⚷ Chiron

1. Astronomy
2. Mythology
3. Natal Chart
4. Chiron Transits
5. Chiron Return
6. Chiron and the Vertex
7. Resources and Info.
8. Transits

The Astronomy of Chiron

Chiron was discovered in 1977, by an astronomer named Charles T. Kowal, just inside the orbit of Uranus. Chiron was originally designated 'Slow-Moving Object Kowal' before Kowal named it 'Chiron', and held the classification of a minor planet (number 2060).

From the first discovery of Chiron, however, astronomers speculated that it may in fact be a Comet, and not a minor planet at all. Chiron was later given the short-period comet number 95P/Chiron, and since it still holds the minor planet designation 2060/Chiron, Chiron is unique in that it is designated as both a minor planet and a comet.

Without getting too much into the astronomical details of how Chiron was discovered, once it was identified, astronomers were able to look back through their photographic plates from previous years, and get a better idea of Chiron's orbit.

What was discovered was that Chiron's orbit takes it from inside of the orbit of Saturn to just before the orbit of Uranus. In other words, Chiron forms a bridge between these two planets. This is the reason that Kowal chose to name his new discovery Chiron: in mythology, Chiron was the son of Saturn (Kronos) and the Grandson of Uranus.

In recent years, several other bodies similar to Chiron have been discovered. These new celestial bodies that seem to be a mixture of minor planets and comets are now classified as 'Centaurs', in honor of Chiron, the first-discovered Centaur.

The discovery of Chiron involved a very rare example of cooperation between astronomers and astrologers. A preliminary ephemeris was generated for Chiron based on Right Ascension (astronomical measurements), translated to astrological coordinates, and was available to astrologers within 8 months of Chiron's discovery.

What was revealed is that Chiron's extremely unusual orbit runs from the sign of Aries, where it is the farthest from the Sun and the closest to Uranus to the Sign of Libra, where Chiron is the closest to the Sun and to the Earth, and actually inside of the orbit of Saturn. Chiron is at its top speed in the Sign of Libra, and takes only 1 1/2 years to move through Libra; by contrast, Chiron spends 8 years in the sign of Aries.

The Mythology of Chiron

When interpreting a planet, it's always an excellent idea to begin with the mythology associated with the planet (or asteroid's) name. The myths and archetypes form the foundation of the astrological interpretation of the planets and signs.

Chiron was a Centaur ­ half-man, half-horse. He was unique among the Centaurs, however, in that he was civilized, educated and an accomplished teacher and healer. (The Centaurs tended to express more of their animal nature in their behavior, and evidently were not terribly popular in their time.)

As mentioned before, Chiron's father was Saturn, and his mother was Philyra, a sea nymph. Fidelity wasn't exactly the strong-suit for the Gods, and to avoid his wife finding out, Saturn took on the form of a horse when he had his little tryst with Philyra.

When Chiron was born half-man/half-horse, he was abandoned by his mother (and also by his father, who couldn't exactly claim him, either). Chiron had to learn how to survive on his own; but survive he did. Of course the fact that he was half-God, and therefore immortal didn't hurt.

Chiron was befriended early in life by Apollo and Athena. From Athena, he gained his wisdom and intelligence, and from Apollo, he learned to become an accomplished and renowned healer.

Chiron moved to Mt. Pelion, where he was instrumental in the education and training of many famous warriors including Achilles, Aristeus, and Jason. Chiron is mentioned in the Odyssey as a healer in great demand during the Trojan War. Chiron's connection to the other Centaurs is somewhat unclear; however, he seemed to function as their ruler/priest, if not as their ancestor.

Although many stories exist describing how Chiron was ultimately wounded, they all agree on a few key points. Herakles (the Greek version of Hercules) was involved in the conflict, and was attempting to keep the other Centaurs from running amok.

Chiron was also not participating in the fighting, but was rather trying to bring the Centaurs back under control. During the melee, Chiron is accidentally wounded by one of Herakles' poisoned arrows, somewhere on his left leg. Being immortal, Chiron could not die from his wound; however, he also was not able to heal the wound, and was therefore faced with an eternity of unbearable suffering.

Around this time, Promethius was being tortured as punishment for his stealing the gift of fire and giving it to man. He was spending most of his time chained to a rock while vultures ate his liver each day (it grew back overnight). Taking a break between his 11th and 12th Labors, Herakles was able to convince Zeus to free Promethius. Zeus agreed, but the only way that Promethius could be released would be if some other immortal agreed to take his place in Tartarus.

Chiron, no doubt very sick of his constant suffering, agreed to relinquish his immortality and take his place in the land of the dead, in order to secure the release of Promethius. After 9 days, however, Zeus took pity on Chiron, and set him among the stars as the Centaur (the Southern constellation Centaurs).

From this myth, we find that Chiron is associated with healing, (and indeed with the archetype of the wounded healer), with teaching, with experiencing the unknown, with surrender, and with transcendence, and also with triumphing over our animal nature. Zane Stein also associates Chiron with the maverick: with the person who belongs to no group and follows his own path.

From the astronomical orbit of Chiron, we can also add the observation that Chiron connects the realm of Saturn with the realm of Uranus. In other words, Chiron provides a connection (some would say a 'bridge') between the 3-dimensional Saturn-ruled reality of the inner planets, and the multi-dimensional truth of the outer planets.

Interpreting Chiron in the Natal Chart

The approach that I take to interpreting Chiron in a Natal chart, which seems to be one of the more widely accepted interpretations, is that Chiron represents our primal wound. Where we find Chiron in the chart, is where we encounter our greatest source of pain, where we feel the greatest need to be healed.

This wound, in fact, feels like it can never be healed (and in point of fact, like Chiron's wound, it can't). By finding the courage to explore this wound, however, by surrendering to it and exploring it, we can discover how to transcend it. Through this process, we encounter the unknown, we can open and experience a connection to our true spirituality, and we can also discover how we can help heal others.

Chiron's orbit takes about 51.5 years. Chiron's influence must be considered to be largely generational, even though Chiron's unusual orbit means that it spends only 1 1/2 years in Libra, but over 8 years in Aries, and therefore Chiron can't be said to truly define a generation. The Chiron wound that we carry is one that is perhaps carried forward from previous incarnations.

Although it may find a strong connection to traumas that we encounter in this lifetime, Chiron does not relate to personal experience in the same way that the inner planets do. Chiron truly is a bridge between the inner/personal planets and the outer/trans-personal planets. Chiron in the natal chart represents our personal experience with a generational influence.

The sign position of Chiron will relate to the nature of the wound. Chiron in Aries may have a wounded sense of individual identity; Chiron in Pisces, a wounded sense of spirituality, etc.

The house position of Chiron will indicate the area of life where we are most likely to encounter both our pain and fear with respect to our Chiron wound, and ultimately our healing gifts and spiritual connections.

Chiron Transits

Chiron by transit, however, is a different matter entirely. Many astrologers have observed time and again that Chiron transits tend to coincide with healing crisis for their clients. I feel that this is probably more of a symptom, however, as opposed to the actual nature of the transit.

Terry Lamb first suggested to me that Chiron tends to time our initiations to the outer planets. Chiron is closely related to the flow of kundalini energy through our chakra system, and is often associated with the first manifestation of kundalini energy (which, as we will discuss shortly, can be quite a traumatic and disorienting experience).

Terry feels that Chiron is related to the outer planets in much the same way that Mercury is related to the Inner planets: it is integral in timing the manifestation of their energy.

When we experience a Chiron transit, Chiron begins to fill us with the light energy from the outer planets, which activates the flow of kundalini energy. If we are clear and open channels, in perfect health and balance, the experience of this energy is thought to be one of the high points of existing in a physical body, an intensely orgasmic experience that encompasses both the physical and the spiritual.

This only happens, however, if the energy has a clear channel and can flow freely. Most of us have various blocks in our energy fields, both physically (those that have already become dense enough to manifest as physical health problems), and on the non-physical levels of our auras.

When Chiron comes along by transit, the light energy starts pouring in through our Crown Chakra, and the kundalini energy starts rising from our Root Chakra. When this energy encounters any blockages, the pressure starts to build.

At this point, one of several things will happen:

1. The block dissolves and the energy can begin to flow freely again. This can happen either with or without our conscious attention, although if the blockages are significant, they usually require conscious awareness to untangle them.
2. The block does not dissolve, but the transit passes and the pressure eventually dissipates. When this happens, we often experience some sort of a minor healing crisis, one that usually begins on the mental/emotional level, but that sometimes also manifests on the physical level as well. Just because the pressure dies down doesn't mean that the problem has gone away, however. If we don't pay attention to these messages and work on releasing these energy blockages, the next transit will be far worse.
3. The block does not dissolve, and the pressure builds up beyond the breaking point. The result is a significant health crisis (usually physical, but occasionally it can be emotional as well). This crisis may or may not be directly related to where the energy blockage is, however. Some of the time, the crisis results because the block has been forcefully destroyed - literally blown apart. Some of the time, however, the block is too strong, and the crisis comes from the pressure breaking through the weakest point.

Chiron transits can make us very aware of where we have energy blocks, of where we have ego attachments, and overall of where we must learn to surrender.

In general, we can significantly reduce the potential severity of the healing crisis by becoming consciously aware of where we are resisting, of where we are blocked in our lives, and choosing to dissolve those blockages.

The Chiron Return

The Chiron Return, which occurs at about age 52, signifies the completion of a complete cycle of transits of Chiron through the natal chart. Until we experience the first return of a planet, we are not able to work with it on a conscious level; instead we are more reactive with respect to that planet.

The inner planets we learn how to master at a relatively early age; the Moon returns each month; Mercury, Venus and the Sun return annually; Mars, every 2 years; Jupiter every 12. Saturn takes the longest of the inner planets, and we don't begin to get a handle on Saturn until after the age of 29.

Looking at the Chiron return strictly from a transit standpoint, it is a time when the light energy of Chiron is illuminating and triggering the Natal Chiron wound.

This is certainly a time that presents an opportunity to explore and to heal any Chiron issues that we may have. It is also a time to set long-term healing goals, although at least in the present day, the number of individuals who live to see their second Chiron Return at age 102-104 is very small.

To further complicate the matter, there is the whole notion that until a planet is 'discovered' it represents energy and forces that we are not ready to work with on a conscious level. Chiron was first 'discovered' in 1977 - that is, the energy of Chiron first broke through into conscious awareness at this time.

Chiron has yet to complete an entire cycle since its discovery; I think that this is one of the reasons that astrologers have not been able to come to a solid consensus on Chiron: we have yet to experience it fully, and we are still collectively reacting and responding to it.

(For that matter, Pluto is still a mystery ­ discovered in 1930, it's cycle is 248 years; we're closer with Neptune, discovered in 1846 with an orbital cycle of about 165 years; collectively, we're only recently beginning to get a handle on Uranus having experienced two complete 84-year cycles since it's discovery in 1781.)

I guess what I'm suggesting is that the first true Chiron returns might not happen until about the year 2028, 51 years after Chiron was discovered. The personal experience of Chiron returns in the meantime may be quite different than they will be once we have a more universal understanding of Chiron.

Chiron and the Vertex

As to Chiron and the Vertex, well the Vertex is even less well-documented than Chiron is, so I couldn't even begin to interpret it. I had originally been taught to think of the Vertex as a sort of an unconscious descendant; however, I'm not sure that this is an entirely accurate description.

Someone mentioned to me once that an astrologer (who's name I don't recall) had a theory that the Vertex is a point in the chart where we end up blowing off steam; a sort of a pressure valve, I suppose. He feels that when we are under stress and pressure, that the Vertex is involved whenever things blow up.

Although I haven't done any extensive research on the topic, I have noticed that the Vertex has been involved in the charts of a number of disasters on both a personal scale (death of family members) as well as on a more mundane level (explosions and fires). It's been particularly prominent when working with the 90 degree dial.

One thing that I might consider with respect to Chiron and the Vertex is that this type of a transit might be more likely to elicit a health crisis, especially if the Vertex does indeed represent the pressure valve of the chart. It's certainly worth observing, at any rate.

Chiron Resources and Information

The two primary sources for the astronomical and mythological information on Chiron used in this article were Zane Stein's Chiron and Friends Web Page and what I consider to be the best book on Chiron that I've read: The Continuing Discovery of Chiron, by Erminie Lantero (1983, Samuel Weiser, Inc., York Beach, ME).

Zane Stein's web page (above) is an excellent source of information on Chiron from one of the people who have been working closely with Chiron since its discovery. Zane has also written a book on Chiron, but I haven't read it, so I can't comment much on it. I'm assuming, however, that it contains the same caliber of information on Chiron as he offers on his web page, and on that basis, I would recommend it highly.

Melanie Reinhart's book, Chiron and the Healing Journey (Penguin books, Arkana Contemporary Astrology Series, ISBN 0-14-019209-3), is an excellent analysis of Chiron from a mythological, psychological and astrological perspective. Other than the fact that she makes the rather grevious error of assuming that the houses are the same thing as the signs, and that therefore Chiron in Aries is the same thing as Chiron in the 1st House (it most certainly is not), this is a book that I recommend highly. Just pretend that she skips over the houses entirely when you read about Chiron through the signs.

Finally, Barbara Hand Clow has also written a book on Chiron called Chiron: Ranibow Bridge Between the Inner and Outer Planets (Llewellyn Publications, ISBN 0-87542-094-X). Although she provides some excellent interpretations of Chiron from a healing perspective, I can only recommend this book with the warning to ignore everything that she writes about the connection between Chiron and Virgo. Suffice it to say that 1) Chiron does not rule ANY sign and 2) Barbara Hand Clow has a rather unusual and somewhat biased interpretation of Virgo. If you can either ignore these parts of the book, or else take them with sufficient quantities of salt, it's quite a good interpretive resource.