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A horseshoe-like loop, upright for north and inverted for south.
Also known as: North node symbol, South node symbol, Dragon's head, Horseshoe with feet
The lunar nodes are the two points where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic, and they are astronomically real — eclipses happen only near them, which is why the word 'eclipse' and the older name 'dragon's head' are connected. The two glyphs are the same shape inverted.
Denote the two points at which the Moon's orbital plane crosses the ecliptic, the ascending node drawn upright and the descending node inverted.
Contexts: History
Mark astronomically real points: a solar or lunar eclipse can occur only when the Moon is near a node, which is why they were tracked long before astrology systematised them.
Contexts: History
Carry the older names caput draconis and cauda draconis — dragon's head and dragon's tail — from the mythological account of eclipses as a dragon swallowing the Sun.
Contexts: History
Are given interpretive meanings in astrological practice, which are claims within that system rather than established ones.
Contexts: History
A closed loop resembling a horseshoe or an inverted omega, its two ends turning outward into small circles, drawn upright for the ascending node and inverted for the descending.
A fuller structured visual breakdown is not yet documented for this symbol.