Eclipses, Lunar Nodes & The Multiplicitous Beast Of Interpretation
Astrologers Diana Rose Harper, Nyssa Grazda, Vivian Hecimovich and Drew Levanti share their wisdom on the lunar nodes.
Having lost their immortality, the gods are tasked with churning the milky ocean. There they’ll find the answer to their problems, the elixir of life.
In order to do so, however, they must enlist the help of the demons, who we might refer to as dragons. And so they do. They convince the dragons to help and then gather a holy mountain and the King of Snakes to use as a lever. Mountain and Snake King = lever. Use your imagination.
So, gods and demons, they’re churning this milky ocean “until soma floats up as butter floats up from milk,” to quote Roberto Calasso. The ills of the world rise up — and away, until they’re left with pure vitality. Mission accomplished.
And then everything’s gravy, yeah? But no. The gods don’t want to share their immortal status with the demons, so along comes the god Vishnu, in the form of an enchantress — I love this word, enchantress! — named Mohini who distracts the demons, so they won’t notice that the cups of Amrita are only being divvied out to the gods.
Except one demon, who we’ll call Dragon, does notice. He’s standing beside the Sun, who lifts his lips to take a sip from the cup — and BOOM! Dragon snatches it away and gulps it down. Sun screams out and the demon gobbles him up too. Repeat with the Moon.
At this point, Mohini saunters over and severs Dragon in half, but it’s too late. You can’t take back immortality. Now a severed dragon roams the sky, forever chasing Sun and Moon. A few times a year he catches up with them, devouring one and then the other, in a cycle of eclipses.
This is the story of the lunar nodes. The North Node is Rahu, the dragon’s head, the source of insatiable hunger. The South Node is Ketu, the dragon’s tail, the place of release. A sort of Prometheus, Dragon is yoked to an eternity of devouring the luminaries and releasing them.
In Indian astrology, or Vedic astrology, the planets are called Grabbers, grabbing us from whatever lives we think we’re living. The lunar nodes, the head and tail of the dragon, the places where the paths of the Sun and Moon cross, are called Shadow Grabbers — elusive, intangible. These are the places where the lights go out.
This, my crude retelling of the story of the milky ocean, is one way of understanding the lunar nodes. In astrological practice, there are many ways of understanding and working with these points.
It is to this end that I’ve asked four of my favorite astrologers — Diana Rose Harper, Nyssa Grazda, Vivian Hecimovich and Drew Levanti – to share their wisdom around the lunar nodes. Enjoy!
DIANA ROSE HARPER
Vivi Henriette: For those unfamiliar with your work, tell us something about your astrological practice.
Diana Rose Harper: My aim with my practice is to help humans better occupy our spiritual + ecological niches; astrology helps by rendering legible who we are (and have the potential to become). When coupled with a relational, animist perspective and a love-centered ethos, re-enchantment and re-integration into the wider field of being is nourished. This aim permeates all my work, from 1:1 client sessions to what I share on social media & Patreon to the conference lectures I've given and the workshops I've created.
Vh: How do you describe the lunar nodes?
DRH: Literally speaking, they're where Sun, Moon, & Earth come into alignment. Poetically, it's where immortal spirit-fire (Sun), that which generates mortal matter (the Moon), and the plane where spirit and matter come together into incarnation (Earth) all line up along an intense, wormhole slip-n-slide of creation & destruction. The nodes themselves remain dangerously electrified gates even when they're closed; during eclipse season, these gates are opened, creating a context of weird time and whirlwind change. Ultimately, the nodes are chaotic neutral, and the chaos they bring is nearly always some level of uncomfortable. The North Node/Rahu makes things louder and hungrier; the South Node/Ketu functions as a cosmic KonMari, purging things whether or not you're ready to part with them.
Vh: How do you work with them in your practice?
DRH: By transit, the nodes point out where big churnings are happening in someone's life, so they're very useful when looking at the overall quality of a given year. Natally, the nodes point us to where our appetites might be loud with the potential to become excessive (North Node) and where we either easily lose things, easily purify things, or easily take things for granted (South Node); paying attention to these tendencies can support finding balance. Planets conjoined the nodes have their volumes turned up or down accordingly, and planets in aspect to the nodes have their expressions altered by touching the incarnational livewire (how that expresses varies enormously).
Vh: Eclipse season is upon us! What does this mean?
DRH: The heart of eclipse season begins with the first eclipsed lunation and ends with the last eclipsed lunation — usually that's just two, but sometimes there are three eclipses in a season. I extend eclipse season to include the last non-eclipsed lunation before the eclipses begin, and also the first non-eclipsed lunation after the final eclipse of a given season. Eclipse season is a twice-yearly dance with the dragons of creation & destruction. Time often seems to move both faster and slower simultaneously, and depending on how personally relevant a given set of eclipses are, it's not uncommon for big life shifts to happen or begin during eclipse season.
Vh: Do you have an eclipse protocol to share?
DRH: If an eclipse is visible in my location, I avoid being outside when it's happening. I'll take a simple cleansing bath, usually with sea salt and sometimes with gently purifying herbs that are not lunar or solar in nature or associated with any planets tied into that eclipse. I'll do my regular daily rituals but may add extra time in meditation or prayer. I try to avoid scheduling things to do on eclipses if I can help it, since there's often variations in energy & capacity on eclipse days for me. Mostly, I try to keep things low-key!
Vh: Off the cuff — quick thoughts on the nodes moving into Virgo/Pisces?
DRH: Mutable signs are the most comfortable with change, so eclipses in mutable signs can often feel more tolerable than eclipses in, say, fixed signs (which are generally pretty resistant to change!). I'm a little concerned about how the North Node hanging out with Saturn & Neptune in Pisces might ramp up hard-ass delulu in areas where we need compassionate realism, as well as ongoing concerns about the health of bodies of water both literally and metaphorically. I'm also curious to see if there's increased hunger for & commitment to Belief (Pisces) over dry rationalism (Virgo).
Vh: Where’s the best way to keep up with your work?
DRH: Follow me on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/ddamascenaa/] & Threads [https://www.threads.net/@ddamascenaa]
Join my newsletter [https://damask-rose.myflodesk.com/is616fnjgw]
Become a Patreon patron [https://www.patreon.com/ddamascenaa]
Check out a lecture or workshop recording [https://ddamascenaa.podia.com/
NYSSA GRAZDA
Vivi Henriette: For those unfamiliar with your work, tell us something about your astrological practice.
Nyssa Grazda: I'm an Evolutionary Astrologer, writer, and consultant. Self-actualization is the intent of my work. The world is deeply flawed but deeply magical - I want to help you to reframe persistent hangups, shed limiting beliefs and become more present, so you can start sucking the marrow out of existence.
Vh: How do you describe the lunar nodes?
NG: In Evolutionary Astrology, the South Node is viewed as a place of cultivated gifts, but equally a place of unconscious behaviors and patterns held over from past life experiences. Familiar and comforting as this terrain might be, we risk stagnating within our comfort zone, which ironically becomes less and less comfortable to navigate as time passes. Trying to replicate past life conditions won't get us desired results, because our current life is designed to deliver greater options. By consciously leaning into the characteristics of our North Node, we can extricate ourselves from this conditioning and gain more agency over our current life affairs.
Vh: How do you work with them in your practice?
NG: In consultations, I outline the client's past life experiences through storytelling. Pulling them out of the immediacy of their present lived experiences provides space for self-reflection and dialogue. Once problematic patterns have been identified, we dive into the North Node as a course-correction. Because Evolutionary Astrology is non-fatalistic, I also use this framework while writing transit breakdowns or horoscopes, but without the technical jargon included. My aim is to get people thinking differently about what is or is not "possible,” and subsequently how they can become happier and more engaged in their everyday experiences. Often, this can only happen through risk-taking and confronting that which scares them most. Reclaiming power from the past life specter which they have unconsciously ceded authority to creates new avenues for autonomy.
Vh: Eclipse season is upon us! What does this mean?
NG: A "time out of time" - rife with blasts from the past. It's a time for reflection and shifting patterns through making different choices, but not, in my opinion, for taking action or for manifestation rituals. Chances are, the universe will confront you with Something during an eclipse. That Something, whether it appears as a tense interpersonal encounter, a chaotic incident, or a felt experience like exhaustion or anxiety, will seem very on the nose — relevant to a story you are moving through on a monthly (6 month) or yearly (9 or 18.5 year) cycle. Your job is to respond to that thing differently, or to acknowledge and internalize the medicine that the eclipse is trying to present. It is not a good time to try to make change happen — change will find you on its own.
Vh: Do you have an eclipse protocol to share?
NG: Eclipses are collective experiences. A nodal shift or a solar or lunar eclipse may affect you in specific ways depending upon the planets or angles being aspected in your natal chart, but everyone is going through it in some capacity at this time. If you feel anxious or depleted, multiply that by a few billion people. Adopting this perspective can help you to give someone grace when they cut you off in traffic. Try not to take others' behavior personally. When the dust settles, apologies generally get made. Also, a good rule of thumb is to honor your body's rhythms. Please hydrate often. Don't ignore cues to eat or sleep. It's simple advice, but it will make all the difference.
Vh: Off the cuff — quick thoughts on the nodes moving into Virgo/Pisces?
NG: Release the need to be perfect. Perfection is not your utility. The universe is not paternalistic - it will not reward you for being "correct" or "the best" or "the most skilled.” It will probably reward you for treating yourself and others with more compassion.
Vh: Where’s the best way to keep up with your work?
NG: Through my website - nyssagrazda.com or through my instagram @nyssagrazda
VIVIAN HECIMOVICH
Vivi Henriette: For those unfamiliar with your work, tell us something about your astrological practice.
Vivian Hecimovich: I am a Hellenistic Astrologer, and I blend my background of modern archetypal astrology with more traditional techniques. I have a spiritual approach despite the traditional rules. I come from the perspective that the universe and the planets are part of a divine orchestration.
Vh: How do you describe the lunar nodes?
VH: The nodes mark the axis along which eclipses were occurring at the time of birth. I also really love the imagery of the dragon that swallowed the light of the sun, so I will also refer to the north node as the head of the dragon (rahu) and the south node (ketu) as the tail of the dragon. When thinking about what the nodes represent in the chart; they are the tension of opposites, ever present in the life. The head of the dragon connects to "desire". The tail of the dragon connects to a sort of cosmic vacuum. The word dragon itself conveys the power of eclipses. Though it is a completely valid practice, I do not think the north node is connected to any kind of "evolution" through this life, nor do I think the south node is "what the native is moving away from.” My practice is based on the idea that the whole chart is karma, or the "natal promise" activated by transits and timing.
The nodes describe the two opposite themes in the life that we are innately drawn towards, and things we innately know at a spiritual or subconscious level. I think the south node in particular has a very mystical quality when conjunct a planet or angle.
Vh: How do you work with them in your practice?
VH: Typically, I work with the nodes in client practice when reading during a nodal return, the nodal opposition, or the nodal cross. I will also discuss the nodes during eclipse season readings (a favorite of mine). I will also work with the nodes if they are prominently placed (conjunct the ascendant/DSC/moon/Venus, etc) and a client is having a big transit to say a moon/north node conjunction in the chart. They have significance when attached to something that's being lit up by the moment. Currently, the South Node in Libra seems very loud in the sky, so it's been the focus for the last week and a half! It's no surprise that natives with cardinal placements (particularly Libra) are affected right now.
Vh: Eclipse season is upon us! What does this mean?
VH: The Sun and The Moon are planetary representatives of life. In traditional astrology the Sun is connected to Spirit, or active motion, The moon is connected to "fortune" and external events or experiences. Solar eclipses were once thought to be omens regarding kings, leaders and royalty. Lunar eclipses were connected to harbingers that were "of the people.” When the lights are obscured, it can be seen as an interruption to the path of either the Sun (spirit) or The Moon (fortune). The phenomenon of the eclipse is like a cosmic light switch. We no longer use astrology to separate the king from the commoner, so both solar and lunar eclipses seem to affect people equally.
To be clear, just as pulling the Death Card in a tarot reading does not "cause" a death, the same is true of Eclipses. We translate omens and signs. Eclipses themselves are not causal. They alert us to a story that has been unfolding the entirety of our lives.
Vh: Do you have an eclipse protocol to share?
VH: Mantra, meditation, movement. Mostly things that are fortifying and stabilizing. Any kind of grounding practice. I also try to avoid the path of the eclipse physically. I will try to be indoors.
Vh: Off the cuff — quick thoughts on the nodes moving into Virgo/Pisces?
VH: I think in my practice/experience the signs of nodes mean less to me than how the nodal cycle will hit the chart of the individual.
I know with the nodes in Aries and Libra there has been a lot of talk about individuation vs relationship, but for the people with the eclipses going through their 6th and 12th houses, it hasn't been that.
If I were to make a statement, after observing the initial Pisces eclipse, I am leaning into the idea that it will be about the balancing between the rational and the spiritual. Mercury ruled and Jupiter ruled. Perhaps this nodal cycle will connect to the balance between that which can be seen and quantified and that which is instinctual and ethereal.
Vh: Where’s the best way to keep up with your work?
VH: I post frequently on IG and Threads. My handle is @stars_in_alignment
I will be booking a few select "live" readings in NYC for the 24th of October.
I'm also open to email correspondence! vhecimovich@gmail.com
DREW LEVANTI
Vivi Henriette: For those unfamiliar with your work, tell us something about your astrological practice.
Drew Levanti: I use the tools and techniques of traditional astrology and celestial omenology to help formulate strategies for using foreknowledge without feeding fear. The future is as beautiful as the composition and composure of the present.
I believe astrology is as much an art as it is a science, and for me, it’s the poetics that animate the art. The poetry of astrology inspires us into more vivid, vibrant, and fulfilling connections with the cosmos.
While birth charts are my bread-and-butter, I’m known in the community as an electional specialist, meaning I select astrologically auspicious moments for important beginnings like marriages and business launches.
I see fate not as fixed, but as an interactive field that shifts as we choose and evolve.
Vh: How do you describe the lunar nodes?
DL: Physically and astronomically, the lunar nodes are where the path of the Sun, known as the ecliptic, intersects the orbit of the Moon. If you imagine two hula hoops crossing over each other, where they cross are like the lunar nodes. These intersections create shadow points that produce eclipses, which occur on average four times a year, twice every six months.
One of the nodes is the North or Ascending Node, meaning when the Moon crosses that point it is now above or north of the path of the Sun. The other is the South or Descending Node, meaning when the Moon passes it it is now below or south of the path of the Sun. The North Node generally brings 'more' of whatever it touches, even to a disturbing degree. The South Node generally brings 'less' of whatever it touches, along with themes of "release" and "letting go."
Vh: How do you work with them in your practice?
DL: The nodes occupy a pair of signs for approximately 18 months, activating two houses in a person’s birth chart. In my practice, I identify these houses as key areas of growth, development, and unexpected change.
The nodes are also located in a pair of houses in a person’s natal chart, and this axis is a fruitful area to explore complications and contortions in self-understanding. The nodes tend to twist the meanings of the signs they occupy, so when we are working with the energy of one node’s sign, we are also drawing in the energy of the other. This becomes complicated because the nodes activate polarities, like Aries-Libra or Pisces-Virgo. For example, if you think you’re engaging with the Aries archetype but are somehow getting Libra-ish stuff, it can feel confusing, but it can also lead to profound realizations and gifts, often offering the most potent expression of your destiny.
Vh: Eclipse season is upon us! What does this mean?
DL: As shadow points, the nodes create experiences of concealment and revelation. They confuse and complicate, intensify and accelerate. They compress time, which is why eclipse season feels so dense and charged with destined events. One path dims, another emerges from the dark. Literally and metaphorically, the nodes bring storms, shake the earth, and scorch the sky.
Vh: Do you have an eclipse protocol to share?
DL: Personally, I take the day off and encourage others to do the same, if possible. I go easy on my body. During a South Node eclipse, I eat clean and sparingly, drink plenty of water, and leave space to listen and observe the charged atmosphere. If you pay attention, you might notice the eclipse—perhaps even hear it. The dragons hum an unsettling tune.
Vh: Off the cuff — quick thoughts on the nodes moving into Virgo/Pisces?
DL: First, the collective level. I remember the last time the nodes were in a pair of signs ruled by Mercury and Jupiter. The South Node was in Sagittarius, and we witnessed major reckonings around the moral failings of teacher figures. The South Node brings this sort of purgation. With the South Node now in Virgo, I expect we’ll see similar disillusionment with Mercurial figures, such as journalists, lawyers, and those in the tech sphere. One area I’m paying close attention to is Intellectual Property. With the South Node in Virgo, I think legal and moral quandaries will arise from the accumulation of intellectual property through AI. How can artists whose work trains AI not have a right to compensation? Could we see class action suits against tech companies over IP? I suspect we’ll hear rumblings of this during the nodal cycle.
On a personal level, this nodal shift is going to highlight feeling and belief over reason and calculation. What are the things you can’t quantify — your health, your sanity, your inspiration? I think people will find themselves choosing the intangible more often than not, and when they don’t, they’ll feel the weight of their sacrifice. Virgo is about counting and naming; Pisces relishes the unnamable. Whatever values you can’t name but know are invaluable—that’s where we’ll be irresistibly drawn. It’s an exciting time to explore the edges of the knowable and relish the ecstasy of 'fucking-around-and-finding-out.'
Vh: Where’s the best way to keep up with your work?
DL: I write on my Substack at drewlevanti.substack.com and I also encourage people to explore getting a reading with me through my website archeastrology.com.
FOLLOW ART of the ZODIAC & Vivi Henriette on INSTAGRAM + YOUTUBE + SPOTIFY for the latest TALKTALKTALK
💞💞💞✨