110: Nodal Return Human Design

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You’ve heard of your Saturn Return — but what happens when your soul knocks again, not with pressure, but with purpose?

In this episode, we dive deep into the Nodal Return, the cosmic rite of passage that unfolds around ages 36/37/38 — a powerful checkpoint that asks:

Are you truly living in alignment with your soul’s path?

We explore:

What is your Nodal Return and what are the nodes? (beyond the astrology jargon)
Why it often brings changes in career, relationships, and identity
The difference between your first Nodal Return (around 18) and your second (mid thirties)
Why this time is less about achievement and more about meaningful alignment
Real-life themes I see in 1:1 client sessions and Human Design readings

Whether you’re navigating your Nodal Return now, approaching it, or reflecting on it in hindsight — this episode will help you make sense of the deep shifts, honour the changes you’re feeling, and lean into the life your soul came here to live.

Key themes of this episode:

Nodal Return Human Design
What is the Nodal Return
Nodal Return Astrology
Life purpose astrology and human design
Age 36 astrology transit, Age 37 astrology transit, Age 38 astrology transit
Soul path astrology
Nodal Return vs Saturn Return
Astrology and life transitions
Human Design Nodal Return

Resources from today's episode

Work with Phi

Feeling blegh in your mid 30's...?

There’s been a sudden wave of clients coming to me over the past two weeks — all with the same quiet question under their stories: “What is going on with my life right now?” And when I look under the surface, the answer is often the same — they’re in the thick of their nodal return.

It’s a cosmic checkpoint, one that doesn’t come gently — and it’s not supposed to. Because your nodal return isn’t about comfort. It’s about course correction. It’s about remembering what your soul actually signed up for before it came back to Earth. In this episode, we’re diving into what a nodal return really is, why it can feel so disorienting, and how to navigate it with grace, truth and a whole lot of courage.

What is a nodal return (human design, astrology)?

We have to start with what are the nodes in astrology, energy, spirituality and human design. They’re not planets themselves, but rather energetic points where the moon’s path intersects with the sun’s path. These points are closely tied to eclipses and are considered deeply connected to your soul’s journey. As I’m recording this, we’re in a fresh nodal cycle with the North Node now in Pisces and the South Node in Virgo (2025-2027). For the past two years, we’ve been living through the Aries-Libra axis (2023-2025).

When does your nodal return happen?

Your nodal return happens approximately every 18 years when your nodes return to the position (degree, sign and energy) when you were born. This means you have a nodal return when you are around the ages of 18, 36, 54 and 72.

Why is your nodal return important?

The importance of your nodal return is that it’s linked to destiny. What exactly do we mean when we talk about “destiny”? From a spiritual lens, it’s believed that your soul chose to come to Earth with a mission — a roadmap, if you will (your human design). This is the essence of destiny: your soul’s chosen path of evolution and expression.

Nodal return and eclipses = destiny

Eclipses, which are powered by the nodes, have always held an air of fate. Astrologers view them as moments to completely release control — a time to hand things over to a greater force; to source, the universe, God, Divine. Eclipses can feel like they bend time, speeding things up, intensifying emotions and often marking significant beginnings or closures in our lives.

Nodal return passed from 18 to 36/36/38 mid thirties

Your nodal return marks an important passage in your 30’s. You go through your Saturn Return aged 27-31, then you have your Nodal Return at 36/37/38 before your Uranus Opposition in your 40’s. If you are approaching your mid 30’s think back to just before you started your 20’s! When this happens at 18, society declares you an adult — legally independent, able to vote, drink, marry, go to war but emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, many people are only just beginning to grasp who they were. In the western world you’ve just likely completed your first early years of education and now you’re in the “real world.” It’s not just another transit — it’s a spiritual and existential threshold, one that can upend your sense of direction and identity.

Nodal return themes in your 30's

Now, during your Nodal Return, you revisit these same themes — but with 20 more years of life experience, mistakes, healing and wisdom. It’s a moment to ask:

Are you truly living in alignment with your purpose?
Have you matured into your soul’s true direction?
Are you still unconsciously acting from old karmic patterns (South Node)?
Or are you courageously leaning into the unfamiliar but deeply rewarding growth edge (North Node)?

In a way, this return asks:

“You were handed adult freedom at 18 — what have you done with it?”

“Are you on a path that fulfils the destiny of your soul? Why you came to Earth?”

A nodal return is a soul growth acceleration

When you’re in your nodal return years, it can feel like you’re strapped into a fast moving ride. The mantra becomes “be mindful what you call in,” because manifestations and lessons can unfold rapidly. A channeled example coming through is you want to meet your person, the one you’ll spend the rest of your life with? In order for that to happen the universe has to make sure the path is clear and so is your alignment. Think tests, ex partners coming back, being dangled a less than sure commitment, commitment issues arising suddenly… These are years of quickened growth and clarity, where deeper truths come to the surface with urgency.

Divine timing and your nodal return

One of the hardest spiritual lessons is surrendering the timeline. We think we can plan everything, but life (especially under these nodal influences) often reminds us that timing is a mystery not ours to control.

What will you discover and get out of a nodal reading with me?

In readings, the nodes point to what your soul is here to remember, to release, to master. They reveal your unique gifts and the deeper why behind your presence on Earth — your soul’s purpose in motion.

Often when I work with 1:1 clients or human design readings on nodal returns it will be centered around feeling fulfilment in their life and the path of purpose and career, though it is not limited to this! Your Nodal Return is such a rich and multi dimensional initiation. While the external events and circumstances always vary — career shifts, relationship transformations, becoming a parent: the core invitation is always the same: alignment with the soul’s authentic path.

By this point in life, you’ve already lived through major initiations helping you clear out old conditioning and bring you into a deeper sense of personal truth. Then as you begin to move forward with new clarity, the second nodal return hits — and it often hits hard.

Comfort and discomfort of your nodal return

This is the moment when the universe challenges you to align more fully with your true path, represented by the nodes in your astrological and human design chart. The trouble is, you may feel lost, stripped of old certainties but not yet grounded in the new. The inner voice that used to whisper encouragement now feels distant or contradictory. You sense that your old ways of being no longer work — but the new way forward feels unclear, and full of risk. A nodal return reading with me will give you clarity, direction and guidance on many layers: astrology, human design and intuitive guidance.

Fulfillment, Purpose & Career your nodal return human design and astrology

For many, the Nodal Return shines a spotlight on career and purpose — not necessarily in terms of ambition, but in terms of meaning.

Is what you’re doing making you feel alive?
Are you creating impact in the way your heart and soul longs to?
Is your day-to-day life congruent with your inner truth?

Often, clients begin to question work they once thought they wanted. High-achievers may realize they’ve climbed the wrong ladder. Others feel an urge to finally pursue what’s been whispering in the background for years. It’s less about productivity and more about devotion — to the work that truly lights them up.

Something that I love that astrologer Tom Jacobs shares about the nodes and transits is finding the balance between these two sentiments:

Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean that’s all there is or that you should always do it. Just because you haven’t tried something before doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t.

Relationships, Marriage & Children your nodal return human design and astrology

The Nodal Return often stirs thoughts on:

Who do you want beside you as you walk into this next chapter of your life?
Are you still in a relationship out of comfort or obligation?
Is your heart ready for the depth of love, commitment or family?

Some people divorce, not because they’ve failed, but because they’ve outgrown old soul contracts. Others meet or marry someone who reflects their evolved values. For some, the journey into motherhood or fatherhood becomes the new soul calling — often not planned logically, but felt deeply.

It’s not always dramatic; sometimes, it’s a gentle reorientation. But whether loud or quiet, the shift is defining. Relationships at this point are no longer about fixing old wounds — they’re about expanding into aligned love.

Spirituality and soul fulfilment your nodal return human design and astrology

The Nodal Return can feel like life is gently — or forcefully — asking:
“Are you ready to live the life you were meant for?”

The illusion of youth has worn off. You’ve tested things out. Failed. Loved. Lost. Achieved. But now it’s about truth. It’s a crossing point between who you’ve been and who you’re becoming.

It’s not always comfortable — but it’s a time of immense reclamation. I get chills, it’s such a pivotal passage in one’s life universally.

Your nodal return isn’t meant to be comfortable—because comfort lives in the past, in what you already know. The North Node points toward the unknown terrain your soul came here to explore. It’s not meant to feel natural at first; in fact, it often feels foreign, risky, or even wrong. But if it felt easy, what would be the point of returning to Earth at all? Growth demands friction. Your soul chose this life to stretch beyond its familiar edges, to step into something greater, more true, and more aligned—even if it shakes everything safe loose in the process.

What's it like going through your nodal return?

An analogy to understand your nodal return is that it’s not supposed to feel like home—it’s more like being dropped somewhere random with nothing but a gut feeling as your guide. Imagine your internal GPS glitching, refusing to reroute you back to comfort. That’s because it’s not leading you to safety—it’s leading you to purpose. It’s not meant to feel easy or comfortable. Growth doesn’t come from repetition. It comes when you’re asked to walk a path that stretches your spirit into something it’s never been before.

Nodal Return Human Design Astrology Intuitive Reading and Guidance

Feeling the shake-up of your nodal return? That’s your soul calling you forward—into the life you actually came here to live. If you’re ready to decode the deeper meaning behind this cosmic shift, I offer personalised nodal return readings that weave astrology, Human Design, and intuitive guidance. Let’s map out your next chapter with clarity and soul. Contact me via Instagram, email, or head to my website to book your session.

Your nodal return is not a punishment — it’s a portal. A window of time where your life starts to reorient around your deeper why. It might not feel natural at first, because soul-aligned paths rarely follow familiar scripts. But what’s waiting for you on the other side is something far more fulfilling than comfort — it’s authenticity, alignment, and meaning.

This season is big — but you don’t have to walk it alone. You know how to contact me if you’re craving guidance, clarity, direction and support.

Love & Positivity