The “bendings” of the Moon in classical astrology

The universe must be trying to tell me something. In a recent post I reviewed Ptolemy’s comments about the moon at its nodes or its bendings. Since that time I continue to come across charts in which planets are at the bendings, that is, in close square aspect to the moon’s nodes.

By way of review, Claudius Ptolemy in his 2nd century CE text Tetrabiblos (Book III, Ch.12 Of bodily injuries and diseases, p.325 of the Loeb edition, Robbins trans.) wrote about the “bendings” of the moon’s orbit around the Earth. I don’t read Greek, but in the Loeb edition one can see that Ptolemy in discussing the moon’s orbit uses the word κάμψη, which according to Greek-English dictionaries refers to a flexion point, curve, bend, turning point, or change of direction. Here is Robbins’ translation of Ptolemy’s text:

“Again, if the luminaries, together or in opposition, move toward the maleficent planets upon the angles, or if the maleficent planets move toward the luminaries, particularly when the moon is at the nodes or her bendings, or in the injurious signs such as Aries, Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio, or Capricorn, there come about deformations of the body such as hunchback, crookedness, lameness, or paralysis, congenital if the maleficent planets are joined with the luminaries, but if they are at the mid-heaven points, elevated above the luminaries or in opposition one to the other, the deformations will result from serious dangers, such as falls from a height, the collapse of houses, or the attacks of robbers or animals. If Mars prevails, the danger is from fire, wounds, bilious attacks, or robberies; if it is Saturn, through collapse of buildings, shipwreck, or spasms.” — Claudius Ptolemy, 2nd century CE

The Moon’s nodes are simply the two points at which the moon’s orbit crosses the ecliptic (the apparent path or orbit of the Sun around the Earth). Upon crossing it north node, the Moon then ascends 5 degrees to its highest latitude above the ecliptic, changes direction at the north bending and begins to descend toward the south node on the ecliptic. Upon crossing its south node, the Moon continues to descend to its maximum southern latitude, 5 degrees below the ecliptic, changes direction at the south bend and begins to ascend toward the ecliptic. Comparing the Moon’s orbit that that of the Sun, we see a similarity between the north bend of the Moon and the summer solstice of the Sun (in the northern hemisphere). Similarly, the south bend of the Moon resembles the winter solstice of the Sun (in the northern hemisphere). This diagram is from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_elements:

Recently someone asked me to look at the birth chart of a friend who suffered from a seizure disorder. I was struck by the prominence of the bendings of the Moon’s true nodes in her friend’s natal chart, shown here:

In this natal chart the true lunar nodes are prominent because they are stationary and the span the 2nd and 8th houses. As an aside, in my research on solar returns I have found that stationary lunar nodes routinely mark memorable and often tumultuous years in which major life events are likely to occur.

Natal Uranus is in partile square to the moon’s nodes and is thus exactly at the bendings. The natal Moon has just passed its north node (has north latitude) and is rising toward its north bending. Uranus lies exactly at the south bend of the moon’s orbit, which symbolically is a point of difficulty, stress, sacrifice, elimination, release, letting go, and the outflow of energy. In Hinduism the south lunar node is associated with “moksha” or the release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma. In contrast, the north lunar node is linked to the insatiable craving for material goods, which in the West is viewed as extremely benefic.

In mythology the south node is the headless body and tail of the serpent, an eternal enemy of the life-giving Sun and Moon. This serpent has stolen and ingested the elixir of immortal life from the gods. The north lunar node is the severed head of this serpent, which can only ingest food and take in energy but is unable to swallow and assimilate that which it ingests because it has no body. When the moon’s nodes (the severed head and the headless body of the serpent) encounter the Luminaries, eclipses occur because the immortal severed head tries to devout the Light, and the immortal headless body, tail and anus cover the Light with its excrement.

In this chart, Uranus (a symbol of sudden disruptions and electrical discharges) squares the south bend of the moon’s orbit. Uranus at the southern bending is in a vulnerable spot, which Ptolemy links to bodily injuries and diseases. Saturn, which rules the Ascendant (body, life force of the native) closely conjoins Uranus and is also at the southern lunar bending within an orb of 3 degrees. Ptolemy didn’t know about Chiron, but we see here a potent T-square with Chiron opposing the Uranus-Saturn conjunction on the axis of the moon’s orbital bendings. The symbolism is apt for a person who suffers from a significant seizure disorder (sudden disruptive electrical discharges in the brain).