From an online forum dialogue in 1998, between a Uranian (Midpoint) astrologer and Sarah Kalvin

Question: Has anyone worked out a simple method of differentiating between the North and South Nodes?

SARAH: Just considering the Moon’s Node: When you think of the fact that in traditional astrology the Moon refers to contact and connection with the outside world through emotional outreach, (including to family, blood ties – Moon rules Cancer), it is not difficult to see that there is little difference between the traditional and symmetrical (Midpoint Astrology) approaches concerning the nodes. One difference between the two systems is that different words are used to describe the same astrological points – the Nodes. Also, it is a case of keywords not having the capacity to explain everything. Different groups of people cling to various keywords, however, it is best to consider that the Moon’s nodes are the points in space where spirit and matter meet (their junctions). They track the orbit of the Moon (soul) in relation to the orbit of the Earth (matter) and mark off this unique interrelationship. The journey of the soul on its earthly path balances between moving forward in the exploration of experience, and drawing on the support from its past, to define personal evolution. The nodes represent the combined symbolic relationship of the Moon and the Earth, each affecting the other to give definition to ourselves and others in the development of our spiritual journey in a material world.

Mark wrote: Then anything aspecting or in any way arousing the one node, would automatically be aspecting and releasing the other node. So how does one arrive at seemingly opposite meanings for each node?

SARAH: There are unique meanings assigned to the North and South Nodes (NN, SN) because they are defined by an axis with a positive and negative pole, indicating one’s Karma and Dharma. The NN is defined by the Moon as its orbit crosses the plane of the Earth’s ecliptic on its way north. The path upward represents Dharma – the experience one is required to explore. It points to the expansion of conscious living as opposed to the SN’s connection with the personal, subconscious elements of the soul. The SN outlines one’s Karmic past through programmed, autonomic behavior. The polarity of the nodal points represents the crossroads of the two worlds of matter and soul, of conscious and unconscious experience.

That which is new and in need of experience is North and future, and that which comprises accumulated conditioned experience is South and past. Therefore they do not express the same meaning. When the NN is aspected by any planet in progression or transit, the function of the native is to assimilate new factors into consciousness. If the SN is directly aspected, conscious awareness is required to monitor the involuntary reservoir of programmed responses to allow for an adjustment in consciousness.

All astrological indicators have their supportive opposites. Polarity is a universal principle and there is a difference between the positive and negative poles of life and death, light and dark, hot and cold, although they are on the same axis. This is why the nodes have different meanings in human experience and understanding, yet their purpose is to work in unison.

Hope this helps. Sarah