☉Western astrology · 5 min
Modern charts show points beyond the classical planets: the Lunar Nodes, Chiron and the Black Moon (Lilith). Not all of them are "celestial bodies", and their meanings come from different traditions. It is worth looking separately at their astronomical background and their symbolic interpretation.
The Lunar Nodes
The Moon's orbital plane is tilted by about 5 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic (the Sun's apparent path). The two planes intersect at two points: the Lunar Nodes. The North Node is where the Moon rises above the ecliptic, the South Node where it dips below it. The nodes are not physical bodies but geometric intersection points.
Their astronomical significance is real: an eclipse can occur only when a new or full Moon is near a node. The nodes move slowly, completing a full circuit of the ecliptic in about 18.6 years, moving retrograde (against the order of the signs), which is why eclipse "seasons" occur roughly twice a year and shift position from year to year.
According to traditional astrology, the North Node is the direction of growth, the theme of skills still to be developed, and the South Node the familiar, well-rehearsed pattern. In Vedic astrology they are called Rahu (north) and Ketu (south) and are treated as weighty "actors" on a par with the planets.
Chiron
Chiron (officially 2060 Chiron) is a minor-planet-like body, discovered by Charles Kowal in 1977. Its orbit runs between Saturn and Uranus, with a period of about 50 years. In astronomy it is called a centaur: a body in the outer Solar System on an orbit that forms a transition between asteroids and comets.
It is named after the centaur of Greek mythology, a wise teacher and healer who, according to the legend, suffered from an injury. Astrological tradition reads Chiron as a symbol of the "wounded healer": a sensitive point where a person can teach others out of their own experience. This is a symbolic reading; it does not claim that a celestial body heals anything or causes any illness.
The Black Moon (Lilith)
In most charts Black Moon Lilith is the point of the Moon's orbit farthest from the Earth (the apogee). It is not a body but a calculated point that circles the zodiac in about 8.85 years. There are two versions, the mean and the true (osculating) apogee, which can differ by several degrees. The name comes from Lilith, a figure of Jewish folklore; the asteroid 1181 Lilith is a separate matter.
Astrological tradition links Lilith with the repressed, untamed or uncomfortable side of oneself. The meaning varies: there are as many interpretations as authors, because there is no uniform classical tradition.
How to treat them
- These points are secondary symbols; the core reading rests on the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, planets and houses.
- Check whether your software uses the true or the mean node.
- Take them into account only when aspects are tight (a close orb).
Scientific status
The nodes' role in eclipses is an astronomical fact. The symbolic meanings (karma, wounded healer, repressed self), however, are traditional and cultural interpretations, not experimentally confirmed, and astrology's predictive power has not been confirmed in controlled studies.