School of Evolutionary Astrology

Planetary Nodes Thread

Started by Redwood, Feb 21, 2026, 10:09 AM

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Redwood

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

Natasha

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

Ckohn

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.

Chrystal02

I would like to be added to the thread please.

Anna

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


Joe

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

Joe

Redwood

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




Redwood

and the other image...

Michelle B

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

JaymeJohnson

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.

kathia

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

Natasha

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.

Anna

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.   

jordynsmith

#13
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).

kathia

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!