As-cend-ing Node
/əˌsɛndɪŋ ˈnoʊd/
The point where a celestial body's orbital path crosses the plane of the ecliptic as the body moves from south to north.
The Ascending Node, often symbolized as Ω or the Dragon's Head in ancient astrology, is one of two lunar nodes (the other being the Descending Node). Astrologically, the nodes represent karmic and evolutionary paths. The Ascending Node is thought to signify the soul's current life lessons, growth areas, and future direction—the energy and traits the native is learning to integrate. The nodes are not physical bodies but mathematical points derived from the intersection of the Moon's orbit and the ecliptic (the apparent path of the Sun around the Earth). For a planet, the point is calculated similarly where its orbital plane crosses the ecliptic.