Monday, October 29, 2012

The Depth Psychology of Chiron



I occasionally try to do away with Chiron. He is, after all, only the size of the Isle of Wight. But he keeps coming back, one way or the other. So although I’m not going to give him planetary status, I will generally pay attention if he is aspecting something important in the chart. Like in my own case, conjunct the Sun and square the MC and sextile the Moon.

But that still often leaves me stuck for something to say. Which ‘bit’ of us is he? It’s not enough to say ‘the wound’ because lots of bits of us are problematic and painful. Besides which, Chiron was a wise teacher for the main part of his life, it was only later on that he got wounded by the poisoned arrow, and was in pain to such an extent that he tired of living. Catch: he was immortal. But he sorted that, giving up his immortality in exchange for Prometheus being released from his torment.

Both Saturn and Chiron have been described as bridges to the outer planets, and that seems a fairly sensible thing to say, given their positions in the solar system, on the boundary between the visible and invisible planets. It is the invisibility (to the naked eye) of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto that gives them a different character to the inner planets.

The way I’m thinking about Chiron at present is that he is the principle of the wound in the sense of that kind of difficulty and pain that can only be addressed by listening to the outer planets: he is precisely that principle you get in depth psychology that says that it is through our intractable, painful bits that we find our souls.
_____________________________
Ad Break: I offer webcam astrology readings (£60 full reading/£30 update). Price negotiable if you’re hard up. Contact me on Dharmaruci71(at)hotmail.com.
_____________________________

Imagine the outer planets as the molten core of the earth – uncontrollable, transformative and nuking everything in its path when it breaks through the surface crust. Chiron is that fissure deep underground, that fault line, through which the molten lava can erupt. And Saturn is the crust itself, the form of the earth, over which the lava flows. The outer planets are not always out of control and disruptive, particularly if we know how to listen to them. In this case Saturn is more like machinery erected at the surface to direct the raw power coming from below. An oil rig, something like that.

So Chiron is this fissure deep underground. It cannot be sorted on its own terms, and it cannot be understood in terms of surface mechanics, earth movers and such like, ordinary psychology. No, for there is always this threat from below, or what appears as a threat. The threat that is actually our souls if we are willing to go there.

So this is why Chiron often represents a part of life - depending on where he is in the chart – that doesn’t work very well. You cannot patch him up, because there is always that roiling underneath. I think Chiron conjunct the Ascendant can be particularly difficult. The Asc is our basic ability to express who we are and make our lives work. With this placement you can bumble along in life with nothing quite working, nothing ever going anywhere, and that can go on for decades. And the problem is that you’re trying to do ‘normal’, you’re trying to live your life like everyone else does, but somehow your heart is not in it, and you feel inadequate because of that. But once you go bugger that, there’s this thing I’ve always wanted to do, it’s not going to earn me much probably and I don’t know if I’ll be any good at it but I’m going to do it, then your life can start to work properly – not in ‘normal’ terms, but in terms of you feeling there is something essential that is falling into place.

So Chiron is a ‘wound’, but not an ordinary one. He only appears as a wound, and that’s why it’s said to be incurable, because you can’t cure a wound that isn’t a wound. What ‘cures’ it lies in making what is immortal in you mortal, just like Chiron himself did, giving earthly expression to that other drumbeat you’ve always heard.

The Chiron wound can make you feel like you don’t want to go on living, just like Chiron the centaur felt. But I think it’s a case of not wanting to live on particular terms, not if life has to be like this.

In 1999 I took ayahuasca a couple of times in the Amazon jungle, and it made me aware of what I think was Chiron. It was a sense of deep pain, which I would experience from time to time anyway, but it became clear that that pain was what grounded me, connected me to the earth, it had a sort of weight to it. And then I became aware that I learnt from it, it was an ongoing source of learning. And it wasn’t something that could be put into words and certainly not to be psychoanalysed. It was uncomfortable, but very creative, and not to be ignored.

Previous to that, in the early 90s, I had driven myself into a corner by pressurising myself to ‘achieve’. And I ended up realising, like Chiron, that I didn’t want to live on those terms, I didn’t have a will to live if it meant living like that. I didn’t feel depressed or suicidal or anything, I just knew that I had to find a different way of being. This was as transiting Pluto was squaring my natal Sun-Chiron. And it was, appropriately, to do with work, my Sun-Chiron being in the 6th House. So I’ve had to spend years undoing the notion of ‘achievement’ in the way I work (note I also have natal Chiron square MC) or pushing and pressurising myself. That may work for some people, it’s quite ‘normal’ in a way, but it ain’t going to work if Chiron is involved in the 6th and 10th Houses. So it means I ‘do’ less, but what I end up doing has a quality that it never had previously.

So Chiron I think has this unconventional, outsider, even scapehorse quality to him. If Chiron doesn’t aspect anything major in your chart, you may be able to ignore him. But if he say conjoins your MC then you probably have something important to do in the world, and the ‘career’ aspect of your life will never feel right as long as you judge yourself in conventional terms. You need to do what the outer planets want you to do, and that can take a long time to come to fruition – it’s not like deciding to become a plumber and getting on with it. What you do may not have a name.

Gordon Brown, the last UK Prime Minister, has Chiron conjunct MC. Everyone knew he wasn’t Prime Minister material, but he was determined to get the top job, and he made a hash of it. But he also has another side to him, he is a feelingful bloke, he wants to be of help. He doesn’t preen himself, he has more humility than say Blair (another Chiron MC man). But because he wouldn’t, couldn’t listen to his Chiron, he ended up in a conventional job, making a hash of it. And the same with Blair, look how hated he is. You could say his faith foundation is a blundering attempt to get it right with Chiron. And George W Bush - Moon conjunct Chiron, Sun square Chiron: the debate about him has not been whether or not he was a bad President, but whether he was the worst or only second worst!

So I think Chiron can be a sort of curse if you haven’t got the wherewithal to step outside of conventional life and its expectations and judgements – and that can be a really difficult call for many people – and let the outer planets decide how you’re going to live.

Site Meter

24 comments:

Lin Cook said...

Thank you - timely post! I'm currently having real difficulty with Chiron in a chart. He is aspected by everything except Neptune and is not angular. Pivotal position linking grand cross and grand trine from Cap in eleven. This is a kind of 'exam' chart really as it's the first I've done in a long time and I don't know if I am good enough (2nd sat return) Anyway I'm going off to think about your post and hopefully it may lead to light and poor, patient client may get a decent deal after all -- thanks xx

leslee said...

I have Chiron conjunct my Descendant and opposite my Moon (both within 1 degree of the axis). Relationships were unbearably difficult for me, at least until my Chiron Return a few years ago. "Normal" relationships just wouldn't happen and it was like beating my head against a wall. Yet I couldn't seem to give up wanting to be in a relationship. I finally wound up with a real wounded healer type who after going through the ringer himself facilitates support groups for people with debilitating mental illnesses. I struggled the first year with doubts about being involved with him, but I kept being guided to stay and it's turned out to be the strongest and most lasting relationship of my life.

Barry Goddard said...

That's a great story :)

GB said...

Wow--how amazingly liberating!

I have Chiron in the 10th conjunct MC and it has been extremely depressing to not feel the connection to career. I have risen high in the ranks (sheer determination of a Taurus ascendant) but always disliked my profession. It has always felt like a life or death matter as Chiron the centaur felt.

Yes, it is a long time coming to fruition but let the outer planets do their thing!

Until your insight in this article I have never understood a way to heal this seemingly irreparable wound.

A million Thanks

LotusLady9 said...

In my natal chart, I have Chiron in my 6th square Saturn and also opposition my Ascendant,square my MC. So yeah, I always struggle with the will to keep on keepin' on! Thank you for your post. It really shed further light on some of my challenges. Prayer helps me a lot and sometimes I am blessed with further insight like from your blog. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Chiron is currently exactly conjunct my Sun and exactly square my Neptune on my DSC. Another lesson that I do not need a man to make my identity. It is time to stand on my own. Peace to you.

Anonymous said...

"What ‘cures’ it lies in making what is immortal in you mortal, just like Chiron himself did, giving earthly expression to that other drumbeat you’ve always heard."

That fits my Chiron in Pisces conjunct SN in the 7th house. Taking the Pisces non physical (immortality you could say) and applying it to my Pluto-NN Virgo in the 1st house (the physical/body/earth) then throw in Mars and Uranus on the ASC just for a little extra umph or giving earthly expression to that other drumbeat (I play the drums btw).

misstyoga said...

Yours is the best interpretation I've heard for Chiron, the Wounded Healer--making the immortal, mortal. Brilliant and reassuring.

And your reference to Patti Smith makes my heart swoon!

Irene Dietrich said...

I can just say: thank you.
I have chiron squaring AC/DC-axis and opposing Uranus - so experienced exactly that troube you were describing. To see Chiron like a call whe don't listen to instead of a wound, is an interesting switch. And it fits to my experience.

Irene Dietrich

Anonymous said...

Keep writing...... this stuff is great. I love your style of insight regarding Chiron. Can I request a book? :-)

Anonymous said...

A breath of fresh air. Thanks so much.

Anonymous said...

Many thanks for your refreshing aquarian insight! Just in time, and also very liberating for me! My Chiron in Pisces is conjunct my ascendant and square my MC. Yes, finding a suitable career has always been a real life struggle (Sun in Aquarius in 12th). All my life I was thinking that work/career was not meant to be. It just never worked out, it never really touched my heart/soul. But definately the missing link I was looking for was: 'giving earthly expression to that other drumbeat you’ve always heard'. So we go on.....!!

Unknown said...

What if your Chiron is conjunct your south node and Venus in Aries conjunct ascendant.? Help xx specifically..the south node conjunct Chiron

Anonymous said...

6/14/2014 I have Chiron natally in Aquarius in my 12th house. (I work in a hospital) I am Pisces rising and transiting Chiron will make a direct hit to my rising in 1 degree. The only planet that really directly aspects my rising is Venus by trine in Cancer and Vesta by trine at Scorpio 17 degrees. So far I have had a medical check up and had a good stress test which I passed without incident. My blood sugars could be better but otherwise good labs too. Should I be concerned?

Anonymous said...

I have chiron in leo, 7th house. It's sextile sun, trine mars, square MC/

The square makes me concerned. What is his meaning?

Unknown said...

So Chiron is a ‘wound’, but not an ordinary one. He only appears as a wound, and that’s why it’s said to be incurable, because you can’t cure a wound that isn’t a wound. What ‘cures’ it lies in making what is immortal in you mortal, just like Chiron himself did, giving earthly expression to that other drumbeat you’ve always heard.

great insight about Chiron - thanks a lot, that is very helpfull.

Anonymous said...

Hello, can anyone give me an insight about pluto transiting a natally rising chiron in Cap.
Would really appreciate it.

Unknown said...

Hello,
I was searching for opinions about Chiron conjunct the MC (while brooding about someone's chart) and came across your blog.
This post (and the one about Gordon Brown's Chiron/MC) is really brilliant. So brilliant in fact, that I got curious about you as a person and looked up your chart. Think my gut feeling was right: we share some interesting nodal connections: your AC is on my South Node (our ACs are 3 degrees apart) and my Saturn is on your SN & my Jupiter on your NN.
Very interesting for me, as I'm encountering a lot of people with nodal connections of late. If you like, you can take a look at my chart yourself: I was born on feb. 15, 1970 at 18:39 in Nuremberg, Germany. So please ignore misspellings and bad grammar as english is not my native tongue ;-)
I really hope you'll continue blogging in the future as you clearly have a gift for it!
Warmly, Nadja

Unknown said...

Hello,
I was searching for opinions about Chiron conjunct the MC (while brooding about someone's chart) and came across your blog.
This post (and the one about Gordon Brown's Chiron/MC) is really brilliant. So brilliant in fact, that I got curious about you as a person and looked up your chart. Think my gut feeling was right: we share some interesting nodal connections: your AC is on my South Node (our ACs are 3 degrees apart) and my Saturn is on your SN & my Jupiter on your NN.
Very interesting for me, as I'm encountering a lot of people with nodal connections of late. If you like, you can take a look at my chart yourself: I was born on feb. 15, 1970 at 18:39 in Nuremberg, Germany. So please ignore misspellings and bad grammar as english is not my native tongue ;-)
I really hope you'll continue blogging in the future as you clearly have a gift for it!
Warmly, Nadja

Tara Greene said...

just saw this posted on FB. You are speaking of dealing with Chiron in the same terms that James Hillman used to describe working with the dream in a very deep psychological level on its own terms. Not from the ego's perspective. He went back to honor the Gods and Goddesses as planets and archetypes as real living functions which we in the Western mind have lost.
Chiron to me is a shaman and i think of him in those terms.
We are all wounded and that is a necessity, that is what makes us human,that is Saturn that is why we are on the earth plane. Chiron is the sacred guide,if we listen to him. ALso the mythologies are always psychological guidance, and like dreams use puns and can be taken very literally often. Chiron chose to be mortal and die to heal his pain. Chosing to be fully human and die to our megalomania ego needs is also healing just as you describe.
I have Chiron in early Capricorn conjunct my Mercury in Sagittarius on the Galactic Center in my 3rd house. I am also an Astrologer and counsellor.

Anonymous said...

I have chiron conjunct my ascendant squaring my nodes and in opposition with mars (7th house) so i have to say this asteroid really got me, I grew up miserable, being bullied. Sometimes I couldn't believe the pain I was feeling and how I was wounded for apparently just existing, something that for sure I will take to the grave.
The unintended wound directly to your self is not pretty at all, but oh well.....

Unknown said...

Excellent article and insight to Chiron and I agree with the fact that Chiron was many things, a Healer, Astrologer and yet is always known for the Wound. I find Chiron is useful for taking the personal wound, processing and working with it so that knowledge can be shared with others to help heal and understand.

Home Love Fest said...

Good article. it's 2018 and i will be 46 in May, round about the time a new set of Chiron/Aries souls incarnate the earth, lol. I have Chiron/ Venus both conjunct my ascendant in Aries and they also oppose Uranus etc.. I am the gypsy in my family and also the survivor. I grew up with no father and a mother who didn't want me but raised me anyway. I should say, she just didn't understand me. I was sent away at 14 and when I began having relationships they ended horribly. I have 3 children from the relationships and two boys of the three decided to not know me for no particular reason after I loved them more than any mother could. Sooooo, REJECTION.... this is what a Chiron ascendant mostly knows. Your article said to just do what your outter planets tell you to do...lol. Also, that it might take a while. My Jupiter/Neptune conjunct in Sag and guess what??? I have a BA in Metaphysical Sciences. Not a degree the world is quite ready for but certainly exactly what I love more than anything. I am a hair stylist by worldly terms, but something with no name by others. lol I have learned through all the rejection this pure love for myself. I love this human time and when negative things come, I say, (could be good, could be bad) because it simply doesn't matter which. I see energy. Anyway, this calm acceptance of Chironic energy in my life was by far not easy growing up, but now.... I simply wouldn't have it any other way. Having a natural chart offers some clarity, but learning through pain, gives me certainty and the ability to offer others healing in perceptions. Great article, thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this. i have Chiron square MC in the sixth conjunct descendant too. Yes, the road will be a different, unconventional one.

I liked what you had to say about the Chiron as the fissure. It reminded me of the famous quote by Rumi; “the wound is the place where the light enters”.