When the moon’s nodes return to their original position at the time of your birth, this is known as your nodal return. A significant cosmic shift, it brings with it karmic lessons and opportunities for growth. 

What Are the Lunar Nodes?

Your astrological birth chart is a snapshot of the sky above you at the moment of your birth — this is why the date, time, and location are all important factors in determining the positions of the planets.

Known as the nodes of destiny, the lunar nodes are not actually physical celestial markers, but rather mathematical points representing the location of the nodes at the time of your birth. They represent the intersection of the moon’s orbit with the Earth’s orbit around the sun. 

These points are divided into the North Node and South Node. The North Node symbolizes your future growth, while the South Node represents past experiences. They carry deep significance around what guides you and grounds you as you move through life.

The Significance of the North Node

The North Node sits above you and is responsible for guiding you to your cosmic destiny. It holds all of the wonders of the Universe that await you and maps the path that stretches out ahead of you.

It offers a glimpse into what you could be and what aspects of the self to lean on to guide you to your full potential.

The Significance of the South Node

The South Node is beneath you. It represents your foundation, and it grounds you. It’s a map of past life experiences and all of the cosmic wisdom you have gained and brought into this world with you.

Looking deeper at your South Node can remind you of who you are at your core and what aspects of yourself determine how you view and move through the world.

The Nodes will always sit in opposite signs, and usually in opposite houses, as they directly oppose each other on the astrological wheel. For example, if your North Node is in watery, emotional Cancer, your South Node will sit in stoic, grounded Capricorn. 

The houses that the nodes fall into also offer additional insight. Having the South Node in the second house might deal with money and possessions, while its opposite, the North Node in the eighth house deals with debts and loss. Two halves of a cosmic lesson, they work together in tandem to help you learn the lesson as a whole. 

What Is Your Nodal Return?

A nodal return happens when your North and South Nodes return to the sign they were in at the time of your birth. By the time they return to their natal positions, they have moved through every sign and offer new experiences and understanding upon their return.

This transit can bring transcendence and a deep insight that shifts how you engage with the world. You might be faced with challenges that allow you to rise to meet them and which bring home a deeper understanding of self.

To discover how your nodal return might affect you, consider speaking to an Astrology Psychic for a personalized breakdown.

How Often Does a Nodal Return Happen?

As the Earth rotates, we travel across the constellations in the sky. As it takes somewhere between 18 and 19 years for the lunar nodes to cycle through all 12 astrological signs, a nodal return will happen roughly every 18 years, depending on how far into the corresponding sign you were born.

It’s no coincidence that the first nodal return coincides with one’s exit from childhood — at around 18 years old. You’ll be offered a chance to learn from lessons with similar themes and motifs, but with a newer, more adult mindset. This will continue to be true as nodal returns happen again, around 36, 54, 72, and again at 90.

How Long Is a Nodal Return?

A nodal return typically lasts around 18 months — aligning with the time the lunar nodes spend in a particular zodiac sign. The return itself occurs when the nodes align exactly with their positions at your birth, but the effects can be felt throughout this 18-month period, as the energy of this transit unfolds.

If you don’t know where your lunar nodes were positioned at the time of your birth, consider consulting a birth chart expert.

What Happens During a Nodal Return?

Each nodal transit will have something to offer you as you move through the great wheel — even when it’s not in your natal sign. But, your nodal return in particular will hold unique significance to you as you return to the lessons brought forward from your arrival into the world.

During your nodal return, you might notice a pattern of letting go of some of the things that have previously grounded you, and reaching for things that will now begin to guide you deeper into your journey. Changes that happen around this time often lead to awakenings and growth, even when they are painful at the outset.

How To Make the Most of a Nodal Return

Paying attention to the signs and houses your nodes are in will allow you to better understand what they are hoping to teach you and what aspect of your life might be in flux the most. 

For example, if your North Node is in Pisces and your South Node is in Virgo, and they fall in the third and ninth houses respectively, you should pay attention to themes of creating community with nurturing care while also broadening your horizons through personal exploration of your own desires and dreams.

Simply being aware of your nodal return will allow you to take full advantage of it. You might want to journal or create vision boards around this time to really amplify and understand the implications of this cosmic awakening.

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