The Early History and Meanings of the Nodes in Astrology

In episode 290 astrologer Ronnie Gale Dreyer joins the show to talk about the early history and meanings of the nodes in astrology, both in the western and Indian astrological traditions. As discussed in episode 127, in the late 20th and early 21st century the nodes came to be associated with one’s past and future life in modern western astrology, but these associations are absent from the tradition if you look back more than a century or so. The premise of this discussion, then, is what did the nodes mean in the older traditions of astrology if they didn’t have to do with past lives? Ronnie is the author of the book Vedic Astrology: A Guide to the Fundamentals of Jyotish, and she is also a Sanskrit scholar who is currently working on a translation of a 4th century Indian text on applying astrology to the lives of women. Together we set out to explore and discuss the early history of the nodes in eastern and western astrology. You can find out more information about Ronnie on her website: RonnieDreyer.com The painting featured in the cover art for this episode is by astrologer Shu Yap, and depicts the Samudra Manthan story, which we mention at one point in this episode as being connected to Hindu legends surrounding the origins of the nodes. You can follow Shu on Instagram: @interpsycle_astrology This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:00 Ronnie’s book and background 00:14:45 History of women in astrology 00:20:39 The nodes and past lives 00:30:54 Interaction between Eastern and Western astrology 00:36:39 Mythology of Rahu and Ketu 00:39:19 Ancient mentions of the nodes 00:48:58 Parashara and nodes 00:57:30 Nodes, malefics, and outcasts 00:59:00 Nodes, the ecliptic, eclipses 01:01:30 Valens on the nodes 01:05:40 Rahu like Saturn, Ketu like Mars 01:07:40 Delineations from Phaladeepika 01:10:00 Houses 3, 6, 10, 11 and Rahu 01:14:18 Houses 4, 5 and Rahu 01:16:00 Rahu and Ketu as malefics 01:20:59 Houses 7, 10, 9, 11 and Rahu 01:24:40 House 12 and Rahu 01:25:00 Houses 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and Ketu 01:29:56 Houses 9, 10, 11, 12 and Ketu 01:32:44 Dragon and the nodes 01:34:49 Exaltations of the nodes 01:37:44 Opinion According to the Chaldeans 01:43:30 Turning point of nodes in history 01:47:25 Persian tradition 01:48:35 More about the dragon 01:51:30 Guido Bonnati on the nodes 01:58:58 More on the Vedic nodes 02:02:25 Rudhyar and evolutionary astrology 02:11:38 Three traditions of the nodes 02:16:21 Outer planets and the nodes 02:19:47 How Chris uses the nodes 02:22:38 Nodes and eclipses 02:27:54 Ronnie’s work and website 02:28:44 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode on the Moon’s nodes: – Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 290 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below: