Guide — North Node calculator: what is my North Node sign?

The lunar nodes are not planets. They are the two points where the Moon’s orbit crosses the Sun’s apparent path (the ecliptic): the North Node where the Moon crosses heading north, the South Node where it crosses heading south.

North Node sign by birth date

Find your birth date in the table. The dates are when the mean North Node entered each sign (UTC); the node leaves the sign the day before the next row. If you were born within a day or two of a change, a full chart calculation with the true node can give the neighbouring sign, because the true node wobbles around the mean by up to about two degrees.

What the lunar nodes are

The Moon’s orbit is tilted about 5° to the ecliptic, so it crosses the ecliptic twice a month at two opposite points, the nodes. The line between them turns slowly backwards and completes a full circle in about 18.6 years.

Eclipses can only happen when a new or full Moon falls close to a node, which is why eclipses come in seasons roughly every six months and why astrologers link eclipses to the nodes. See every eclipse and where it is visible on the eclipses page.

See your Big Three

North Node and South Node in astrology

In Western astrology the North Node is traditionally read as a direction of growth: qualities of its sign that feel unfamiliar but rewarding. The South Node, in the opposite sign, is read as familiar ground: habits and talents that come easily and can turn into a comfort zone. A North Node in Aries with the South Node in Libra, for example, is described as learning independence after relying on others.

These are interpretive traditions, not measurable effects. Some astrologers also read the house of the nodes, which needs a birth time.

Mean node or true node?

Astrologers use two versions. The mean node is the smooth average position; the true node adds the short wobbles caused by the Sun’s pull on the Moon’s orbit, and can briefly move forwards. Both give the same sign for almost every birth date; the difference matters only within days or a few weeks of a sign change. This table uses the mean node.

Does the MySkySoul birth chart show the nodes?

Not yet: the birth chart covers the Sun, the Moon, the planets to Pluto, the Ascendant and the Midheaven. Use the table above for your node signs, and the Big Three calculator for your Sun, Moon and Rising signs.

Astrology offers themes for reflection, not predictions or facts about who you must be.