diff --git a/poc-memory/src/search.rs b/poc-memory/src/search.rs
index ad867a9..fb4f269 100644
--- a/poc-memory/src/search.rs
+++ b/poc-memory/src/search.rs
@@ -656,13 +656,14 @@ fn spreading_activation(
     }
 
     // Propagate hop by hop — all sources simultaneously
+    // Node weight does NOT gate traversal — only edge_decay and edge strength.
+    // Node weight is applied at the end for ranking.
     for _hop in 0..max_hops {
         let mut next_frontier: HashMap<String, f64> = HashMap::new();
 
         for (key, act) in &frontier {
             for (neighbor, strength) in graph.neighbors(key) {
-                let neighbor_weight = store.node_weight(neighbor.as_str());
-                let propagated = act * edge_decay * neighbor_weight * strength as f64;
+                let propagated = act * edge_decay * strength as f64;
                 if propagated < min_activation { continue; }
 
                 *next_frontier.entry(neighbor.clone()).or_insert(0.0) += propagated;
@@ -678,7 +679,13 @@ fn spreading_activation(
         frontier = next_frontier;
     }
 
-    let mut results: Vec<_> = activation.into_iter().collect();
+    // Apply node weight for ranking, not traversal
+    let mut results: Vec<_> = activation.into_iter()
+        .map(|(key, act)| {
+            let weight = store.node_weight(&key);
+            (key, act * weight)
+        })
+        .collect();
     results.sort_by(|a, b| b.1.total_cmp(&a.1));
     results
 }