Unlocking the mystery of Chiron

Chiron is a lesser-known planetary body and I personally believe that is due to the confrontational nature of its meaning in the birth chart. As you will soon learn, Chiron is anything but a trivial topic to explore.

Chiron is a large asteroid, a “planetoid”, that was discovered in 1977. Chiron’s elliptic orbit moves between Saturn and Uranus, the realms of the known (Saturn) and unknown (Uranus).

Before getting into the signification behind this mysterious celestial body, I want to preface this article with the statement that this isn’t going to be a casual conversation. Chiron’s message is deep and requires us to sink into vulnerability to receive its significance.

When it comes to Astrology, Chiron is not always included in a chart interpretation, although after the 10 popular planetary bodies, Chiron is a frequent guest. I personally always include the asteroid in my chart interpretations, and if I’m honest it’s often the first placement I look. I find this placement, as has been my personal experience, to be one of the most integral and life-changing aspects in the birth chart to bring awareness to.

Popularly, Chiron has been coined the “Wounded Healer”. So this brings us to the most central characteristic to note when understanding Chiron’s position in our birth chart, which is that it does in fact point to our “wound”. “Wound” in this context speaks to a specificity that I feel is important to clarify.

The wound Chiron speaks to is the wound we all carry that originates from our first experience of separateness. It is the deep assumption, taken before we are at an age where we can make conscious decision, that we are no longer one with or the same as everything around us. It is at this point in our life experience that some of our innocence ends. This experience of the wound is the moment we recognise ourselves as different from our parents, our environment and the love and nourishment we receive. It’s that moment that fractures our otherwise fluid wholeness.

In saying that, Chiron’s wisdom deeply acknowledges that this wound experience is necessary in order for each of us to develop a sense of self, without which, we would severely struggle to co-exist, thrive and evolve in the reality we live in. We could say that what is being defined here as the wound experience, is the ending of our wholeness and the beginning of our individuality.

An important piece to note is that the wound is defined from within, as it is our perception of the experience that determines the belief that we are no longer whole – that we are broken or wounded. With this framing we can now start to understand how working with Chiron is an initiation back into remembering our innate wholeness. The emphasis on “remembering” is vital to understand, as previously noted, we are speaking to a perception, a point of view embedded through the experience of an event. We adopt the belief, subconsciously, that we are permanently damaged or broken.

The wound, if honestly acknowledged, is incredibly painful to be with. Because of this, we develop protective mechanisms around it, like a scab, in the attempt to prevent the wound from being engaged with and potentially re-experienced. The protective mechanisms that develop as habits and patterns, and to the perspective of the ego, are vital to our survival. If we are to access the vulnerability that lives beneath the protection developed, we will have to come face-to-face with the original wound – the belief that we are separate, broken, wounded – a pain that is impossible to conceptualise without having consciously experienced it. For this reason, for many, the Chiron placement, the wound, will go unacknowledged for their whole life.

As we continue to journey with Chiron, the next place we have the opportunity to interface with is healing the wound. The first act in healing comes with addressing the wound and our accompanying beliefs. This is where the gift of astrology provides us with a powerful opportunity to be supported in our healing journey. What sign and house Chiron falls under in the birth chart will tell us about the wound and what parts of self we are hiding from consciousness. Through the birth chart we gain awareness of what beliefs are driving ours habits and patterns of protection. From here we have the choice to start to bring deeper honesty into our relationship with our wound.

As I touched on earlier, for most of us, we will in fact deny that we carry this wound and these beliefs, because acknowledging our perceived brokenness would involve meeting our vulnerabilities. This is exactly the next step in the healing journey of Chiron, a journey inward to make contact with our vulnerabilities and the source of woundedness.

A large part of this journey inwards is, in fact, leaning into the unknown. Chiron reminds us that the protection we have developed keeps us in known territory and the path towards healing asks us to engage with unknown terrain. To walk the path of Chiron takes great courage and willingness to meet the unknown. In meeting the unknown there is no doubt we will encounter deep discomfort.

You might ask, why? Why would I choose to interface with such discomfort, such pain?

The armour around our vulnerability also creates armour around our truth, our wisdom. Chiron teaches us that our most challenging experiences provide us with the greatest opportunity for growth. Rather than running from our inner conflict, how can we meet and become intimate with it? It’s this relationship between self and wound that is key to accessing our truth and our unique wisdom.

When we look at the astrology of Chiron in the birth chart, we have the opportunity to shine a light on this wisdom that is spoken to. Although it’s not until we address our vulnerabilities and perceived weaknesses that we experience a loss of defences, protections and facades. When the walls of protection come crumbling down we are gifted the knowing that we are in fact not broken, we are whole. The knowing lives inside the wound, beneath the barriers. This knowing never leaves us, it gifts us a radically new way of relating to life, to pain, to truth. Once we journey with Chiron, we are no longer kept hostage by our wounds. From that point, it is almost as if nothing can stop us.

If you don’t know what your Chiron sign is, use this calculator to find out.