The Nodes in Pisces/Virgo: Before the Fog Settles and the Illusions Clear
Sunday, January 12, 2025
Nodes entered Pisces/Virgo 1.11.2025 6:03 PM EDT
We now have a year and a half of being guided toward spiritual depth on the Pisces North Node, with practical attachments and perfection holding us back on the Virgo South Node. To think about this transit not in the context of yesteryear like I directed yesterday, but in context of current astrological influences, is the key to taking all the things that didn’t work LAST TIME and seeking a new and different path and outlet for these energies this time around. To do that, we need to consider what’s going on in the signs of Pisces and Virgo, and also what their rulers are up to…remember, Jupiter is the traditional ruler of Pisces, Neptune is thought to be a modern association of Pisces, and Virgo is ruled by Mercury no matter what. If you’ve got planets in either Pisces or Virgo, they will be up for conjunctions to the transiting North Node or South Node, and that’s always an imperative time of change and evolution according to the will and whim of fate. The North Node is a place of pursuit, whereas the South Node is often a place of loss or leaving things behind, we can’t grow when we’re stuck or submerged.
As the Nodes have now shifted, we’ve moved from a place where the main objective was to establish independence upon the North Node in Aries and sever old tentacles of relationship dynamics that sabotage and hold us back…especially those over which we experienced a loss of independence, or sense of control. Now that the North Node has moved backward in the Zodiac to Pisces, we are called to establish dynamics of interdependence and spaces of collaboration, where we dissolve boundaries where safe, and become “one” in consciousness and the quest for a deeper underlying sense of meaning. We remain trapped in this Nodal axis where the Virgo South Node provokes fear and anxiety, and where we can’t relinquish a sense of rigid planning and precision, where we can’t take what comes without adapting. There is a tendency in the Virgo South Node to exist in a persistent state of crisis-mode, and the Pisces North Node directs us away from that toward a state of acceptance, forgiveness, compassion, and understanding.
Part of the magic of working with this axis entails the ebb and flow and reactivity being understood as natural, and meandering with connection and creative expression, following the profound sense of intuition with which Pisces graces us. We’ve had practice with some of this in the last two years, thanks to Saturn, planet of structure and discipline transiting this sign, as well as Neptune, planet of dreams and intuition which is comfortable and feels at home in Pisces. Saturn in Pisces has underscored a deep need for principle and has redefined belief here, and it has called attention to outgrown places in the spiritual journey, pointing out facades and showing us where we’re surrounded by people who aren’t inferior, but just aren’t as deeply engaged or aren’t as well trained or as experienced as we are. Neptune in Pisces is more of a generational influence, and while it’s a constant set of rose-colored glasses that lends hope and instills dreams, it can also lead to unfounded idealism and missing the point of spiritual lessons entirely. Both of these planets will cross the North Node, and these dates are highly important to the transit. I will discuss them in depth at the appropriate times, but for now, note that these will be important aspects to remember, these are big conjunctions that happen rarely and are part of what shape the direction of fate while the North Node is in Pisces. Though Retrogrades for both planets will see them return to Pisces after they ingress to Aries for a final period of culmination, both of them will only make ONE exact conjunction to the North Node, and this makes those conjunctions especially potent and promising:
Neptune conjunct North Node February 7, 2025 1:11 AM EST
Saturn conjunct North Node April 21, 2025 7:21 AM EDT
Neptune is the planet of illusion, while Saturn demands cold, hard, reality. This ongoing, hovering conjunction that will happen between the two of them is the major underlying story of 2025, and that it impacts the North Node with conjunctions makes it a time of extremes, where we will need to define exactly what the boundaries need to be, and where dreams may die but what is then inspired is something that can stand the test of time. No more playing martyr, no more playing in water over our heads, we all get a big and shocking twist that lends perspective to exactly where we truly stand, and with that big picture perspective, we can begin again. Pisces is the final sign of the Zodiac, so we can certainly expect big culminations, don’t be surprised if many old people, situations, ideas, or patterns come rising out of the subconscious into the blurry line between what’s real and what’s an illusion in the coming weeks. What we tried to escape under the last transit from June 2006 to December 2007 must be finished if there were any Pisces avoidant or addictive patterns that need to be addressed. That’s where the South Node work in Virgo comes in, understanding that it’s not worth being attached to “should” and “ideal” and that perhaps reframing our expectations can shift the paradigm at a fundamental level. Acceptance of limitation is what gets us there, and Saturn is working hard to ensure that over the coming weeks. Neptune is, for all intents and purposes, NOW conjunct the North Node, and this entire period leading up to the exact conjunction can bring big dreams or big illusions, and spins of fate. Do dreams come true, or do they need to be confronted? That all depends upon how these influences are spinning within the context of your chart and current sets of choices, born of old issues and past decisions made in the context of the Virgo South Node.
This Nodal transit begins with Mars Retrograde holding us back in Cancer, where home and family are the utmost of concerns, and Mars Retrograde is trine Neptune, planet of dreams and intuition at the end of Pisces as Neptune approaches the North Node. It’s time to see through the clouds and do what it takes to establish EMOTIONAL SECURITY first and foremost at the beginning of this transit, it’s absolutely imperative. Moon, ruling emotions, is in Gemini and that also squares Neptune and the North Node at this time of immersion in Pisces, and that may lead to an over analytical approach that does not foster trust for Mars Retrograde in Cancer. Gemini Moon is too argumentative, with a nature of debate and surprise attack that makes Neptune feel targeted, and the pattern begins here tending toward avoidance of crucial issues rather than addressing them head-on. What we can learn here is that when things are uncomfortable, refuting them may feel like a natural response, but the Pisces North Node requires acceptance. We don’t have to affirm what is uncomfortable, the key is to sit within it, experience it, and allow it to be acknowledged before jumping to Gemini Moon conclusions, or spinning the view to something entirely different. The issues at the end of Pisces are deep, and if we don’t confront them now, they will only grow deeper and more festering.
Jupiter, ruler of the North Node, is also in Gemini, and it’s square Saturn, in Pisces. These two are not getting along, and it’s a battle for supremacy. There may be a long period of stalemate or stagnation that characterizes this beginning of the transit, and we need to examine ways to break through. For the South Node in Virgo ruled by Mercury, that’s a Capricorn influence for now, and Mercury in Capricorn is practical and hardworking, with a healthy burst of Cardinal “let’s DO something about it” that aids in Virgo analysis but without taking things as personally. Whatever we have to do is just something we have to do, this is not an emotional Mercury but a purely intellectual one. We are already dealing with enough overwhelming FEELING with Mars Retrograde in Cancer trine Neptune, so as the work begins on the Virgo South Node, it’s certainly crisis response, but without allowing it to completely overtake other priorities.
Venus is also in Pisces, at 9 degrees, and is applying to a square to Jupiter, bringing challenges to relationships as Venus is also applying toward a conjunction to the commitment and dedication of Saturn. We may need to adjust our thinking in terms of relationship goals and expectations, and remember, while Venus is exalted in Pisces, Jupiter is the traditional ruler of this sign, and will be attempting to show Venus where we may be unrealistic or allowing time to pass us by, where Venus is floating lazily and peacefully on the surface Jupiter reminds us that there are rocky currents that need attention. We may lose sight of the big picture for getting lost in the details and frayed ends of things that come back to haunt us that have been left unfinished or still entangled.
Dwarf planet Eris also hit Station Direct early in the morning before this transition of signs for the Nodes, and Eris may be extremely provocative, and bring up intense issues rooted in places of insecurity reinforced by maltreatment or intentional disruption and discord. I will be discussing Eris Station primarily in the context of the Cancer Full Moon on the Divine Lunation Tier, but for purposes of this consideration, Eris and her cycles will be important to the entire Nodal transit and should not be overlooked. I talk about Eris regularly on my Divine Flame Asteroid and Dwarf Planet level of subscription. Station is a time of pause and standstill, and Station Direct for Eris is the Mistress of Discord, who has been kept on a leash and restrained, ready to unleash all her pent-up aggression. Feelings may be easily hurt while the North Node is in Pisces, and Eris at Station may indeed bring up difficult feelings, especially given her direct involvement in the Cancer Full Moon on Monday.
