Everything You Need to Know About the Mean Node, Lunar Nodes, and More!

So, there is this ongoing debate over using true node or mean node in the Astrologist community. If you wonder what’s all this fuss about the nodes, read through to find more about what a mean node is and how astrologers calculate it. 

Before diving into mean nodes, we will also help you understand what a node is and its role in Astrology. Dive in!

What do you mean by node? 

You might be aware that the Moon has nodes, and these lunar nodes are quintessential to understanding Evolutionary Astrology and karmic analysis. Now, if you are one of those bright students who attended sciences classes with glowy eyes, you are in for a treat! To understand a lunar node, we have to go back to some old-school science lessons. 

Initially, astrologers believed in the earth-centred theory where the Sun and all other celestials revolved around the Earth. 

1. The belt surrounding the Earth where the Sun and other celestials revolve around the Earth is called the Zodiac. 
2. As the Sun moves in the Plane of Ecliptic surrounding the Earth, it passes through all twelve zodiac signs. 

Similarly, the Moon revolves around the Earth every 27 days. The Moon has a Celestial sphere similar to the Sun through which it rounds our planet. 

Using your vivid imagination, you might have been able to picture two paths around the Earth through which the Sun and Moon are moving around the Earth. 

Now, try visualizing a slight tilt in the  Moon’s orbit five degrees from the Plane of Ecliptic. For this, you might have to move your imagination up a notch. But once you can picture the position of these orbits around the Earth appropriately, you can understand the lunar nodes easily. 

So, now we have our Moon revolving around the Earth in a titled elliptical orbit. So far, so good! 

As the Moon moves in its orbit, it crosses the Plane of Sphere of the Sun at two points. These are called the lunar nodes. 

Since the Moon’s orbit is tilted, we can identify the two nodes as North and South. 

1. When the Moon moves upwards, it reaches the North node.
2. When the Moon descends, it passes through the South node. 

If you are still thinking about when the mean node will come into the picture, keep reading to find out! 

One needs a lot more understanding about lunar nodes before one can understand what a mean node is. So, the answer to “what do you mean by a node” is not complete after all! Let’s help you figure it out in detail!

Nodal cycles and Eclipses

Nodes do not remain in the same place, they keep shifting backwards, and in 6793.39 days, they will reach where they started. So, a nodal cycle lasts for about 18 years and seven months. Its significance in Astrology is that the nodes will pass through each Zodiac sign every year and a half. 

The next thing we need to understand is the formation of Solar and Lunar Eclipse. 

When the Sun, the Moon and the Earth perfectly align horizontally, with the Moon in the middle, we have a Solar Eclipse. If the Earth is in the middle, we have a Lunar Eclipse. 

As the Moon takes only 27 days to revolve around the Earth, there should be one Solar Eclipse and one Lunar Eclipse every month, but this is not happening. 

Now, you may wonder why! The answer is that, for the perfect horizontal alignment of the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth to occur, the Moon has to be in one of the lunar nodes. 

Every time we have a New Moon near a lunar node, we have a Solar Eclipse. When the Full Moon falls in a lunar node, we have a Lunar Eclipse. 

True Node Versus Mean Node – The Hot Debate Goes On

The north node helps predict your destiny, and the south node tells you about your past life. However, there is quite a confusion over using the mean node or true node for calculation. Let us look at what is meant by true and mean nodes to understand the problem better. 

The Moon is revolving around the Earth, which is constantly rotating. So, both the Moon and the Earth have a common centre of gravity. It is called the barycenter. 

Some consider this centre to be precisely in the middle of the Earth. If one calculates nodes with this assumption, then we get mean nodes. 

In reality, due to the size difference between the Earth and the Moon, the centre of gravity is not exactly in the Earth’s centre. 

The barycenter is slightly positioned a three-quarter distance away from the centre towards the Earth’s surface. This deviation is the effect of the Moon’s gravity on the Earth even though it is much smaller than the planet.

When we apply the “Inverse Square Law”, wherein gravity quadruples when distance reduces by half, we can understand why the Moon is exerting more gravitational influence on the Earth. 

The Earth and the Moon wobble in their respective orbits. So, as the orbits keep changing due to the wobbling, the lunar nodes also slightly shift. However, mean nodes do not consider this. 

Similarly, the Sun also exerts influence on the Earth and the Moon. There is always a tug of war between the Sun and the Moon in this influence over the Earth. 

According to the relative position, the Sun’s and the Moon’s gravitational effect on the Earth differs. For instance, during a perihelion, the Sun will have more influence over the Earth due to the planet’s closeness to the Sun. 

One can factor in all these technical details and calculate the true node. But, for all practical purposes, most astrologers calculate the mean node only. 

The difference is slight to make significant changes in a person’s reading, so it is better to rely on the mean node for all purposes. 

However, there are some instances where the true node can give a more accurate position. An astrologer has to use his expertise and intuition to deal with such scenarios.

Concluding Thoughts:

The debate about the mean and true nodes seems never-ending! Only an astrologer can take the right call on picking either of the nodes. 

Regardless of the nodes, what matters is how accurately the astrologer will deliver the predictions using these nodes.