In astrology, Chiron is a symbol of the things that we do for other people which perhaps we cannot do in our own lives. In mythology, Chiron was the Wounded Healer but he could not heal himself although he was a great and wise healer to others.
How does Chiron work?
If you have Chiron in your natal chart which is in aspect with a planet such as Mercury then you may find that you are able to create order and clear thinking in others but not in your own life. You may also find people think of you as intellectual and a free thinker, but you struggle to see this side of yourself.
If you have Chiron in your First House of your natal chart then you may feel that you have no power over your own thoughts and emotions although in reality, you will be a very strong person. If you have Chiron in conjunction with a planet like Venus, which rules beauty, then you may feel that you are not attractive to others even though you have many suitors.
In this way, Chiron is a kind of blind spot in our lives or a pain point for us. We may try to heal others of something when we really need to heal this in ourselves first – but we find it impossible. Chiron can also shine a light on the parts of our life where we feel we are lacking or, conversely, parts of our life that we want to hide from others for fear they will be jealous of us.
But there is another side to this. These idiosyncrasies show us how we can be creative if we recognize these sides of ourselves that are wounded or painful. If we can harness the power of our imperfections then this is exactly the place where we have the most power – if we can get over the feelings of inferiority and doubt that these bring with them. If we can let go of this then we will excel. An example would be if we had Chiron in opposition with the Moon in our natal chart which meant that we had difficulty conceiving. If we could accept this then we may go on to do something else like adopt children in greater need than ourselves which would fulfill our need to parent and also help others in a more meaningful way.
Another example would be having Chiron in Aries in the Sixth House which makes you fearless in many areas of your life, except doing something like driving a car on your own. If you could learn to turn this into a positive situation, then you may work helping to organize other people learning to drive or work for a charity that helps others to conquer their fears in other ways.
The Dark Side of our life and our Polarity:
The dark side of our lives or our shadow is the part of our personality that is buried deep with, under the surface. This is often in opposition to how we behave on the surface and it could be the case that we are working through unresolved issues in one area of our life through this shadow part of our personality. It could also be that this part of our life is underdeveloped and causes something to be lacking in our lives. These hidden parts of our lives can often be about things that cause our ego to feel threatened and we may, therefore, feel fear and anger around this. We can also push these feelings onto other people in our lives and this can cause us to have strong reactions to people or their ways of thinking.
There can be different parts of our horoscope that show this shadow side of our personality and reflect our subconscious life and the things that are lacking in our world. We may be very critical of this shadow side and also project it onto others and criticize them in turn. When we look at Chiron in astrology, we have to look at all the parts of the whole. These are the Healer, the Wounded and the Person Who Wounds. Usually, we will notice that one of these is more prominent than the others and whatever part this is will be linked to our shadow life.
The Healer:
For many people, the Healer is the most prominent part of our chart although this does not mean that you will necessary work as a healer in the traditional sense. Instead, it could mean that you are someone who works hard to help others. In mythology, Chiron was a teacher, mentor, parent and foster parent. In civil society nowadays we are encouraged to learn and behave in a socialized way which means that we are meant to focus on the positives and not reflect too deeply on our own inner pain.
As we go through life, we may try to find ways to deal with our inner pain and this may mean that we push this aside and focus on the ‘better’ or more polished sides of our nature. This means however that we ignore the other side of our life. This is a mirror of the myth of Chiron, who was a healer who helped many people and who was also a wounded animal at the same time. In our modern life, we may decide that we want to become nobler, more sophisticated and more highbrow in our pursuits. This does, however, mean that we can't ignore the wounded animal side of our life and that we will have to come down to earth with a bump when something like an illness or a personal issue makes us pay attention to this and focus on this uncomfortable inner pain.
The Wounded:
Being a Healer, however, is not always the case and some people may be far more focused on the wounded animal part of their identity. This can make you indulgent and it may be that you are overtaken with thoughts of greed, avarice, wrath and violent tendencies. You may also be competitive with others and can lack reason and clear thought. If this is the case then it will cause you to suffer in your life if you do not deal with it. Chiron is also the Wounded and depending on your natal chart you may identify more closely with this concept which means that you feel wounded, damaged and alienated from others. This could also be because of physical or mental issues that you suffer from. This could also make you feel as if you are always the outsider in life but you may be prone to always thinking of yourself as the victim. Sometimes this affects people who are confined to institutions or hospitals where healing is supposed to take place.
Throughout the ages, there are many examples of the way that nations and schools of thought have preferred to project the concept of evil onto animals which can then be killed. An example of this would be Indonesia where wild animals like tigers are often identified as demons and shapeshifters and then slaughtered as a way of banishing evil from a village or town. This is also the case in parts of India where horses are considered the same way and this is an echo of the myth of Chiron.
The Person Who Wounds:
For other people, the Person Who Wounds will be the most prominent part of their personality. This may mean that you either try to repress these feelings or, more dangerously, that you try to act on them. We may see if this is going to happen in your horoscope due to the position of Chiron, although it can be difficult to judge exactly and it may also change throughout your life.
The Chiron Return:
You will have your Chiron Return when you are 50 years old and by this time you will probably have gone through all of the different stages of the figure of Chiron. You may also have learned by this time that you can mix all three of these parts of Chiron and blend them together to make a more balanced persona, rather than acting on them separately.
There are many examples of people such as spiritual gurus who started their life as healers and who then were either victims of violence or who practiced violence against others. Often it is not that clear-cut and it may be that those who commit violent acts are doing so because they have a deep-seated pain within them which is making them behave in this way. When we see those who have committed violence punished for their sins, we often feel happy and proud of ourselves that we have not succumbed to such base instincts and that justice has been served to rebalance the scales.
But this means that these people who are punished become tools for the masses as they can make us more arrogant and sure of ourselves in turn. We may begin to applaud ourselves for our good behavior and overlook all the areas where we are failing. If people do commit violent acts, then this is more often about a Chiron cycle which is repeating itself and is the last part of a long cycle which is about, healing, pain and wounds. As with so many other parts of astrology, Chiron and its cycle does not exist alone. The cycle is about different sections of a much more complicated story that makes up our life path.
Tha so much this was very informational for me I’m understanding myself more and more, blessings
This is a very funny story about Chiron, the wounded healer. How come a great healer like him failed to heal himself? His reputation seems to be false to me. A healer should experiment on himself first and then try to heal others. I am well aware that it’s a myth and it’s meaning is symbolic, but still… very foolish to me.