Dear readers,
On Monday, February 18, 2019, the small solar system body known as Chiron enters Aries. It is the third and final iteration of this cycle: Chiron spent a few months in Aries in 2018, before retrograding back into Pisces. This time it’s for keeps. Chiron will remain in the sign of the ram till February 2027.
Whenever a planet enters a new sign, astrologers say, “Pay attention.” In the case of Chiron we also say, “Be careful!” Chiron represents the unintegrated, unhealed portion of our psyche, and the deep, early wound to our soul. His energy in the first portions of a new sign is especially irascible, and especially in irascible Aries.
In mythology, Chiron was a centaur, half human and half horse, the wisest of his kind and a teacher of Greek heroes. He embodies the Jungian archetype of the Wounded Healer. Himself a master of medicine, he was unable to cure himself, after being struck by a poisoned arrow.
Astronomically, 2060 Chiron dwells in the Kuiper belt, galloping constantly between Uranus and Saturn, like some kind of cosmic Pony Express. His mission, astrologically, is to “deliver the mail,” to help us connect and integrate our Uranian and Saturnian natures.
Neither a comet, an asteroid, or a dwarf planet — neither a horse, nor a man — Chiron is both everywhere and nowhere, connected to all and yet alone. He doesn’t even belong with the other centaurs: in the myths, they are loutish and violent, whereas Chiron is rational and gentle.
We each have Chiron in our chart. In each of us, there’s a hurt child who doesn’t fit in. Take a look at your natal Chiron placement, look up the keywords for its sign and house. I’d be wiling to bet my red desk that THOSE areas of your life have been places of injury, debility, and healing.
When I first started seeing clients as a baby astrologer, I noticed that whenever I would talk about Chiron, the client would burst into tears. Eventually, I learned to be cautious about bringing him up . . . especially in a first reading when you want them to come back!
When Chiron enters Aries on Monday, he’ll be not only beginning a new sign, but beginning a whole new whirl around the Zodiac. This marks the start of a 50-year cycle, asking us all to take a fresh look at our wounds, and become newly aware of the ways we have limited ourselves, or overcompensated, in response to them.
Collectively, this transit puts the spotlight on questions of progress, civil rights, and reconciliation. It’s an extra big moment those of us in the United States, which has Chiron in Aries in its natal chart. Our nation will be experiencing its Chiron return in 2024.
“The world breaks everyone,” wrote the novelist Ernest Hemingway, “and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills.”
Here’s to our brokenness!
Much love,
Anne
P.S. My Chiron Gallops into Aries webinar from Monday, February 18 is now available for purchase and download through SendOwl. Nearly 4 hours of astrology content. Learn the history of previous Chiron-in-Aries cycles, what to expect in world events between now and 2027, and how to take advantage of Chiron’s placement in your own natal chart.
