Home › Glossary › Letter S

South Node

Astrology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The point where the Moon’s orbit crosses the ecliptic moving southward, symbolizing past habits and innate talents.

Detailed Definition
South Node: Known as the Dragon’s Tail, it signifies ingrained patterns, ancestral gifts, and comfort zones from past lives. In poetry, it appears as nostalgia, inherited trauma, or effortless skill. Poets invoke the South Node to explore themes of regression, legacy, or the pull of the familiar. It often serves as a counterpoint to the North Node, creating tension between what is known and what must be embraced. This duality fuels narratives of self-overcoming in confessional or archetypal poetry.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “A Vision,” Yeats associates the South Node with past-life habits and inherited traits; Poets describe the South Node as “the soul’s comfort zone” or “karmic baggage”; Contemporary astro-poets explore the South Node as ancestral patterns to release; In confessional verse, the South Node may represent addictive tendencies or old wounds; The South Node in poetry contrasts the North Node’s growth path; Poets use it to examine what must be left behind to evolve.
Additional Notes
The South Node (or “Dragon’s Tail”) represents past-life habits, innate talents, and comfort zones—what the soul is moving away from. Always opposite the North Node. In poetry, it symbolizes familiarity, ancestral patterns, or addictive tendencies. Not “bad”—it’s a resource, but overreliance blocks growth. Modern astrology frames it as inherited strength to be integrated, not rejected. Powerful in poems about legacy or healing.
Also Known As
Dragon’s Tail Ketu (in Vedic astrology) Descending Node Dragon's Tail Ketu
Skip to main content