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Astrological Chiron (or Please Don't Squeeze the Shaman)

Question:
Dr Z, I've heard about something in the birth chart called Chiron. Can you add any light as to what Chiron is and what it does in the birth chart?

Answer:
Since its discovery, Chiron has pretty much been called it all: planet, planetoid, comet and asteroid. Many astronomers currently designate Chiron as a large "centaur" object having the characteristics of both an asteroid and a comet.

Chiron is a relative newcomer to astrology and was only discovered by astronomers back in 1977. So it's taken astrologers a while to start getting a grasp on what effect (if any) Chiron has.

Chiron's orbit generally lies between Saturn and Uranus. So Chiron is sometimes thought to be a shamanistic bridge or link between time and space reality (the outer limit being Saturn) and the archetypal, generational planets of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

The Centaur in Mythology
In Greek mythology Chiron was a centaur. The Centaurs were creatures that had a horse's body and legs but with a human torso and arms (half and half). Centaurs, as a rule, had a reputation for being wild and unbridled critters. They were especially known for their insatiable sexual appetites, and they belonged to the wild Dionysian crowd. You know – they were the sort of unsavory characters that your parents warned you about hanging out with (so they fascinated you all the more).

And, for the most part, centaurs weren't exactly on very friendly terms with most of us mortals.

Chiron
The centaur Chiron was the exception to the rule. Chiron was known as a wise teacher, healer and prophet.

Here's the full story about Chiron for those interested.

Chiron in the Birth Chart
In the astrological birth chart, Chiron reflects the archetypal energies of the shamanic wounded healer and teacher that potentially lives within each one of us. The jury is still out on this issue, but Chiron's placement in the birth chart typically appears to reflect an accidental wounding we have received (most often) in early childhood.

This Chironian wounding is an injury to our instinctual nature and a wounding of trust.

The wounding was generally done by someone close to us... someone we thought well of and trusted. According to astrologer Liz Greene, the wounding was generally brought about as the result of a stupid, careless, thoughtless accident... so there is normally no one who can be blamed with purposely, intentionally, maliciously wounding us.

So the wounding is a wounding of trust... and, further, a Chironian wound is an injury that will never, ever totally heal. We learn, suffer and grow from dealing with this sensitive area of wounded instinct and trust.... but the wounding will never totally heal and go away.

This Chironian wounding can then, later in life and after much personal struggle, become a special area where we can help others by sharing our healing and teaching powers with them.

Suggested Reading: Melanie Reinhart's excellent book Chiron and the Healing Journey is the hands down best treatment of Chiron.