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| Illustration by Joy Ang from Tui Sutherland's 'Wings of Fire, Book 6: Moon Rising' |
The Dragon’s
Flight into the Cancer/Capricorn Axis
True Nodes in
Cancer/Capricorn- 11-6-18
Mean Nodes in
Cancer/Capricorn- 11-15-18
Tuesday,
as
voters were at the polls in the US,
the Moon’s nodes shifted from our last lessons of the Leo/Aquarius
plane to the lessons of Cancer/Capricorn.
The Lunar nodes, in scientific terms, are the points where the orbit
of the Moon crosses the ecliptic. The astrological implications of
the lunar nodes are about karmic lessons, the relationship between
the outmoded past and the creative future, and the necessary balance
between what we’ve already learned and no longer need to focus on
(The Dragon's Tail: South Node in Capricorn)
and what we must learn now, however uncomfortable and uncharted the
territory, for the growth of our souls (The Dragon's Head: North
Node in Cancer).
Each
of us has our own natal nodes and lessons, which are a significant
part of the answer to the age-old questions, ‘Why am I here?’ and
‘What is my soul’s purpose?’ But the positions the Nodes are
in at the present moment affect the collective soul’s growth of our
entire global community…so while we are each having our own soul’s
intentions directing us one way, those lessons are also being
influenced on a global scale by the current position of the Nodes.
Those
who were born with North Node in Cancer will be having our Nodal
Return during this transit (myself included), which happens
approximately every 18-19
years. At
these initiations, the soul work that arises brings us back to
re-alignment with our soul’s path and offers us significant growth
in our journey.
Previously,
the Leo/Aquarius nodes formed an aspect pattern of four squares
(called a Grand Cross) with Scorpio Venus Rx and Taurus Uranus Rx all
in fixed signs. Venus Rx was the first to regress to a cardinal sign
(Libra) at the beginning of the month, and now Uranus Rx (shifting
back to Aries on
the 6th
as well)
and the Lunar Nodes are all back in cardinal signs. This is a
significant shift that is in no way subtle: a Fixed Grand Cross
transforming into a Cardinal Grand Cross. At
the end of this month, as Venus moves direct and returns to the
cross, she will strengthen the effects of this Cardinal Grand Cross
before returning to Scorpio. This particular shift, where four
corners activate the four elements as they change modes, brings our
world from a holding pattern to an activation. It is interesting
that the U.S. Midterm elections were held as the Nodes and Uranus Rx
shifted...because that momentum was no doubt needed to shift the
political sphere into a phase which will provide a wider range of
perspective and more checks on the careless use of power.
And
that’s one way that this nodal shift into the Cancer/Capricorn axis
will arise. Care and support for people (with a strong empathy
toward families and tribes in particular) is what we are collectively
learning to initiate (Dragon’s Head in Cancer) while unchecked
power and a past tendency to focus on being best and greatest, no
matter who gets stepped on along the way, is what we’re on the path
to eliminate now (Dragon’s Tail in Capricorn). North
Node in Cancer puts the focus back on safety and security in a way
that is very protective of familial bonds, tribal unity, and
the
strengthening of our roots. At the same time, South Node in
Capricorn will show antiquated structures of power making some last
grasps as they crumble to make way for new births from the womb of
Cancer waters. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn and Cancer is ruled by
Moon, so many of these last grasps will continue to center around a
determination to control and restrict: female bodies, groups
of people that do not follow traditional convention, and (in general)
the feeling and intuitive nature of the human race. But what the
U.S. political discussion may have been too narrowly focused on as a
‘Blue Wave’ set to hit in a war between political parties was
actually much larger than that...that wave was really the waters of
Cancer womb
wisdom
rising up to meet
these failing structures of patriarchy with a formidable force
of feminine principle. Global
concern
for the Mother (Earth) is top priority as we move through the next
year and a half and make changes
that
reflect
what we truly care about, standing up against any more destructive
efforts. There
is still much resistance to break through. As Ayanna Pressley, the
first black congresswoman from Massachusetts, said ‘You know what
breaks through concrete? Seismic shifts.’
While
the South Node in Capricorn often brings up many of the lower
expressions of this sign so that we can see what needs to be
released, it is important to note that in doing so we are more able
to honor the higher vibrational essence of Capricorn...which is
the wisdom of solid structure that supports growth. What we have to
release are the false structures built up around this energy
overtime. This can include being overly ambitious at the expense of
others, insensitivity, materialism, unnecessary restrictions placed
upon society, rigidly holding on to the past as a means to control,
calculated cruelty, and being unresponsive to the needs of others.
It is in these lower vibrations of Capricorn where this sign can take
on the
reputation of being cold and heartless. This is not the essence of
Capricorn (which is much more a pillar of strength such as the
Council of Grandmothers), but the shadow of the patriarchy does hold
tightly to this particular sign and now is the time to begin
releasing that last desperate grasp to control what would serve to
protect us and, especially, the younger generations being born to us
now and in the future.
So
the Cancer North Node upholds the kind of instinctual care and
protection that is often apparent in the many mothers in charge of
their young in our natural world. There is a fierce ‘Mother Bear’
quality to it, to honor one totem among many that teaches this kind
of medicine. Connections to our mother figures (or nurturing
parental figures in general) are strong during this transit. It is
our feminine lineage, after all, that
holds the evolutionary
integrity
of our human race and teaches us the bonds of blood. The
power of this Cancer medicine is not just in its armor-like
fierceness, but especially in its internal softness. The
empathetic nature of this sign provides emotional acceptance and
healing. The Capricorn South Node may feel like ‘hard times’ on
repeat to some, where we are expected to keep it together and endure
through lack and loss. Cancer North Node calls us into a motherly
embrace and says ‘It’s okay to cry it out. You
are loved.’
And
it will take some getting used to, allowing our feeling nature to
just feel. The South Node in Capricorn is what we know...it’s the
real crutch, the collective addiction we’re facing. No matter how
unhealthy it gets to depend on it, whatever it is for you, at least
we’ve become familiar enough in that Capricorn shadow that we’ve
become experts in navigating through it. The North Node in Cancer,
familiar as Cancer energy really is, feels like unfamiliar and
uncharted territory in these times. It
is what will heal us of our collective addictions to that which
depresses and oppresses us...but the vulnerability it requires can
look quite scary to us if we’ve been bottling up our feelings for
so long just to make it through the hardships of life.
For
those of us born with this lunar node axis, the South Node in
Capricorn is often the most apparent at first. We are those ‘old
soul’ babies that also have that ‘thousand yard stare’ as if
we’ve seen some horrors we’ve had to dissociate from but are here
now to heal from them. Wise
beyond our years from the start, yes, but in need of some
compassionate care from those we are born to. And it’s so very
difficult to understand what we really need to feel nurtured as we
grow, because we were denied that need in our past...and often choose
situations where that need isn’t immediately recognized either, or
is flat-out denied. We may become unconsciously
addicted to deprivation and lack...usually
of belonging or love, but it can also manifest as lack in the
material realm. Sometimes we will continue to live with lack, or we
may overcompensate for it with a materialistic drive to succeed in
this life. At some point, our soul learns how to better
balance...and usually it is initiated by some fated encounter where,
finally, we learn how to accept our emotional side and let love be
our abundance.
My
personal story, so far anyway, of being born with North Node in
Cancer is not how it always plays out...but it is one thread that
weaves into the larger theme. I’ll be having my 2nd
Nodal Return next year...so we’ll see what comes of the new lessons
I’ll be learning. My
‘fated encounter’ that ushered in the deep soul healing of my
Cancer North Node happened in my early 20s when I became pregnant
with my first child, Alyrica
Rayven. My whole world turned upside
down.
Prior to this, I had built up a good amount of armor around me to
hide my softness within. I
had learned, early on, that my softness was a weakness...and thought
I had to stuff it all down to ‘grow up’. I
didn’t allow myself to be completely vulnerable with anyone for
many years as a teenager and young adult...and I adopted the tough
love/’suck it up’ stance with anyone who gave a hint of not being
in control of their own emotions around me. It wasn’t healthy (because it was denial of my true Self), and
it led to other unhealthy behaviors to distract myself from my Self.
Because I was ultimately afraid of allowing myself to feel anything,
I
was adamantly against ever getting married or having a child...I knew
I didn’t love myself enough or take care of myself well enough for
any of that. I just couldn’t fathom being ‘motherhood material’.
And
then, SURPRISE! I’m pregnant. All the unknowns of what that
Cancer womb energy had in store for me were terrifying and confusing.
But somewhere within that pregnancy something clicked on in me that I
never knew I had before. Because of a deep intuitive connection that
began to grow with my daughter while she was still in the womb, I
allowed myself to fully feel the whole of this experience. And
though the newness and the unfamiliarity of the whole thing didn’t
really subside until a couple years after Alyrica was born...I
allowed myself to learn how deep my caring nature could go. Alyrica
was my first experience of what I know now as true unconditional
love...and she brought about so much within me that still remains and
continues to grow. I realized from her how strong familial bonds can
be, and how healing. She brought me to my roots and taught me how to
care for them, as they are hers now too. She gave me a greater
appreciation for my own parents, as well as for myself. And
she broke down all the walls and opened my heart up to love so much
that when the right person came into our life to be my partner, I
knew it without a doubt...and I married him (and later had a son with
him). Motherhood, family, roots, ancestors, and emotional healing
has been an integral part of my life ever since.
The
Cancer womb medicine I needed was quite literal for me (but also
deeply soulful and spiritual). Not everyone with Cancer North Node
experiences this soul growth through the initiation of parenthood, of
course. But
events and experiences do occur in some way to invite us to tap into
the strength within our softness...the deep healing power inherent
within our empathic
and
intuitive nature.
And
now, as we enter into this Cancer/Capricorn axis again, imagine the
kind of transformations that can occur across the world when others
allow themselves to feel what they’ve been depriving themselves of
feeling...the kind of experiences that form empathetic and familiar
bonds with others: root healing, belonging, greater appreciation for
their life and the lives of others, love as abundance. And imagine
that
as the ‘seismic shift’ that breaks through concrete.
When
we connect to the Mother, to the wisdom within the womb...we can
better appreciate the whole world as our family. When more of us can
feel the whole world as our family, we are more inclined to preserve
and protect our natural world as our home and roots.
To
see in what areas of life this shift affects you personally, look to
the houses in your natal chart where Cancer
and Capricorn
are.
The last time the nodes were in this axis was between 2000
and 2001.
Try to remember what was going on in your life at that time to get an
idea of what is to come now, after maturing since then. Astrology
follows patterns, and recognizing those patterns can help you to work
with the energies when they come around again.
Here are
some ideas on how to make the best of this transit:
allow your emotions to wash over you and heal, accept sensitivity as
strength, trust your intuition, nurture and tend to those you love,
nurture and tend to yourself, do some nesting in your home, connect
with Mother Earth, allow Her to transmute what is too heavy for you
to carry, express your feelings, support the child within yourself
and others, show your vulnerability with supportive people in your
life, nurture new bonds with supportive people, surround
yourself with people who make you feel safe,
pour your love and creativity into more home-cooked meals, let
go of your need for control and achievement, trust what you feel,
connect with a water source, create a better sense of home, connect
with family members, connect with your roots, learn more about your
ancestry, refine your empathic skills, and above all...give and
receive more hugs! We all need them!
Love
and Gratitude,
Felina
Lune Kavi
