Squares to the Nodes of the Moon
By Tom Jacobs
Squares to the nodes are planets and angles that are 90 degrees or so in the chart from the nodes of the Moon. In the evolutionary astrology view, these bodies and points represent unresolved issues from past lives, which manifest in this life in the form of numerous opportunities for alternate choices so we can learn to resolve those issues. We draw to ourselves people and situations fitting the symbolism of the body or angle by house and sign that’s squaring the nodes, and a colleague of mine recently noted that she sees people often making their work out of these symbols, as there’s a focus on revisiting the energies in question and those people can often focus so much that they make their career from it.
A good word for what’s squaring the nodes is vexation. There’s something about the symbols we just don’t get. It can be perplexing and frustrating to run through the same kinds of experiences, or encounter the same sorts of person vexing us and not know how to behave differently.
But that’s just it: We need to learn from experience something new about that energy. The good thing, or the bad thing, depending on how much of an optimist you are and how much energy you have, is that you’ll draw the experiences and people offering the opportunity for seeing what you need to see until you get it. If you have squares to the nodes, think about all the times you’ve run up against people and experiences fitting the symbolism of your squares (Mars is assertiveness & aggression, Jupiter is optimism, risk and belief, etc.), and how often you decided to make a different choice. And if you made a different choice than you’d always made before, did something major shift?
In the karmic past (and re-created in our present lives in order to give ourselves another chance to figure it out), a square to the nodes is something that we had experienced on some level, but not in a way that got us where we wanted to go, or not in a way that, sometimes, allowed for our survival. The square is the aspect of friction, and between the two bodies in question, something’s got to give. Typically, when we’re caught off guard by something coming at us from the side, it’s us that gives.
People with squares to the nodes might be coming from a past in which they avoided life arenas and experience based on the symbolism. Often this comes with a life that’s for any number of reasons overly focused on certain parts of life, and avoiding other facets. As evolutionary astrology views existence as a series of growth opportunities, the prevalence of the frustrating opportunities is seen as healthy, important and necessary.
Consciousness is the key to moving forward with these placements; avoiding knee-jerk reactions to what vexes us is key. The moment of vexation, of frustration and resulting anger due to a feeling of powerlessness, is precisely the moment when those with these configurations need to keep an open mind and be aware of their various options.
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June 18, 2007 By Tom Jacobs