Astrology, one placement at a time
This guide covers two placements in the tropical zodiac that describe growth rather than personality: the North Node, which points to where you are growing, and Chiron, which marks a tender spot that can become something you offer other people. Each one is explained sign by sign, with a finder so you can look up your own.
Start here
If you already know your placement, go straight to its sign page for what it means in practice. If you do not, each hub below has a birth-date finder that works out the sign for you, along with every other sign for comparison.
The North Node moves backward through the zodiac slowly, so people born within roughly the same stretch of time often share it. Chiron moves at an uneven pace and sometimes loops back over a sign before moving on, which the finder accounts for automatically.
- North NodeThe direction you are growing toward, by sign, with a birth-date finder.
- ChironThe sore spot that becomes a source of wisdom, by sign, with a birth-date finder.
How these fit with the rest of your chart
A birth chart has a lot of moving parts, and it helps to know what each one is actually describing. Your Sun, Moon and rising sign describe who you are: your core identity, your emotional inner life and the way you tend to come across to other people.
The North Node describes where you are growing, the direction that feels unfamiliar now and more natural with practice. Chiron describes a tender spot, a sensitivity you learned early, and the place where your own experience can turn into something useful to offer someone else.
None of these placements override the others. A grounded Sun sign and a stretching North Node can sit in the same chart without conflict. Each one answers a different question about the same person.
Dates are calculated in the tropical zodiac from NASA JPL Horizons data: the true (osculating) lunar node for the North Node, and the geocentric position of 2060 Chiron. They are in UTC, so if you were born within a day or two of a change, your birth time decides.