Soul Music, the North/South Node and Chiron

I love soul music. As little as I actually and consciously listen to it, it is the only music that hits me in that sugar spot. The infrequency that I listen to Soul isn't due to any secret aversion--it's more like I stumble upon it randomly in my life--in the midst of all the ambient and trip-hop that's on heavy rotation on my Pandora account. Here are some artists/groups I've been listening to/expanding into lately: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is a new phenomenon in my experience that a friend introduced me to. It's like listening to all your favorite 70s soul tunes as instrumentals with a modern hip-hop edge. Curtis Mayfield is a picture-painter, with his graceful, agile lyrics and musical arrangements. Of course I've been listening to Lauryn Hill lately too. She combines Soul with R&B and reggae. Do I really have to tell you how awesome her music is? I didn't think so. The Isley Brothers are more R&B, but you can't deny their soul. Mind blowing love making melodies, sexy chord progressions, and Ron Isley's 'make you weak in the knees' crooning make for an immersing sexually romantic experience. Right now I'm listening to Minnie Riperton "Back Down Memory Lane". Yes. You see, Soul music isn't something that impresses by agility or intensity. It grabs you by the balls with feeling, if you know how to sink into it. I'm that kind of person that sometimes glosses over the subtle feelings of Soul, but when my defenses are down, just at the right moment, it attacks, and I blossom into a world of honey suckle and great big expressions of happiness. Every note is sung and played with the heart, with the soul. The music comes from the source of Life. If you think you can resist the unapologetically 'blessed' Jill Scott as she lives her 'Golden Life', you've got another thing coming. Trying to avoid the Soul-nami of Erykah Badu's vulnerable honesty? No, you will be assimilated. And don't think you will escape Chaka Khan. Really Chaka Khan? She's every woman, she'll find you wherever you lurk! But I'm not here to mainly talk about Soul music. I'm mainly here to talk about astrology, how it is guiding my life at this point, and how Soul music is one of my teachers . Remember how I said that Soul grabs you if you know how to sink into it? Well, thanks to astrology, I am learning how to choose to sink into the flavors of soul using what are called the North Node, the South Node, and Chiron. Real quick explanation: The North Node is your Dharma in life, your purpose, your calling, a new skill you need to develop in this lifetime. Do this and life unfolds easily. The South Node represents the skills you've already mastered from alternate lifetimes, but valuing them over the North Node skills you need to learn leads to life resisting you, and evolution is slower. Chiron is a figure from Greek Mythology, a warrior Centaur who was wounded in battle and thusly became a teacher of various fields of higher learning. Through teaching, he heals himself and those he teaches. Chiron is the wounded healer. So, in my astrology, My North/South Nodes are in Gemini/Sagittarius, respectively. My Chiron is also in Gemini. Sagittarius in this sense is what I've already mastered, the monk, the sage, the wise one, the know-it-all, the philosophizer, the spiritual, 'big  picture' thinker. Gemini is the learner, the insatiably curious child, the socialite, the information gatherer, the verbal and written adept. With Chiron being a healing influence, my job is to maintain an attitude of learning and exploration, instead of being the sage and know-it-all. Life isn't going to work with me when I have a Sagittarian attitude. I must maintain the Gemini curiousity. With the North Node being conjunct (with ten degrees of) Chiron, also in Gemini, it means that undertaking healing will be the most evolutionary path. Healing comes in many forms. Awareness of the Soul is what heals us. And by sinking into Soul music, I can sink into the feeling of healing, and I feel beautifully human. I feel alive! Pulsing through my veins is pure life force, activated fully, and I have enough energy to run for 300 years on this kind of juice. Awesome, I think I might keep being open-minded and giving life a chance, sounds like a good idea. Lauryn Hill is also a Solar Gemini (would you get off of Lauryn Hill for two seconds? Nope, I guess not), which for me gives me a living representation of something I myself would like to represent as a musician. An amazing example of greatness and humility. Curtis Mayfield is a Gemini, too. Gemini musicians comment upon the world around them in their songs. They tend to be socially conscious, with agile lyricism and striking changeable time signatures and key changes. These are all things I'm learning and applying to my music as I develop and evolve. Needless to say, the frequency that I listen to Soul is going to increase. No more accidentally stumbling upon a life-changing, healing song. I seek it out with my curiosity and desire to communicate what I learn so I can heal others. Gemini all the way, baby. Excelsior, G.A.B.E.