Roughly once every seven years, Jupiter joins the North Node of the Moon and they travel together in the heavens.
From now until mid-March 2016, this opportunistic transit provides guidance and encouragement acting as "Light on the Path" to help us gain insight into our soul's journey. Let's start with the transiting North Node.
Path To Purpose: Transiting North Node
The nodes of the Moon are
not planetary bodies. Rather, they are calculated points based on the relationship between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. In our birth chart, we have a North Node and a South Node, which are directly opposite one another.
The nodes of the Moon represent our path in life from our past life efforts and experiences, our karma, to our highest potential, our dharma, in this lifetime. That covers a lot of territory on the long and winding road of your soul's journey. To understand the North Node, we will first discuss the South Node.
The South Node represents our past life efforts and experiences, our karma. If we turn around and look behind us, this is the path we have already walked and, while we do not consciously remember aspects of our past, we carry with us the karmic skills and habits that have accumulated in the past. These are the skills and habits that feel natural and comfortable to us. We demonstrate these skills and habits easily and often early in our life. Our karmic past is familiar and comfortable and it makes us feel safe, even though it may not be fulfilling, rewarding and supportive. In this way, karma is sticky and we literally have a hard time shaking it off.
Hanging onto karmic energy can almost become a compulsion making us not want to let go because it is safe. But, as our journey unfolds, life begins to demand evolution and expansion. To move forward and make progress, we must move beyond these karmic habits and skills and evolve toward our gifts or our dharma (the North Node). In the process of moving from our South Node to our North Node, we learn new skills that bring expansion and form new habits to support our evolution. As we burn away unhelpful karma, we eliminate that which holds us back and we are further encouraged to discover our gifts. While we work to leave our unhelpful karma behind, our supportive karma remains with us and even supports us as move toward our dharma.
The North Node represents the path ahead that leads us forward so that we can make progress on our soul's evolution. The North Node is our highest potential, our gifts, our dharma and is something we must discover. Our gifts are not fully available or known to us as our karma is. When our unfolding journey sends us signals that it is time to begin exploring and sharing our gifts, we take our first step onto the path and begin exploring that which is unfamiliar to us. Often, this does not occur until much later in life and sometimes not until after our second Saturn Return. Why? This might be because of our duties in life or because we need to develop supportive habits and the confidence required to explore the unfamiliar. For many, this might mean starting a new career or going back to school.
Our path to purpose is the path that our feet have not yet walked. The scenes and experiences ahead of us are sights that our eyes have not seen. We are aware that what is ahead of us is unfamiliar and we need the courage and conviction of our purpose to begin the journey with determination. Just like a path that curves and is not fully visible to our eyes, we have no real idea what life will look like when we walk around the bend in the path!
Transiting North Node. As the North Node journeys through the heavens in transits, like the one we are discussing right now, it moves through our birth chart quietly introducing us to further as
pects of our soul's journey. I intentionally used the word "quietly", because the messages the North Node brings are subtle messages. North Node transits are not loud as Uranus transits might be for example (again, think of Uranus as 'The Wookie' in Star Wars). Let's use our imagination: Imagine walking on the Yellow Brick Road and you see a little sign or a blooming flower or hear the song of a robin that informs you to keep moving forward or to consider taking the path to the left or the right. The messages are there, but they are subtle and we need to be paying attention.
With transiting Jupiter conjunct the transiting North Node from now until mid-March 2016, the messages you experience will take on a clearer quality, like light on the path.
Light On The Path - Transiting Jupiter Joins The North Node
Jupiter and the North Node are both concerned with your future. The North Node is the 'Path to Purpose' (our dharma) and Jupiter is the 'Guru Planet' that guides us to our dharma.
When transiting together,
Jupiter and the North Node provide
'Light on the Path'.
From now until mid-March 2016, tran
siting together, Jupiter and the North Node will illum
inate the zodiac from 15 to 28 degrees of Virgo over the next three mon
ths. So, you will want to identify this spot in your chart to determine the house, planets and angles involved. One group of people to call out are those form in the late 1960's because this transit will occur on your Pluto and Uranus conjunction.
Unlike the rather subtle transits of the North Node, the transits of Jupiter are more obvious and are easier to recognize. Transiting Jupiter brings inspirations, opportunities or rewards to the various aspects of life and his message is future oriented and optimistic.
Transiting Jupiter conjunct the North Node reflects a time when favorable circumstances and opportunities arise in our lives that point us forward on our path with greater clarity.
Once again, imagine being on the Yellow Brick Road and meeting a fellow traveler. Unlike the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, who says, "You could take this path, or you could always take the other one", Jupiter represents the wise traveler, who walks with you for a while and shares important insights about the road ahead of you. You come to recognize your path with greater clarity and the uncertainty that CAN come with the North Node (the winding nature of the path that eludes your vision) fades away.
You might not know what you will find when you walk around the bend on your path of the North Node, but Jupiter provide the inspiration and insights so you can follow your path with confidence.
If circumstances lead you to an experience messages from wise Jupiter on the path, walk with him, listen to his inspirations, and follow the path he guides you on - just as if your Guru was speaking to you.
The transiting North Node and Jupiter will spend the next two months shining a light on your path, giving you greater insight, clarity and confidence as you move forward on your journey, on your path. When you follow their advice and "Walk On", you will come to know your future (Jupiter), your path (North Node) and your purpose (Sun) in ways that you do not know today. That is why this Light on the Path is arriving at this time.
This is an excellent time to consider if you are being asked to take a step forward on your path and expand your gifts.
Trust the light, follow your path and realize that you can truly shine!
May you experience light on your path!
Duration of Transit: January to mid-March 2016
Prior Occurrence: February 2009 and August 2001
Chart Degrees Impacted: 15 to 28 of Virgo