Life Purpose as Illustrated by Lunar Nodes & Sabian Symbols

“If your birth chart were a compass, the Lunar Nodes would be the arrow. They point you in the direction your soul wants to quest towards in this lifetime. The South Node is the starting point. The North Node is the destination.”

Sabian Secrets:

The Lunar Nodes & Our Life Path

It’s easy to forget who we are. To feel lost or confused about what we are doing here on planet Earth.

I stumbled upon a quick, easy method to point us back to ourselves- and anyone can do it! I’d like to share it with you.

By the end of this post, you’ll be able to identify True North on your compass.
To see yourself reflected as part of the great mystery.
Want to give it a try?

Finding True North begins with the Lunar Nodes, otherwise called, the Nodes of the Moon. But first…

“(The Lunar Nodes) are points formed by the Moon’s orbit around the Earth intersecting with the Earth’s path around the Sun.”

- Jan Spiller

What are the Lunar Nodes?

If your birth chart were a compass, the Lunar Nodes would be the arrow. They point you in the direction your soul wants to quest towards in this lifetime. The South Node is the starting point. The North Node is the destination.

The Nodes of the Moon do not represent a celestial body, like a planet or an asteroid.

The South Node indicates a position or behavior we are born into, familiar with, gifted at, or survived within. Some say the South Node indicates a past life. In my own practice, I find we don’t need to look that far back to discern the South Node’s significance in our life. It often makes itself visible in our early life, and the way we learned to meet the world through the environment we grew up in. As we get older, we may seek to employ the strategies of our South Node over and over again, but those strategies slowly stop working for us. The South Node signifies ways-of-being that we are letting go of. Life necessitates that we grow out of old behaviors and reach for new perspectives.

If the South Node is what we are most familiar with, the North Node is what is most unknown to us. It’s the tip of the arrow in that compass, pointing us in the direction of undiscovered lands. We are magnetically pulled towards it, although we don’t quite know where it leads, like a destiny we quest towards. As we reach for our North Node, we’re challenged to learn. As we approach the unknown, we are gratified by our efforts through soul growth and evolution.

The goal is not to forsake the innate gifts of the South Node, but to bring the South Node into balance with the North Node. We often learn how to wield our South Node attributes with greater finesse as we blend them with the qualities of our North Node. And remember, we must begin somewhere! Without the butt of the arrow, there would be no arrow at all. Without a place of origin, there would be no path that leads away. The South Node is our starting point, the North Node is the ever-unfolding path before us.

Mean Node or the True Node?

There are two ways to calculate the Lunar Nodes in a birth chart; The Mean and the True. The Mean takes an average of the Moon’s rate of motion to determine the position of the Lunar Nodes, while the True endeavors to pinpoint the precise location of the Lunar Nodes at the time of birth. So which is better, the Mean Node or the True Node? Which should you use?

This is a topic of great debate amongst astrologers! Whichever method you choose, the Mean and True Nodes are never far apart from one another, with a maximum discrepancy of 1 degree 45 minutes in the Zodiac. For an astrologer, this difference is rather minute. With a few exceptions, this small change in degree is unlikely to affect the way we read a birth chart. However, through the lens of the Sabian Symbols which rely on a specific degree placement for their divination, a change of even a few minutes can shift the quality these crucial points of purpose and direction emphasize.

What are the Sabian Symbols?

The Tropical Zodiac is composed of a 360 degree circle. The Sabian Symbols are a set of poetic phrases. Each one corresponds to a single degree of the Zodiac. There are 360 'symbols' in total: poetic phrases conveying metaphoric imagery. When we contemplate these phrases and the imagery they invoke, we can enter into the mysteries of their meanings

How the Sabian Symbols Came to Be

One sunny, San Diego, day in 1923, psychic Elsie Wheeler channeled the Sabian Symbols as astrologer, Marc Edmund Jones, laid blank index cards in front of her, each with a different degree of the zodiac written on the back. He would shuffle the cards, laying them facedown before her, one at a time. She would gaze at the blank back of each card, and tell him what she saw in her minds eye. Marc Edmund Jones recorded her phrases, and later interpreted them, formally publishing the Sabian Symbols in 1925.

Almost 100 years after their invention, many astrologers are still using the Sabian Symbols today, myself included. As I learned about the difference between the Mean and True Lunar Nodes, I wondered over how this discrepancy might be interpreted through the lens of the Sabian Symbols. Would the value of this crucial signifier in a birth chart change? Would the True Node prove to be more relevant as the Mean Node became obsolete?

Applying Sabian Secrets

As I studied the Sabian Symbols for the Mean and True North Node in my own birth chart, I discovered that both the Sabian Symbols of the Mean and the True Node hold value in my chart. Those values are slightly different, but neither is better or worse.

In fact, when we consider both together, the vision of the path we walk takes on more texture, color, and vibrancy. The Mean and the True North Node illuminate two distinct influences that weave through the life-path in tandem, each one hinting at the destiny we quest towards in its own unique way. After all, there is almost always more than one way to reach any single destination. Why would it be any different with destiny itself?

The Sabian Symbol corresponding to the calculation for my Mean North Node is, ‘An oriental rug dealer’.

As a literal rug-maker, I couldn’t deny the poignancy of my Mean North Node in my life. ‘An oriental rug dealer,’ is a symbol that speaks to crafts and trades that are handed down from master to pupil, and the weaving together of an everyday trade and daily commodity with a spiritual practice, such as a prayer rug. I still hear my grandmother’s voice whenever I sit down to a sewing machine, “Feed it, don’t force it,” she instructed me like a Zen master, as I struggled to sew my first few rugs together.

The Sabian Symbol for my True North Node was, ‘A water sprite’.

As a lover of water, on a constant quest to be close to it, ‘A Water Sprite’ also feels relevant. I’ve always adored diving into cold, fresh water. I’d written many love poems to water. I’d moved across the country just to be closer to water. I regularly collect my drinking water from a mountain spring. And as I write these words, I’m sitting with the door open to hear the gentle trickle of the creek that runs just behind my house.

After exploring my own Mean and True North Nodes as illustrated by the Sabian Symbols, my interest in this topic was fully piqued. I subsequently studied the birth charts and life stories of numerous historical figures, testing my theory that both the Mean and the True Node have relevance. I chose to work only with the charts of the deceased because their lives have already ‘played out’. The arc of their story is finished, making their life-path and purpose most visible and clear.

The more lives I looked into, the more I noticed a pattern forming.

There were three things I noticed:

The Sabian Symbol of the Mean North Node tended to describe a driving force that is more obvious, literal, or on the surface of the individual’s life.
The Sabian Symbol of the True North Node tended to describe a spiritual mission or pursuit the individual is seeking to harmonize or balance over the course of their lifetime.
Individuals with a Mean and True North Node at the same degree of the Sabian Symbols tended to have a more focused and concentrated soul-pursuit in that lifetime.

Historical Examples

Here are a few examples of how I’ve seen these observations play out:

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc’s Mean North Node is ‘A cross lying on the rocks’. Through this Sabian Symbol we can see the very obvious life path of Joan. Her ultimate fate was martyrdom. Incredibly devout to her God and the angelic voices that guided her in her quest to liberate France during the Hundred Years War, she was tried for witch-craft and burned at the stake in 1431 when she fell into the enemy hands of the English. Her condemnation was nullified 25 years later in 1956. She was canonized in 1920, becoming the patron saint of France. A cross now stands in her honor in the place where she was burned to death, outside of the Church of St Joan of Arc in Rouen, France.

Joan of Arc’s True Node is ‘Officers in dress parade’. Joan of Arc spent the last years of her short life inspiring thousands of men into battle. This was a fate she believed herself to be destined for, and she quested after it against all odds. Her dress was an integral part of her transformation from young woman into other-wordly, maiden-warrior. She is most famously depicted on a white horse, in shining armor, caring a large banner with the image of Christ on it, her hair cut short. With the aid and influence of her appearance she became a zeitgeist for the times, compelling the masses to strong emotions and incredible feats, both for and against her.

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo is one of those individuals with a Mean and True North Node that are the same, concentrating her soul purpose in a singular direction. Her Sabian Symbol is, ‘A nun entering a convent’. Over the course of her life, Frida Kahlo spent many long periods of time in bed, sequestered in her childhood home where she lived most of her life. As a young girl, she suffered from polio, and was bedridden for 6 months. As a teen, she was hit by a bus, and the accident shattered her spine. Confined to bed for 4 months, she began painting self portraits. For the rest of her life, she periodically had to go in and out of bed-rest due to chronic pain, multiple surgeries, miscarriages, and a leg amputation. She spent extensive time alone as a result of this fate. “I paint myself because I am often alone, and the subject I know best,” she said. Unable to have children due to the injuries to her spine and pelvis, she transmuted her creative and sexual energy to a spiritual use, as a nun might. Cloistered away, she looked into her own soul. The portraits she painted are manifestations of her spiritual reflection.

I hope these examples of historical figures helps to illustrate the power of using the North Node Sabian Symbols to convey destiny!

Want to try this at home?

Are you ready to go on a quest into the symbolic meaning of your North Node through the lens of the Sabian Symbols?

Grab a paper and pen.

And if you’re curious to learn more about the Lunar Nodes in your birth chart, but would rather skip the steps below, you can book an astrology reading with me here and we can explore them together.

To Locate Your Mean and True North Nodes and Corresponding Sabian Symbols:

First, calculate your birth chart on astro.com for free. You may need to create a user profile. Click, ‘extended chart selection’ and enter your birth data. Below your birth data entry, you’ll see a section titled, ‘display and calculation options’. Check off both the Mean and True Node, and then hit the green button that says, ‘show the chart’.

Now that you’ve cast your chart, look in the bottom left hand corner, where you’ll see a list of the planets and points in your chart. Find your Mean and True Node near the bottom of that list, and write down the sign they are in, as well as the numbers that you see beside it. The first number is the degree, the second is the minutes, and the third is seconds. You’ll only need the degree and the minutes for our purposes.

At last, you’re ready to look up your Sabian Symbols! When reading the Sabian Symbols for placements in the Zodiac, always “round up”, and read the symbol for the degree that follows. For example, if the number of your True North Node is 3 degrees and 17 minutes Aquarius, read the Sabian Symbol for Aquarius 4.

Many astrologers have expounded upon the interpretations of the Sabian Symbols over the years, there are many different interpretations you can choose from. My favorite online resource comes from James Burgess.

Once you have the phrase for the Sabian Symbol, I suggest you sit with it on your own before reading any interpretations. Let your own poetic voice lead the way! Write down your initial impressions. Let these be loose, stream of consciousness interpretations. Your own interpretation of the symbol is as true as any other. As James Burgess himself says,

“Each of the 360 symbols and explanations can be seen as a life mystery. Each of us will have our own personal take on it, and this can be as valid as any attempt the author makes to give objective meaning. It all depends on how capable you are at opening the subtle, intuitive aspect of mind to unveil the mystery."

That’s it! You now have everything you need to find True North on your Compass, and explore your own North Node through the lens of the Sabian Symbols.

About the Author

Jillian Sinnott is an intuitive astrologer and folk artist, residing by a babbling brook in the soft hills of Appalachia. The constant shifting of the heavenly bodies is her greatest muse. She practices combining her creativity with astrology in a variety of mediums, from poetry, to handicrafts, and the mixed media artwork featured in Virginia Rosenberg’s 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 Cosmic Calendars. Jillian began working with archetypes as a Tarot reader, and has been reading for over 12 years. She accesses astrology through the interplay of myths, archetypes, and elemental energy actively tessellating within us, inviting you to dance with the planets within.

Sabian Secrets: The Lunar Nodes & Our Life Path