☋ The South Node
The point opposite the North Node — what is already acquired and deeply rooted habits.
The lunar South Node is always 180° from the North Node — together the two form an axis running through the birth chart. Like the North Node, it is a mathematical point (not a celestial body), calculated from the intersection of the lunar and solar orbits.
In modern astrology, it represents what comes naturally: ease, reflexes, acquired attitudes. Comfortable but sometimes too familiar, it can become a place of retreat rather than development. Its sign and house describe what one already masters, sometimes to excess.
In the Hellenistic tradition, the South Node is called Katabibazon ("the one who descends") or the dragon's tail (☋). It is considered ill-seeing or constraining: planets in conjunction with it can be weakened or destabilized, and situations tied to its sign demand greater effort.
This reading is nuanced in contemporary astrology, where the South Node is seen as an inheritance to integrate rather than an obstacle to avoid.