Confusion re North and South Nodes

In an ephemeris, is it the North Node that is shown so we automatically know the South Node is opposite in our chart?

Since the natal chart is the reverse of earth directions, are houses 12 - 7 the southern part of the chart and houses 1 - 6 in the northern section?

I'm confused because some people claim to have NN in their 10th, for example, and someone else has their NN in their 3rd. Wouldn't one of them be wrong?

MaybeNow said:

In an ephemeris, is it the North Node that is shown so we automatically know the South Node is opposite in our chart?

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South node is always opposite the north node, yes. Whichever house the north node is in, south node is in the opposite one (10th/4th, 8th/2nd, etc.), and whichever sign the north node is in, south node is in the opposite sign at the exact same degree. If the north node is at 3 degrees Leo, south node is at 3 degrees Aquarius; if north node is at 11 degrees Scorpio, south node is at 11 degrees Taurus, etc.

MaybeNow said:

Since the natal chart is the reverse of earth directions, are houses 12 - 7 the southern part of the chart and houses 1 - 6 in the northern section?

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Yes, but it's not south and north in quite the same sense as the four directions. The southern hemisphere of the chart represents the sky overhead--that is, what's above the horizon; in a birth chart, what was above the horizon at the moment of birth--and the northern hemisphere represents the sky below, that is, what was below the horizon at that moment.

MaybeNow said:

I'm confused because some people claim to have NN in their 10th, for example, and someone else has their NN in their 3rd. Wouldn't one of them be wrong?

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No. Some people claim to have their sun in the 10th, and others claim to have it in the 3rd... does that make one of them wrong?

Nothing is necessarily in the same house in any two charts. The nodes transit through the zodiac just like the planets do, only they're always retrograde, and they take about 18 1/2 years to make a complete cycle. And just like the sun, moon, and everything else, they can be in any house in the birth chart, even for people who have them in the same signs.

The sun's and moon's apparent circuits around the earth (from an earth-centered perspective) are slightly different. Where they intersect are two points called the moon's north and south nodes; or more poetically, the dragon's head & tail. These points are always 180 degrees apart. When the sun and moon reach these points at the same time from our earth perspective, we can get an eclipse.

These are different than the directions shown in the horoscope as a whole. East is left (1st house,) west is right (7th house.) Unlike in a conventional map, the top of the horoscope (MC) represents south as well as the sun's high point in its apparent daily circuit around the earth. The bottom of the chart is north as well as the imaginary low point of the sun as it seemingly migrates from sunset in the west to sunrise in the east. These directions aren't much used in natal chart interpretation, but they have a place in horary astrology.

In modern western astrology, the moon's NN shows where your growth lies; the SN shows your comfort zone, but where you may stagnate.

Finally I understand! Treat the Nodes like a plant. Thanks! The directions always threw me off. So the nodes listed in the ephemeris are always the North Nodes so we can deduce the South Nodes ourselves as they are always opposite on the chart.