Nodal Cycles

Much like the transits of Saturn, the Lunar Nodes move in a similar way around your natal chart.

The Lunar Nodes (North & South Nodes) take about 18.6 years to fully transit your natal chart. Creating a similar check-point to that of Saturn every 9.3 years.

So, every 18.6 years, the nodes come back to the point of your birth, marking a time of transition to your growth and evolution, also called your Nodal Return.

So, you will have your Nodal Return around age 18-19, 37, 55-56, and 74.

Similarly, you will also have times where the transiting Nodes square and oppose your natal Nodes, creating Nodal Squares or Nodal Oppositions, which can be often looked upon as times of pivotal change (welcomed or not).

These pivotal moments happen around age 9, 28, 46, 65, and onward.

The Nodal Return, which happens around age 18-19, 37, 55-56, and 74, is a time of karmic transition.

It is usually a time in our life where we face a crossroad, leaving behind a chapter of our life, a previous phase of growth and evolution, and move into a new chapter welcoming new areas of growth and change.

The new chapter depends of the level of “graduating” ones karmic lessons and the growth one has achieved (pertaining to your natal north node placement) from the previous 18.6 years.

The maturity, growth, and wisdom you’ve cultivated over the past 9.3 years are laying the foundation for the changes that are next.

There can be a feeling of confusion or being in a liminal phase as you close out one chapter and the new one emerges.

You may sense the changes up ahead but can’t quite implement them or see fully what they are. You have a general idea but don’t fully understand how it may play out.

There is often overlap and discomfort as you close one door in order to open the new one, also feeling like you are straddling worlds as you readjust into this new/next phase.

There is also a tendency to fall back into your South Nodes safety. North Node is uncomfortable and new, it is what you are growing into, while the South Node is familiar and what you know. You may experience feeling “held back” at this time by others or yourself.

(You may feel all of this once the nodes shift into the sign of your Nodal Return or a year prior to your Nodal Return).

And it may be a year to see the transition fully take form after your Nodal Return.

Now every 9.3 years, the energy is different.

You either experience a Nodal Square, when the transiting nodes square your natal nodes.

Or, you experience a Nodal Opposition, when the transiting nodes oppose your natal nodes.

The Nodal Opposition happens around the age of 28, and I often share with people this is [one of] the transits that happens before your Saturn Return that you’ll often hear people say “I think my Saturn Return is starting early.”

The Nodal Opposition is also a crossroad in life, but it is one that can feel a little more disruptive due to the friction oppositions create, same for the square – there’s tension.

During the Nodal Opposition, there is a new awareness that forms, and usually through your interactions with others. It’s a time of endings and beginnings, and it’s often when I see career and relationships paths change.

If you think of the South Node (letting go, the past, etc.), comes into contact with the North Node (future focus, evolution), it’s often a time that anything we lose, or let go of is for our highest good and soul’s evolution (even though it usually doesn’t feel like it at the time).

I look back to the loses I had during my Nodal Opposition now and see the domino effect that helped me transition into the next phase and chapter of my growth, but at the time, they felt devastating and wrong. It was hard to see the higher purpose and lesson during the transit itself.

So, if it offers any consolation, hindsight is 20/20.

“We all have some good karma stored up in each department or house. 

The more good that is stored there, the more the North Node transit will open those flows and time the rewards.

Gains and losses experienced are in direct proportion to what one has earned, and the major effects of a nodal transit become apparent right after the contact.

The nodal transit times the effects of past actions, decisions, and choices.

The strongest aspect of the transit is felt when the node is within one degree of the exact aspect.”    – Celeste Teal

“Transiting Nodes indicate process, and a process of growth may be ongoing for weeks, months, or even years at a times.

Nodes can tigger events. And they can be used to track life changing processes. (An observer who sees an event might think it happened all of a sudden, but any event is ultimately the culmination of a process started some time ago.)

What do I want in my life?

What really matters?

Why am I here?

What does it all mean?

These are the big questions. It takes courage to admit the need for change… It takes even more to accept that some of our past choices may not have been in our best interest and that the action we must take now will certainly be risky.

These are times when we can observe ourselves clearly if we allow ourselves to do so. We can make necessary shifts to align with our higher self and create harmony in our lives.” – Dianne Ronngren

~AGE 27:: Nodal Opposition:

Your nodal opposition is when the transiting North Node conjuncts your natal South Node, and vice versa. It’s usually a realignment with your soul’s purpose/authenticity and letting go of the past. Fated events may happen, closing doors to allow new ones to open, but they don’t always feel welcomed at the time. Oppositions are usually a time of tension, so you may not recognize how the events are fated until reflecting on them years later. I often see people’s lives “starting over” during this time period. A relationship or career (one thought was forever) may come to an end, but ultimately leading to growth and change.