting season", which in a psychological point of view can serve as symbol to indicate the will, the spirit of action and of initiating things.

Many psychologists recognize how astrology is a complete language of symbols in terms that can represent cosmical patterns that humans cant express with words alone in a rational objective way due to our own human communication tools, as Arroyo wrote: "Symbols are, after all, symbols for the very reason that they refer to living realities that are inexpressible (at least at the present time) in any other way. The question of what these astrological symbols refer to remains unanswered. Perhaps man can never express in words the transcendent realities of the cosmos. Still, we can make use of this symbolic language if we consider it to represent universal patterns, principles, and forces, however transcendent such factors may be."

In ancient times, the use of astrology had mostly this symbolic view as the widely held premise: the heavens are meaningful, in the literal sense of being full of meaning, "stars may or may not cause, but they surely do signify something" (Roger Beck, A Brief History of Ancient Astrology, 2007, p. 135).


Finally, there are another interpretations to what`s behind astrology, like holistic-metaphysical views (synchronicity), energetic approach, etc. But this post will stop here, leaving the holistic and energetic approaches for a future discussion, for it relates to many other philosophical questions that would make this post too long AND too confusing to be read in a sitting.

An amazing weekend full of love,

Lina