Use of the Transiting Dragon's Head as a directional point produces the very powerful and important new set of Directions called the Current Draconic, which concern Karmic events or stages in soul-growth. You will find many references on this website to the technique; but here is the story of the initial discovery.
An Idea.
At midnight on 12th/13th February 1989 an idea came to mind of such startling and challenging simplicity that it kept the author awake well into the small hours, producing a haphazard sheaf of notes confirming the following concept:- that a Birth Chart may symbolically "move" in a way perhaps unrealised before, and certainly unacknowledged, which is in relation to the transiting Node of the Moon.
A ten-year study of the Dragon had borne its first-fruits in 1987 when Draconic Astrology was published, discussing in detail the import of a zodiac beginning not at the Equinox, not at a star, but in the Dragon's Head, the North or Ascending Node of the Moon where her orbit crosses the Earth's on the Ecliptic.
The new thought-process ran as follows: - The Birth Chart progresses both in relation to the Vernal Point of 0̊ Aries, and to the Dragon's Head. But the Dragon's Head also progresses, so we find planets moving against a moving Draconic framework, albeit a shift of only a few degrees maximum in a lifetime. I was wondering if one might progress the planets against the North Node as if it stayed fixed in the birth position, when a related question arose as to whether the planets at birth made continuously fresh zodiacal relationships with the transiting Node.
This seemed a preposterous idea - until curiosity led me to translate my own pattern into Draconic as if the currently transiting Node at 0h on 13th February 1989 had been the Node at birth. The pattern that emerged was so striking and potentially apt with the actual natal Node now directed only 6' from the birth Ascendant, MC just 7' from natal Moon and opposite transiting Neptune, Jupiter opposite natal Venus, Uranus opposite Mars, Urania opposite transit Uranus, Moon entering a conjunction with Pluto, and the Sun in the same degree as the transiting Sun/IC/Draconic Mercury conjoining progressed Mercury and South Node on natal Draconic Jupiter, that it had to be followed up. Four hours of compulsive digging into diaries and ephemeris pulled out pattern after pattern of similarly directed contacts every bit as powerful in significance and timing as the Secondary Progressions and Solar Arcs.
For example, Transiting Node positions that draw the author's own radical Nodes together in this way with the Sun, at 26 AR 11, 3 PI 49, 26 LI 11 and 3 VI 49, were associated with the following major life-changes:
SPRING 1961 - was entered for major competition; very ill; won competition. (5th-house Sun to 12th-house N.Node.)
AUTUMN 1967 - recovering from near-fatal delivery of first ( autistic ) son. (6th-house S. Node to 5th-house Sun.)
AUTUMN 1970 - traumatic birth of 2nd son - and death of astrological twin. (Sun to S. Node.)
SPRING 1977 - met an important friend; then met future husband. (N.Node to 5th-house Sun.)
WINTER 1979 - Gerard and I bought our first home. ( Sun to N.Node.)
SUMMER 1986 - health problems; moved Mother-in-law to Kent. She has her Sun in my S.Node. (S.Node to Sun.)
EARLY 1989 - more health problems; father also very ill; start of this book. (5th-house Sun to 6th-house S.Node.)
The fore-going small sample serves to show how powerful this new directional system is; to the above could be added combinations of Moon/ Node, Node/ MC, Sun/ Moon, Pluto/ Mercury, whatever you will, but this is not necessary here - it would merely labour the point. Suffice it to add that on the night the idea of the Current Draconic came, the CD Pluto was approaching a multiple conjunction of radix Draconic Sun, progressed Draconic Mars, and transiting S.Node opposite transit Draconic Urania and N.Node, which, together with the Urania/ Uranus contact, suggested strongly some fresh astrological work to do!
Working with the Current Draconic.
The question first to be asked is this: “If the degree of my Sun is 29̊ Capricorn, where does that degree lie in a zodiac starting at the currently transiting North Node?” that is, “What is the current Draconic position of my natal Tropical Sun-degree?”
You then find that certain of these Current Draconic (CD) positions fall on key placements in the birth-chart, and tie in with life-events of major developmental importance.
So, the next question is: "Where does the transiting Node have to be, in order to move (for example) my natal Sun into Draconic Cancer 12̊, the degree of my natal Tropical Moon?" It turns out to be Libra 17̊.
What about the reverse, Moon moving to Sun in the same way?
This gives a Node position of Virgo 13̊.
While tabulating all the positions of the transiting Node necessary to bring into CD-to-Tropical contact all possible pairings in the chart, it quickly becomes obvious that the Node placings for each pair (e.g. Sun-to-Moon and Moon-to-Sun above) are natural complements of each other - add them together, and the sum is the complete wheel of 12 signs or 360̊.
At this point comes the realisation that all this can be smoothly accomplished by graphing onto rotating wheels; for if you map your chart onto two wheels, and rotate one against the other to line up the Sun on one against the Moon on the other, the Aries Point will also have rotated against the second circle. Its new position there marks the place where any non-Tropical zodiac must start to join the pair from one level to the other. This is the position in the familiar Tropical Zodiac which the transiting Node must reach to cross-connect Sun with Moon (etc.)
The corollary to this is that the Dragon's Head transiting the opposite points to those already found, will bring those same two bodies into opposition - just as crucial as the conjunction.
A most significant and important observation follows on all the fore-going - that the emphasis placed by astrological tradition on the Antiscions and Contrascions, and by extension the Parallels and Contraparallels - those points on the wheel which lie equidistant from the Solstice and Equinox axes of 0̊ Aries/Libra and Cancer/Capricorn - is fully in order, as they are the key to this profound set of bi-dimensional Directions.
We need not go into detail regarding the meaning of the Current Draconic, because a tabulation of your own Transiting Node degrees and a check on the dates when they have been active through your life will show you quickly how they pinpoint those periods and moments when you find yourself doing the things which you have come into life to do, to further your spiritual growth and honour your soul's commitments. Entering the Current Draconic dimension we gain a true insight into what we may term our "Fate" or "Destiny"; how flexible its outworking may be is a matter for study and debate.
.............................................................................................................................................................
An Idea.
At midnight on 12th/13th February 1989 an idea came to mind of such startling and challenging simplicity that it kept the author awake well into the small hours, producing a haphazard sheaf of notes confirming the following concept:- that a Birth Chart may symbolically "move" in a way perhaps unrealised before, and certainly unacknowledged, which is in relation to the transiting Node of the Moon.
A ten-year study of the Dragon had borne its first-fruits in 1987 when Draconic Astrology was published, discussing in detail the import of a zodiac beginning not at the Equinox, not at a star, but in the Dragon's Head, the North or Ascending Node of the Moon where her orbit crosses the Earth's on the Ecliptic.
The new thought-process ran as follows: - The Birth Chart progresses both in relation to the Vernal Point of 0̊ Aries, and to the Dragon's Head. But the Dragon's Head also progresses, so we find planets moving against a moving Draconic framework, albeit a shift of only a few degrees maximum in a lifetime. I was wondering if one might progress the planets against the North Node as if it stayed fixed in the birth position, when a related question arose as to whether the planets at birth made continuously fresh zodiacal relationships with the transiting Node.
This seemed a preposterous idea - until curiosity led me to translate my own pattern into Draconic as if the currently transiting Node at 0h on 13th February 1989 had been the Node at birth. The pattern that emerged was so striking and potentially apt with the actual natal Node now directed only 6' from the birth Ascendant, MC just 7' from natal Moon and opposite transiting Neptune, Jupiter opposite natal Venus, Uranus opposite Mars, Urania opposite transit Uranus, Moon entering a conjunction with Pluto, and the Sun in the same degree as the transiting Sun/IC/Draconic Mercury conjoining progressed Mercury and South Node on natal Draconic Jupiter, that it had to be followed up. Four hours of compulsive digging into diaries and ephemeris pulled out pattern after pattern of similarly directed contacts every bit as powerful in significance and timing as the Secondary Progressions and Solar Arcs.
For example, Transiting Node positions that draw the author's own radical Nodes together in this way with the Sun, at 26 AR 11, 3 PI 49, 26 LI 11 and 3 VI 49, were associated with the following major life-changes:
SPRING 1961 - was entered for major competition; very ill; won competition. (5th-house Sun to 12th-house N.Node.)
AUTUMN 1967 - recovering from near-fatal delivery of first ( autistic ) son. (6th-house S. Node to 5th-house Sun.)
AUTUMN 1970 - traumatic birth of 2nd son - and death of astrological twin. (Sun to S. Node.)
SPRING 1977 - met an important friend; then met future husband. (N.Node to 5th-house Sun.)
WINTER 1979 - Gerard and I bought our first home. ( Sun to N.Node.)
SUMMER 1986 - health problems; moved Mother-in-law to Kent. She has her Sun in my S.Node. (S.Node to Sun.)
EARLY 1989 - more health problems; father also very ill; start of this book. (5th-house Sun to 6th-house S.Node.)
The fore-going small sample serves to show how powerful this new directional system is; to the above could be added combinations of Moon/ Node, Node/ MC, Sun/ Moon, Pluto/ Mercury, whatever you will, but this is not necessary here - it would merely labour the point. Suffice it to add that on the night the idea of the Current Draconic came, the CD Pluto was approaching a multiple conjunction of radix Draconic Sun, progressed Draconic Mars, and transiting S.Node opposite transit Draconic Urania and N.Node, which, together with the Urania/ Uranus contact, suggested strongly some fresh astrological work to do!
Working with the Current Draconic.
The question first to be asked is this: “If the degree of my Sun is 29̊ Capricorn, where does that degree lie in a zodiac starting at the currently transiting North Node?” that is, “What is the current Draconic position of my natal Tropical Sun-degree?”
You then find that certain of these Current Draconic (CD) positions fall on key placements in the birth-chart, and tie in with life-events of major developmental importance.
So, the next question is: "Where does the transiting Node have to be, in order to move (for example) my natal Sun into Draconic Cancer 12̊, the degree of my natal Tropical Moon?" It turns out to be Libra 17̊.
What about the reverse, Moon moving to Sun in the same way?
This gives a Node position of Virgo 13̊.
While tabulating all the positions of the transiting Node necessary to bring into CD-to-Tropical contact all possible pairings in the chart, it quickly becomes obvious that the Node placings for each pair (e.g. Sun-to-Moon and Moon-to-Sun above) are natural complements of each other - add them together, and the sum is the complete wheel of 12 signs or 360̊.
At this point comes the realisation that all this can be smoothly accomplished by graphing onto rotating wheels; for if you map your chart onto two wheels, and rotate one against the other to line up the Sun on one against the Moon on the other, the Aries Point will also have rotated against the second circle. Its new position there marks the place where any non-Tropical zodiac must start to join the pair from one level to the other. This is the position in the familiar Tropical Zodiac which the transiting Node must reach to cross-connect Sun with Moon (etc.)
The corollary to this is that the Dragon's Head transiting the opposite points to those already found, will bring those same two bodies into opposition - just as crucial as the conjunction.
A most significant and important observation follows on all the fore-going - that the emphasis placed by astrological tradition on the Antiscions and Contrascions, and by extension the Parallels and Contraparallels - those points on the wheel which lie equidistant from the Solstice and Equinox axes of 0̊ Aries/Libra and Cancer/Capricorn - is fully in order, as they are the key to this profound set of bi-dimensional Directions.
We need not go into detail regarding the meaning of the Current Draconic, because a tabulation of your own Transiting Node degrees and a check on the dates when they have been active through your life will show you quickly how they pinpoint those periods and moments when you find yourself doing the things which you have come into life to do, to further your spiritual growth and honour your soul's commitments. Entering the Current Draconic dimension we gain a true insight into what we may term our "Fate" or "Destiny"; how flexible its outworking may be is a matter for study and debate.
.............................................................................................................................................................