North Node calculator
Your North Node sign and the South Node sign opposite it, from your birth date.
The North Node calculator gives you the sign of your North Node from your birth date, along with the South Node sign opposite it. Enter your birth date above and both signs appear right away.
Nothing you enter leaves this page. The result comes from your browser, with no upload and no saved record.
What the lunar nodes are
The Moon’s path around Earth tilts a little against the Sun’s path across the sky. The two paths cross at two points, and those points are the lunar nodes. The North Node marks where the Moon crosses going north. The South Node marks the crossing going south.
The nodes are points in space and have no body of their own. They still matter to sky watchers, since eclipses happen when the Sun comes close to one of them.
In astrology, the North Node points toward skills you are growing into. The South Node shows habits that already come easily to you. Each pair of signs works as a single line with two ends.
Your two signs always come as a pair
The nodes sit exactly opposite each other, so your North Node sign settles your South Node sign.
| North Node | South Node |
|---|---|
| Aries | Libra |
| Taurus | Scorpio |
| Gemini | Sagittarius |
| Cancer | Capricorn |
| Leo | Aquarius |
| Virgo | Pisces |
| Libra | Aries |
| Scorpio | Taurus |
| Sagittarius | Gemini |
| Capricorn | Cancer |
| Aquarius | Leo |
| Pisces | Virgo |
A North Node in Aries, for example, asks you to act on your own. Its South Node in Libra suggests you are already good at keeping the peace.
Why the nodes move backward
Planets travel forward through the zodiac, from Aries to Taurus and on. The nodes go the other way, from Taurus back to Aries. The Sun and Earth tug on the Moon’s tilted orbit, and that pull slowly turns the crossing points around.
The nodes change sign about every 18 months and take about 18.6 years to go all the way around. Everyone born within the same 18 months or so shares your node signs. The sign tells you about a group of people, and the house in a full chart makes it personal.
Mean node and true node
This calculator uses the mean node. That is the smooth average position, which slides backward at a steady pace. The true node is the exact position, and it wobbles a little around that average. On some days it even moves forward for a short time.
The two versions stay within a degree or two of each other. For most dates they land in the same sign. Near a sign change they can split, and one chart may then show a different sign from another. If a different result turns up elsewhere, check which node that chart used.
Where to go from your result
Start with your North Node sign and read its page. Then read about the South Node on the opposite side. Together they show what you already do well and where you might stretch next. Pick one small habit from the North Node page and try it for a month. Your own notes will tell you more than any single description.
Questions
Do I need my birth time for the North Node?
No. The mean node moves only about three arc minutes a day, so the date gives your sign. Your time matters only for finding the house.
Why does another chart show a different node sign?
That chart may use the true node. The two versions sit a degree or two apart at most, so they disagree only near a sign change.
Is the South Node always opposite the North Node?
Yes. The two points sit exactly 180 degrees apart, so your South Node sign always follows from your North Node sign.
How often do the nodes change sign?
About every 18 months. They finish a full lap of the zodiac in about 18.6 years.
Where does my birth date go?
Nowhere. Your browser does the calculation, and the date isn't sent out or kept.