Chiron turns retrograde on July 1st at 28 degrees Pisces. You have a five-month window of opportunity to dive into the healing waters of Chiron and clean any wounds that stop you from integrating all the parts of yourself, and become a whole healthy human being.
There is no wonder the Chiron’s symbol is a key. Chiron unlocks the secret doors of our psyche, allowing the divine energy of the outer planets to flow into what we call the reality of our body, symbolized by Saturn.
Chiron turns retrograde at the 28 degree of the Solar Eclipse in Leo on August 21st, and will form a quincunx aspect to the Solar Eclipse.
Although quincunxes are considered difficult aspects, the quincunx is actually Chiron’s natural aspect (Chiron is believed to rule Virgo, which is the 6th sign from Aries, representing one of the two quincunxes by sign. The other one is Scorpio / Pluto). The message of Chiron aspecting the Solar Eclipse is: only by unifying all the broken parts of the self (Chiron) you can become a divine human being and actualize your life’s purpose (North Node in Leo).
Quincunxes bring together two very different elements – for example the Fire / Cardinal energy of Aries with the Earth / Mutable energy of Virgo, respectively with the Water / Fixed energy of Scorpio. Any other aspects, the sextiles, squares, trines or oppositions have at least one thing in common, either the element (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) or the quadruplicity (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable). The quincunx is the only aspect that brings together two completely alien energies.
From all possible configurations, the quincunx is the alchemist who brings cooperation by combining forces, by moderating between the outside world and the inside world. To make such different energies work together requires compromise and cooperation, but the gifts are more than we can imagine. A quincunx can literally turn rust into gold.
The quincunx also represents the frontier to the “other side”, to the place we know nothing about. Chiron orbits betweeen Saturn and Uranus / Neptune. Saturn is the last planet we can see with the naked eye in th sky, and his beautiful rings are a metaphor for the limitations of our human existence.
The outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) represent what is beyond the known, out of what we can grasp with our limited cognitive functions. Chiron is therefore the link between the two worlds, and his role is to channel the ethereal, intangible energy of the outer planets into the structures, the realities of Saturn. That’s why Chiron makes such a great healer, especially in the energy healing field.
The other quincunx planet, Pluto, is the link between our solar system and everything that lies beyond, the complete unknown. That’s why Pluto deals with profound transformations, with letting go and with surrender to the greater cycles of life and death.
Chiron is much more accessible than Pluto – we call all access its energy, but unfortunately we have not been trained to delve into Chiron’s powers. Our ancestors, especially the hunter-gatherer type societies, were in a way much more connected to nature and with the energy in all its forms. In the past, every village had a medicine man or a Shaman.
The initiation into shamanism started after a so called shamanic illness, and now we start to better understand the concept of “wounded healer” that Chiron has been associated with. It is only by paying attention to our wounds, that we can can get to wholeness, to healing, and even more, become a channel for the divine energy to flow into the material world as defined by Saturn.
But what is stoping us from accessing the divine energy that is all around? The reason we can’t easily access it is because we humans are a sum of conflicting, sometimes broken parts. Think of an engine of a car. If any part of the engine doesn’t work, the car doesn’t move. In the same way, we cannot be whole and move forward until we learn how to get all the parts of ourselves work and cooperate toward the same end goal.
Let’s come back to the mythology of Chiron. Because Chiron was born half human half horse, he was rejected and abandoned by his mother. Indeed Chiron transits always bring some sort of rejection, and people with strong Chiron in their chart are usually the outcasts of the society in their early life.
Fortunately, Apollo, the God of prophecy, healing, music and poetry adopted Chiron and taught him all that he knew. That’s why in astrology Chiron is the symbol of the teacher, the prophet and the astrologer. (Chiron, together with Uranus are the best indicators of a gift for astrology in th natal chart).
Just like Chiron was half human, half horse, half mortal, half immortal, we are too a hybrid of matter and spirit. There are parts of us we accept and identify with, parts of us we despise and reject, and parts of us we don’t even acknowledge.
In unevolved state, Chiron is linked to guilt and bullying. The bully (both thare bully and the bullied are the signature of Chiron by the way) sees those parts of you that you are ashamed of and exposes them mercilessly. You are hurt when someone exposes your wound, but you are hurt because you haven’t learned how to integrate that wounded part of you. In this way, the evolutionary purpose of Chiron is to point towards whatever needs to be acknowledged, so it can be healed.
When you fully accept and integrate all the parts of yourself, when nothing can affect you anymore, the bullying stops. There’s nothing left to be ashamed about. You are you, the sum of all your parts. And when you accept yourself, the magic happens. The divine energy starts flowing effortlessly through you, you become a channel from pure energy into physical form. You are healed, and you become healing.
Chiron’s retrograde cycle is a great time to tune inside ourselves and acknowledge that we are a sum of parts. What prevents us from unifying these parts is often some sort of energy blockage. It is critical we identify these blockages. Without unifying all our parts, including those we are ashamed of, we cannot find that kind of inner balance that leads to healing and spiritual growth.
The best and easiest way to work with Chiron starts with reframing the beliefs you have about the unseen energy around you. Do you believe it exists? Or you are not sure? Do you believe that is “maybe” exists? It’s worth knowing that the reason shamans can work with energy is because they believe – literally – in its existence.
Often for shamans there is nothing extra spiritual about the energy of the plant or of the animal, they literally believe that the plant’s spirit is real, just like the plant itself, and that’s why they are able to communicate and work with the spirit of the plant.
Right now during Chiron’s station, in the 1st week of July, you can become more easily aware of the energy around you and learn how to channel it into your body to unblock any blockage, fix anything that is broken, and unify the parts that make you the wholesome human being that you are.
You can practice working with Chiron’s energy with a classical body scan meditation (there are many axamples of guided body scan meditations on the internet). Put your awareness on each part of your body, from top to the bottom. Notice the place in your body where you feel low energy or restriction. How does that energy feel life? How does it look like? Do you notice any color, any feeling, any texture?
Now imagine a flow of pure bright energy pouring into the area you feel restriction from above (the top of your head) and from below (the sole of your feet). Notice the vortex of energy moving through your body, repairing the broken area.
