
Letting go is a gift we are given and a strength that we find throughout our lives. There are times when we want to grab ahold of what we are experiencing and sensing, and times when we need to let go of something that was once everything to us or what we wanted for ourselves. The moment you conclude that you need to let something go in your life is the moment that your brain fights to make that happen for you.
In Astrology, there is an area of your birth chart that is designed for you to understand where you will be letting go a lot in this lifetime, and exactly how to do so. We dive through the birth chart as we seek a deeper understanding of ourselves and let go of what no longer serves us, and there are tools available to help us do so. If you don't know where your South Node is in your birth chart, you can use a free calculator like this one here.
What Does Your South Node Represent in Astrology?
When it comes to what we are destined to let go of or move away from in this lifetime, we look to the South Node. The South Node is the area of your birth chart that has to do with your past lives, karma, lessons, old habits and traits, gifts, and energy you are moving away from in this lifetime.
Your South Node is opposite your North Node, which is your destiny and the energy you want to move towards.
We can learn a lot from our South Node and it’s an area of our life where we tend to gain the most wisdom. By understanding why some patterns in your life tend to play out in the same ways, you can be more conscious of the choices you make in the now and let go of who and what doesn’t serve you in the process.
South Node Insights: Letting Go
The South Node is our natural gifts and talents, but also where we don’t need to focus so much of our energy on, taking us away from where we need to be developing, which is the North Node. So when you are looking to let go of something, gain a new perspective, or feel more trusting in what you are doing right now, you can examine your South Node.
We learn from our South Node by not making the same mistakes over again, letting go of what needs to be let go of, and understanding what we need in order to create space for our new beginning.
Read below for your South Node on how to let go of what no longer serves you.
Aries South Node: Letting Go of Independence for Connection
You are used to being independent and figuring things out on your own. In this lifetime, however, you are being asked to lean on others for support when you need it. You are working on letting go of the ego and focusing more on the heart. By extending your compassion for others, you discover a part of yourself that leads you toward empowerment and allows you to let go of a false sense of safety.
You are meant to experience harmonious, fortunate, and compatible love in this lifetime, and you will do so by opening your heart to others and letting go of people who don’t support you or whom you can’t count on.
Taurus South Node: Releasing Overdependence and Superficiality
With your South Node in Taurus, you are letting go of the need to acquire by focusing on the depth and intention of what you are obtaining. Your relationships tend to have a lot to do with your financial world, and these things can get twisted and distorted if you are not being careful.
In this lifetime, you are working on letting go of what doesn’t serve you by following your heart and your intuition more and focusing more on the feeling you want for yourself rather than the things themselves. You are also working on letting go of overdependence or superficiality in relationships, by connecting with the people whom you have a deep and spiritual bond with.
Gemini South Node: Finding Freedom in Authenticity
For you, letting go means following your freedom. You are meant to do things your own way in this lifetime, and the less you can focus on how you are going to be perceived, the more you can live the life of your dreams. With a South Node in Gemini, you are moving away from the commotion of life. What helps you let go of what no longer serves you is traveling, getting out of your comfort zone, and being in new environments.
In past lives, you may have given too much of your focus on your social successes and business pursuits, and in this lifetime, you are meant to focus on the bigger picture. What helps you let go is understanding that once you do, better is available to you.
Cancer South Node: Trusting Yourself Beyond Emotional Impulses
With a South Node in Cancer, you are learning to trust yourself and your logic more than your emotional world in this lifetime. By letting go of feeling like you have to be the one to nurture and support everyone and allowing people to do that for you, you lead your destiny.
With your South Node in Cancer, you are letting go of emotional impulsiveness or making decisions irrationally before you have thought about them.
In past lives, you were led by your emotional world, and in this lifetime, you are meant to think more about your long-term goals and intentions. What helps you let go of what no longer serves you is knowing that you are more than what you can give to others.
Leo South Node: Prioritizing Community Over Recognition
In this lifetime, you are working on letting go of the need to be seen and recognized and focus more on your need for community and soul companionship. You are moving away from the “I” and moving closer to the “We.” What helps you let go of what no longer serves you is giving your focus to humanity, the progress you want to make in this lifetime, and who you want to make it with.
You are learning how to work with others and let go of the need to figure everything out yourself. The more you connect with the people who make you want to team up and form a relationship, rather than the people who make you want to be alone, the better for you.
Virgo South Node: Embracing Compassion Over Perfection
In this lifetime, you are letting go of the need to do everything yourself and to have everything all together. You can let go of what no longer serves you by thinking more with your heart than you do with your mind and by trusting this gift of yours. By focusing more on your spirituality, emotional connections, and creativity, you let go of a timid side of you that can disrupt your relationships or the bonds you make.
In past lifetimes, you were focused on perfection. In this lifetime, you are meant to focus on compassion. By surrendering more to the flow of things, you can let go of what no longer serves you while remaining open for what does.
Libra South Node: Rediscovering Your Independence
With your South Node in Libra, you are meant to experience the gifts of independence, freedom, and inner clarity in this lifetime. In the past, you may have been more dependent on the people around you and made a lot of your focus on love. However, in this lifetime, you are being reminded to not lose your identity in others. You can let go of what no longer serves you by only moving towards the things that feel authentic to you.
You are meant to feel confident, inspired, and free in your relationships, and if you don’t feel this way, then that is a sign you are around energy that doesn’t serve you. You are meant to do things your own way in this lifetime.
Scorpio South Node: Letting Go of Struggles and Embracing Ease
With your South Node in Scorpio, you have lived many lives and have experienced a lot emotionally. In this lifetime, you are learning how to trust the process more and to understand that not everything has to be difficult or trying for you. You can experience great things with ease, and you’ll know you are in the right place when things are just falling into your lap.
What helps you let go of what no longer serves you is focusing more on the things and people who make you feel safe, stable, and comfortable. Instead of always seeking the rush or the thrill, bring your attention more towards the things that ground you.
Sagittarius South Node: Building Connection Through Learning
Your South Node in Sagittarius urges you towards connection with your community and your immediate environment. In this lifetime, you are letting go of the need to be everywhere at once, rather than with the people who matter most to you. You are moving away from knowing everything and into learning everything.
By looking at life as a place where you will learn, grow, and connect, you can let go of the things that stretch you too thin or don’t serve your heart.
What helps you let go of what no longer serves you is expressing yourself more, meeting new people, and spending time on a cause or creative project that inspires you.
Capricorn South Node: Choosing Home and Foundations Over Status
In this lifetime, you are meant to put more value and effort into your personal life, home, family, and foundations in life. In past lifetimes, a lot of your focus was on your reputation, achievements, and successes, and in this lifetime, you are meant to bring your energy more to the home base, family, and stability in life.
You will know if something is right for you if you want it because it makes you feel safe and nurtured, rather than just something that looks pleasing to the eye. What helps you let go of what no longer serves you is by focusing more on your personal life rather than your public, and what you truly see for yourself here.
Aquarius South Node: Shining in Your Individuality
With an Aquarius South Node, you are meant to shine, be seen, and express yourself in this lifetime. You are letting go of the lone wolf energy you are used to, and working on taking up space. You are able to let go of what no longer serves you by being confident in yourself and the decisions you are making.
If someone doesn’t make you feel like the best thing in the entire world, then they aren’t right for you. In past lifetimes, you gave a lot of your energy to your community and the people around you, and in this lifetime, you are meant to focus on yourself and your path more. It’s all about doing what makes you feel good and trusting that you deserve to.
Pisces South Node: Honoring Logic While Embracing Intuition
Your lesson in this lifetime is that your mind is your gift. In past lives, you were very intuitive, psychic, and spiritual, and in this lifetime, you are learning to trust and honor the logical part of yourself more. You may tend to put your all into your relationships and not get the same energy back, and you are working on taking care of yourself first before you can give to another.
What helps you let go of what no longer serves you is trusting your body and the signals it gives you when you are around certain people or energy that doesn’t serve. Get organized, figure out your needs, boundaries, and wants, and get clear on who you are and what you want for yourself.
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Featured image by Guido Mieth/Getty Images
Because We Are Still IT, Girl: It Girl 100 Returns
Last year, when our xoNecole team dropped our inaugural It Girl 100 honoree list, the world felt, ahem, a bit brighter.
It was March 2024, and we still had a Black woman as the Vice President of the United States. DEI rollbacks weren’t being tossed around like confetti. And more than 300,000 Black women were still gainfully employed in the workforce.
Though that was just nineteen months ago, things were different. Perhaps the world then felt more receptive to our light as Black women.
At the time, we launched It Girl 100 to spotlight the huge motion we were making as dope, GenZennial Black women leaving our mark on culture. The girls were on the rise, flourishing, drinking their water, minding their business, leading companies, and learning to do it all softly, in rest. We wanted to celebrate that momentum—because we love that for us.
So, we handpicked one hundred It Girls who embody that palpable It Factor moving through us as young Black women, the kind of motion lighting up the world both IRL and across the internet.
It Girl 100 became xoNecole’s most successful program, with the hashtag organically reaching more than forty million impressions on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Yes, it caught on like wildfire because we celebrated some of the most brilliant and influential GenZennial women of color setting trends and shaping culture. But more than that, it resonated because the women we celebrated felt seen.
Many were already known in their industries for keeping this generation fly and lit, but rarely received recognition or flowers. It Girl 100 became a safe space to be uplifted, and for us as Black women to bask in what felt like an era of our brilliance, beauty, and boundless influence on full display.
And then, almost overnight, it was as if the rug was pulled from under us as Black women, as the It Girls of the world.
Our much-needed, much-deserved season of ease and soft living quickly metamorphosed into a time of self-preservation and survival. Our motion and economic progression seemed strategically slowed, our light under siege.
The air feels heavier now. The headlines colder. Our Black girl magic is being picked apart and politicized for simply existing.
With that climate shift, as we prepare to launch our second annual It Girl 100 honoree list, our team has had to dig deep on the purpose and intention behind this year’s list. Knowing the spirit of It Girl 100 is about motion, sauce, strides, and progression, how do we celebrate amid uncertainty and collective grief when the juice feels like it is being squeezed out of us?
As we wrestled with that question, we were reminded that this tension isn’t new. Black women have always had to find joy in the midst of struggle, to create light even in the darkest corners. We have carried the weight of scrutiny for generations, expected to be strong, to serve, to smile through the sting. But this moment feels different. It feels deeply personal.
We are living at the intersection of liberation and backlash. We are learning to take off our capes, to say no when we are tired, to embrace softness without apology.
And somehow, the world has found new ways to punish us for it.

In lifestyle, women like Kayla Nicole and Ayesha Curry have been ridiculed for daring to choose themselves. Tracee Ellis Ross was labeled bitter for speaking her truth about love. Meghan Markle, still, cannot breathe without critique.
In politics, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Jasmine Crockett are dragged through the mud for standing tall in rooms not built for them.
In sports, Angel Reese, Coco Gauff, and Taylor Townsend have been reminded that even excellence will not shield you from racism or judgment.

In business, visionaries like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye and Melissa Butler are fighting to keep their dreams alive in an economy that too often forgets us first.
Even our icons, Beyoncé, Serena, and SZA, have faced criticism simply for evolving beyond the boxes society tried to keep them in.
From everyday women to cultural phenoms, the pattern is the same. Our light is being tested.

And yet, somehow, through it all, we are still showing up as that girl, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Because while the world debates our worth, we keep raising our value. And that proof is all around us.
This year alone, Naomi Osaka returned from motherhood and mental health challenges to reach the semifinals of the US Open. A’ja Wilson claimed another MVP, reminding us that beauty and dominance can coexist. Brandy and Monica are snatching our edges on tour. Kahlana Barfield Brown sold out her new line in the face of a retailer that had been canceled. And Melissa Butler’s company, The Lip Bar, is projecting a forty percent surge in sales.

We are no longer defining strength by how much pain we can endure. We are defining it by the unbreakable light we continue to radiate.
We are the women walking our daily steps and also continuing to run solid businesses. We are growing in love, taking solo trips, laughing until it hurts, raising babies and ideas, drinking our green juice, and praying our peace back into existence.
We are rediscovering the joy of rest and realizing that softness is not weakness, it is strategy.
And through it all, we continue to lift one another. Emma Grede is creating seats at the table. Valeisha Butterfield has started a fund for jobless Black women. Arian Simone is leading in media with fearless conviction. We are pouring into each other in ways the world rarely sees but always feels.

So yes, we are in the midst of societal warfare. Yes, we are being tested. Yes, we are facing economic strain, political targeting, and public scrutiny. But even war cannot dim a light that is divinely ours.
And we are still shining.
And we are still softening.
And we are still creating.
And we are still It.

That is the quiet magic of Black womanhood, our ability to hold both truth and triumph in the same breath, to say yes, and to life’s contradictions.
It is no coincidence that this year, as SheaMoisture embraces the message “Yes, And,” they stand beside us as partners in celebrating this class of It Girls. Because that phrase, those two simple words, capture the very essence of this moment.
Yes, we are tired. And we are still rising.
Yes, we are questioned. And we are the answer.
Yes, we are bruised. And we are still beautiful.

This year’s It Girl 100 is more than a list. It is a love letter to every Black woman who dares to live out loud in a world that would rather she whisper. This year’s class is living proof of “Yes, And,” women who are finding ways to thrive and to heal, to build and to rest, to lead and to love, all at once.
It is proof that our joy is not naive, our success not accidental. It is the reminder that our light has never needed permission.
So without further ado, we celebrate the It Girl 100 Class of 2025–2026.
We celebrate the millions of us who keep doing it with grace, grit, and glory.
Because despite it all, we still shine.
Because we are still her.
Because we are still IT, girl.
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list of honorees here.
Featured image by xoStaff
One thing that will never go out of style is the pride Black women take in showcasing and adorning our crowns. From sculpting braids to sleek bobs and curls for days, the girls are always playing with texture, color, and undeniable creativity—switching up our hairstyles like we do our moods. This season, hair is less about what's trending and more about expression. We're experimenting, evolving, and embodying every version of ourselves.
In partnership with SheaMoisture, this year's It Girl 100 celebrates the beauty of "Yes, And," an ode to the women who wear every side of themselves with confidence. These innovators remind us power and softness, heritage and reinvention, can beautifully co-exist. It's a call to own every layer of who we are. Because being an It Girl isn’t about choosing one version of yourself. It’s about saying yes to all of them.
Below, the women featured in xoNecole's It Girl 100 Class of 2025 are doing that—and then some—eloquently showing us how to say "Yes, And," to hair looks that always serve.
Luxe Layers x Serena Page
From braids and twists to platinum wigs, Love Island season six winner Serena Page continues to prove she can do it all, and do it all flawlessly. No matter the style, her hair game is undefeated. The softly layered middle-part with just the right amount of bounce is a classic Black girl hairstyle that gives inches without sacrificing body. It's a style that gives soft glam with a finish so seamless it could pass as a silk press—the kind of just-left-the-salon ease we all crave.
The Remix Cut x Ruesworld
When it comes to a short cut with attitude, Ruthann Palacios does not come to play. Known on social media by the moniker @ruesworldd, the content creator keeps her foot on our necks with the way she remixes her short cuts time and time again. Her recent sculpted, asymmetrical style is less of the "pixie" we're used to and more of a power move as she channels the bold innovation of '90s icons like Missy Elliott. This time, with extra length through her crown and right side, a sharp shorn left etched with box designs, and added length in the back, the hairstyle is equal parts edgy and architectural while being a look that's completely her own.
"I just told my stylist I wanted something cool and let them have full creative control with it," Ruthann told us of the hairstyle. "It channels my It Girl energy because I’m not afraid to take risks and show up boldly as myself, no matter the look." As a resident It Girl, it's clearly Rue's world—we're just living in it.
Fulani Flow x Kayla Nicole
Founder and podcast host Kayla Nicole's face card never declines, and neither do her statement hairstyles. One such look was her Fulani braids, a style that looked like it was made to be her signature. Originating from the Fulani people of West Africa, this traditional style features cornrows braided down the center of the head, with smaller plaits framing the face and beads or accessories woven throughout. Kayla's take on the tradition complete with center cornrows once again proved what we all know to be true: when it comes to heritage and repping for the culture, an It Girl never has to choose.
Top Tier Knot x Yana C.
Known to her followers online as @goldynaps, Yana C. is the queen of turning hair into her favorite art form. One of her latest looks feels like a love letter to '90s Black hair creativity. With Fulani-inspired cornrows braided flat and finished into bantu knots that line the center of her head like a crown, paired with a sleek straight sew-in flowing in the back, the style is equal parts nostalgic and next-level. And, of course, her signature ash blonde locks takes it all up a notch.
"This style was inspired by the ’90s—my favorite era for artistry in Black hair!” Yana shared with xoNecole. “My hair has always been such a notable part of who I am, and I love to express myself through it and make it an extension of my personal style. This style channels my It Girl energy because it’s a reminder that Black hair isn’t just hair—it’s art."
The look, which racked up major views on TikTok, is giving everything it needs to give. Because for Yana, self-expression will always make her the main character.
Sculpted Braids x Shema Love
Let Black girls be whimsical.
For content creator and creative visionary Shema Love, this hairstyle encapsulates that mood perfectly. The intricate, symmetrical design captures both the power and the playfulness defining this season's resident Black girl hair renaissance for It Girls everywhere. "I loved the whimsy of this hairstyle. I want to see Black women be allowed to experiment more with whimsy with our hair," Shema shares with xoNecole. "I love the symmetry of it and a look that shines from every angle. And of course, no style ever feels complete to me without my baby hairs laid."
Boho Boss Braids x Toni Bravo
Toni Bravo may be the "CEO of Blush," but she is also a resident slayer of hair looks. Whether she's rocking a custom install or a silk press, the content creator is making a hair moment just as often as she's putting us on to the latest beauty finds. But when she debuted her boho box braids earlier this year, she reminded us that every new hair alert hits just a little different.
Loose, free-flowing curls woven through intricate box braids add movement and softness to the tried-and-true style, creating a look that’s equal parts effortless and elevated. "I wanted something a little messy but just as intentional, and it was perfect. It channels the part of me that loves to have fun and switch it up while trying something new," Toni tells us about her look. "An It Girl knows that the best things are right outside of your comfort zone."
The low-maintenance meets high-impact style is one that channels Toni's booked, busy, and bossy era to a T.
Black Girl Bob x Maya Allen
Whether asymmetrical, curly, or blunt, there's something irrefutably It Girl about rocking a bob. With quiet confidence, it's a cut that commands attention. Beauty editor and expert Maya Allen has worn different iterations of the bob throughout the years, but this one—styled with a deep side part and cut just below her jawline—frames her face and enviable bone structure to perfection. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Maya dubbed her signature bob "a power cut." "It’s like a power suit for my hair," she added. "It makes me feel fierce and effortlessly chic without ever having to try too hard."
Fro The Culture x Zaynah
The afro will forever be a cultural statement. It's a style that represents the most natural state of our hair, a crown that often defies gravity whenever we choose to wear it. Content creator Zaynah understands the fro's power as a symbol of Black beauty and can be seen wearing her type 4 hair unapologetically in much of her viral social media content. Whether achieved through twist-outs, braid outs, wash n' gos, or perfectly picked, Zaynah's take on the afro hairstyle is full, stretched, and beautifully shaped. With it, she embodies not just It Girl energy with pride and confidence, but the freedom to take up space.
Pony Up x Kirah Ominique
As far as we're concerned, nobody does a ponytail quite like Kirah Ominique. The It Girl's It Girl has made the sleek, added-hair ponytail as signature of hers when she's not sporting braids or a slick-back bun. With her baby hairs laid, and every strand of her hair smoothed and locked into place, the hairstyle is a clean, sculpted serve that's as chic as it is fierce. The content creator and beauty influencer's ponytails are the perfect blend of playfulness and precision, a put-together staple in every It Girl's hairstyle arsenal.
In Her Copper Era x Keke Palmer
If "blondes have more fun," then the ladies deciding to rock copper are rewriting the rules. In recent years, copper has had a bit of a resurgence as a warmer, richer take on going lighter, and nobody's been owning that energy lately quite like Keke Palmer. This year, the host and actress debuted her now-signature hue in its boldest form yet: a tousled face-framing pixie that gives the timeless allure we've come to associate with '90s icons like Nia Long and Halle Berry.
As Byrdie put it best, "We've seen the shade at every length and in every style, but this one is truly something special."
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list here.
Featured image courtesy of Ruthann Palacios









