Planetary Nodes

It appears that there are yet more sensitive points to be found in our natal charts - those formed by the nodes of the planets. These are calculated in the same way as the Moon's nodes, they are "points at which the orbits of the planets intersect the ecliptic, because of the inclination of their planes to the plane of the Earth's orbit." (Definition from Nicholas deVore's Encyclopedia of Astrology).

In her book "Here and There in Astrology", Ivy M. Goldstein-Jacobson says "the nodal points move not more than a degree and a half in a hundred years...... these are of value by conferring something of their own nature on the person whose planets they conjoin, thus explaining some of his special leanings to that extent.....a planet on one of these nodes at birth has that nodal vibration inborn and lasting throughout life"
There's further information about each planet's nodes from Jim D'Amato, at "Planetary Nodes" HERE. (It's necessary to forage among the adverts, but everything is there!)

The current position of planetary nodes can be found at Astrology Weekly HERE and HERE for 2006 and 2005 ( Jim D'Amato's and Ivy Goldstein-Jacobson's information is for dates around 1960).

Finding the exact position of planetary nodes at one's time of birth could be tricky, I guess. Anyway, for 1960-ish here are the rounded-off positions(North/South). For most adults these nodal positions are not likely to differ by more than a degree or so in their natal charts.

Mercury 18* Taurus/Scorpio
Venus 16* Gemini'Sagittarius
Mars 19* Taurus/Scorpio
Jupiter 10* Cancer/Capricorn
Saturn 23* Cancer/Capricorn
Uranus 13* Gemini/Sagittarius
Neptune 11* Leo/Aquarius
Pluto 20* Cancer/Capricorn

I have no planets within a degree of any of these positions, but I notice, from a quick look at the chart of my husband (HeWhoKnows), that Neptune's North node is less than 2 degrees from his ascendant. That might well contribute to the many Piscean traits I see in him, which conflict sharply with his Aries Sun !

Here's another tidbit from Nicholas deVore's Encyclopedia of Astrology:

"One authority states that a lunation or eclipse on the South Node of a planet tends to release a destructive force of the nature of the planet involved. For example, conditions centering around Saturn's South Node may indicate a drought following an unusually hard winter"