I often use the analogy of a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly when explaining the astrological Nodal Journey. That to fully realize the beauty of the butterfly's potential, the caterpillar must take a giant leap of faith to initiate its own transformation. It spins itself into a closed chrysalis and literally dissolves its known self into goop so it can be reborn as something entirely new. While we, as humans, are not being called to dissolve into goop, in terms of our astrological journey through a lifetime, metaphorically there is a breaking down of the known self to a certain extent, as we journey from the themes of our South Node to those of the North Node.
Those themes are, by definition, in the complete opposite direction (being 180 degrees from each other on the Birth Chart). Yup. This is what our Higher Self decided as our Soul’s Mission. As daunting as those North Node themes seem, we are meant to find a way to embrace them, in pursuit of our unique karmic purpose on Earth this time around.
One client who has been doing Nodal Journey work with me recently asked, “While I am open to transformation (terrifying as that prospect is!) I also believe it is unwise to totally jettison all aspects of ego and self—I still want to be able to trust my intuition and instincts, and there are many parts of myself that I like and don’t wish to lose…”
Essentially, they were asking, how does one transform but still maintain a sense of self?
Remember one of the fundamental principles of evolutionary astrology: all energy potentials run on a spectrum. There are the lower (or more insecure) expressions and the higher (or more secure) expressions of any given Sign/Planet/House placement on the Birth Chart. It is up to us – our free will – to make choices as to which direction to go.
Another key point to keep in mind regarding the Nodal Journey: the South Node-North Node axis is precisely that: an axis! These points are indelibly marked on your Birth Chart, i.e., both those energies will always be there. So even though we “move from South to North” during the course of a lifetime, and even though those of us interested in working mindfully to steer our journey towards the higher expression end of the spectrum as best we can, the South Node will always remain part of the Birth Chart.
In other words, there is not a total “jettisoning” of all aspects of the familiar self. Rather, I like to think of it as peeling away the lower expressions of the South Node, a healing of the insecure expressions of those energies, so the higher expressions can serve as a bridge to the North Node. In this way, we can “lighten the load” for the northward journey.
And then another analogy came to me—this one from the kitchen: think onion layers. Conscious Nodal Journey work is about the peeling away of one thin layer of the onion’s skin at a time, courageously yet mindfully. And yes, there will likely be stinging and tears in the process.
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And then another analogy came to me—this one from the kitchen: think onion layers. Conscious Nodal Journey work is about the peeling away of one thin layer of the onion’s skin at a time, courageously yet mindfully. And yes, there will likely be stinging and tears in the process.
But that, of course, is part of this game called 3D human life. And… how we grow and evolve—metamorphose—with each lifetime.
Back to SoulMapSongs.
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