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.
Reference: Karmic Astrology, Martin Schulman, Volume 1, 1975.