Last night I was searching for bi-wheel chart templates and stumbled against traditional astrology’s contempt for any effort to apply its interpretations to what is in the sky, the motive which gave it birth.

“The concept of “return charts” and of transits altogether is – on a deeper level – a symbolic concept rather than a physical concept. It should therefore be applied in a consistent symbolic system and not in an inconsistent potpourri of systems.” Astrodienst.

I get that, and who am I to get mixed up in a fight with the big guys? I don’t pretend to be an astrologer. I am merely one of the hordes through the centuries who has gazed up at the Constellation of his Sun Sign and yearned for a consistent symbolic system to connect human life, Constellation and Sign.

The symbols of western tropical astrology may be consistent, and fit neatly and ‘eternally’ into the beautiful symmetry of the Solar System, but I find many of them to be empty, in the sense that the symbol of an ant for human progress is empty when I am trying to cross the road. What is a symbol without content but a signal of delusion, a useless distortion of reality?

The symbolism of the Zodiac must wait for later consideration. The symbol which engages me today is the “Descending” Node, the real moment when the Moon crosses the plane of Earth’s orbit of the Sun, heading downwards, or towards the South Celestial Hemisphere.

We millions of emigrants from across the Equator brought with us a respect for ‘consistency’ verging on idolatry and leading us into disrespect for “primitive” people and “inhospitable” country. Yes, North is ‘up’, but isn’t it nice to find a lunar calendar on the web which shows the phases on the correct side? You may be completely unable to imagine a map of your country drawn ‘upside down’–yes, such a thing is conceivable– but I find the universal representation of the Constellations the ‘wrong’ way up completely useless

So it is with the Nodes of the Moon. Today the Moon ascends, heads upwards to the south! So where does that leave the astrological symbolism of the Nodes’ resonance with karma and challenge? Turned on its head, of course!

Because of the fact that the Moon is crossing the Ecliptic very close to the Aries Point (the real origin of the western astrological system), the real intersection of Ecliptic and Celestial Equator in Pisces, it will be the highest it is ever seen in Gemini on February 28 when it reaches its southernmost ecliptic latitude, and that does symbolize something to me!

More on that at the time. For now, I offer you an illustration of a southern perspective on today’s event. Zoom for higher resolution at this link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5UrGeMeNFdtMG9NTkszN3VacFE/view?usp=sharing