CHIRON:
What does it mean for you?
by
Eric K. Lerner
What the Heck is Chiron?
And What is it doing in My Horoscope?
Good questions.
In 1987, astronomer Charles Kowal discovered Chiron, a comet about the size of Pluto which orbits the Sun between Saturn and Uranus. Earlier conjecture about Chiron hypothesized that it might be a planet or asteroid. At that time, some astrologers assigned it dominion over one of the zodiacal signs, Libra or Virgo. But, contemporary thought does not favor assigning rulership of a sign to anything other than a planet.
Questions arise about what influence Chiron has on us. Because it is small and far from the earth, one might say "very little." However, if size and distance are determining factors in power, what about Pluto? Virtually everyone includes Pluto in casting and analyzing a horoscope, and would agree that it is very powerful.
An understanding of Pluto’s properties and how they were determined can help us describe Chiron. Historically, astrologers assign attributes to a stellar body by analyzing what is going on in the world at the time of its discovery. Pluto was discovered in 1930. At that time, mankind was learning how to split the atom and the world faced economic crises and imminent war. Thus, Pluto was assigned attributes of volatility, transformation, and sheer force. Most astrologers agree that when Pluto forms a major aspect in a horoscope, its effect is explosive.
So what was going on in the world in 1987? The Berlin Wall had just fallen. Medical science was making huge advances, and the AIDS epidemic was devastating Afrika and minority communities world-wide. Age old esoteric practices like tarot and astrology were finding new audiences in middle America. More significantly, computers would soon revolutionize communication. Clearly Chiron’s discovery coincides with significant events and changes in the world. It has become associated with new age consciousness, healing, AIDS and communication on all levels.
We are beginning to see Chiron’s specific aspects have definite effects. For instance, the limited astrological research to date shows that Chiron is critically positioned in the nativities of most people afflicted by HIV. Astrologer Chris Brooks has written Midpoint Keys to Chiron (Tempe, AZ: American Federation of Astrologers, 1992), which examines Chiron in light of cosmobiology. He defines its midpoint structures. For instance, he has found that the Jupiter/Chiron midpoint can indicate significant good fortune. Examples include:
Midpoint Keys is highly recommended for the serious cosmobiologist who wishes to understand Chiron better.
All things considered, you probably would like to know how Chiron may play a role in your life.
Now comes the kicker. In my experience, Chiron’s degree of influence varies according to an individual’s interests and sensiblity! I look at Chiron when casting any chart. About half the time, its position reveals important information about the client. For some reason, I attract many folk who have Chiron in the first house near their Ascendants. Prevailing wisdom indicates that this is true of people who are attracted to healing professions, particularly those with a new age quality. Many of my clients are Reiki Practitioners or Jungian Psychologists. I have had runs where as many as six new clients in a row embrace one or both of these practices. For this type of person, Chiron, whose name is taken from a great mythic healer, has an obvious influence. Its transits and directions exert powerful effects on these people.
However, I have other clients for whom Chiron really might as well not be there. It simply does seem to play a recognizable role in their lives. Here is an example. In this case, I compare myself to a specific client. We both have Chiron in our charts at approximately the same position with similar aspects. We are about the same age. Our particular placement of Chiron usually shows that the native can relate to others by transforming their pain. In this unique position it characterizes healers, psychics and diviners. Ever since I was a small child, I have demonstrated empathic ability. I can heal by laying on hands and absorb other people’s pain. I am also drawn to all types of divination, and learn different techniques quickly. However, none of those qualities exist in the particular client with whom I compare myself. She would have trouble applying a Band-Aid to someone else, and really needs a manual to read a tarot card. This does not make her a bad person, anymore than having those abilities makes me a good one. She simply did not demonstrate the qualities typically associated with our particular Chiron placement.
This dichotomy also came to light in Chiron’s transits and directions for us. Chiron’s movements have tremednous impact on me. I know I have to be very sensitive to what is going on during significant Chiron events, such as contacts with the Chiron/Neptune midpoint. The energies unleashed in such events overwhelm me unless I prepare myself to face them. This particular client was experiencing her Chiron Return, a once in a life time event that popular opinion holds to be a spiritual turning point in life. However, at this time she did not realize any higher truth or the lack of one in her life. This is in her own estimate, as well as mine. Her Chiron Return was simply a non event. Her life continued uninterrupted and unaffected.
How can this be so? Chiron strongly influences my interests and abilities. Shouldn’t someone else with a similar Chiron placement exhibit some common tendencies? Maybe my client has potential to help others heal and realize truths about life through divination. But she has not developed those skills to date. Nor does she perceive them as missing from her life.
Her case leads me to the following conclusion. People have to be interested in esotericism to some degree in order to realize Chiron’s unique energy in their lives. It is not a given that Chiron proves influential. Rather, a person has to want to connect with Chiron’s dynamic in order to feel it. How and why someone develops such a propensity is beyond the scope of this essay. Keep in mind that individual destiny is shaped by a number of factors outside of astrology, such as upbringing, economic status, and genetics. To me, astrology represents elements of universal experience and consciousness which are made available to someone at the moment of birth. Astrology defines potential, not necessarily realized, energy. What ultimately shapes a person is more than that alone.
In conclusion, Chiron is very subjective. You have to be willing to tune in to its energies in order to realize them. To some extent that may be true of any stellar body. But In Chiron’s case, it seems to be quite pronounced. Chiron represents force that can be accessed, but you have to be look for it. Therefore, someone who is attracted to new age penomena is almost certainly likely to feel and appreciate Chiron.
When you read an astrological report about yourself, take a moment to reflect if the traits described by the Chiron analysis are accurate. If they are, then you have a chance to learn something about yourself. You probably will be sensitive to its different movements in your horoscope. These will provide you with opportunities for understanding and growth. They will also indicate times when you need to guard yourself because your emotions may overwhelm you. However, for some, Chiron may not prove to be a major factor, and that is o.k. Chiron may reveal specific potential that you have. The decision to access it is ultimately your own.
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