Mercury and Venus are still retrograde. Under retrogrades, it is a good time to study. Below is a beginning study of two aspects in astrology that are very important. These are the North and South Nodes, two very important points in every astrology chart. In Vedic (Hindu) astrology they are referred to as the Dragon points.

The nodes are not planets or signs. They are points in space created by the Moon’s path crossing the Sun’s path. They are like a loop or a tie or a binding together of the path of the Sun and the Moon, two cosmic principles, solar and lunar, and a binding together of the past and present/future. The North node faces the North Pole, the South Node, the South Pole.

These points drift opposite each other through the months. Oppositions in astrology create integration. With the nodes, the past integrates into our present/future.

This week, Wednesday, January 19, as the Sun enters Aquarius, the nodes will change signs and this will shift humanity’s narrative. From Gemini north node we shift to Taurus north node, from Sagittarius south node to Scorpio south node! Scorpio? Oh! many are saying!

Every eighteen months, both nodes, always opposite each other, change signs. North Node represents the Sun, our present/future. Our dharma (tasks, purpose). South Node represents the moon, past lifetimes.

The nodes hold gifts. North Node – the gifts we are to develop in the present lifetime. South Node – the gifts, talents and abilities we have developed over lifetimes. We are most comfortable and familiar with the area of our life where our south node is.

Each node has a task. South Node gathers together our past lives’ experiences, talents and abilities and these create stepping stones that, over a lifetime, lead us to our North Node. Here we then proceed forward into new life tasks. We meet our dharma, our purpose and the present/future life tasks to be developed this lifetime.

The South Node provides us with all that we need to remember to develop our purpose and present life abilities. The North Node abilities are yet to be developed. The Nodes are the Path we traverss each lifetime and they are deeply connected to our Rising Sign (life purpose). (….more next week)

ARIES: You may be dreaming more often, feeling more intuitive, perhaps sometimes confused, more sensitive, inspired and insightful. Study, prayer, meditation, contemplation and a bit more repose are good for you. They cultivate compassion and a deeply caring way of being. When you find yourself in a group calling you to lead and help create the future era, all needed skills, tools and virtues appear. The new world is what you are to initiate.

TAURUS: You have one task now – a focus upon health. Tend to joints and bones, hands, thumbs, arms, knees, feet and most of all your heart, not allowing anxiety or stress, eating calming Ayurvedic foods. Swimming in warm salt pools is recommended. Use practicality to care for yourself. You must choose daily – to be out and about in the sun, even if it’s snowing. Remaining at home is best. Figure out your spring garden. This helps you build towards perfect health. Begin each day facing the early morning Sun. No glasses, eyes wide open, feet on the ground.

GEMINI: Something revelatory happens between you and the world, you and work, you and Venus and Mercury (retrograde now), and you and your inner life. You’re inspired, encouraged and guided from within. With careful study, years of preparation, and viewing the past in terms of cultivating your gifts, a spiritual pathway appears. Previous choices and commitments are understood, and gratitude settles in your heart. The next festival is Candlemas, February 2. Plan on observing it. Bring all your candles out.

CANCER: What have you been feeling and thinking of during these days of change? Do you sense you’re being introduced to new qualities within yourself, a new identity emerging? Do these days make you feel generous and at home? Is there a new reality or interest presenting itself? You want to participate fully. But you know it’s not quite the right time yet. Are you cleaning, singing, reading, redecorating, expanding your foundation? Love is close by.

LEO: You’re becoming more perceptive, intuitive and enlightened and this affects those you work with. Someone, something (words, ideas, memories of someone in particular) creates a shift and deeper awareness of how you presented yourself in past relationships. Your mind sorts through previous ideas of intimacy. You wonder if you shared yourself and loved enough. There’s sadness sometimes, as old dreams reappear. You hear a voice saying….Love is patient, love is kind, even when it’s difficult, which means you’re learning.

VIRGO: You will relate better with others, especially those close to you, if you offer love – pure, ceaselessly, unqualified and unconditional, with kindness and patience. Love is something many of us need yet to learn. We don’t quite know how to love. Or even what love is. But when we do love, we flourish and thrive and discover greater support and needed guidance. Challenging others doesn’t work. Curiosity, listening, care and compassion do. They nourish all thirsty hearts. Your heart too.

LIBRA: Think, visualize and pray daily for all that you want and need your life to be. Include beauty, happiness, forgiveness, creativity, art and loving relationships partnerships. If you’re not sure of your needs, ask yourself each day, “What are my hopes, wishes and dreams? What are my abilities and gifts?” In the coming months, you become stronger, more resilient. Take cautionary care with money and resources. You need fishes in a fish bowl and an apricot canary.

SCORPIO: Use your imagination, resources and investments in terms of preparing for the future. Find a forward-thinking money manager. Catherine Austin Fitts is one who helps humanity understand present and past money issues. Think seriously about a new economy needing to unfold. It’s not digital. Keep cash on hand. Don’t speculate in the old economy. Consider precious metals. Study books on greenhouses and bio- shelters and the resources needed to create these environments. You then become the forward-thinking disciple.

SAGITTARIUS: The planets are affecting your sense of self, your identity, your money, your family, home situation, creativity and possibilities in terms of relationships, partnerships, and for some, marriage. So many different realities pulsing and shifting here and there and all about. Something kind and benevolent, something sacrificial and something remembered in your family occurs. Are relatives and loved ones on your mind? Your remembering creates the needed loving contact.

CAPRICORN: You’re thinking optimistically about doing something new in the field of art to be presented to the world. It combines your talents and gifts. You want to bring more grace, goodness, ease and beauty to your life and the life of humanity. You recognize everyone’s doing their very best, especially you, and you’re asking for more opportunities. Begin writing (journaling) in earnest and even drawing what you want to do, who you want to be and how you want to serve the world. Then your next creative endeavor appears.

AQUARIUS: Money and resources are going through a definite change. You want adequate money in order to stabilize yourself in the future. This means more attention to the well-being of your finances. Don’t forget to always help others. When we serve others, our needs are always taken care of. What we give to others is returned to us in greater measure. The charts show a focus on home, past, present and future. Follow what calls to you. It loves you.

PISCES: Neptune in Pisces brings forth revelations and visions. Neptune blends many realities into one reality. Order, organization and specifics dissolve away. Be aware and observe this occurring. Neptune is not the planet of detail. It’s the planet of refinement, of parting the veils, of creative imagination and realms where dreams are. Neptune transits can make us experience exhaustion. Magnesium, Vitamins A, B, C & D3 (sunlight) help stabilize the body. Tend very carefully to health in these times. Everyone is vulnerable. Especially the tender fishes.

---