Chiron is a very large comet that orbits between Saturn and Uranus, and is considered part of the centaur asteroids located in the Kuiper Belt (disk of objects orbit between Neptune and Pluto). Chiron itself was the first of the centaur asteroids to be discovered, catching the attention of a US astronomer, Charles Kowal from California in 1977. The name Chiron was created in a cooperative effort between astronomers and astrologers. Interestingly Chiron was discovered, as were Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, at a pivotal time in our history when the process of innovation and change took a quantum leap and required that we looked at the world differently, bringing changes to belief systems and our lifestyle.

With the discovery of a new, major player in the astronomical and astrological consciousness, astrologers begin observing and investigating this addition by looking at the mythology associated with the name, the cultural events prior to and around its discovery, and the actually astronomy of the object. Once ephemeredes are available, astrologers then begin to do test studies to see if this collected information applied to the lives of actual individuals and nations. Chiron has come to be considered to be an important planetary body by astrologers.

Chiron's Mythology

There is a vast amount of information online about the mythology surrounding Chiron, so I would simply like to highlight the key points here. First, Chiron was born to Kronos (Saturn) and a sea nymph (Philyra) who were in horse form when he was conceived. Chiron was thus born half horse, half human yet was also a demi-god since he was the son of Kronos. His mother was horrified at Chiron’s looks – half horse, half human – and thus both her and Kronos abandoned him. Chiron was rescued by a shepherd who took him to the sun god Apollo where he was nurtured and learned about healing, music, prophecy, and other useful tools. In turn, Chiron mentored or taught most of the gods’ children, passing on his knowledge to help them fulfill their destinies.

Chiron was also accidentally wounded by one of his students - Hercules - with a poisonous arrow. Since Chiron was a demi-god, he could not die from the poison or wound, yet he could not heal himself either; so he lived in agony and pain most of his life. A long time later, he came upon Prometheus, who had been chained to a rock as punishment from Zeus (Jupiter) for sharing fire with humans. Chiron changed places with Prometheus, who was part human and in effect died and immortalized in the constellation of Centaurus.

The mythologist Carl Kerenyi writes:

…Chiron, the wounded divine physician,...seems to be the most contradictory figure in all Greek mythology. Although he is a Greek god, he suffers an incurable wound. Moreover, his nature combines the animal and the Apollonian, for despite his horse’s body, mark of the fecund and destructive creatures of nature that centaurs are known to be, he instructs heroes in medicine and music.

So the basic tenants of Chiron’s story are: he is abandoned or rejected by his parents; he becomes an outsider – not accepted by his kind – but sharing his knowledge with others for their ultimate benefit; he cannot heal himself from pain caused by another (accidental – not intentional); and finally after living a life of agony, he completely changes himself (demi-god to human form) to release the pain. Chiron is also dualist: a healer who cannot heal himself, and a god with animal instincts or tendencies (in the same way as we are as humans with our struggle between our higher soul energy or spiritual selves versus our instinctual nature). This is also interesting when we see Chiron orbits between Saturn (structure, tradition, limitation) and Uranus (breaks structures apart and seeks higher level of awareness and connectivity). Chiron is the bridge between these two parts of ourselves.

Natal Application

Chiron shows by house placement where there is a struggle in our life, where there are intense and painful experiences rooted in our energetic body. This is a vulnerable or handicapped area within us and can be physical, emotional, or mental in nature. The house identifies where we feel our biggest hole, unjustice, or lack in our lives. It is an area we feel different or burdened by some flaw. It is so paramount in our life that it is reflected in all we do and within ourselves.

Wounding is a pretty generic term and relates to many different experiences, such as rejection, abandonment, vulnerability, deprivation, emotional pain, inner suffering, or loss. We can either attempt to escape it and become prisoners or we can openly, consciously, and gently uncover the source of our pain and eventually seek healing. More often then not, healing comes through helping others, passing on our compassion and what we have learned from our own personal experiences.

This is a good point to briefly discuss healing. As humans we seek a cure, a release from the pain – whether physically, emotionally, or mentally. In our efforts to find a way out, we go to medical doctors, psychiatrists, self-help seminars or any number of resources. Most of the time, these remedies help us heal and move forward in life. Where Chiron is concerned, however, we have something that may not be ‘cured’. Sometimes after our exploration for a way to let go of that anguish or hurt, we find that we’ve tried to modify or deny the painful feeling in our attempt to escape its grasp, but it is not truly gone. Then the question becomes, is the best way to bring back us back to a state of wholeness possible with simple acceptance of our wound? Just like Chiron, we can fully acknowledge and live with the wound. And when we no longer ignore or deny it, the outlet is to share our experience, to find comfort in witnessing the pain of others. In that effort, we can find a sense of communion with others and the pain. This is the deeper essence of Chiron - to reach the point where our inner and outer nature become the same, a place where man meets beast and instinct meets spirit. This is the creation of the bridge where the seemingly opposed qualities can become one. Only through awareness and acceptance of that which is the wound can this occur.

Chiron’s orbit takes 50.7 years to circle once around the Sun and reunite with its placement at birth. While Chiron's journey is a long one, we can anticipate that Chiron will be most potently felt between the ages of 46 and 51. This is an important and critical time in an individual's life. It can bring crisis, especially if the individual has not been able to reach into this hidden dimension of their soul and create the bridge. The gift is accomplishing this level of wholeness is empowerment.

Christopher Reeves is a good example of healing through empowerment. After nearly giving up on his life, Reeves was able to accept and tap into the source of his pain (losing his physical functionality and deep need for independence). He then used his physical wound to help not only those with paralysis, but also to fight for medical progress. In our communities we see many examples of this in people who lost a child to violence or drunk driving, people who “won” the battle against addictions to drugs or alcohol, people who were subjected to ridicule because they are dyslexia or any number of other issues in life. Some of these people or their relatives turn around after these experiences and form national or community organizations such as MADD. These are big scale examples, but whether this exchange takes place on an intimate level or in an international capacity, the goal is essentially the same: in seeking to heal our wound, we can discover a thread of spirituality within us that allows us to release our highest potential in to life.

In closing, I would like to recommend a few books on the subject of Chiron. Melanie Reinhart has dedicated 30 years to the astrological study of Chiron. I highly recommend her book Chiron and the Healing Journey (1989). Reinhart devotes a large section of her book on the mythology of Chiron and its correlation to our life experience. She then discusses Chiron from an astrological perspective and how to apply its mythology in astrological interpretations. Another classic is Barbara Hand Clow’s book Chiron: The Rainbow Bridge Between Inner and Outer Planets. Clow’s book is metaphysically based, yet is not as clear in its descriptions nor as easy to understand. The newest book to be published on the subject is Martin Lass’ Chiron: Healing Body & Soul. From my preliminary examination of the text, this is probably one of the easiest resources to read on the subject for clear interpretations of Chiron in a natal chart. However, it is missing the richer mythological references found in Reinhart's book.

Written by: © 2006 Tishelle Betterman, "Astrolady"