Getting to Know Chiron in Astrology

An astrology chart is a two-dimensional representation of the layout of the solar system when you took your first breath. The chart contains symbols for astronomical bodies and calculated points connecting those points to aspects of human psychology and consciousness energy. 

This article will look at the point Chiron, which is your wound, the one that you need to heal in this life, hopefully by 50, when Chiron returns to the degree of your birth.  The location of Chiron in your natal chart helps you understand where you will face struggle, both of your own making and from forces and circumstances around you.

• Getting to Know the Sun in Astrology
• Getting to Know the Moon in Astrology
• Getting to Know Mercury in Astrology
• Getting to Know Venus in Astrology
• Getting to Know Mars in Astrology
• Getting to Know Jupiter in Astrology
• Getting to Know Saturn in Astrology

Points in Astrology

Most people do not know any other points in their chart outside of their Sun sign.  Each major point in our solar system is represented in an astrological chart.  Before the telescope, the chart consisted of points visible to the naked eye:  the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn (the big 7).  With telescopes, we added:  Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (to make up the big 10).  Then we found Chiron, and a host of asteroids beginning with but not limited to Juno, Pallas Athene, Ceres, and Vesta.  We are going to look at all these points and many more in this ongoing monthly series.

What Does Chiron Represent in Your Astrology Chart?

Source: Wikimedia

Chiron represents wounding, healing, and the skills we can develop as we work to identify and heal our spiritual wounds.  Chiron is a new point, so it is still being evaluated by the professional astrology community with regard to its element, and sign/house ruler.  I have worked extensively with Chiron and comfortably assign it as an earth point that co-rules Virgo and the 6^th House with Mercury.

In truth, I see it as another point that will reduce the dual rulership of Mercury to single rulership of Gemini (just as Pluto did with Mars in Scorpio, Uranus did with Saturn in Aquarius, and Neptune did with Jupiter in Pisces).  Other prominent points could eventually shift rulership in very interesting ways with additional work and study.  Vesta could easily displace Venus in Taurus, for example.

When people consult with me about their natal chart, Chiron will jump out to them as soon as I say that it represents wounding and healing.  They immediately want to know where their wound is, both in terms of the energy of the sign involved and the house activated.

I was born with my Chiron in Aries in the 6^th House of Service.  Chiron shares the sign and house with my Venus (relationships), Mercury (communication), Eris (discord), North Node (my karmic stretch goal), Vulcan (how I produce), Saturn (limitations) and my Sun (Life Path). I have to heal a wound related to my skills and my independence, which I will work through in my day-to-day work.  I can either be too independent and wound myself that way, or I can put myself in situations where I feel trapped and have to fight my way to independence.

Currently, I run my own business as a spiritual adviser and sole proprietor.  Before going into business for myself, I worked for a major university in North Carolina, a very good, and secure job.  The career actually did allow me to have a great deal of autonomy, but nothing like what I have working for myself in a business that is driven by my expertise and my personality.

The Meaning of Your Chiron is in the Details

My Chiron is at 0 degrees 40 minutes of Aries and is very near my natal Venus.  Chiron is in the 1^st Decan of Aries (each sign is divided by 10 degrees into Decans that shape the flavor of that point by degree position).  The first decan of Aries is Aries/Aries, the second is Aries/Leo, and the third is Aries/Sagittarius.  I have an Aries/Aries Chiron. In short, I need to learn how to use my skills to promote my survival, in the hopes that I am able to get beyond “just survival” needs.

Marc Edmund Jones, working with Elsie Wheeler, determined special meanings for each degree of the Zodiac called the Sabian Symbols.  My Chiron is between the 0 and 1^st degree, thus the 1^st Sabian Symbol for Aries, which is interpreted as “a woman rises out of the water, a seal rises and embraces her”.  The keyword assigned to this degree is REALIZATION, and the positive expression is “an illimitability of experience of which anyone can take advantage under any and all circumstances, and when negative, a failure to find a place in life because the self cannot separate itself from its own private obsessions” (The Sabian Symbols, 150).

Where Does your Chiron Reside?

Last but not least, with an exact birth time, we can determine which house or “domicile” your Chiron resides in.  In the case of my chart, my Chiron is my 6^th House of Service (skills and day-to-day work).  The 2^nd, 6^th, and 10^th Houses are earth domiciles and relate to how we get our needs met (2^nd), the skills we need to develop to get work done (6^th), and what we want to achieve through work over our lifetime (10^th).

With my Chiron in Aries in the 6^th House, my “way of wounding and healing manifests through my independent and heroic quest for and attraction to maverick and individualistic service for others.” (Astrology Unlocked, 203). Becoming and working as an entrepreneur ideally helps me heal my Chiron in Aries in the 6^th House placement.  Doing the type of work (especially reading tarot/oracle cards with clients) that allows me to work in my own way without any kind of “boss”, which suits my Aries/Aries decan placement just fine.

If you want to know about YOUR Chiron, really know, then I encourage you to get your full chart cast. Join me next month when we take a look at Uranus.