the nodes move into pisces & virgo and all of the sudden everyone is magic??

well, yes. welcome to wizard school.

“a river of material flows through us. when we share our works and our ideas, they are replenished. if we block the flow by holding them all inside, the river cannot run and new ideas are slow to appear.

in the abundant mindset, the river never runs dry. ideas are always coming through. and an artist is free to release them with the faith that more will arrive.

if we live in a mindset of scarcity, we hoard great ideas.”

― rick rubin, the creative act: a way of being (pisces mercury, chiron, sun, jupiter & virgo moon, neptune, pluto PHEW)

the stars above:

today the north and south node move into pisces and virgo (respectively), ending a 3.5 year streak of mars + venus ruled eclipses. the nodes assume the shape and agendas of whatever planet rules them, so mercury + jupiter (and venus too) — rulers of the mutable lands — are taking the helm.

pisces has already been a hotbed of planetary activation, and 2025 is where we see the fever pitch beginning of the end of these era-marking transits — neptune + saturn's transits specifically. the north node eclipses joining the fray will act as both amplifiers + catalysts, bringing us, at long last, to The Point Of It All.

immediately upon crossing the aries point into pisces, the north node will conjoin the neptune-saturn conjunction — activating one of the dominant energy signatures of 2025. not only are saturn + neptune applying to a once-every-30-year conjunction, that conjunction is happening at the most notorious threshold of the zodiac: the crossing between pisces + aries. from the end of everything and the dissolution of all to the genesis, the seed, the emergence.

neptune is moving into aries (for the first time since the civil war) and saturn will be joining, with their first conjunction happening at 1° aries. eventually both will retrograde back into pisces and do the whole thing over again. and they are not the only ones cartwheeling back and forth across this cusp! both venus + mercury will station retrograde in the early degrees of aries, crossing back into pisces. this means both planets will be transiting the north node/neptune/saturn cathedral THREE SEPARATE TIMES.

the old world dying as the new world struggles to be born is an excellent frame for the border of aries/pisces. nowhere does that become more relevant than when you consider we will have four separate planets + a node crossing it, back and forth, in and out. emergence, dissolution. dissolution, emergence. and it's these currents and themes that the nodes are going to be agitating with this series of eclipses (it's what they do).

whatever hidden potential is revealed through this eclipse series will probably be needed for the aries action to come, put to good use immediately. so what does that mean here?

virgo + pisces: the alchemist + the source.

the dawn treader, isabella roberts

interesting ideas come from somewhere beyond the conscious mind (don't make me say pisces) as most of the best idea-havers will freely admit. whether that is from the unseen spirit of the heavens, the tao, god etc OR from the unseen underworld realm of the psyche really doesn't matter. for our mortal navigational systems, it's the same process to access either — it is imaginal.

because of this, true creativity has an incredibly psychic component to it, as anyone who channels it regularly can tell you. it's a spirit of its own, a divine current that comes planting urgent little seeds of artistry. inspiration, the real thing, is very insistent. it haunts you until you do something with it, although if you let the signal fade with too much hesitation it becomes much, much harder to give it form.

this form-giving process is the alchemy of virgo, the craftsmen, the virtuoso, the artistic medium of mercurial earth that gives direction to the pure potential of pisces. virgo curates the signal from the noise and uses their hermetic arts to broadcast or embody it, grounding piscean currents into the Real World. virgo knows that until a choice is made, until all that optionality has been refined into a single direction, you have nothing but a sea of What If's. can you pay the rent with What If? can you eat it?

and as tempting as it may be to completely turn away from the idealism and mysteries of piscean depths (so as not to get washed away in the tides), latent magical ability, creative gifts and psychic sensitivities that go unexpressed (virgo craft) can and will make you crazy. that charge to connect, to create, has to go somewhere.

"one of the most wicked destructive forces, psychologically speaking, is unused creative power. if someone has a creative gift and out of laziness, or for some other reason, doesn't use it, the psychic energy turns to sheer poison. that's why we often diagnose neuroses and psychotic diseases as not-lived higher possibilities."

-marie-louise von franz

if you don't consider yourself a creative type (you are but i'll play along) the lessons of this axis remain the same: virgo can descend into lethal perfectionism without the joyful surrender of pisces, and pisces can collapse into dissociation and bypass without the embodiment and execution of virgo. it's the archetype of the Demon Lover, that painful voice of perfectionism that promises transcendence from earthly aches and pains in return for absolute control.

"the energy that tempts us with the ultimate escape from pain is archetypal and it is best personified by the image of the Demon lover. the Demon lover tempts us with a vision of an everlasting existence that is free from the inconvenience of our cumbersome, needy and pain-infused flesh.

he offers an ascent into the luminosity of pure spirit, seducing us with the fantasy of eternal ecstasy. 'come fly with me!' he whispers to us, 'you do not have to stay on earth and suffer like this.' he is the force behind the (piscean) addictions that take us out of our (virgo) bodies and up into spirit, such as anorexia.

to follow his promises means to abandon our bodies, and ultimately our lives."

-marion woodman & daniela sieff, 2015

woodman talks about this kind of loop in terms of addiction patterns where the obsessive pursuit of perfection creates an unbearable tension that leads to collapse/escape, but the shame of collapse triggers an even more rigid pursuit of perfection to prevent future escapism.

the grass is always greener, as they say, and each side seems like it's holding the solution to the other side's problems. when overwhelmed by virgoan criticism and control, piscean escape feels like relief; when frightened by piscean formlessness and chaos, rigid and neurotic virgoan structure feels like safety. like all polarities, the real solution lies in the secret third thing: integration. ultimately, this is what the eclipses seek to (chaotically) uncover.

just like sister signs in the zodiac, the nodes are a polarity. wherever the north node goes, the south node follows in perfect opposition. it's very tempting to try and rigidly separate them — rahu this and ketu that — but like whatever signs they occupy, they are an eternal feedback loop. the performance of one signals the reaction of the other and vice versa: an ouroboros, a mobius strip.

the north node in pisces will drive us toward creative flow and direct connection with the imaginal realm. it hungers for artistic uncertainty where everything is possible, the formless void where creation begins. yet without form, potential remains unrealized.

the south node in virgo carries the wisdom of craft and precision. while these patterns of analysis can provide structure to the unseen, they can become paralyzing if held too tightly. ketu in virgo will show how perfectionism needs to soften into acceptance of imperfections in favor of playful + curious creation.

basically, the integrated virgo/pisces axis is one of the most sought-after states known to man: disciplined flow. embodied union with the One. connection between heaven and earth — aka The Point Of It All.

flow merchants abound: creativity coaches, gurus, spiritual mentors — and we're all well aware of the shadow of seeking peak states of performance/consciousness. lucky then, that rahu in pisces (and eventually saturn + neptune in independent aries) want to cut out the middleman. in the very near future, i truly believe that psychic gifts like telepathy, channeling, explorations of the void, energy work will be so common there will be no need to seek outside counsel (unless you want to treat yourself ofc).

i won't pretend to have easy answers for what it takes to make that trek back to Love because experience has shown it's a deeply personal journey for anyone brave enough to set forth. what i do believe is that your map, your lantern — is spelled out in your stars; this is true for everyone. in the meantime, where rahu in aries was concerned with rugged individualism at any cost, rahu in pisces is only interested in the communal, the merged, the interconnected. that means this time, truly, we do it together.

future lore:

if you want to know more about the nodes, the roles they play in your chart and what you might be able to expect in the upcoming eclipse series- astrologer Alex Harper (@balefulrays on twitter) and I will be streaming on 1/17, 4pm ET on this very topic. call in and get your chart read! we would love to see you.

until then, have some light musings on what fates and fortunes the eclipses may be stirring for you over the next 18 months.

the future is now <3

emilie

nn in pisces / sn in virgo, thru the houses (for you)

1h/7h axis:

the north node in 1h dissolves rigid self-concepts, opening identity to mystical merger. challenge is maintaining healthy boundaries while gift is profound empathy and spiritual presence in relationships. the south node in 7h releases perfectionist relationship patterns while teaching discernment in partnerships.

2h/8h axis:

in the 2h, the north node softens material attachments, bringing spiritual abundance and trust. resources become more fluid and shared. the south node in the 8h releases control around shared resources and intimacy, while offering practical wisdom about boundaries and merging.

3h/9h axis:

the north node in the 3h brings mystical qualities to everyday communication and learning. neighborhood becomes sacred space. the south node in the 9h releases rigid belief systems while offering grounded wisdom to balance spiritual exploration.

4h/10h axis:

in the 4h, north node dissolves family patterns and brings spiritual nurturing home. the south node in the 10h releases perfectionism in career while offering practical skills for manifesting vision in world.

5h/11h axis:

the north node in the 5h brings divine inspiration to creativity and romance. art becomes prayer. the south node in the 11h releases social anxiety while offering discrimination in group endeavors.

6h/12h axis:

in the 6h, the north node makes daily work and health routines sacred. service becomes meditation. the south node in the 12h releases analysis-paralysis of unconscious while offering practical ways to process mystical.

7h/1h axis:

the north node in the 7h dissolves relationship patterns that no longer serve, bringing unconditional love. the south node in the 1h releases self-criticism while offering discernment in identity expression.

8h/2h axis:

in the 8h, the north node deepens intimacy and transforms relationship to power. the south node in the 2h releases material insecurity while offering practical resource management.

9h/3h axis:

the north node in the 9h expands spiritual understanding beyond intellectual frameworks. the south node in the 3h releases mental chatter while offering clear communication of complex concepts.

10h/4h axis:

in the 10h, the north node brings spiritual mission to career. public role becomes vehicle for compassion. the south node in the 4h releases domestic perfectionism while offering emotional intelligence.

11h/5h axis:

the north node in the 11h dissolves social barriers, bringing universal love to groups. the south node in the 5h releases creative blocks while offering authentic self-expression.

12h/6h axis:

in the 12h, the north node deepens spiritual surrender and cosmic connection. the south node in the 6h releases workaholic tendencies while offering practical grounding for spiritual experiences.