North Node in Scorpio/South Node in Taurus - Here the individual is learning how to accept revolutionary changes within himself as well as the conditions in his life. He would like to rest, thinking that his journey is over. So tired is he, from past life memories of the yolk of his earthly burdens, that whatever the cost he would like to feel settled. As a result, he finds it difficult to develop the strength for future changes. Tenaciously he clings to old behavior patterns which served him well during past incarnations. He has become personally attached to doing things the hard way. Like the oxen plowing the fields, he walks laboriously through this life as if it were one long straight furrow. He expends so much physical energy that he weakens his Spiritual Self to the point that he becomes blinded from seeing any new possibilities other than the singularly drab existence he has been accustomed to leading. He finds it difficult to learn by watching others. Instead, he would rather work through each of life's experiences himself. As a result, he spends more time, effort and energy in each growth phase than he has to. Still, he feels he must be sure of himself. So great is his need for security that even when he makes changes in his life, they are in fact not changes at all, but merely other aspects of the same behavior patterns he has been using all along. In past incarnations he developed a sensitivity to his environment. In order to cope with the continuation of such a sensitivity, he starts early in this life to explore the world of sensory impressions. He learns what feels pleasurable and how to obtain it. Nevertheless, he always seems to fall short of reaching complete and lasting satisfaction. He doesn't realize that one appetite begets another. His great need for possessions makes it difficult for him to enjoy what he does not personally own. As a result, he thrusts himself into long-enduring battles of ownership over people, things and ideas. He stubbornly holds onto all that comes his way. The more he collectively accumulates, the more he traps himself. What was in other lifetimes a great need for the acquiring of substance now turns into extra weight of excess baggage he is carrying. As the years go by, the yolk of his burdens becomes heavier. He has created a need to feel powerful so that he can seek temporary refuge from the dismal sense of failure that has plagued him in former incarnations. As a result, he even goes so far as to seek in this life an occupation which puts him in an authoritative position. He has undergone so much past life damage to the ego that he now experiences an intense need to prove himself worthy of respect. He will fall into deep depression when confronted with the possibility of others finding him lacking in any area. To prevent this from happening, he will push himself towards success no matter what the cost. It is almost a certainty that at sometime in this life the intensity of his karma will bring him to be at least circumstantially involved with the police.

As he reaches for his Scorpio North Node, this individual undergoes a complete transformation. He starts to kill old behavior patterns by burning bridges behind him. Experiences teach him how to cut ties cleanly, so that he does not walk into the future with both feet tied to the past. His biggest growth occurs when he is able to let go. Inner dependency needs must be transformed into complete independence of thought and action. Strength increases with each passing year as he slowly discards from his consciousness all that oppresses him. He must learn how objectivity to study the results of his subconscious desires so that he can learn self-respect through practicing self-discipline. These Nodes symbolize the soul who for many lifetimes has been moving along a decadent path. Now the soul vessel is to be turned upside down in order to rid itself of the decay it has collected. Fulfilling the karma of this overturning process is extremely painful to the individual, as he may lose all he ever held near and dear. In the end, he will unquestionably relinquish more than he bargained for. So powerful is this transformation that many with these Nodes eventually spend their latter years alone. In the process of eliminating excess, they have discarded everything but themselves. Nevertheless, much of this is necessary if the individual is to reach the point where he can see himself clearly on the very deepest of levels. Out of this symbolic death of all he ever possessed will come his new life.

The house position of the South Node indicates the area which has become decadent as a result of past incarnations. The house position of the North Node shows the way in which a current-life rebirth can be accomplished.

from: Schulman, Martin, Karmic Astrology - Volume 1, 1975, Samuel Weiser, Inc., New York

North Node in the 2nd House - South Node in the 8th House -- The individual with these nodes spends a good amount of his current-life energies on the darker side of life. From past incarnations he has secrets which he now spends most of his time guarding carefully. His greatest difficulty is in attempting to lead a life which is beyond reproach for his lower self is powerfully strong. He desires light, but with every step he takes toward it the aching of his guilt-ridden subconscious blocks the road. He has had much prior-life experience behind closed doors, where the eyes of open society failed to look. He is even accustomed to creating deceitful circumstances where there were none before. Actually, he is testing the limits of other people’s values, and while many may know him closely, none will know him well. Inside, he is highly nervous for fear of others unlocking his secret doors; for well he knows that he is undermining nearly everything he touches. Yet he has the self-assuredness to believe that all will go well no matter where his sometimes immoral adventures continue to head him. Because this individual has not yet established his own sense of values, he tries desperately to study the values of others. In so doing, he inadvertently pushes others off their track and therefore can be a threat to all that others hold near and dear. In former incarnations he destroyed much of his own value systems, so now he finds it difficult to understand why others cherish the things they do. He doesn’t have his own stake in this life, so with nothing to lose he feels free to claim-jump the stakes of others. Usually, this is accomplished in such subtle fashion that it is extremely difficult to recognize. There is a strong past-life residue of sexual misuse. He has learned to think of his sexuality as his strength, using it as foothold to gain possession of others. In the female, this is the story of Delilah or Mata Hari, whose unusual sexual powers lured the strongest of men from their appointed missions. In the male, much of the life energy is dissipated on sexual thoughts. He doesn’t use it for power in the same sense as the female, but it is for him the reassurance that all is going well with his ego. The interesting thing is that sex is never the end but always the means. In the give and take barter system, sexual allure or responsiveness becomes the payment in exchange for another’s values. Individuals with these Nodes become jealous easily. Constantly they wish to trade places with whoever seems to have a greener backyard, and all too often they feel that sex is a fair price to pay for all the honors they may eventually receive. From past incarnations, this individual feels shunned by society. Now, on the outskirts of acceptance, he is like a little lost child in the winter snow, peeking into the window of a brightly lit cabin with the hope that somebody will come and let him in out of the night. He is less than discriminating, for he desires such an immediate release from his current pain that it hardly matters to him whether he is jumping from the frying pan into the fire. He turns wherever solace is available for his loyalties have not yet reached the state of evolution that they may be considered totally trustworthy. In his current-life childhood, he experiences fear of death, almost as if death itself would be the logical punishment for all his misdeeds in past incarnations. He keeps feeling that he has to fight for the things he needs, for he has no sense of having yet earned them. When he falls short of reaching the brighter side of life, he secretly blames others for his misfortunes. In a few rare cases this individual must overcome past life criminal tendencies or residue of witchcraft.

Only through a proper assessment of his second house North Node can he establish the substance that will lead to a new rebirth. Here the memory of past lives has to be brought to the surface and then eliminated completely in this eight house of death before the soul can progress into a new set of values. The individual must learn to develop and build that which is sincerely meaningful to him, understanding clearly that that which is dishonorably obtained is highly difficult to preserve. He cannot expect to grow through other people’s efforts for if he wishes to cross the bridge, he must pay the toll out of his own pocket. As soon as he grows to this realization, the lighted cabin door swings open for him; not through the goodness of others, but because he has earned it!

The sign which contains the South Node indicates the ways in which former incarnations have brought the individual to be preoccupied with the business of others. The sign which contains the North Node shows the ways in which he can now build a substantially new and meaningful life for himself by establishing his own value system..

from: Schulman, Martin, Karmic Astrology - Volume 1, 1975, Samuel Weiser, Inc., New York