The North and South Nodes of the  Moon are important parts of the astrological chart, but they are not planets.  Rather, they are points in the sky that mark the passage of the Moon across the path of the Sun.  I like to think of them as signposts in the sky that point us in the right direction so that we can accomplish our evolutionary journey.  The South Node is associated with the past – things and emotions which give us comfort but also hold us back.  The North Node is associated with our destiny and helps us to align with our future self.  On November 27th Pluto conjoined the North Node for the first time since 1994

Geeky astrological detail – some astrologers use the “True Node,” the exact position of the Nodes, and some use the “Mean Node,” the average position of the Nodes which tend to vacillate forward and reverse rather erratically.  In my work I have found the Mean Node to be more accurate but as in anything else, astrologers will differ which is why you may find differing dates for this conjunction.

Transits involving the nodes of the Moon do not usually set off major events the way planetary transits do, but they do tend to signify a change in course that alters the path of our journey.  

The last few times Pluto conjoined the North Node occurred in 1961 (in Virgo), in 1977 (in Libra), and in 1994 (in Scorpio).  1961 marked the beginning of the turbulent 1960s (which were helped along by the conjunction of Uranus and Pluto from 1962-1968).  The years after the 1977 conjunction saw the fall of Iran and the rise of religious dogmatism around the world which necessitated realignments of international alliances (with Pluto and the North Node in Libra).  In 1994, with Pluto and the North Node both in Pluto’s own sign of Scorpio, the genocide in Rwanda killed nearly a million people, and the bombings in Oklahoma City and at the Atlanta Olympics were  the first major terrorist attacks on American soil.  

Pluto isn’t always the friendliest planet, and in fact is associated with death and destruction as well as the principle of rebirth.  Its job is to bring into the open the  hidden facets of our lives that need to be exposed and either destroyed or transformed.  When Pluto conjoins the North Node, Pluto’s job becomes the facilitation of our evolution.

Because nodal cycles don’t usually bring a big event that happens at the exact time of the cycle, it will be some time before the effect of this conjunction is known.  If you are currently in the middle of a transit of Pluto to your own chart, this will be a particularly significant time and you may want to pay close attention to the day-to-day events in your life.

Because the North Node is opposite the South Node, when Pluto conjoins the North it opposes the South which serves to bring up things from the past that are unresolved.  This is no time to shrink from confrontation, because Pluto will not rest until matters of consequence are dealt with!