Temple Astrolog: Chiron and the Healer’s Calling

Being a healer is for many a calling from deep within. Perhaps even as a child you felt the need to save animals of all sorts and sizes and support family and friends in need. As a healer, you have the need to help in your heart. Most times this is a wonderful experience, sometimes it is something that can get you into both pain and trouble, but as a natural healer you can’t stop searching for ways to help.

In the world of astrology, the planet Chiron (Chiron is after many debates now considered to be both a planet and a comet) is perhaps the planet most suitable to describe the complexity both of being a healer and the healing process itself.

Chiron the Wounded Healer

Chiron is many times referred to as the wounded healer. Chiron in myth was the teacher of the children of the gods, a master of hunting, medicine, warfare and astrology. He was the teacher of Achilles, Jason, Hercules, Peleus, and many other heroes and warriors. His grandparents are Uranus (father of the sky) and Gaia (mother earth). His parents are Kronos (Saturn) and Philyra, a water nymph. He is a centaur, half man and half horse and through his parents he is also a combination of earth and sea.

One of the stories about how Chiron was hurt is the he was accidently wounded by one of Herakles’ arrows, poisoned with Hydra venom. He was hit in the leg and the pain was enormous. If he had been mortal he would have died, but being an immortal he did not. He was instead stuck between life and death. No matter how much Chiron learned about medicine and healing he could not completely heal himself. In the end Chiron gave up his immortality and then his half-brother Zeus placed him among the stars in the constellation of Saggitarius.

Chiron in the Natal Chart

In the personal astrology chart Chiron shows where we have a wound that needs healing on a deep level. It is an area in our lives where we search for healing again and again and, like Chiron himself, there is no complete cure. What we can gain from trying is not just more skill and knowledge, but hopefully also more humility and wisdom. The pain may never go away completely, but we can get better and we can, by our own experience, teach others to do the same to a degree that we become teachers and leaders in that area.

Examples: A man with Chiron in his 6th house (Virgo, health, earth) was born with severe scoliosis. Through sacro-cranial treatment at an early age he became better and when he got older he could perform sport at a high level. He later became a sacro-cranial teacher himself, devoted to helping young patients.

A woman with Chiron in her 3rd house (Gemini, speech, learning, air) had speech impediments and stuttered as a child. Today she is a university teacher and a professional speaker.

A man with Chiron in his 8th house (Scorpio, death, ancestors, water) was born in a family with abuse in many generations. He himself became a sex-addict. Today he is sober and is working as a shamanic healer.

A young woman with Chiron in her 5th house (Leo, artistry, fire) was bullied a lot at school. She was different with a loud voice and a lot of energy. Today she is an artist and a singer.

For all these people, the wound is still there to some degree. The man with scoliosis has to exercise every day to keep his body in balance. The speaker has to talk slow and take her time. The shamanic healer is waking up every morning making a decision to be sober and the singer still has to work on knowing that it is okay to light up a room.

Through their healing journey, they have become wiser and they are all great healers helping others. We all have Chiron somewhere in our chart. Some more and others less, but it is still there and if we dare to follow the pain and work on healing it, we can become wiser and more complete.

When the Path of the Healer Changes

As a healer it is important to know what it was that made you follow the path in the first place. What personal pain is it that you are trying to heal? “As you heal others, you heal yourself, and as you heal yourself, you heal others.” But what happens when something is healed? Are you ready to let go of it? Are you ready to move ahead to another calling? Or will you hold on to what is known? As Chiron moved in February 2019 to the next sign, the sign of Aries, we are all asked that question.

When Chiron Changes Signs

Unlike other planets, Chiron’s obit is unique and erratic. It spends more time in some signs than others. It can be between 2.5 years to 8 or 9 years. He spends the longest in Pisces and Aries. Chiron always makes a return to the same position every 50-51 years. When Chiron moves to another sign, it is always a change for everyone, but especially for everyone involved in healing work. As a healer it means that the big “healing theme” changes.

Chiron in Pisces from about 2010 until now in 2019 has been teaching us many things. Chiron in Pisces is connected to being part of something larger. To fuse ourselves with others and connect with others on a deeper and bigger plane. Chiron in Pisces can find healing by meditating in larger groups, singing mantras in a big retreat centre, dancing with others in a giant stadium, connecting with the whole world through Instagram. Connecting with the greater mind through mindfulness. For Chiron in Pisces, being a part of something and being there can be more important than the personal gain or insights.

The Need for a Personal Experience

The move to Aries is a big change. Aries is about finding out “who am I?” Finding bliss and meaning through other people does not usually work well for Aries. It has to be a personal experience. Chiron in Aries can feel more lost in a crowd. What does this mean to me? How can this help me? Why do I not feel what all the others seem to be feeling?

As healers this may mean that we have to change perspective from the collective to the personal. It can mean that we will have empty big classrooms and yoga retreats because what clients and students are searching for now is a more personal interaction and a more personal experience. It can mean wanting a more personal interaction with the teacher, but perhaps more that the experience itself needs be direct and unique.

What is Spirit saying directly to me? What can I do to make the world a better place? How can I change things? This may mean spiritual practices more directed towards personal growth and personal experiences will grow and ones directed towards the masses will loose students and followers.

The Challenge as a Healer

A challenge with Chiron in Pisces is the theme of self-sacrifice. You are doing something for the greater good because if you are not doing it, then who will? This way of thinking may or may not have influenced you to stay in service for a long time. Perhaps organizing events, being a leader or teaching something for a long time. Now, as Chiron moves into Aries, you are challenged by questions like: How are you growing in this environment? How is your healing developing? Are you happy and excited about the future?

If not, perhaps it is time to leave the situation to move ahead to the next adventure. Because Pisces is the 12th of the Zodiac signs, and Aries is the 1st, it is always a kind of death and rebirth when a heavenly body moves from Pisces to Aries. This can mean that the upcoming adventure with Chiron moving from Pisces into Aries is bigger and more different than you could imagine, should you choose to embark on the journey.

The healer is who you are, not what you do

In this time of change it is important to remember that being a Healer is who you are, not necessary what you do. If you are growing, blooming, and being happy more healing energy flows through you no matter where you are and what you are doing. If you are unhappy, but staying out of obligation and self-sacrifice you are not only hurting yourself, you are also not operating at your highest healing potential.

Chiron will stay in Aries until 2027, so we will have some time to figure this out, but Aries is a warrior and not known for having patience, so we can expect both drastic and rapid changes once the new direction is set. The sign of Aries is ruled by the planet Mars (power, energy, speed). With Chiron in Aries healing the sacred masculine will also be a big theme.

Blessings!

Karin Ugander is a spiritual channeler living in the south of Sweden. In Scandinavia she is known for the AstroNumerology and Psychic readings she’s been doing for over 20 years. Together with her husband Niklas, she runs KaniSkolan, a school of astrology, numerology, tarot, StarCode Healing, and natural medicine. They are also the founders of Alven Inner Ring tradition, a Scandinavian mystery school with roots in shamanism and magick. Karin loves to create magickal oils, flower essences and sigils she combines in her “Karin Victoria” sigil candles and flower sprays. In her spare time she likes to travel, walk in the forest with her dog, and spend time by the ocean. Karin is a high priestess and graduate of the Temple of Witchcraft’s seminary program.

You can find Karin Ugander at Instagram @flowerpowerwitch and @karinuganderofficial

Suggested Reading About Chiron

  • Chiron: Rainbow Bridge Between the Inner and Outer Planets by Barbara Hand Clow
  • Chiron and the Healing Journey by Melanie Reinhart
  • Saturn, Chiron and the Centaurs by Melanie Reinhart

Details About Chiron

Apr 17, 2018: Aries
Sep 25, 2018: Retrogrades into Pisces
Feb 18, 2019: Aries
Jun 19, 2026: Taurus
Sep 17, 2026: Retrogrades into Aries
Apr 14, 2027: Taurus

Chiron was last in Aries from 1968 to 1976.

Pisces—the water sign that rules healing and escape—that began in April 2010.

Chiron has an irregular orbit and spends more time in some signs than in others. Chiron can transit a sign from anywhere between 1,5 years to 9 years. Chiron spends the most time in Pisces and Aries (8 to 9 years).

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