Northnode in the 4th House

North Node in the 4th House/South Node in the 10th House

This individual must learn to overcome the karmic feeling that he is the vital center of all situations around him.

He comes into the current life with subconscious memories of a past sense of dignity, which leads him to believe that at least certain areas of life experience are beneath him.

His prior incarnations have put him in the position of being captain of his own ship, if not the commander of others. As a result, he is used to assuming an authoritative position whenever the weakness of others triggers his powerful need to take charge.

He enjoys the role of protector and goes to extremes in filling his life with those whose very weaknesses put them under his dominion. By so doing, he is constantly testing his own power to stand tall.

This is a lonely position, for here the individual is so concerned with his self-appointed mission, that he never allows others to see into his real self underneath. What he shows is a facade or the uniform of the role he feels obliged to play.

In the current life, he goes through experiences which teach him to come down off his skyscraper and make sure of the foundation underneath.

It is in the area of his most highly intimate relationships within his own family that the stage is set for his lifelong battle in an attempt to gain control of his own roots.

Many with these Nodes have one unusually demanding parent whose expectations encourage them to believe that they are truly destined to achieve a position of sitting on top of the world. As a result, they are discontented with whatever situation they are in, for always it falls short of what they feel they were meant to do.

The karmic lesson here is that "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." The individual must overcome his readiness to forsake what he has for the possibility of attaining what he doesn't.

So unwilling is he to see himself in a back-seat position that when circumstances force him to do so he may, in extreme cases, even contemplate suicide; for he firmly believes that without achieving some great destiny, life is utterly worthless.

This incarnation brings him through the experience of facing the conflict between a career for himself and the demands of his family.

He must learn maturity, for with all his projected strength, power and dignity, he is nearly a cripple when it comes to solving his own emotional problems. He must examine his roots and after pulling his head out of the clouds of his past, build a practical foundation for his future.

Eventually he learns that his organizing for others is merely a distraction from putting his own life in order.

The relationship established with parents early in life is more important in these Nodes than in any other position of the zodiac. Here the individual will spend much of his life energy attempting to be totally free and independent of his parents, yet always conscious of how much he needs them. Nevertheless, the reaction patterns to life continue to show a definite parental defiance, masking a strong need for parental love.

The soul is at a point in karma where he feels unappreciated for all his efforts. The past incarnation residue is based on achievement for the sake of recognition and appreciation. Now, achievement is to be its own reward. The soul must stop trying to gain audience for its deeds, realizing that the audience will always be there if the deeds are great enough. It is in this process of seeking an audience through which the individual tends to lose himself. He must literally transform his fourth house into a new birth of emotional attitudes, learning the lessons that when a man stands on tiptoes he is unsteady.

His life is like the beautiful orchid: a splendid sight to behold when raised and nourished under the most delicately controlled environmental conditions, but once the orchid is prepared for display, it is snipped from its roots, insuring wilting and certain death after a short time. This individual will be faced with the choice of being the overlooked orchid growing in a garden of thousands, or sacrificing his own happiness to be the beautiful flower on someone's lapel. As soon as he overcomes his past-life need for display, he can start to grow to the maturity he is so desperately seeking.

The sign which contains the South Node indicates the ways through which he still overemphasizes his importance.

The sign which contains the North Node shows how he can grow to become in substance so emotionally fulfilled that he no longer has to equate his happiness with his soul memory of prior-life personal esteem.

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