Have you ever wondered what you were meant to do in this world? If there was work that can bring you meaning and fulfillment?  If so, then look no further than your astrological birth chart for the clues that will lead you to answer the existential question:  “Why Am I here”, and that includes what you do for work.

Your astrological birth chart is determined by the exact date, time and place of your birth; it is a snapshot of the heavens when you take your first breath.

There is no such thing as a good or a bad birth chart or a lucky or unlucky one. As Jan Spiller, in her book “Astrology for the Soul” writes: “Your Birth chart provides a picture of the inner wiring you were born with, but what you do with that wiring is up to you!”

Once you start to unravel your birth chart, you will notice that it goes beyond deciphering your personality or your psyche.  It is also a map that reveals invaluable information to help you uncover your life purpose and a career in alignment with it.  The Lunar Nodes represent one of the most important clues into your life purpose.

Lunar Nodes

The Lunar Nodes represent the path you are to undertake in this lifetime if you choose to. The North Node is the path of growth and expansion; it is represented by the lessons you have to learn and the attributes you must develop. While your South Node constitutes the patterns and behaviors that no longer serve you and hence must let go of.

An understanding of these two key data points can shed light on your patterns, behaviors, attractions, and apprehensions. It can also help guide your life choices, including your choice of career.   

The South Node

The South Node indicates our instinctive and unconscious biases, behaviors, skills and motivations. 

When we go on “auto-pilot”, we are acting out of the South Node; it is the inherent program of strengths, weaknesses, habits and outlooks that we naturally start out with. We may go our whole lives without challenging this basic orientation if we so choose. 

In this realm, we act out of habit and instinct; we may also be a bit unwilling to question (or even notice) our own perspectives and tendencies. 

The South node, like any piece of the birth chart, comprises positive and negative potentials.  You might gain a great deal of success in the fields indicated by your South Node since the talents or insights needed come very naturally to you. You may also easily slip into the distortions, fears or weaknesses indicated by this placement. 

However, whether it is a positive or a negative, the South node represents an aspect of the individual which is already completed. The work here is done! 

Even if you have found material success in the areas of your South Node, true satisfaction has probably eluded you.   As no matter how much success you might accrue, the deepest part of you will always feel stifled and unfulfilled. Because you shied away from the challenge to grow, evolve, and learn the lessons you are meant to learn, there can be no expansion in the South Node, only stagnation.   So it is critical to understand that you are moving further away from a life of fulfillment when you are choosing to remain in the grips of the South Node. 

The North Node 

The North Node indicates the most profound lessons you are meant to learn in this life. It indicates a new frontier of experience you are called to explore and a future self you are destined to grow into. For this reason, the areas indicated by this placement evoke a great deal of excitement, attraction and fulfillment. They can also potentially draw a corresponding amount of apprehension, fear and disorientation. 

In the earlier stages of experiencing your North Node, you may feel like a “fish out of water”. You may feel insecure and awkward as you learn to inhabit a worldview which is fundamentally new and unnatural to you.  It is also uncertain and frightening because it is the polar opposite of where you feel most comfortable operating in.

Yet at the same time, you will feel deeply drawn to master and grow into these talents, skills and perspectives. You can probably sense that there will always be a missing piece if you back away from these challenges. 

Living out the North Node means walking a tightrope between fascination and anxiety, between exhilaration and the risk of embarrassment.  However, the rewards are well worth the trips and stumbles along the way; since herein lies the source of meaning and fulfillment in your life and the opportunity for your greatest expansion.

The Lunar Nodes at Work

To illustrate how the Lunar Nodes might reflect in your career choices, I have selected the example of Aquarius North Node/Leo South Node.

Leo South Node

Individuals who have not yet stepped fully into their Aquarius North Node would be operating in their Leo South Node.  At work, they have probably chosen a career path where they can be in the spotlight and recognized for their talent and personal contributions; as a movie actor, a comedian, a politician, a top salesperson, or a head of an organization.  Even in smaller roles, they will choose jobs or projects where they can showcase their skills and talents as an individual while also fighting to maintain the status quo. “This is how we’ve always done it!” is probably a phrase that a Leo South Node would say when challenged with a new or innovative idea. 

They feel comfortable in a leadership role where they can assert their views and ways of how things should be done. Their leadership style is most likely to be “command and control”:  “do as I say”.  

They feel equally comfortable taking on a project on their own where they can shine as the star who saves the day. This is so they can gain the recognition and approval they so crave.

Being part of a “team of equals” or working on projects where there is no personal benefit probably feels very unnatural to them. 

Even if they find a lot of success, however, fulfillment at work will remain out of reach.  As they close the next deal, complete the next project or win the next trophy, Leo South Nodes are disappointed that none realized its promise of happiness and fulfillment.

Aquarius North Node

Once the Leo South Nodes go through their journey of transformation, however, and embrace their Aquarius North Node, their choices shift from the self to the community.   Aquarius North Node individuals feel most fulfilled when they use their many skills and talents to shine the spotlight on the causes they take on rather than on themselves.  They also welcome innovative and creative ways to solve problems.

Aquarius North Nodes also relish collaborating with team members; they include others in the decision making and recognize that everyone has a unique role to play, including themselves.  They also choose innovative projects that champion humanitarian causes in fields such as science and engineering to name a few. 

Even in traditional corporate careers, Aquarius North Nodes can choose roles that would enable them to champion a cause.  In sourcing, for example, they can be part of a supplier selection committee to protect workers rights.  They can also join or lead a sustainability committee that focuses on finding innovative ways to recycle unused products and eliminate harmful materials from the supply chain.

Community, sustainability, collaboration, and innovation – these are the realms in which they shine.

To live a life of fulfillment, you must learn what patterns of behavior are hindering the manifestation of your highest desires and what activities must replace them. 

Your North Node / South Node placements will help you do just that. 

If you don’t know your North Node, you can find it at https://astrostyle.com/nodes-calculator/