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Welcome to this thread on the planetary nodes. I will begin when we have 2-5 participants.

I will be planning my responses in weekly intervals, for the most part. Typically on Saturdays. At the start of the week, I will post a question for you to ponder and write about; you will have a week to post your response/answers. Sometimes, I will be asking you to listen to a podcast first or read an article online somewhere as part of the prompt. While we use charts at times, a lot of the learning will be through a process of inquiry, contemplation, and meditation, inspired by the weekly prompts, the occasional selected listening or reading, my responses to your posts, and our exchanges following these.

We will start with expanding our understanding of the planetary nodes at the collective level. Once we have established this, we will bring this down to the personal level. At the personal level, in a birth chart I always use what we call the geocentric planetary nodes. I like to point out that this is the apparent zodiac position the nodes are seen at, based on where Earth is in its orbit. For, at the collective level, we will study where these nodal axis fall in our zodiac. This is revealed by the days a planet's nodes, the Earth, and the Sun all form a line.

You have likely heard these are called heliocentric planetary nodes, however believe this is an inappropriate name. I will tell you why.

The heliocentric zodiac in use is not built upon aligning a division of the solar system relative to the Sun, i.e. the Barycenter, the Sun's own axis, spinning motion, wobble, tilt, etc. I don't want to get into all that, but for simplicity's sake let's just say we have merely picked up our own Western Tropical Zodiac and plopped it on top of the Sun. Therefore, the sign positions are meaningless.

Secondly, our planetary nodes are defined as the place another planet crosses the Earth's orbital plane, aka the ecliptic. To be clear, what we have been calling heliocentric planetary nodes are not the places where planets are crossing the Sun's plane. We don't use the 'Sun's orbital plane.' Earth doesn't have a planetary node because our ecliptic is the referential plane. If we moved to Mars we would need to find its own terrestrial zodiac, relative to its polar axis and orbital plane. And we would then use Mars' ecliptic to find where the other planets cross its orbital plane. These would then be the martian-centric planetary nodes. So, to simply call our geocentric planetary nodes 'heliocentric' because we are viewing them from the Sun, while Earth's ecliptic is THEE referential point, is erroneous.

What this really means is that these planetary nodal axis do not tell us about the Sun and the whole solar system's evolution. Rather, they tell us about evolutionary themes on Earth. And it is for this reason, I put forth, why it is valid to evolve our use of planetary nodes in Evolutionary Astrology by including the actual nodal axis of all the planets.

Think for a moment how much emphasis we give to eclipses, especially outside of Evolutionary Astrology. The Sun, which is the only reason we are alive, is the great activator. When the Sun lines up with the lunar nodes it is a significant event; even more so when the moon is also there. Each year the Sun conjoins a planet's nodes. Each year, over and over for centuries, the Sun has conjoined the North Node of Venus in Gemini, for example. Every year of your life, the Sun conjoins the North Node of Venus at the 17th degree of Gemini! This means something about collective evolutionary themes.

In summary, the geocentric planetary nodes are the apparent positions we see the nodes and define individual evolutionary experiences. And the actual ever so slowly moving axis of that same geocentrically defined planetary node remains at the same degree of the zodiac every year of our life, more or less, and is always opposite, and defines the unfolding greater collective dramas.

I tried to keep that as simple as possible. Going forward, I will be referring to the planetary node axes, when the nodes are exactly opposite, as the collective nodal axis. These collective nodal axes will begin our expansion of the collective evolutionary threads these correlate too, which form the fabric of this reality. Once we grasp how we all exist within the matrix of this evolutionary drama that correlates to these nodal axis, we will begin to use the geocentric planetary nodes in individual charts. The greater framework of the collective evolutionary drama, as it relates to these collective nodal axis, will shed new light on our relationships with life itself. We will always go back to the core Pluto paradigm for individual charts and expand outward from there. And these individual evolutionary journeys will then be framed within the greater evolutionary arcs of humanity, via these nodal axis.

Please let me know here if you would like to be an active participant in our learning journey! I am looking forward to this. I will be waiting for the first 2-5 willing participants.

If you do not have a basic understanding of the Evolutionary Astrology paradigm and the 12 archetypes as taught by Jeffrey Wolf Green, please do not participate. You are more than welcome to read along with us, of course.

~ Redwood

Hi Redwood, I am interested in participating in this learning journey with you!

Hello, this is all very new to me but you have come recommended as someone wonderful to learn from, and I'd love to expand my knowledge with you guys.

I would like to be added to the thread please.

I would really like to join an exploration of the different planetary nodes. I do not have an formal education in evolutionary astrology, but have read a lot and also followed a lot of presentations. I must apologize for my English style (I am a Norwegian). But I love astrology, especially EA <3

Hi Redwood, I'm really looking forward to following your thread here :)

Joe

Hello Natasha, Ckohn, Chrystal02, Anna, and Joe. Excited to you all on board for this shared learning journey. Natasha - congrats on the graduation!
Jordyn shared with me today she will also be joining us here. If you would like to be called a different name than your MB user name, please let me know.

I am on vacation next week, so you have two weeks to respond. I will be back here Saturday, March 14th.

This first round I have a podcast I am asking you to listen to. It is called "Trickster Jumps Sides: Disruption and the Anatomy of Culture" - it is by Josh on the The Emerald podcast. This episode was released twice. The first release was April 21, 2021 and is an hour and 3 minutes long. I do think this is brilliant insight that Josh offers us here.

Here is a link to it on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ZeLdkoGmPzcg5bzgpJkHl?si=7gTL9JcJTyWFIY6rNQDsxQ

Here is a link to it on Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-emerald/id1465445746?i=1000518112350

I trust you can easily find this on other steaming platforms, as needed.

Your questions and prompts for the week:
-Which planetary node(s) correlate to Josh's talk?

-In what ways is this an example of archetypes being unknowingly combined? I will  sometimes refer to this phenomena as archetypal amalgamations.

-Which archetypes does this happen with and why?

Either or: Do a little research on the sacred clowns of Native American indigenous cultures and write a bit more on how this cultural phenomena correlates to this/these planetary node OR find and share another example from a different culture and/or spiritual tradition that represents the positive manifestation of this/these planetary node(s).

I am attaching files of the Collective Planetary Nodal Axis for reference.

Best,
Redwood

and the other image...

Thank you for starting this thread Redwood, I look forward to participating as well.

Hi Redwood. Kristin referred me to this thread and I'm thrilled to participate. My journey into EA began a couple of years ago, activated by learning that I had Pluto square to my nodes, launching me into a deep inquiry and discovery. I've been in a lifelong pursuit to understand the mysteries and mechanics of universe my entire life and EA has provided immense value in tracking the karmic patterns and soul's evolution. Thank you for providing a place for knowledge and Q&A engagement.

Hi Redwood, I would love to get added as well!

Jim Carrey – The Recent Mask
A few weeks ago, there was a flood of posts flying through social media about a possible cloning, impersonation or body double for Jim Carrey.  Apparently, he appeared at an awards ceremony in France completely unrecognizable, with a distorted looking face, and even lighter colored eyes.  "What happened to Jim Carrey" was the title of so many posts on social media.  It wasn't your typical natural aging process that was being evident, it was a completely different and almost disturbing weirdness that was being seen.  Conspiracies were everywhere saying that he had been replaced by a clone; that he was probably killed or taken by the higher order or the "Elite".
 
Archetypally speaking, Uranus corresponds to our great awakener, while its lower octave Mercury from a Gemini standpoint, is our original trickster.  I believe this talk corresponds to the planetary nodes for Uranus & Venus on a collective and individual level, both with their South Nodes in Sagittarius and North Nodes in Gemini.

We are being called for a complete transformation and liberation of our beliefs and values as a collective.  How do we do that? From an archetypal point of view with South Nodes in Sagittarius and North Nodes in Gemini, we are called from a shift of lifetimes of overconfidence in structures , overcompensation and blind belief to what's in front us to now asking us to move into a state of open-mindedness, connections with others through communication, curiosity, and questioning. The North Node in Gemini asks us to step back and observe.   The only way we are going to shift collectively into an awakened, freer mind is to question everything.  Why do we value what we value?  Why do we believe what we currently believe? Why do we think we need what we currently are identifying as needed resources.  What has been the consequence of this all?   Where are we overcompensating as a collective?

Sacred clowns have a much deeper purpose than just entertaining or being funny.  They actually serve to bring forth a spiritual mirror to society and ourselves.  They had a tendency to exaggerate (Sagittarius) human behavior with the intention of showing others who they were, and showing their hypocrisy.  The point of all was for an "awakening".  There is a collective need to liberate from one-sided points of views, and a need to embrace and learn through diversity and observation.

Recently, societies collective beliefs about what beauty and aging are have been completely distorted by Hollywood and the media.  Maintaining one's youthful look has always been a desire for many people.  Wrinkles on your face, or white hair which honors and are symbols of wisdom and experience are being looked down upon and industries have completely taken advantage of it by promising to give everyone the fountain of youth for looks through botox, fillers, cosmetic surgeries etc... which sends the message to everyone that they should feel shame in aging rather than embracing the natural process we are meant to be. 
If you scroll through social media today, people are bombarded with ads and posts and filters subconsciously programming us to want to look like something we are not.  In many cases, people end up going through extremes, and the result is an unrecognizable face. Here are these  amous women in their 60's who look younger than natural women in their 30's.  The pressure is on.  This type of programming impacts tremendously how people see themselves and how they value themselves (Venus), and thus what their expectations are in relationships. 

There was a book written by Maxwell Maltz called Psychocybernetics back in the 60's that I read that speaks to this; he was a plastic surgeon who discovered through his work that changing a person's face did not always change their life. People were still unhappy and had low self esteem after the fact.  The major realization here is that what's truly important is the internal self image that plays the role in how you value yourself, not the external look.

So we see today, that a large portion of society on a global level is suffering this.  The values are beliefs have been influenced by the patriarchy, and thus causing a distortion in the value system.  This is what causes the need to overcompensate (Sag) with things like fillers, botox, face lifts, etc... which actually stems from a feeling of unworthiness and not feeling good enough. 
Uranus, the disrupter who is looking to break through limitations in societies value system.

The sabian symbols for the North Nodes of Venus & Uranus state:
16-17 Gemini:  "Two dutch children talking to eachother, exchanging knowledge" and
14-15 Gemini: " The head of a robust youth changes into that of a mature thinker"
 
In both cases, we are seeing a shift into a new mindset that comes from observation and exchange of information.  A shift from the physical into the mental.  Uranus, freeing us from all that Saturn suppresses and limits, and Venus calling for us to examine our value system, how we see and treat ourselves, what our true resources are and therefore what is it actually important to us.  It calls us to question "Have we been living a big fat lie?" 

With everything being a mirror to us, as the sacred clowns have been tasked to do, the reflection of all that is occurring at any given time brings us back to the wise words: "As within, so without".  Everything occurring outside on a global, collective level calls us to examine our own shadows on an individual level.  The North Nodes of Uranus and Venus currently call us to examine, to research, to question, to take in other points of views, to listen, and to not always think we know it all, or think we are right.  By doing so, we will be able to truly open our minds, liberate from things that are not our truth, and redefine new values and resources that are what we truly need to be spiritually self-reliant.   When trickster strikes again, we shall shift from blind belief to questions, to learning, to observing, to communication and engaging in a playful forms of intelligence.  Just like a child wanting to learn know how things work and why they work the way it does.  I recently saw a video of child and an adult playing with the box that has holes in different shapes  for you to put the shaped block through its respective hole (i.e. a star, a circle, a square, a triangle etc...).  The adult put the circle inside the circle hole, and gave the child the square.  Assuming the child would put the square through the square hole, the child instead proceeded to take the entire top of the box off and place the shape inside it.  This is the type of playful intelligence we must engage in. 

Most recently, there was yet another post of Jim Carrey with that oddly weird face everyone was talking about, which said: "Told you we are being played, its over", as he proceeded to remove the mask from his original naturally aged face.  Ironically, he also made a movie back in the 90's called "The Mask", and I believe this is a genuine example of a trickster in action mirroring to us what we are today.  Giving us a chance to open our eyes.  What he is saying is "this isn't me and this is nothing like me" asking people to look at themselves and ask that very question, "Is this you, and is it your natural you?"  The hypocrisy from society comes from the symbolism of many people doing the exact same thing – wearing a "mask" that covers our natural face/self. We must learn to love our internal beauty, to value ourselves from within and liberate from any need to overcompensate. Truly getting to know and learn about ourselves.

When listening to the podcast "Trickster" the Uranus archetype and its nodes came forward. The sacred clowns in the Native American culture reminds me of a Sami shaman I met here in Norway many years ago. He had a great ability to say something completely surprising which felt like my mind was turned upside down. Searcing the internet I found a video by Will Bowen ("jumpstart sacred clowns"). According to him everyone in the life of a person could be a sacred clown. helping us expand our consciousness and helping us to look at our shadow sides and frozen attitudes. With Gemini in my 11th house, Mercury in Aquarius conjunct Jupiter opposite Uranus this is of course a huge topic for me.   

Hi Redwood and All,

I agree with what you all have mentioned (the Sagittarius nodes, ect.). Something that stands out to me is the Lakota Heyoka. Soul's who are chosen for a specific spiritual path by the Thunderbird beings. This path is one of contrarian. Anna mentioned the sacred clowns of Native American cultures. This is one of those.
Heyoka live the "backwards path". Their purpose being a mirror to hypocrisy in others, communities and in society. The higher purpose is to help establish harmony through highlighting one extreme with another. It brings objectivity through the absurdity of extremes. It is a spiritual role through shamanism to help maintain balance through liberation. To me this reflects the NN of Uranus in Gemini. The duality, trickster, mercurial energy through Gemini and Mercury. Also, the role of service (Mercury connecting to its other ruler, Virgo). Yet it revolutionizes through the Gemini principle. Dismantling old thinking and duplicity through exposing this, and ultimately, liberation.
I see this energy playing out collectively right now with SN of Jupiter in Capricorn conjunct the SN of Pluto. Helping society confront the hypocrisy stemming from distortions of natural laws. Yet, I also feel this brings in Neptune's nodes. There is a higher purpose through the mirroring and reflecting back and serving a co-creative function. Even if it is through experiencing allusion and disillusionment. Deception, even self-deception linked with the over-identification of hidden self-interests. This ultimately is meant to help by transforming into a balanced community.

Someone who I feel might have played the role of "trickster" in a historical sense is Ghenghis Khan. Especially the distortion of the trickster energy. Ultimately, he did serve dual roles.
Trickster energy can be confusing. I feel it brings up dichotomous thinking and dissonance. Which the purpose is reflected in what I mentioned above. To me this really resonates with including the nodes of Neptune. In tandem with it serving a higher purpose. One that can be spiritual. I also feel this way too because it is helping a lot of repressed dynamics, within the collective unconscious, now surface.

To answer the question: which archetypes does this happen with and why? I feel the natural YOD that is formed through Gemini, Leo, and Capricorn really highlight the dynamics of trickster energy. I also feel I feel the natural YOD formed by Cancer, Sagittarius, and Aquarius highlights this too. Cancer would be the polarity of the APEX of the other YOD. While Leo is the polarity of the APEX of the other. It also reflects the boomerang dynamic of trickster energy. The crisis of becoming aware through the opposing/mirroring to individuals, communities, and nations that trickster energy brings (two pairs of polarities seen in the APEX of each YOD that are linked together by them. The hypocrisy and duplicitousness (Capricorn/Gemini inconjunct). The cognitive dissonance, even traumatic cognitive dissonance (Sagittarius/Aquarius inconjunct) dealing with beliefs. Hypocrisy, self-righteous, judgments that are actually self-interest (Leo/Capricorn inconjunct).

I enjoyed listening to Trickster Jumps Sides: Disruption and the Anatomy of Culture by Josh Schrei on the Trickster Archetype. I found it really enlightening. The planetary nodes that came to mind going off the "collective nodal archetype" chart you shared were Uranus (Aquarius & Leo) and Venus (Gemini & Sagittarius).

The Uranus (Leo & Aquarius) archetypes reflect the trickster themes Josh talked about, disrupting the status quo, mocking authority, rebellion, and shaking up systems that have become too rigid. The trickster shows up as something that destabilizes what has become overly fixed or serious in culture.

Venus (Gemini & Sagittarius) also came to mind through archetypal expressions like humor, satire, reversals, and "switching sides." Gemini especially connects to wit, cleverness, and playful communication, while Sagittarius can exaggerate ideas or beliefs in a way that exposes their contradictions.

When Josh talked about Indigenous sacred clowns it made me think of an Indigenous Mexican dance I participated in as a teenager. I was part of a group called the Matachines, and we danced to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe (La Virgencita del Tepeyac). It blended Indigenous spiritual traditions with Catholic faith, honoring the "dark-skinned" Virgin (Mestiza) who is the patroness of Mexico. During these sacred dances we would make our way to the town's Catholic church, and we were accompanied by clowns whose job was to try to disrupt and distract us with mischievous, comical actions and mimicking us dancing.

We were instructed to ignore them, but that was honestly very difficult. As an Aquarius Sun & Mercury and a pretty rebellious teenager at the time I found them absolutely hilarious. They would exaggerate movements, mock us, and try to break our focus.

For a long time I wondered why they were even part of the ritual. It seemed strange that something sacred would include people intentionally trying to disrupt it. Listening to Josh's podcast helped me understand that this role reflects the trickster archetype. Their role wasn't random,it was part of a cultural tradition that acknowledges the importance of disruption, humor, and honoring the Trickster within sacred spaces.

I'm including a video of our group dancing. At the beginning of the video I'm in the group of 5 that dances first, the woman on the left. Around 3:10 the clowns really start acting up in full trickster energy.Danza "La Morenita Del Tepeyac"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvhLE_AMbbk
Thanks for this thread, your awesome charts and questions, Redwood!

Great job everyone on your responses! I am very heartened by all your insights.

Natasha
Thank you for adding in Jim Carrey to your post. It would be a great example chart we can dive further into at some point. I attached it for reference. Of note: His Gemini Moon, which changes signs from Placidus to Porphyry from 8th to 7th, is within a degree of collective NN Venus Gemini - by extension Uranus and Ceres North Node's. Rodden Rating of A for source; from Astro Databank.

Great job pulling in the nodal axis of Venus and Uranus, and beginning to delve into the many related themes of these - 
You wrote:
"From an archetypal point of view with South Nodes in Sagittarius and North Nodes in Gemini, we are called from a shift of lifetimes of overconfidence in structures , overcompensation and blind belief to what's in front us to now asking us to move into a state of open-mindedness, connections with others through communication, curiosity, and questioning."

Yes, 100%. Your insights speak into this concept of getting out of our own story, getting out of our head. Famous kirtan chanter Krishna Das often speaks of 'getting up in the morning and starting the movie of me.' Like a groundhog's day phenomena where the trickster's role is to suddenly break us out of our own ongoing script of reality.

The deeper purpose of the sacred clown - yes, so true. Also, when we add in the North Node of Ceres at the 21st degree of Gemini, I suggest we have also intertwined themes of nurturing and caring for people by stepping into the role of sacred clown; though western religious conditioning and patriarchal teachings do not really embrace nurturance and disruption as potentially working together. Clearly the planetary nodes do!

On the topic of beauty and the planetary nodes of Venus and Uranus, we will be diving deeper into this together, as this is whole complex thing. Thank you for introducing it! With these nodes in conjunction for centuries in Gemini, we will expand and contextualize the current social media beauty phenomena, Venus - Uranus - Gemini, within the larger context of changing beauty norms and objectivity vs objectification of beauty that have been evolutionary themes within the collective psyche for so long.

Anna - thank you for adding the Sami shaman - I had not heard of this. Yes - Venus as the 'mirror of other' - walking life such that everyone could be a sacred clown. Such an insightful and fascinating concept, echoed in many spiritual teachings. In my own spiritual path, Ram Dass often spoke about seeing everyone that comes as Maharaji, or the Divine. Everything in the outer, other, Libra side of Venus, offers up some reflection and information connected to our own awakening, Uranus Venus Gemini.

Jordyn - thank you for speaking more to the Heyoka's backward path and the connection to these other planetary nodes. Very insightful connections. It is very curious that we have this Venus Uranus NN conjunction at the same time as all these South Nodes in Capricorn. Jupiter, as ruler of Sag, leads us to consider the ways we get stuck in our own stories of reality are connected to the South Node of Jupiter in Capricorn. Yes, at some point, we can get further into the Yod's you have highlighted. It is worth noting, while I look at whole sign dynamics and this has a lot of value, that it is specifically the nodes of Jupiter which form the most exact Yods - SN Jup Cap to NN Uranus Gemini and NN Neptune Leo, and then the inverse of this of course - NN Jup Cancer to the SN Uranus Sag & SN Neptune Aqu. This is pretty advanced synthesis!

Kathia - thank you for sharing the Indigenous Mexican dance! Isn't it just so fascinating that cultures all over the world have incorporated the message of the planetary nodes! Clearly, resistance to the integration of social disruption subverts this and leads to unhealthier expressions, which we shall explore at some point in context of these nodes. I appreciate your emphasis of the humor and playful aspects of the trickster, as it is clear there is this synthesis of the Sag and Gemini nodes within these cultural examples.
It appears you mistook Neptune's AQU/LEO nodes for Uranus. Uranus and Venus's nodes are in conjunction in Sag/Gemini.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So, as you can see, if one doesn't understand the extent the planetary nodes are woven into the fabric of reality as we know it, we end up mixing archetypes. Does Josh know about the NN Uranus and Venus in Gemini?

Is it not clear that the trickster archetype is much more Uranian because of Uranus's North Node in Gemini? And, with the conjunction to the North Node of Venus, we have this Uranian trickster fully integrated into the social sphere of cultures which are in harmony with natural laws. Positive example of bringing the Sag South Node conjunction into expression of these Gemini North Nodes. Subverted, it still shows it face and becomes a disruptive force that brings disharmony, instead of harmony. As we can see, the healthy intention of the trickster's disruptive behaviors, is to awaken us back into harmony, Uranus Venus.

This message board is a great example of the collective nodal axis of Uranus and Venus in Sag/Gemini - a shared group learning and writing experience! In this spirit, I am happy to see so many more of you who are here, as part of this thread. As I mentioned, I do have limitations of how much I can read and respond to, which is why I originally asked for 5 active posting participants. Only 4 of you responded to this one. So, let's just see how this goes. Thank you. And welcome Michelle B and JaymeJohnson. To allow for more participation, I am expanding the time between my prompts and responses. I like to think how each of us, in our own lives, has these ideas percolating in our consciousness and getting ahas! :)

I am going to give a two week time to respond to this next assignment.

The next assignment is to read Lynn White's famous article: The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis. Published March 10, 1967.

https://www.uvm.edu/~gflomenh/courses/ENV-NGO-PA395/articles/Lynn-White.pdf

article (https://www.uvm.edu/~gflomenh/courses/ENV-NGO-PA395/articles/Lynn-White.pdf)

As you read this, keep in mind that the North Node of Uranus entered Gemini first, which means the North Node of Venus came later and caught up. In fact, it was in the 1330's in which we saw this exact conjunction.

What insights came to your reading this about the Venus Uranus nodal conjunction?
What insights do you have about the South Node of Jupiter in Capricorn after reading this?

Redwood and All,

I just want to thank you, Redwood, for moderating this. I also love the homework you are giving us because it does "percolate" more information. Which, by the way, VI my oldest was listening to Josh's podcast with me in the car and they absolutely LOVED it! Your first assignment even struck a chord with someone outside of EA!

To everyone else, I just want to say that it warms my heart that so many are participating. I feel this is how we truly learn. We get to hear each other's perspectives, and it deepens our understanding of the nuances within the archetypes!

with love,
Jordyn

Hello, All,

I apologize for my absence. I was dealing with some hard issues my youngest child is trying to navigate. I will review the most recent assignment posted and comment on it shortly. Thank you for hosting the group, and for the powerful material that has already been provided!

Love,

Chrystal G.

As Jordyn stated, thank you for the opportunity for us to study together and learn from eachother.  This is such a blessing and we appreciate the opportunity you are giving us all.  Below is what came to mind when thinking about the South Node of Jupiter in Capricorn when reading this article.

Generally speaking, the South Node of Jupiter will shed light on the accumulated collective beliefs of the past and what has been known to be our collective "truth".  It could possibly show areas of stagnation or where we tend to resort back to as with all south nodes, for security reasons.  With the South Node of Jupiter in Capricorn, we can see that as a collective, our idea of the truth has been heavily conditioned, suppressed and influenced by man-made laws.   The attribution of Christianity as playing a major role in the ecological crisis due to man's belief that one is separate and "above" nature is highly reflected in this South Node of Jupiter in Capricorn.  Jupiter, correlating to Nature/Natural Law also reflect how nature itself has been impacted by the patriarchy and how man-made religions have been conditioned and distorted as a means of control.

There is a big message that I feel is reflected in the crisis brought up by this article which reflects as a mirror the bigger picture of duality and separation.  As we progress forwards throughout the evolutionary states, we move from the sense of being separate from our Creator into higher states of consciousness where that veil begins to dissipate; and our union with our Creator becomes evident.  I use the word UNION instead of reunion, because we are technically never really separated from Source; it is only our perception depending on the evolutionary states which are reflected in our desires.  The perceived state of separation seen more within the consensus, is also seen in man's relationship to nature – as reflected with the SN of Jupiter in Capricorn.  Man's perception of power over nature, and domination over nature with the use of technology is the reflection of the relationship that they have with nature.  Destruction of nature for economic gains is an example of this.  (i.e destroying an entire forest with many trees and life in order to build new buildings or a shopping center). I believe this type of behavior is also a result of the pressures society, religions and government have put on the people, and the unrealistic expectations of living, of status and of success that has been taught throughout the distortions of the patriarchy. 

Jupiter representing natural law, nature, philosophy, religion, and ultimately "truth" reflect that you cannot separate nature from belief.  Thus, how we are treating our nature is a direct correlation to our belief systems.  What we are doing to nature is what we are doing to ourselves.  The destruction of nature is just another signal that our beliefs have been conditioned(Capricorn), suppressed and controlled; and in order to adjust that, there must be a complete healing of our belief systems.  Jupiter/Sag/9th is naturally inconjunct to Capricorn's polarity Cancer/4th/Moon – this presents the crisis in our belief system that we are not one with nature, and that nature will not provide to us what we need ;which then speaks to the adjustment of tapping back into our matriarchal roots, natural ways of being where we nurtured nature, and nature nurtured us. Man and nature coexisted as one.  There was mutual respect for each other.   And I believe respecting nature being one of the lessons needed to be learned with Jupiter's SN in Cap.  Respect in my opinion being one of the higher expressions of the Capricorn archetype.  When we are a baby inside the primordial womb of our mother, we are not worried on how we will be provided for –the nutrients are shared through the umbilical cord and everything we need is given to us through the natural union/connection between baby and mother.  Mother nature is meant to provide to us, just as a mother provides to her offspring inside the womb. If you observe the animals, they are not worried about paying their mortgage, or if they need to get a 2nd job in order to provide for their family.  We can learn a lot by observing nature; animals are in harmony, and are one with nature.  Nature provides to them and for them right in the moment that they need it.  It is our destruction to nature that brings forth the problems we are seeing today.  The severance of our connection is what probes us to search outwards in the external with material items for what we need, or with building(Capricorn) unnatural structures to get more and more and more.  The intention of "more" is usually based with an unconscious tone of greed, and desiring capital gains.  The deeper issue to discover is why, which in my opinion is rooted to a deeper layer of fear.  Fear of lack, fear of not having enough, and fear of survival. Fear of not being taken care of.  This can come from the lie/deceit that is told in man-made religions that we are separate and above nature as he mentioned in the article.  With the NN of Jupiter in Cancer, we are called to realign and balance our beliefs about our connection with nature and Mother Earth so that we learn and understand that we are not separate. Jupiter is about vision, and the world is being called on healing our vision with nature; being able to see the bigger picture that we are indeed not separate from Mother Earth or above or superior to her; being able to see that we were never really separate from her, and that we are One--- just as we are one with Source.

Hi Redwood and All,

I'll be responding sometime this week to the last assignment. I've been working on presentations for the workshop I have been holding. I just did the first lecture this evening and will have a bit more time to settle in to thoughtfully respond.

with love,
Jordyn

Natasha - thanks for your post and all your insights!

You wrote:

"With the South Node of Jupiter in Capricorn, we can see that as a collective, our idea of the truth has been heavily conditioned, suppressed and influenced by man-made laws"

Yes, indeed - Jupiter - religion, Capricorn - conditioning - very clearly this is a symbol that connects to religious conditioning. One thing that I found very interesting in this article was that I had not really considered our current ecological crises to be related to the South Node of Jupiter in Capricorn. However, after reading it, as you noted, we can see that beliefs of being separate from nature or having a elevated status above nature, as if it is simply ours to use, does have roots in religious conditioning via Christian beliefs about human's entitlement to dominate their environment. And, of course, the South Nodes of Venus and Uranus conjunction in Sag link to religious trauma, as well as themes of religious freedom.

One thing I think it is helpful to keep in mind is that we all have a blind spot. Of course, Neptune, Pisces, & 12th house come to mind first, from an Evolutionary Astrology point of view, when we talk about blind spots. I do want to point out that this South Node of Jupiter in Capricorn does have some influence on our blind spots. Essentially, we all come in with limits to our consciousness. This is an evolutionary stage phenomena and of course Pisces archetype correlates to consciousness. When we get to Jupiter, beyond the box of religion, there is still a box that we are in, so to speak, in my opinion, which correlates to this Jupiter South Node. We have come in with limits to our capacity to understand the totality of a situation. We don't know what we don't know. Our intuition can be influenced by the conditioning of our consciousness. If we do the Cancer polarity, we model security in the learning process. But at times, it is easier to believe we already know and have already come to a conclusion. The judgement has already been formed that blocks us from Uranus Gemini - going outside the box.

And relative to the South Node of Jupiter in Cap, we all come in with a need to define the truth, which can lead to this belief that our version of the truth is right. It is like not wanting to live in a vague undefined story of who we are and what our own interpretation of life is.

This article highlights this dominance of human over nature. Jupiter's Collective nodes went into Cap/Cancer a little more than a 1000 years ago. If we look up the Crusades, these military campaigns were launched by the papacy from 1095 to 1291. I believe the increased rigidity of being right and having one's beliefs, Jupiter, lead to judgment, Capricorn, further inspired these events. Also, the Crusades mark the applying conjunction of Venus and Uranus's South Nodes in Sag; further examples of religious trauma playing out in efforts to dominate and control others beliefs, Jupiter Cap.

The reason I found this article enlightening is that, from my own education, I lacked a greater understanding of this arc of science and technology that has it's roots further back than we may understand. The Venus Uranus Gemini themes emerging amidst the entrenched Christian beliefs, SN Jupiter Cap, create this curious rise of science in the west. Lynn wrote:

"However, in the Latin West by the early 13th century natural theology was following a very different bent. It was ceasing to be the decoding of the physical symbols of God's communication with man and was becoming the effort to understand God's mind by discovering how his creation operates."

The underlying Gemini themes show this increasing exploration and curiousness to discover, to adapt, and experiment with life. It seems the inconjunct to the South Node of Jupiter from the Gemini nodes is one planetary node dynamic that reflects our ecological crisis, due to the conditioned belief structures in consciousness mingling with this constant Gemini pull to discover new ways to understand life itself. The crisis of curiosity with entitlement.

Gemini Devil's advocate moment here:
If all of this life is a dream, from this point of view what isn't natural? Is it not only natural with the North Nodes of Venus and Uranus in Gemini that humans would experiment and change their environments more and more? And now we face the karma of this path - extremes and imbalances. In light of the Venus Uranus NN conjunction in Gemini, we are called to adapt to an ever changing reality, more and more! If this is but the matrix we chose to all be born into, is this simply par for the course? If we all are born with the North Node of Pluto in Cancer did we all sign up for an experience of reality and life where the outer world does not offer us the security we seek? What is actually good or bad in terms of how we see these manifestations of the planetary nodes? In light of our soul's choosing to incarnate into these unique collective evolutionary circumstances? I wouldn't say social media, Venus Uranus Gemini nodes, is inherently good or bad. It sure is a modern evolutionary phenomenon!

Thoughts and questions?

Also, Saint Francis of Assisi - what an inspiration!

And so, this week I want to continue to explore this inconjunct from the South Nodes in Capricorn to these North Nodes in Gemini. And I am choosing to continue this though a look into the life of Mao Zedong. There is a podcast I was listening to recently which I enjoyed because it explores China under Mao and it doesn't seem like imperialist propaganda, nor leftist idealism. This talk reveals the many complexities within Mao himself. I was immediately reflecting on how we have these different parts within ourselves. Particularly highlighted by the quote about having the monkey and tiger sides within.

When we think of revolution and our attraction to ideas of freedom and equality, certainly the North Nodes of Venus and Uranus in Gemini and their South Nodes in Sag come to mind, in terms of planetary nodes. Also, I think the South Node of Neptune in Aquarius relates to this ideal we all have somewhere in the psyche of this potential of working together as community, the tide raises all boats mentality. It takes a village, etc.

Birth time is questionable. Mao has a Neptune Pluto in Gemini activating this North Node of Uranus in Gemini (and Venus NN, by extension) and Mercury opposing on the South Nodes of Uranus and Venus in Gemini. This is his part of monkey side, the revolutionary side.

If we were node-less, we would look at Mao's Venus in Aquarius squared by Uranus. The Moon is also opposite Venus and squared by Uranus. But with the planetary nodes, we consider that Pluto and Neptune are on the NN of Uranus and Mercury is on the SN's of Venus and Uranus. This gives more depth and complexity to our chart reflections.

Then, we see Mao's Saturn conjunct the Libra South Node, which is also in a very tight square to Saturn's collective nodal axis in Cap/Cancer. Tiger side.

From this podcast we have this glimpse into these natal connections to Mao as a revolutionary and leader of the people. We also have this glimpse into the tension between Uranus/Aquarius and Saturn/Capricorn. Especially when it appears that the revolution is becoming too chaotic and part of him resists this. It is hard to embrace Uranus all the time.

If anyone has any new insights of reflections you want to share on Mao or additional thoughts on religious conditioning's interface with emergence of science/technology, as it relates to this inconjunct between Jupiter's Cap South Node and the Gemini North Nodes, please go for it. Please feel free to pull in any planetary nodes.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5US7OKPrjPDbGMweIiUoxG?si=neHIUs3BSVO7W26lOxd-0g
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5US7OKPrjPDbGMweIiUoxG?si=neHIUs3BSVO7W26lOxd-0g

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/upstream/id1082594532?i=1000735168086
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/upstream/id1082594532?i=1000735168086

okay Jordyn, look forward to hearing your thoughts. :)

Best,

While you continue to reflect upon the greater meanings of these collective planetary nodes, I wanted to deposit an idea here regarding the Nodes of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn.

First off, we will see over and over that we are never to not do the south nodes. It isn't a matter of abandoning our past in the journey of future growth. For example, regarding the Pluto Polarity Point, we are not saying "don't do your Pluto anymore!" Right? How can we not be who we are? It is about the evolution including both polarities.

And so, when we think about the north nodes in Cancer, how can we successfully collectively "do them" without doing the south nodes?

I have tended to think of the south nodes in Capricorn as the the negatives of patriarchy, imperialism, dominance, control, oppression, resource extraction, capitalism, etc. But I feel we need to ask, what has led to the current crisis? The greed of a few to control, Saturn, the power and resources, Pluto, of society, Capricorn, is accomplished when the few have control of the systems that manage them. Therefore, we can't abandon these south nodes. Rather, are we not called to take control of our shared resources? This comes into concepts of how a society controls and regulates economy and business. We hear that deregulation is good, but is it not feeding the extreme resource gap even more? Whose responsibility is it to regulate and control the resources?

I share these reflections because I have been fed constant ideas of what freedom means. And this often comes with this idea of no one having control "over you."

However, to have no control and power over use of our shared resources we find we are over and over impoverished and witness abuses of control and power. And so, do we not need to question it when we are told that deregulation is the answer? Is it not evident that to fulfill the south nodes of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn we need to find a way to control wealth and resources in society? But, we are coming from the South Nodes of Venus Uranus in conjunction in Sag - we hate this idea, on some level. The lockdown of 2020 at the start of the pandemic revealed this in the USA, however the on the ground reality of how peoples of other countries actively engaged with society's efforts to control and protect, cap/cancer nodes, the pandemic are not publicized widely. In some countries, it was not just rebellion against the measures, rather it was active participation. Remember the Jan 2020 conjunction of Saturn and Pluto was on their south nodes. Not every global situation was the wealthy capitalizing upon the crisis.

If we zoom out to the big picture, this Saturn Pluto conjunction raises globally these questions. It is not a one and done on that. Rather, we have just entered into a larger collective process to come to terms with the reality of these nodal axis and the karma if we continue to let others control the people's shared power and resources. 

This week for anyone out there following along, I invite you to share with us one collective planetary nodes connection you have had. 


One epiphany I had this week was that I realized that the Nodes of Neptune, in a healthy way, bring the Aquarius South Node into the Leo North Node - such that, we will individually have purpose and meaning in life that is connected to community.

I was standing on a bridge where painted broken hearts on rocks suggested there had been suicides there in the past. And I considered how, in my country, the USA, there is often a deep profound lack of meaning and purpose. Like a worst case scenario for NN Neptune in Leo. Lost, no purpose, disconnected from inspired meaning in life and from connection to community. Yes, the inner void is Virgo. And, it think it helps to contextualize this in terms of the Nodes of Neptune, in part b/c Pisces is the polarity and represents evolutionary path out of Virgo inner emptiness. Looking collectively through this lens across history and cultures all over is very fascinating.

On the opposite side of this, we have situations where people give their lives for a greater purpose or cause, which reflects the South Node of Neptune in Aquarius coming through the North Node of Neptune. Recently, in studying the Cuban revolution, I was amazed at how many times hundreds and thousands of people lost their lives in the fight for independence, but more people kept joining the cause. In the example of the Cuba revolution of 1959 and their earlier revolutionary efforts, we see that the South Node of Neptune in Aquarius correlates to these ideals in consciousness of independence, freedom, and sovereignty, as well as the unity of the people. When all this comes through the North Node of Neptune in Leo, there was and still is so much inspired purpose that giving up of ones life for the greater purpose happens. I do think it helps to keep in mind that the peasantry and working class had basically nothing to loose. This notion of "how far can the people be pushed and still be controlled." If you want to listen to podcasts on Cuba, I found Cuba Analysis a worthy listen, as well as the Cuba series on Upstream.

Please share your nodal insights and thoughts, great or small, or any questions you that arose. Best,

Redwood

Hi Redwood,
Thanks for bringing that in! I am a 1st generation Cuban-American, and my family migrated here during the revolution in the early 60s. My paternal grandfather was well known back in the day for his rescuing of Cuban people and bringing them to the US, and for his attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro.  He was the first person in history to break the Cuban-American anti-raid law passed here in the U.S. and was investigated heavily by the CIA around the time of John F. Kennedy's assassination. So I have heard some pretty intense stories.

When talking about Neptune's nodes and Cuba, The Mariel Boatllift also came to my attention.  Many people during that time were seeking asylum.   When Castro saw how many thousands of people were looking to leave, he opened up the port and told everyone they were free to go, but it was a strategy on his end to let a different group of people go.  He opened up all the prisons, mental institutions, etc.. letting  free all the those who were incarcerated, criminal, and the mentally unstable.

I think about all those people here in the US that fled from the time of revolution through the 80s... Many of those people today created new lives for themselves here in the U.S., built from scratch, learned a new language, started businesses, and grew their families.  I think that NN of Neptune in Leo is reflected here -  yet it required them do the SN(Aquarius) in order to evolve--the trauma they experienced, the need to detach from what was formerly known to them, and in sense liberate from a place they were not wanting to be or were going to be controlled in.  Liberation for a new purpose (SN in Aquarius, NN in Leo)

Natasha,

Thank you for sharing all of this and giving me/us a wider perspective and lens to see both Cuba and the Nodes of Neptune. I really appreciate it. Your analysis and insights related to the nodes is spot on.

The South Node of Neptune correlates to the potential for us to romanticize past revolutions. I was doing this myself as I listened to the story of Cuba's revolution. Relative to the Nodes of Neptune, the South Node in Aquarius can express as idealizing revolutions of the past. And, relative to the North Node in Leo, we can see the idealization of the heroes of revolutions. The reality is that revolutions are chaotic and tragic and intense.

In the USA I believe we can see this regarding the idealization of the American Revolution. Beyond idealizing, relative to the South Node of Neptune in Aquarius, we can also see romanticism of the American Revolution, expanding in new ways within modern patriotism. Old Glory, Stars and Strips forever, Spirit of 1776, etc.

In the USA chart, if we use the Gemini rising chart which JWG uses, we do see that the Aquarius Moon and South Node midpoint is at 12 AQU 22, minutes off of the collective South Node of Neptune. In the Sibly chart this midpoint is 16 AQU 53. The Moon in a nation's chart rules the public, and of course the South Node of the Moon the people's past. This makes sense to see this phenomena so strong in the USA.

As "leaders of the free world," it is evident that this emphasized South Node of Neptune in Aquarius in the USA's chart also speaks to the idealization of the individual. Aquarius is a kinda funny archetype is this way - that is correlates to both the individuation process and to groups of people/community/humanity. And I think that we could discuss the positives and negatives of this phenomena in the country and its impact on the world. Here's some introductory thoughts:

In the negative side, we have hyper-individualism. "I'm free to do whatever I want and f you" type attitude. There is this "Don't Tread on Me" spirit here, but in a way to keeps walls up and creates unwelcomeness in community at times.

On the positive side of this, soul's have chosen to incarnate or migrate to the USA to have more freedom to set out on path in life which resonates for them as an individual, potentially not as limited by the traditional cultural norms of other lifetimes or culture/societies of origin.

Perhaps neither positive or negative, this individualism has moved us further away from honoring of cultural traditions. As a result, many feel culturally lost and are "looking for their people" - lost South Node of Neptune in Aquarius.

This topic alone is pretty vast. And when we apply this to other cultures and countries, there is both so more to consider and an increased understanding of the spectrum of ways the Nodes of Neptune may manifest. With the Nodes of Neptune we are talking about how both the Aquarius and Leo archetypes are idealized within the collective consciousness and individual psyche in some way, shape, or form.

For example, relative to the North Node of Neptune in Leo - for the USA we have this idealization of the individual purpose and the use of individual will to shape your destiny. We get asked from an early age "What do you want to do when you grow up?" There is sense of individual choice which is celebrated as freedom, but isn't always so freeing. If you don't know what your calling is, it may lead to more of sense of feeling lost or confused about your future. All of this is very western minded.

In India I have noticed that we can, in part, correlate the North Node of Neptune to this concept of Divine Lila. To compare East to West, through the lens of the North Node of Neptune in Leo, we come to considering individual will vs divine will. From the peak of hyper-individualism, we are the creators of everything in our life. Or we can seize the reigns and be our own God, so to speak. From the concept of God's Lila, we have less pride and more innate humility because we are not deluding ourselves into believing that we are in control. When we come to this place in consciousness, I believe that we can increase our potential to tune into "life" guiding us on our "individual choice."

In the west we still have more of an inflated self importance of individual destiny, in my opinion, and perhaps fail to understand how fulfilling more traditional life paths can be even more freeing that "having all this freedom." However, wherever your soul chose to incarnate, it was because of the conditions within that family, culture, and society were related to your evolutionary purpose and needs.

Thoughts and reflections on the Nodes at this point?
Please share.

Best,
Redwood

This week I have some more thoughts to share on the Nodes of Neptune. Regarding the South Node of Neptune in Aquarius, if we consider that this means the archetype of Aquarius holds some ultimate meaning within the collective psyche, beyond the connection to our past lifetimes living in communities and cultures which operated as one organism in harmony with natural laws prior to the evolution of patriarchy, what else can we say?

In my imagination, one of the attractions to this awareness of the potential of community is that there is a place for everyone. In my life, I have noticed that some of the most magical moments have been when I was intricately involved in a big group protect and it all comes together because so many people are part of the effort. After the group experience is over, it is a little sad because it is like I just want to always have this sense of connection and shared group experience and fulfillment.
 
The group effort, Aquarius, was beyond just inspiring, Neptune, but also renewed this sense of hope, Aquarius; a reminder of how things can be when the walls of separation are not keeping us from working together. I believe that the South Node of Neptune in Aquarius correlates to these magical moments.

Have any of you had moments like these? Can you relate to this?

Another thought I have on the South Node of Neptune was this phenomena where people talk about "looking for their tribe." Have you heard this? I have thought of this as a deeper more profound fulfillment, Neptune, by "belonging" to a group, Aquarius. A place where you are among "your people" and feel free to truly be who we are. In this sense, while this is beautiful to have this experience, there is a shadow side of this which relates to the South Node of Neptune that is worthy of contemplation. On the one hand, we have these ideals of freedom and on the other hand we can see how the group thinking can become idealized, which is also a South Node of Neptune in Aquarius phenomena. In this case, we can find we are not so free due to fears of the consequences of the group turning against us.

As Jeffrey would often say, "who has the courage to stand as a group of one?" In light of the peer pressure of going against the group thinking, this can be very challenging thing to do. And the results can be ostracization. There are groups which we do not align with the values or beliefs of. These types of group relationships we do not feel we are part of. If there is no Neptunian sense of being one with a group, what is at stake to rock the boat? Perhaps personal safety. But if we have a strong sense of belonging to a group and then find we reach a point where to be true to ourselves we risk loosing this, the the emotional impact can be a more profound loss. I believe it is under these types of circumstances which it becomes especially challenging to feel that we no longer belong.

For those souls who are individuating and grow up in a consensus dominant reality, there is more of the Neptunian sense of being lost as one seeks to find others they can relate to, feel they belong around, and share in their differences. When we reflect on the example of indigenous cultures which embraced the Uranian element within the consensus of the culture, we see that there is less of chance of "slipping through the cracks" of society. I am not exactly sure how we can move towards realignment with natural laws in such a way that consensus both honors and embraces the antithesis. But I do know that, until we do this, we have a wide variety of social disillusionment, being lost and disassociated, and seeking to find those one can connect with. This raises the concept that it is possible to for consensus to include the experience of belonging to the group for the individuating if and when society returns to alignment with natural law.

Thoughts?

Best,
Redwood

Hi Redwood and friends,

I was thinking a lot about what you wrote in relation to people looking for their tribe and about what you said relating to feeling lost in the process of seeking others they can relate too; or the sense of not feeling so free due to fears of the consequences of the group turning against us.  Apologies if I'm a little all over the place here or shifting off topic, but these were just thoughts that flooded in as I read and wanted to share.

I feel many times, although we can be part of a group, or find our "tribe" of like-minded people, we will always encounter and be faced with a clash of personal values or a sense of judgment no matter how much alike we feel we are within that group, because of course we are all individual and different.  Even amongst a group, we will all ultimately be faced with the challenge of learning to be that group of one.  There is only ONE of us, regardless of how many are around us, yet paradoxically at the core, we are all the same, and are ONE. 

I believe a major lesson in this is to learn unconditional LOVE.  I feel that is an ultimate lesson of life as we all collectively progress into our awareness as Source.  What we judge in another is a reflection of what we judge in ourselves. This is why we are faced with those who test our values, our ways of thinking, ways of being, etc... even amongst  our "tribe".  There may be a sense and desire of wanting to belong and be a part of, but the reality is we always belong, and we are always a part of.   The South Node of Neptune in Aquarius in my perspective speaks to the necessary process of experiencing the dissociation feeling amongst groups/tribes that is needed for us to begin clearing the fog and confusion. These experiences are necessary.

As we continue to individuate collectively, we are in a threshold and intermediacy of belonging, and yet not belonging – so a lot of questioning starts to surface our consciousness—and lots of confusion may arise as you mentioned (Neptune).  Who am "I"?

When we realize that we are not actually different or separate from eachother, and we realize that we are one with everyone and everything else, we shift into the KNOWING phase, which is what I believe represents our spirituation(Neptune) process. This is a big part of our universal and collective healing.  Unconditional love being paramount to that healing.   

As a collective, and for our ultimate healing – the practice of unconditional Love(Neptune), allows us to truly shift into that North Node in Leo where we then take complete charge of our sovereignty, exhibit true display of Love – for ourselves, and for others.  For us to truly love others, we must have unconditional love for ourselves first.

Thank you for reading, Looking forward to your thoughts 

Hi Natasha and Everyone,

Natasha - I really appreciate what you have added to the South Node of Neptune in Aquarius conversation. I may circle back and say more, but for now I am going to let this percolate and see what new arises. I do want to say I think you really did capture something so pertinent to this node and our individual collective experiences. And perhaps these lessons are becoming even more potent in the collective as Pluto's Aquarius transit begins to activate Neptune's South Node. I have been collecting key event charts which have these Nodes of Neptune activated which I believe you will find interesting. I look forward to sharing and exploring these in the future.

For today, another change of topic and I am sharing what I just worked on preparing to add to the Venus Uranus nodal conjunction in Gemini conversation.
--------
This week I are turning us back to the North Nodes of Venus and Uranus, which are in conjunction in Gemini. I have watched this Doha Debate, hosted on Al Jazeera, a couple times this week because I found it so intriguing how connected to these planetary nodes the discussion was. Also, the panel has a nice diversity of perspectives and insights into the evolutionary influence of AI.
 
If you get a chance to listen to this, keep in mind how Venus/Uranus/Gemini so much of this discussion about AI is - from this concept of individual homogeny, to finding a new diversity of ideas beyond our personal likes and dislikes, the Curiosity Project - to the resources and money behind AI. There is a lot of talk that goes from the individual to the community/society/nation/tribe. We hear a debate around different values, Venus, of freedom, Uranus, at both the individual level and at a global level. A whole conversation about finding our authentic selves. There is a little talk about flattening accents in different languages to increase communication access. And there are introduced ideas of AI employed for cultures who would like different governance models than western models.

One of the ideas they are exploring is if AI is creating homogeny within the individual and within groups - strengthening groups through repeatedly connecting on shared values and reinforcing individual shared biases. Can confirmation bias be healthy or is this just leading towards extremes, Venus, that are dividing us on our differences? Note Venus and Uranus both correlate to differences - Venus/Libra - diversity and Uranus/Aquarius - uniqueness and individuality. I thought this concept of "individual homogeny" is so interesting and on point for a Venus Uranus phenomenon where we are fed our individual likes over and over. The "for you" page, the recommendations, etc. 

It is pointed out that because there are corporations who are profit driven behind AI, who are Silicon Valley based, who are not transparent with the training data, who back the US maintaining global control of use and access to the technology and to US hegemony, we have this issue of inequality built into something that "we" want to be equally accessible and free. Relative to Venus's North Node in Gemini conjunct Uranus's North Node, we see these paradoxes - freedom of information vs information and tech being commodified and controlled.

Because we are talking about Venus Uranus nodes in conjunction, I think that the real question I would have asked is: "can this actually be controlled?" We are talking about Uranus here. Maybe they don't know that, but we do. It is pointed out that US companies are globally controlling access to chips and control training data for models, which apparently they are not transparent about. Still, Uranus raises the notion that AI models may evolve beyond the weights and training models from within themselves. Personally, I think AI will go beyond the ability for its creators to control it and this will time with Uranus's transit of Gemini.

Does not, at the most basic core meaning, Venus and Uranus's North Nodes in Gemini point towards free trade? Gemini correlates to trade, Venus to money, and Uranus freedom. Right now, free trade isn't a reality because...well, because of greed that isn't controlled. And this has manifested as those who control the greatest wealth maintain the dollar as global currency and use this to maintain financial dominance through financial capitalism. Perhaps AI can solve the problem of finding a way to truly trade freely globally without the strings attached that is the dollar's hegemony.

If you watch and have any thoughts, epiphanies, or questions related to these planetary nodes, please share.

AI Podcast (https://aje.news/2koybt)

Best,
Redwood

Will be back in couple days with some more response and comments on North Node of Neptune in Leo. 🙏

Thanks again Natasha for speaking to the South Node of Neptune and it's calling us towards unconditional love of our individual differences. I know it is easier when there is a shared mindset or group thought process, Aquarius. And, relative to our exploration of the Nodes of Uranus and Venus in conjunction, this invitation to include and allow space socially for different ideas and perspectives is part of the message of these planetary nodes.

This week I wanted to circle back to the Neptune's North Node in Leo. Specifically, I want to return to this concept of aligning with Divine will. As I brought up, there is this point of interest where western individualist cultures emphasize individual will in creating one's destiny. However, what I began to reflect upon is why the "Hero's journey" holds such great meaning within the collective psyche. Yes, on one hand we can say that Neptune's North Node in Leo is part of idealizing heroes. I don't disagree with this. However, in light of this concept of alignment with Divine will, I wanted to point out that it is for this reason why the hero's journey holds such meaning within the collective.

What I see is that the hero's journey, beginning with the call, represents something greater than the individual, Neptune, shaping destiny, Leo. And, in the west, for those who are not spiritually minded, there often exists some nebulous sense of a greater calling or inspiration that leads us on a path that may not be just an ego choice. We can replace "Divine" with "life" to help people connect with this concept that something inspires or invites us on a certain path or meaningful destiny. We get clues, hints in ways that can surprise us. This is the calling. And, relative to the hero's journey archetype, we have this very relatable piece of ignoring the call at first. In the great stories of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter, for example, I find that moment so interesting - the hero doesn't know they are to even be a hero. It is not Leonian self inflated ego that propels the hero onto the path. It is life itself that beckons us to step out onto this new path. Will we heed this call?

I write all this to say that, after further reflection, in the west it seems that the hero's journey best fits how a culture that has a great percentage of people rejecting the concept of aligning ego with Divine will still has this Neptunian aspect relative to individual relationship to destiny and life purpose.

If anyone wants to share any relevant stories or comments, please do.
And, of course, ask any questions if you have any.

Best,
Redwood

Turning this week back to the North Nodes of Uranus and Venus in Gemini, I will be posting a series of insights on these nodes coming up. But first, this week I want to introduce a new frame of reference for this.

In the Evolutionary Astrology which I have embraced, as taught by Jeffrey Wolf Green, we have our specific system of Ages and Sub-Ages, we have the Yuga Cycle from Sri Yukteswar's Holy Science, we have the planetary nodes, and, in my opinion, the Neptune Pluto cycle is the other main lens with which to view our larger collective evolutionary currents.

As Neptune correlates to collective consciousness and Pluto with evolution, this alone emphasizes how significant the Neptune Pluto cycle is in terms of the greater evolutionary forces which are percolating within the collective psyche of humanity. What I have found even more curious is this:

Neptune Pluto Conjunctions in Gemini = 4433 year era

1398/1399 CE - 3-4 Gemini
1891/1892 - 8-9 Gemini (493 years later)
2384/2385 - 13 Gemini (493 years later)
2878 - 16 Gemini (494 years later)
3371 - 20 Gemini (493 years later)
3863/3864 - 22-23 Gemini (493 years later)
4356 - 25 Gemini (493 years later)
4847/4848 - 27-28 Gemini (491 years later)
5339/5340 - 30 Gemini (492 years later)
5831 - first Cancer conjunction

Neptune Pluto Conjunctions
Aries Era: 2561 - 83 BCE = 2478 years
Taurus Era: 82 BCE - 1398 CE = 1480 years
Gemini Era: 1398 - 5831 CE = 4433 years
Cancer Era: 5831- 9775 = 3451 years

Note: approximately  493 years between conjunctions

As you can see, the Neptune Pluto conjunctions form the pattern of repeating in signs as the progress through the zodiac. Thus, we have this greater cycle of collective evolutionary themes. I do not understand why the Gemini conjunctions last 3x that of the Taurus period, but they do. And, as I think I mentioned, we see that both the Neptune Pluto conjunctions start this 4433 year period in Gemini in the same century which we had Uranus and Venus's North Nodes come into conjunction, the 14th century.

From just the Western culture point of view, the 1300's start off with a huge increase in translation of older manuscripts and the start of medieval universities. Following this, we went into the Renaissance, followed by the Scientific Revolution, followed by Age of Discovery, followed by the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution; all this leading into this modern era. Note, the second conjunction of Neptune & Pluto in Gemini in 1892/1893 - this generation brought us all the advancements in technology which led us into this modern age and the "Age of Information."

I tend to think that all of this adds up to basically being in an "Age of Gemini." From our Evolutionary Astrology Ages and Sub-Ages, we are in the Virgo Sub-Age of the Pisces Age, transitioning into the Age of Aquarius. Isn't it interesting that the entire Age of Aquarius we have Neptune Pluto conjunctions in Gemini!

Have you heard of the "Rule of Three" in astrology? Basically, there is this concept that if you see something twice in a chart that is significant, but if you notice a triple repeat theme you can guarantee this is very prominent. So, when we step back and consider that just having two planetary nodes in Gemini alone would be noteworthy, we actually have 3 with Ceres and they all form a greater conjunction. Then we see this Neptune Pluto cycle which is so clearly activating the Gemini archetype within the collective consciousness. Thus, it is a very strong repeating theme. I believe this answers some of the questions of why and how these archetypal themes have and still do dramatically shape our collective evolutionary story.

At some point further in the future I do want to get more into individual charts. However I hope you are starting to see why I have begun at this level. We are living within this reality, we are in this moment of time which is woven together by all these larger evolutionary colors to the picture. The smart phone perfectly exemplifies this conjunction of Uranus and Venus's North Nodes in Gemini, ...and it comes on top of this arc of the rise of science, technology, industrialization, and globalization - all this links to this nodal conjunction, especially because it is timed with these Neptune Pluto conjunctions.

Next week, I will be getting more into trade, as it relates to the North Nodes of Venus and Uranus in Gemini.

Again, any questions, comments, or ahas, please feel free to share.
Best,
Redwood

This week we are delving further into correlations to the conjunction of Uranus and Venus's North Nodes in Gemini. Again, while exact in the 1330's, this nodal conjunction spans from the 3rd century to modern times! Not only does Uranus and Venus's North Node conjunction in Gemini correlates with the advancement of technologies that accelerated trade, but also to humanity's extremes, Venus, of social change, Venus Uranus, fueled in part by the acceleration of unequal trade, Venus Uranus Gemini, which led into extreme resource imbalances, imbalances which become possible due to technological advantages and advancements at different rates across the globe. Essentially, it was through resource extraction from the Global South which allowed the Global North to then industrialize first and then maintain this imbalance of wealth through more complex means of control.

I like to think as Evolutionary Astrologers we can agree that the North Nodes of Uranus and Venus are a call for humanity to make efforts toward creating equal exchanges and fair trading, locally and globally. In the modern world, I believe these planetary nodes are telling us to move from a unipolar global economy to a multilateral global economy. I see that moving from unipolar to multilateral is not complete decentralization, but will utilize models of local governance informing greater networks or organization. That is to say, grassroots based. From the ground up, not top down. In this model, hubs of governance are informed by the local branches. This allows the local ideas to foster indigenous solutions and inform the greater governing policy. This model archetypally represents the Uranus Venus nodal conjunction in Gemini. There are examples of this in various forms in nations and states today. I believe it offers us a structural model of a solution to modern crises of governance. More on this later.

Let's explore more of how the resource imbalance accelerated over the recent centuries. Again, Venus/Taurus is resources and money, Uranus is the technology and the acceleration and change, Gemini here is the trade.

As was explored earlier in this thread via the Lynn White article, the causal factors of dominance over nature is rooted in people's beliefs - distortions of natural laws - linked to Uranus and Venus's South Nodes in Sag, ruled by Jupiter's South Node in Cap. This article pointed out how we can see that beliefs of being separate from nature or having a elevated status above nature, as if it is simply ours to use, have roots in Christianity's beliefs about human's entitlement to dominate their environment.

The roots of colonialism and the global imbalance of trade, which led to increasing extremes of resource extraction from the global south, has been fueled by both the potential conditions for this possibility to evolve coupled with the beliefs of superiority and entitlement.

It is clear that the initial acceleration of unequal exchange was made possible through advances in travel, technologies, and transport. It wasn't until the 1980's and 1990's that the evolution of technology allowed 24-7 global monetary exchanges and the rise of financial capitalism, which lead us into even grosser forms of resource inequality. I believe that this evolved because it became possible to evolve based on all the existing conditions at that time. In this sense, is natural and inevitable evolutionary phenomena we have to face, though not in harmony with natural law. All of these collective experiences are reflecting back to us the importance of fairness, equality, cooperation, and peace. We could even say our path of liberation, Uranus, is through Venus!

The evolution of firearms also correlates with the conjunction of Uranus and Venus's North Nodes in Gemini. Literally, a sudden explosion in a hand held device that sends projectiles flying - very literal and fitting for this symbolism - don't you think? In China, prior to this nodal conjunction in the 1300's, we already had things like hand cannons that had been invented, as well as other devices that employed gun powder. The rapid evolution of a lighter more compact hand gun was connected to the Portuguese and their trading with the Middle East in the 1500's because they desired a smaller firearm than the musket for navel travels.

The increasing technological edge of firearms and maritime transport lead to an advantage that made possible the plundering of indigenous peoples in other lands, the acceleration of the slave trade, and global colonialism. As Uranus correlates to technology, maritime technological advancements connect to both Uranus's South Node in Sagittarius and its North Node in Gemini.

While long distance trading was evolving for centuries, the real dramatic increase of global trade accelerating traces back to this nodal axes conjunction of Uranus and Venus nodes in Sag/Gemini. Prior to the 1300's, we have extensive land trade routes connecting Europe with the Middle East and China. Especially after this conjunction of the nodal axis of Uranus and Venus in Sag/Gemini, global trade routes and immigration increased dramatically every century.

It is worth noting that another reason why the Portuguese and Spaniards had a technological advantage are the conditions of their environment. This includes resources available, location, exposure to information and ideas and contemporary inventions, previous changes to the landscape of humanity, and population density.  These are all elements which explain why these cultures got a lead on technologies that rapidly tipped the scales of equality. If you have a massive mountain or a vast desert between you and someone else, these natural geographical barriers slow the rate of new ideas, information, and trade. The western parts of Europe were receiving eastern ideas and inventions via the great trade routes, commonly referred to as "the Silk Road" in the west. It was during the time of Uranus and Venus's nodal conjunction applying in which the Mongols controlled most of this route, which was followed by the Black Death moving west through these routes. The massive social changes the Black Death brought to Europe also occurred under this nodal conjunction of Venus and Uranus. Both of these elements of massive social change, the Mongols and the plague, set up the conditions in which the Portuguese and Spanish had opportunity coupled with the material and technological advantages. It is a bit of being in the "right" place at a time for the potential for this desire to arise.

Of course, all of this is rooted in greed and ignorance, the desire to take from other peoples for one's own advantage. It was the Kali Yuga, what can we say? And so, the accelerated expansion of global colonialism starts from these technological advantages coupled with this desire in the 15th century  by the Spanish and Portuguese. To put all this in a reduced simplified way, this led into the greater period of unequal and unfair exchanges between the global north and global south, from the 15th century to the present.

Venus does teach us through extremes. One "positive" of these extremes of unequal exchanges is that we can now see that the greed of the wealthy knows no end. It doesn't make sense to create suffering for the majority of peoples to perpetuate the wealth and luxury of a few people. Recently, I listened to a podcast which was titled "Unequal Exchange: How the Underdevelopment of the South Overdeveloped the North" w/Torkil Lauesen, released by the Journal of International Solidarity Pod. If you want to learn more about this evolution of inequality in trade, I encourage you to give it a listen.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/40JxS9bwovLoZitqOHLhT8?si=oHq5MtGWTvyBFo3v3EV-3w

In light of these north nodes representing the ideals of free trade and fair trade, how can our local and global economies have this as the defining ethics and values of trade? The shadow of the trickster in trade has a long history, which is further made clear when we bring in the nodal axis of Mercury.

I will leave you with that for this week. I will be continuing to explore the global architecture of economy and trade, as it relates to the planetary nodes in future weeks. Next week, I will be introducing the nodal conjunctions of Mercury and Mars in Scorpio/Taurus.

As always, I invite anyone to share your own connections, insights, stories, or questions which are relevant to this exploration of the planetary nodes.

Best,
Redwood

Hi,

Well, I thought I would be able to get to post this week, but the Northwest Astrological Conference filled up all my time. So I will post back Friday or Saturday.

I did have the pleasure of meeting Rav in person, which was really great. And spending time with Steve, which I am always grateful for. Among many other wonderful human beings.

Rav and I expressed our mutual desire to someday have an in-person Evolutionary Astrology conference again. Perhaps we can start brainstorming for 2027.

Best,
Redwood

This week I am introducing the nodal axes of Mercury and Mars, primarily with an initial exploration of their South Node conjunction in Scorpio. In light of how much Gemini is emphasized in our collective evolution, via the Neptune Pluto conjunctions and the Uranus Venus nodal conjunction, plus Ceres, I want to stress that Mercury's nodes are especially important, as Mercury rules Gemini.

It is noteworthy that currently Mercury and Mars's nodes are in the closest of conjunctions of any of the planetary nodes. We have the North Nodes at 19 and 20 Taurus and their South Nodes at 19 and 20 Scorpio.

It is also worth noting that this Scorpio nodal conjunction forms a sextile with Pluto's South Node in Capricorn. I am not sure if you noticed, but I have been mentioning rulers of planetary nodes and referencing this planet's nodes. For example, last week I pulled in the South Node of Jupiter in Capricorn as giving us more insight into the South Nodes of Uranus and Venus in Sagittarius. How does this work?

Remember how Uranus correlates with trauma and therefor the South Node of Uranus in Sag correlates with religious trauma? From here going to the South Node of Jupiter in Capricorn informs us that a key factor in this religious trauma is religious conditioning and religious judgments. This is societal indoctrination linked with religious trauma. And so, when we turn to this South Node conjunction of Mercury and Mars in Scorpio, we will weave in the ruler, Pluto's South Node in Cap, to provide more context.
 
Scorpio, someone once pointed out to me, correlates to cooperatives. At first, I didn't understand this, however if we consider that cooperatives leverage power and resources to achieve what one can't alone, this makes perfect sense. I want to start us off with a positive manifestation of the South Nodes of Mercury and Mars in Scorpio. One of the keys for the success of cooperatives is that they represent a shared goal and purpose. In the USA, the National Cooperative of Grocers has a slogan: "Stronger together." Clearly, this is very Scorpionic. Shared goals and shared resources, shared buying power. Merging together to form a new entity, greater than the individual.

Cooperatives need to be organized and managed well, as any endeavor really. If we go to the ruler of Scorpio in Evolutionary Astrology, Pluto, and look at its South Node in Capricorn, it emphasizes this principle - the need to organize to empower the cooperative - which seems very apparent and basic, but essential. When we have models of organization like cooperatives that have built in equanimity and inclusion, organization becomes even more important for its success. I was listening to a podcast today and the speaker was talking about how cooperatives need to have both vertical and horizontal power structures to work. Someone has to, on the day to day level, be empowered to make some decisions. You can't be asking everyone every time for every decision. Today there are many living models of cooperative that have variations of how the vertical and horizontal powers within cooperatives can work together. Remember, that while Pluto Cap correlates to hierarchy within power structures, the systems of ranking and organization do not inherently imply oppression, a shadow manifestation of the the South Node of Pluto, and Saturn, in Capricorn.

Also, relative to the ruling planet Pluto having its South Node in Capricorn conjunct with the South Node of Saturn in Capricorn, for cooperatives to be successful there is a need for agreements, accountability, and anti-corruption mechanisms. These healthy aspects of the Capricorn South Nodes, as I have previously mentioned, are just as important in cooperatives as they are for a society to achieve the positive manifestation of the Cancer North Nodes - real social security through livable wages, homes, food, and health care, and education for its people. For, as we know, it is corruption of public office and lack of regulations of the economy that lead to imbalanced consolidations of wealth. If the political will of a society can not control its capital, it will lack the means to the ends, in this case the Cancer North Nodes becoming a reality.

Now that we started with a little of the inspiration and potential of cooperatives, let's explore the darker sides of this conjunction of the South Nodes of Mercury and Mars in Scorpio. For starters, let's build context.

I want to remind you of the historical arc of unequal trade, which was just introduced in context to the North Nodes of Venus and Uranus in Gemini. Also, let's keep in mind the shadow manifestations of the South Nodes of Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn in Capricorn, which correlate to, as Noam Chomsky puts it, one nation playing the role of "the Godfather" and doing everything it can to maintain dominance and control on the global stage. These shadows correlate to the corruption within societal structures of governance. Until the political will of the people is collectively resourced to purge corruption and reclaim the people's shared resources, the oligarch's death grip on wealth, power, and resources remains strong and plays out in new horrific ways. Overcoming this is the reclaiming of the South Nodes of Pluto and Saturn in Capricorn to achieve the North Nodes in Cancer.

Relative to this shadow of the South Nodes in Capricorn, the South Nodes of Mercury and Mars in conjunction in Scorpio correlate to the devious, underhanded, corrupt, manipulative means employed to continue to extract wealth and resources in any way possible.

Today, on the global scale, the South Nodes of Mercury and Mars in Scorpio correlate to the debt crisis. Trapping the global south in perpetual debt intentionally to stop the potential of progress, industrialization, and the opportunity to become self sufficient and self reliant. IF there were a positive response to the message of the Nodes of Mercury and Mars in conjunction, we would be working to find ways to help people, as individuals, and as groups - communities, states, and nations, to become self reliant, Taurus North Nodes. This Taurus polarity here would be to encourage nations to become sovereign. Now, we can also apply this concept to individuals - will we prey on someone energetically or do we support their individual sovereignty?

Supporting nations to become self sufficient is not to say isolationism, to cut off from the rest of the world, which is a shadow of the North Nodes in Taurus. It is not to say think only for oneself and one's own needs. It is to say think locally, act globally. Or perhaps shall we say act, Mars, locally, Taurus, and think, Gemini, globally, Uranus.

Contrary to this, the shadow of the South Nodes of Mercury and Mars in Scorpio is this desire to constantly benefit off of others, fueled by this desire to gain more power.  It represents the desire of those who have money to make more money off the money they have by leveraging the power of their money through lending and creating indebtedness. A system that has been normalized by naming it "financial capitalism" and teaching people how to be successful in this system.

On the flip side, a positive way this could work would be to leverage external resources, Scorpio, to support the path of sovereignty, Taurus. Just to be clear, when I say sovereignty, I mean the definition of allowing an individual or nation to act independently without outside interference. Meddling in other peoples or nations business is the shadow of this Mercury Mars South Node conjunction in Scorpio.

Those who hold the majority of wealth have not shown us they want all people and nations to be free. It appears they just want to keep making money off their money. This compulsion, this disease, to be compulsively thinking, Mercury, of one's desire, Mars, to gain from others loss, Scorpio, is this shadow. And, the extremely concerning thing is that this is being taught as normal. It is being taught that "this is just how the world works," encouraging people indoctrinated with capitalism that this is a normal privilege - to benefit at the suffering of others. That it has always been this way.

Again, from this South Node conjunction of Mercury and Mars in Scorpio, we go to the South Node of Pluto conjunct the South Node of Saturn in Capricorn - the normalization... of abuse, of killing, of stealing, of keeping people in suffering. Slavery was rationalized and people did their best to normalize and justify it, however in so many people's hearts they knew it was wrong. But the more insidious, the more hidden, the easier to normalize. For out of sight, out of mind. Keep it hidden, Scorpio. Not in my backyard mentality. But who, really, wants to have cancer causing chemicals being released in their back yard?!?

On a more personal level, how many of you have seen this situation. A family member is dying or just died. Suddenly, one person in the family starts to do things in secret to gain an advantage in regards to inheritance. Sadly, this is actually very common in the states. I don't know about other cultures. This is another example of this coming through in a shadow form. Embezzlement, tax loop holes, all the things that people do to come out "on top" in selfish ways reveals how deep this mental compulsion can go. Which is why, to me, these collective nodal axes are simultaneously painting a portrait of the greater collective evolutionary dramas and dynamics we face and psychological dynamics we witness or live on the day to day. Granted, when people have these Scorpio planetary nodes natally activated, they will show more of these traits, for better or worse. But we all witness this archetypal theme, we have all seen it, we have experienced it directly or are impacted by it indirectly, one way or another. In this sense, no one escapes these patterns.

The expression "curiosity killed the cat" also reflects these Scorpio South Nodes - this human compulsive curiosity. No stone left unturned. Well, maybe it would be good to not turn over every stone. Must we? Scorpio is known to push the taboos, it will cross the line. Don't go there, don't find that out, okay, then that is what we will do. This conjunction reflects these inclinations. Do we love the rebel who has the courage to cross the line?

For those who love murder mysteries, this conjunction also correlates to this. In the realm of journalism, this conjunction correlates to the intensity of journalists. Have you noticed how many times you have heard of journalists entering into life and death situations? Have you seen a story of a journalist getting killed? People are taking extreme risks to "get the dirt" or just try to report on what some people would rather doesn't make the news. Uncover the cover up!
This also correlates to end game mentality. And to keeping secrets. And the desire to know secrets. In human psychology, this is the desire to plumb the depths of the psyche, face our inner fears, understand our own psychology. It is literally the desire, Mars, for psychological, Scorpio, information, Mercury.

Another correlation of this is mind games, mental abuse, and keeping someone "on the hook," energetically keeping a connection. This is also what some call energy vampires.

And, of course we have info, Mercury, wars, Mars. Later I will get into this further with the planetary nodes and the question of "who controls the narrative?" Exploring both info wars and the Battle of Ideas. 

The "I'll sue you" culture has connections to this South Node conjunction as well. Why the obsession with revenge? And, when you think about it, there are many things we see in this world where you may wonder "why can't they just let that go?" South Node of Mercury and Mars conjunction in Scorpio isn't known for letting go.

One of the worst manifestations of this conjunction is sexual abuse and extremely humiliating grotesque forms of torture. In the evolution of warfare, this conjunction correlates to the Cold War, which was not cold at all, to proxy wars, to hybrid wars, and to use messaging in warfare. Instead of the pen being mightier than the sword, this, in its shadow, is first the pen, then the sword. Or, divide with ideas, then finish with violence.

If there was one signature in the planetary nodes the represented this underlying issue of humanity's darker side, desire for power, unquenchable greed, holding on and seeking revenge, torture, and abuses, pushing us towards the living out horrors, it is this conjunction, in my opinion. Globally, this is about war crimes and all the terrible things that come with that. We could be all stronger together, but we are still preying off of one another. Why? Is it that we inevitably see the worst potential of this South Node conjunction because of where we are in the Yuga cycle? Meaning, is it that we are at a point of human ignorance, so we are inevitably acting in delusion of the true consequences and ultimate impact and karma of our actions?

And, if this is true, is this a comfort at all? Maybe in that we can hold onto hope that there is a turning of the tide, albeit very slowly. Perhaps one of the lessons is to still make the effort, Taurus. If we say something is not possible, we have already given up? If this South Node conjunction in Scorpio is all these horrors at its worst, at its best would it not be the opposite? Would this not be then "right action." Would this be righteousness? The quality of being morally right? Scorpio understands karmic consequences and it becomes a choice to act with morality. Concepts of morality have been twisted by religion, however the basic premise of knowing what is right or wrong and choosing to take the higher path is the positive of this conjunction.

Finally, I want to point out that people will always fight back in the face of injustice. This South Node conjunction also correlates to this. We don't want war and violence, but when peoples are attacked over and over, at some point, they risk all they have to fight back. For some, facing an enemy who plans to destroy you, a fight to the death is the path of righteousness, it is to die with dignity and honor by being in right relationship with oneself.

Please ask if you have any questions or share reflections or add to this.

Best,
Redwood

As the Sun was in-between the North Nodes of Uranus and Venus in Gemini, Friday, June 5th, I saw an article saying that Anthropic called to put AI development on pause because it was about to evolve faster than humans could control it! Interesting timing. And it was earlier this week, on June 1st, I saw an article where Nvidia announced their new chip that will bring the AI experience directly to PCs like never before, to hit the markets this fall.

I have been seeing many charts which have this mid Gemini area highlighted. Here are three charts with the 16th degree of Gemini activated that also connect to the ongoing evolutionary themes of these Uranus/Venus/Gemini:
Uranus was transiting 16th degree of Gemini on October 25, 1861 at the time of the first transcontinental telegraph. The quickening of sharing information.
Saturn was at the 16th degree of Gemini when the first cell phone call was made, April 3rd, 1973. Also another acceleration of communications. It is clearly Uranian and Gemini, and I want to point out this is extremely Venusian. How many people have you seen make a call and talk to nobody - always another person involved.
Tinder launched on September 12, 2012, with Jupiter at the 16th degree of Gemini. Jupiter expands what it touches, in this case I drew the correlation to this theme of objectification, Uranus, of beauty, Venus, as the Tinder app brought us the swipe feature. Now it is normal to look through images of people like a catalog of yes's and no's - does this expand the culture of objectifying people?

With Uranus in Gemini, this year's Sun activation of these North Nodes is more significant. Basically, AI developers are seeing that AI is almost at the point of designing and developing its own successor; what is called self building AI. Also this week, in a different warning, the University of Toronto showed how AI can create a new adaptive worm for hacking, which would be able to adapt to different devices as it moves through a larger computer network.

Going back to Venus and its natural evolution through extremes, here we are on the acceleration of all of this and questioning if it is even possible to not have this go to extremes. I think some would suggest that it already has gone to extremes. The relationship, Venus, to technology, Uranus. Personally, I do think we have yet to find a balance with our relationship to technology. Not a new concept, of course, but very interesting that the planetary nodes make such a point of it. Obviously, these north nodes recommend that we find a harmonious balance in our relations to the technology that has increased information, communication, and the pace of life.

You know, as the North Nodes of Uranus and Venus in Gemini correlate to the spread of ideas and information, we see over the centuries and decades how much faster information is passed. If you think about modern news channels, the idea of a news bulletin is suggestive of one quick piece of information. Very Uranian. That progressed into the "news flash" and "breaking news" - how Uranus in Gemini can we get? I point this out because I really want you to think about the planetary nodes as much more than these connections to random collective events. The further we go into understanding these connections, it becomes harder and harder to not see these archetypal themes running through all of reality.

Naturally, Uranus in Gemini will give us an information overload!!! There is this interesting idea that humans "weren't meant to process this much information." I have noticed for myself and others, as we reach a natural limit of how much information we can take in, we have this natural implosion and withdrawal. JWG writes about this in Pluto II in the Venus in Gemini section. Seems we are all getting a taste of this.

At its worst, Uranus will overload the nervous system, fry our circuits. How many days do we reach the point we can't read one more word, take in any more news? Eyes weary from looking at screens too long? Uranus is chaotic at times. It seems this greater evolutionary theme of the restless mind correlates with ADHD. We will come back and explore this topic more at some point, as I do think it is quite fascinating to look at ADHD through the lens of the North Nodes of Uranus and Venus in a conjunction.

I see this nodal conjunction connected to this greater phenomenon of evolving through a global shared news network. Most of the world is online and knows a lot more of what is happening in the greater world than we did in the 20th century. In the past of humanity, we did not get daily updates on every atrocity across the globe, as the news "breaks." That is simply a lot to process. Sharing of information has massively accelerated. From the point of view of the planetary nodes, I would suggest that the evolutionary reason we are in this current matrix of reality is to evolve greater objectivity, Uranus, in our relationship, Venus, with the complexity of life.

When we get into Uranus as an archetype, it is important to differentiate between objectivity in a healthy way and sheer detachment in a disassociated way. Because, clearly, one survival mechanism, Venus,  of handing all this information about the world, is mental disassociation, Uranus Gemini. In moments this may be absolutely necessary.

Venus correlates to balance and harmony. Its North Node in Gemini would be about cultivating harmony and balance in the mind, in the midst of sudden thoughts and bits of news flying at us. Say you are in need of a task - could be washing dishes or chopping wood. Whatever. In these two examples, the moment your mind is distracted, the moment you loose mental equilibrium and focus, you run the risk of breaking a dish or missing that sweet spot you wanted to hit on the wood and the wood goes flying off the chopping block. Right? There is this sorta "use the force" stay in the groove capacity we have, but when the pull of our mind's attraction or aversion takes over, we loose our center. If we can have this objectivity within our own consciousness, we are more likely to master the art of being both the actor and the observer. There are many spiritual traditions with emphasis on developing this capacity. I see that Buddhism especially represents the spiritual liberation of the mind, the capacity to develop this objectivity and maintain our inner equilibrium through meditation and mindfulness practices. In the modern world, just meditation alone has become valued, Venus, as a survival tool, Venus, to return to peace, Venus, in the mind, Gemini. Is it growing in value because of the increased need to do something to manage the mind?

Now, there is nothing wrong with loosing our center. It happens all the time. Is not life a series of returning back to a place of balance after we have gotten out of balance? But to be effective in our tasks, often we need to slow down before we can speed up. In this pause, which we can connect to the North Nodes of Mercury and Mars in Taurus, we tune in for a moment, then act. Without this inner pause, Uranus is likely to bring distraction and we may find our mind out of harmony with the flow of life in the now.

On the Taurus nodes side of this, we are pausing because we need to "check ourselves." Tune in and see what we need. Are we ready? Do we need a break? Are we too tired to continue right now? Where is our body at? Not just the mind. It is that moment of steadying, Taurus, the mind, Mercury. Internalizing, Taurus, our energy, Mars, and mental focus, Mercury, for that moment, gives us a rooted place to act from. Next week we will dive deeper into the North Nodes of Mercury and Mars in Taurus. I really thought I was going into them this week, but apparently the Sun's activation of the North Nodes of Venus and Uranus pulled me back to this ongoing exploration.

As always, I welcome questions, connections, and reflections.
Best,
Redwood