The Moon Nodes and the luck of the Horseshoes (2021)

Digital Art
Leon Lester

This artwork is designed to show the co-joining energy of the Moon’s Nodes as used in Babylonian Astrology and the mythology of the luck of the horseshoes.
Often overlooked by many astrologers, the Moon’s Nodes are highly influential on personality. The Moon’s Nodes, both north and south, are not planets but they are imaginary points of measurement where the Moon’s Orbit crosses the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. They are exactly 180º apart in the sky and are always retrograde. The ascending node is where the moon crosses from south of the ecliptic to north of the ecliptic. The descending node is where it crosses from north of the ecliptic to south of the ecliptic. Because the ascending node is the point of intersection between the ecliptic and the plane of the lunar orbit where the moon is ascending from the south to the north, it is called the North Node. In ancient European texts, it is referred to as the dragon’s head, forming part of the Ouroboros that is an ancient symbol first appearing in Ancient Egypt to denote the cycle of completed spiritual wholeness. The symbol of the ascending node is Omega, the final letter in the Greek alphabet.
Similarly the descending node is the point where the Moon is descending from north to south, and is sometimes referred to as South Node. It is also known as the dragon’s tail, and its symbol is the inversion of the Omega symbol. In Hindu astronomy, the ascending node is called Rahu and the descending node is called Ketu.
In Astrology the South and North Nodes of the moon are important because they donate the significant personality traits that have been accrued from past lives, thus they influence present life character to a great extent. The South Node shows the basic character that the individual feels comfortable in expressing, for better or worse. The individual has mastered some of these astrological tendencies in the sign and house of the South Node such that they can receive an inflow of energy from the world for their fruitful expression. While the South Node is an inflow of energy from the world, the north node indicates where the individual must give energy to the world in order to develop a higher vibration of the astrological sign and house the north node is located. Until both the signs and houses that the nodes are located in are mastered, the individual remains earth bound trying to achieve wholeness and henceforth become the perfect circle of astrological self-understanding as depicted in the Ouroboros. The Ouroboros is of course the state of the Angel or Ascended master who is no longer needing another human incarnation to master human conditions here on earth or indeed any other physical planet.
By no coincidence, the mythology behind the luck of the Horseshoe perfectly mirrors the energetic expression of the south and north nodes of the moon in Astrology. The Horseshoe is considered to be a good luck charm in a wide range of cultures. Belief in its magical powers traces back to the Greeks, who saw the ‘U’ shape of a horseshoe similar to that of a crescent moon. According to Greek tradition the crescent moon was regarded as a symbol of fertility, growth and stability. It was believed that the horseshoe when hung correctly would bestow good luck. When hung upward like a “U” or the symbol of the south node of the moon to recall the waxing moon, the horseshoe would cup energy within it, bestowing good fortune for its owner thus receiving energy from the universe in the same way as the south node accrues energy for the individual in the sign and house it is located in an astrological chart. Conversely, when hung downward like the north node of the Moon symbol, Omega, and to recall the waning Moon, the Horseshoe would let energy drain out of it and bestow bad luck on its owner or require them to give out energy to the universe.
Interestingly, the energy of the moon nodes are said to be magnified in certain signs. The South Node is exalted in Sagittarius and in detriment in Gemini, and the North Node is exalted in Gemini and in detriment in Sagittarius. Sagittarius is the ruler of horses and by virtue of this fact horseshoes and is symbolised by the man with a horse’s body or a Centaur. It is considered the most lucky of signs due to it being ruled by Jupiter, the planet of wealth and expansion. Therefore it makes sense, the Horseshoe when hung like the symbol of the south node, bestows good luck while also being in an exalted state of good fortune when the upward horseshoe or South Node of the Moon is positioned in the sign of the horse, Sagittarius in any astrological chart.