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 3rd House/South Node in the 9th House - These Nodes represent a karma in relationships. The individual is here to learn how to fit the intertwinings of people and ideas into the scope of his understanding. The ninth house South Node shows an accent on growth in former lives. Literally millions of hours of thought were spent on developing an abundance of wisdom. Much was sacrificed to do this, particularly the enjoyment of meaningful relationships with others. So that a large amount of soul growth could be accomplished, a freedom to explore without restriction or limitation had to be developed first. Now in the current life the individual is habitually linked to his past incarnation sense of freedom, which although he feels he must retain, he can no longer consciously remember why. From time to time he feels a wanderlust to visit different horizons for somewhere off in the distance is the rainbow he is used to seeking. He is a mental nomad, constantly traveling through the great expanse of his consciousness, stopping only for rest at each oasis which offers temporary shelter from his restless urge. Always he is seeking yet it is difficult for him to define exactly what he is looking for. He finds others puzzling as he curiously tries to understand what makes them tick. Herein are some of his major karmic lessons. He must learn how to interact with people. Though he may be happily married or involved in close relationships, he still retains a sense of bachelorhood in his thoughts. He must learn how to make his life fit into the exact puzzle slot allowed by all the other lives around him. The ways in which he relates and communicates will constantly be put through one test after another. Ultimately he will find himself enmeshed in a network of people, so that all the knowledge he has acquired in previous lifetimes can be put to practical use. In his current-life relationships, he feels frustrated with not enough room to move. This enclosure of people around him eventually comes to extinguish his past-life tendencies to be vague and evasive and in its place teaches him the art of pinpoint communication. He is very much concerned with the values of sexuality, feeling obliged to conquer any grip this force has on him. Now he sees clearly the presence of a higher and a lower self, and it is the pull from both which he must karmically wrestle out. The individual is less concerned with gain than with protection against loss. He is terrible fearful of losing freedom he was accustomed to in past incarnations; yet he must risk such loss if he is to interact with humility. As soon as he is willing to take this risk, he is ready to receive his greatest rewards.

Ultimately he elevates himself through reading and purposeful study, and although he is more used to informal ways of learning, it will be a formal education that now puts it all together for him. This Nodal position often causes a friction marriage, since the individual is prone to seeking out-of-wedlock relationships in which to work out the understanding of personality interactions that he must develop. One of his biggest lessons is to learn how to consolidate his energies for each time he feels the urgency to move on with things, he tends to leave loose ends scattered behind him. His life is wide in scope, not only in areas of knowledge, but also in the myriad of people he meets, and the multitude of places he travels. He will ultimately be known as a Messenger, bringing to all those.

The sign which contains the South Node shows the ways in which he allows immaturity on the part of others as well as himself to block his potentialities for achievement. The sign which contains the North Node indicates the ways in which he can develop maturity by pointing his life in a meaningful direction.

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