Chiron

7.15.21 – Chiron stations retrograde and we learn to let go

art by Ximena Vasquez

Chiron’s orbit tells an interesting story – most of the time this little planetoid with comet-like properties sandwiches itself between the last of the personal planets, Saturn, and the first of the transpersonal planets, Uranus.  This is significant because in facilitating the healing of psycho-emotional and spiritual wounds that keep us stuck, it assists in the process of transformation. Most of us have developed good coping strategies to deal with any lingering emotional pain, but under Chiron’s tutelage we have to face these areas of trauma and ultimately release them.  This isn’t comfortable, but it is exhilarating as we let go of all that stuck energy!

Today Chiron turns retrograde – not an unusual event since Chiron, like the outer planets, is retrograde approximately half the year.  When Chiron is retrograde its influence is more personal – it’s like having a teacher move into your home.  The process of evolution can be accelerated if your personal chart is being activated by Chiron (any planets between 10-20 degrees of the cardinal signs Aries, Libra, Cancer and Capricorn are affected right now by Chiron).  The key to getting the most out of Chiron events is to learn to relax around the heart, feel the energy of emotion, and leave the story behind. ❤️

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By |2021-07-15T07:46:02-04:00July 15th, 2021|Chiron, Planetary news this week|0 Comments

Chiron is different from anything else in the Universe

As we prepare for the upcoming square between Jupiter’s expansive optimism and Chiron’s pressure for healing old wounds, I thought it would be useful to repost some articles about Chiron that you may have missed. 

Chiron astrology art by James Mesple.  The mythological Chiron was a creature that was half man and half horse, so he is often lumped together with other Centaurs who share those physical attributes.  Astrologers sometimes classify him as an asteroid (his original astronomical classification), and astronomers sometimes describe him as a comet because he exhibits comet-like behavior.  You can read more about Chiron’s classification here in this earlier post.

The Centaurs of Greek mythology were actually tribes of beast-like men who roamed through Thessaly and the Pelopenessian peninsula in ancient times.  Although Chiron was similar in appearance, because he was half horse half man, he was of a different lineage entirely.  His father was Cronos (Saturn) and his mother was the nymph Philyra.  Chiron’s bestial shape was due to Cronos having shapeshifted into a stallion in order to overtake and mate with Philyra, the object of his great desire.   So while Chiron shares a similar imagery to the race of Centaurs, he is completely unrelated.

In the same way, Chiron is very different from the other astronomically classified Centaurs. Most important is the location of his orbit which generally lies between Saturn and Uranus although that orbit is elliptical and peculiar.  Barbara Hand Clow has called Chiron the “Rainbow Bridge” between the personal planets (the visible planets through Saturn) and the transpersonal planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto).  The personal planets represent personality, and the outer planets are transformational forces.  Chiron serves the role of facilitating transformation through the healing of […]

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By |2019-12-06T07:51:37-05:00December 6th, 2019|Chiron|6 Comments

Chiron: The Wounder and Healer

Because of Chiron’s unusual orbit, it often hooks up with one planet with which it dances over a long period of time. Between 1952 (before Chiron’s discovery in 1977) and 1986, Chiron opposed Uranus a total of 41 times. The Chiron/Uranus opposition is a strong significator in the birthchart of an individual who is becoming awakened (Uranus) to the power of transformation that results from facing the painful psychic wounds (Chiron) from which we attempt to hide. Chiron is associated with the healing of the body through achieving spiritual wholeness, and during the awakening period of the Chiron/Uranus opposition, and particularly after the discovery of Chiron in 1977, the concept of “holistic healing” and the body-mind connection was revived after centuries of taking the back burner to “science.”

The current cycle of Chiron’s opposition to Saturn which concludes this month has occurred a total of 27 times, making this another key significator. The current phase of the dance began in September of 2003 and concludes this month. To fully understand the way Chiron works astrologically, it’s useful to go back to his roots in mythology and legend.

In mythology, Chiron was born of Philyra, mortal woman, and Saturn, immortal god. In order to escape Saturn’s amorous pursuit, Philyra had herself turned into a mare; however, Saturn outsmarted her and shapeshifted into a horse in order to accomplish his intention to rape her. When Chiron was born half horse and half man, like a Centaur, Philyra was so ashamed she abandoned him in a cave, thus establishing the deep psychic wound for which Chiron is well-known.

Being one-half god, Chiron was immortal and thus survived this early abandonment. He went on to study with the god Apollo, who some say became his foster father. There Chiron learned the arts […]

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By |2022-06-08T15:35:36-04:00June 13th, 2006|Chiron|Comments Off on Chiron: The Wounder and Healer