Past Life Indicators in an Astrology Chart

There are several different planets and points that can be used to determine past lives in a chart.

Some astrologers emphasize the planet Saturn because it’s considered by many to be a “karmic” planet, one that shows the consequences of actions you took in other lives before this one.

Other astrologers will look to the position of the planet Pluto.

The one indicator that most astrologers will agree on, however, is the position of the South Node in the chart.   

When using symbols to interpret a chart, I’ve found that the symbol for the South Node is the past life indicator that most people will instantly recognize in themselves.  This applies even when there is a planet immediately next to the South Node that has a different symbol.

The South Node has been given a bad rap by some astrologers who associate it with loss or negative karma. 

I don’t see it that way.  In my experience, the position of the South Node in your chart shows the experience, skills and knowledge that you bring in from other lifetimes.  You can use these to accomplish what you are meant to do in this one.  

What you are meant to do – your purpose – is shown by the North Node in your chart. The North Node may seem more difficult to you, because in most cases you’ve never done it before.  The South Node feels more comfortable because you’ve done it so many times before.

These are the past life indicators I personally look for when I do a chart:

• The South Node (the Mean South Node, not the True one)
• Planets next to the South Node
• The 12^th house and planets in it
• Chiron’s position by sign and house
• An Interception in the chart

(An Interception shows that there was something that you failed to complete in one or more lifetimes before this one, and you’re bound and determined to do it this time around.  Not every chart contains an Interception.)

In the next post, I hope to give the possible places/cultures associated with each sign, beginning with Aries.  If you have the South Node in Aries in your chart, and are inexplicably drawn to one or more of them, it’s very likely that you experienced another lifetime there.

Part One: Astrology and Past Lives – Reading Signs and Symbols

There are many past-life indicators in a chart.  Each one of them is represented by an astrological sign and degree. There are 360 degrees in the zodiac and each degree has its own symbol.

To illustrate, if Gemini 26° is on the cusp of the 12^th house, a past-life indicator, in your chart:

The sign, Gemini, can point you to

·         Specific time periods

·         Specific places where you may have lived in other lives

Among Gemini places/time periods are:

Europe during the Middle Ages; the era of knights and castles; the Crusades; trade caravans to India and China; the upper class in France or England; kingdoms before the modern European nation-states.

Tripoli; Alexandria, Egypt; Belgium; Lombardy; Cordoba, Spain; London, England; Nuremberg, Germany; Versailles, France.

If you are drawn to, or have an intense aversion to, any of the time periods or places described by Gemini, it’s very likely that you experienced another lifetime there.

The symbol for the degree of a past life indicator can give you clues to:

• Events or scenarios that may have taken place in other lifetimes
• Personality traits you embodied then
• Skills and knowledge that you bring in to this lifetime

Using our example, one of the symbols for Gemini 26° is:

In the depths of the forest, an exiled king looks through ice-covered branches to the far reaches of the night sky.

Placing the situation described by the symbol into the proper country /time period can provide you with valuable clues to other lifetimes. 

Past-life indicators in a chart are connected and form a common theme.  An experienced astrologer will be able to find this theme and provide you with insights about who you were in other lives, the skills or knowledge you may have learned then, and what you came in to accomplish in this one.