North Node in Pisces/South Node in Virgo - In the realm of consciousness, this is the hardest Nodal position to deal with. Here, as a result of many lifetimes, the individual starts to realize his own rigidity. He is aware of his patterns and how much they hurt him; yet he finds them difficult to let go of. In prior lives, he lived in the consciousness of a finite universe where all was well structured. Now he is confronted with the realization that truth extends beyond what his finite senses can measure or even perceive. He is unavoidably confronted with situations, circumstances and events which force him to relinquish his hold on the physical plane. Nevertheless he still tries to live like the salmon – swimming against the current, regardless of the direction of nature’s forces. He still seeks order. In fact, his need for strict regimentation is so strong that he develops medical troubles in the center of the body from personalizing a stiffness that increases tension on the inner organs. Constantly he suppresses desire for the sake of doing what seems proper for he would like to maintain an image of respectability. In past incarnations he built his understanding on fact, not hearsay. Now he accepts only what comes from the “highest authority.” He seeks ways to rid himself of the nervous irritability which keeps overcoming him, and yet he puts stipulations on the cure. He must learn how to immerse himself in the waters of Cosmic Consciousness, and in this baptism of thought he can truly experience a new birth. Before he can do this, however, he must first overcome his karmic fear of living in a contaminated world. He comes into this life believing that the world is filled with danger, and therefore constantly questions the credentials of the people and conditions he considers allowing into his life. Everything foreign to the self represents the threat of disease, and it is because of such thinking that from time to time disease actually occurs. For many with these Nodes there is a strong residue of sexual problems left over from former incarnations. Either a deprivation of the sexual experience, or a strong determination to avoid emotional hurt through it, leads them to seek a better understanding in the current life. Some are confirmed Puritans, while others are capable of being physically responsive and emotionally cold at the same time. The mind is so analytical that life can easily slip into the manipulation of a chess game. This individual has a sharp eye for detail and never overlooks the obvious. He is an expert at solving puzzles, willing to spend many hours tediously groping for the tiniest answer, but can get so involved with whatever he is doing that he often loses perspective. His past-life discriminating tendencies often lead him now to pick apart what should be left altogether. Thus, although he is capable of immense clarity of thought, he does not experience complete peace of mind.

Through the Pisces North Node, he must learn Faith. When he stops separating the world into neat little compartments, he will get his first glimpses of Universal Consciousness. Ultimately he is to achieve the understanding that all is one, and one is all. Before this happens, he must learn how to stop seeing himself as separate from the rest of the world. He will go through experiences which force him to grow more compassionate. As he starts to find his well-laid plans dissolving into nothing, he begins to see others in a different light. Ultimately he symbolically goes through the pain of the entire universe so that he can strengthen his Divine Love to the point that he absolutely refuses to pass judgment on others. He makes much progress by acquainting himself with the spiritual way of life. His growth extends as far as his arms can reach. While the arm of the past still clutches at his self-imposed restrictions, the arm of his future is grasping for the higher alternative. It is only his failure to let go completely that prevents him form achieving the perfect transition into the full state of higher mind. Yet, he does reach the point the he occasionally sees it. From time to time his remarkable intuition reveals to him the mysterious essence of life, yet the past incarnation memories of his Virgoan practicality cause doubt at every point. An so, half way between one world and another, these mutable Nodes are in a constant state of change. Arriving at his destination but not sure that he is there, he keeps going back to start his journey again. Each time he reaches one step more into the infinite, where ultimately he will dissolve the shackles of his rigidly formed past and be born again as pure spirit.

The house position of the South Node indicates the areas in life that is still too rigidly embedded in a personally overstructured idea. The house position of the North Node shows how the soul can renounce its grip on all rigid definition of form and structure so that it can be free to swim in the Ocean of God.

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

North Node in the 1st House/South Node in the 7th House -- This individual is here to go through experiences which challenge the self. In former incarnations he fell into the trap of depending upon undependable people. Spending too much time trying to help others understand themselves, he never stopped to reflect on how their same situations and circumstances played an important role in his own identity. As a result of putting the accent outside the self, it now becomes difficult for him to see who he really is. This is particularly strong if Neptune is found near the Ascendant. These Nodes indicate past incarnations in which the individual submerged his identity in the affairs of others. Marriage and partnerships are so deeply rooted in his way of doing things that his quest of self is constantly viewed through other people’s eyes. He therefore allows their thoughts and opinions of him to influence his own sense of identity. Ultimately he must come out of the bondage of trying to be all things to all people and in light of his own singular vibration, establish who he really is. He must escape from living in the shadow of other people’s lives. His soul memories of cooperation and teamwork are so strong that every time he falls back on them, he actually extinguishes himself in the causes of others.

His first house North Node now brings to him the awareness that somehow he has lost his identity. Submerged in the desire to please, he has made himself a reflection of an ideal peculiarly opposite to his own basic nature. This causes him much current-life pain as he desires to come out of himself while at the same time not inflict hurt upon those near him. He must ultimately learn how to assume gracefully the role of leadership. This is extremely difficult, because he has had so much prior-life experience in being submissive. He has sacrificed himself so that others could achieve their goals. All of his important experiences revolved around docile acquiescence. Now the highest growth potential is to establish a sense of self without shutting off completely the benefits of marriage and partnerships. Too often when he becomes aware of all he has sacrificed through his South Node, he becomes an extremist, feeling that one state of existence inhibits the other. He starts focusing every part of the life energy around the desire to lead rather than to be led. Through an instinctive knowledge that his Achilles heel or weak spot is in the ways that he can allow himself to be put into the position of being taken advantaged of in marriage, he develops the tendency to become too over-assertive. He tries too hard to make up for what he feels he has lost. To achieve happiness in the current life, he must learn how to balance equally his own needs with those around him. He must deliberately try not to rush his own growth and independence, with the understanding that the most beautiful flower takes time to blossom, while only the weed grows quickly.

The sign which contains the South Node indicates the ways in which the individual during former incarnations submerged himself in others. The sign which contains the North Node shows the ways in which he can now establish his own sense of identity.

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