Tag: Chiron

Chiron Trine Mars Redux: Healing Anger

~ EmpwrdDstny ~ Leave a comment

AngerIsNatural

NB: The following is an updated repost.

Mars in Scorpio sure has been bringing a lot of internal sludge up to the surface and putting it front-and-center for us all, serving it up raw-and-bleeding-style. It gets pretty hard to ignore our character defects under this vibe, as Mars in Scorpio is all about facing down anything grotty lingering in dark corners of the psyche.  Now with the Red Planet in contact to healing asteroid Chiron once again, let’s direct our attention to the tremendous healing potential afforded to us by this energy.

With Mars in Scorpio, what we are fundamentally looking at is the destructive side of anger and how it can implode on us from within if we don’t transform it. Before I go any further, let me just state that I strongly disagree with the general New Age mentality that entails automatically slapping a “negative” label on emotions such as anger – I don’t believe in judging any natural, organically-occurring emotion as being inherently “bad”.  All emotions serve a legitimate purpose, and our ire can also be a vastly effective motivational tool when channeled properly.  But for the purposes of this post, right now we’re going to be discussing the more pathological side of anger, as any planet found in Scorpio can easily corrupt if we’re not digging for the insight that allows us to turn it into a source of empowerment.  It is the nature of the beast after all; Scorpio is either the Scorpion or the Phoenix, as it is a sign of extremes.

So Mars through Scorpio (since Dec 9, 2017) has involved many of us getting face-to-face with our “demons”; anger being one of them.  But with The Red Planet now in harmonious contact with Chiron in Pisces, we start to heal this with things like compassion, acceptance, and forgiveness.  We come to an understanding that – underneath it all – anger is often just a reaction to pain, and we start confronting it instead of denying so it can be dissolved, released, and ultimately healed. Perhaps the source of this is frustration, or even deeply buried grief – if we’re into working with the metaphysical properties of stones and crystals at all, the energy of Apache Tears may be helpful to this end.  Regardless, this is a fabulous time to bravely face the REAL source of our rage: Our pain. The blessing inherent in Chiron/Mars contacts is they do tend to bestow motivation to “heal thyself”, where we are driven to seek wholeness rather than act from a place of woundedness. Along this vein, anger (especially the chronic variety) can take energy away from our individual healing process, so when we’re pissed off about something know the answer isn’t always the outward-based focus of having it out.  Sometimes it lies instead in retreating to look within so we can reflect upon the way(s) this emotion may not be truly serving us, and seeking to mend that which has been doing more harm than good.

01/18/2018

Chiron In Aries: Battle Wounds

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“I don’t want to be the one
The battles always choose
‘Cause inside I realize
That I’m the one confused

I don’t know what’s worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don’t know why I instigate
And say what I don’t mean
I don’t know how I got this way
I know it’s not alright
So I’m breaking the habit
I’m breaking the habit
Tonight…”

                                    -Linkin Park, “Breaking the Habit”

Illustration from Hans von Gersdorff’s “Feldbuch der Wundartzney”; a surgeon’s field manual from the early 1500’s.

Such perfect lyrics for this particular astrological placement! The battle wounds suffered by the Chiron in Aries generation (those born between April of ’68 – March of ’77) are apt to manifest as a bit of a Wounded Warrior complex; particularly as it relates to anger. Generally the issues with this placement of Chiron tend to relate the concept of healthy self-assertion, where one knows how to stand up for themselves without going ballistic. The position of and aspects to Mars are critical to examine and especially so if any astrological contact is made between Mars and Chiron. Investigation of the Red Planet can give us an idea of whether or not one struggles to assert themselves and thus allows themselves to be dominated by bullies (which one is likely to continue being faced with until they learn how to muster the bravery to stand up to them), sweeps it under the rug and pretends it isn’t there (until it is and then oh boy look out!), or perhaps errs on the side of having an explosive hair-trigger temper that redlines at the slightest provocation. With Chiron in Aries there can sometimes be a tendency to perceive an affront where none is intended, then react on the premise that “The best defense is a good offense”. One may find themselves embroiled in conflict, which from a spiritual point of view actually serves to push the soul toward healing wherever end of this spectrum they may be struggling with. Regardless of whether one chronically runs from confrontation or instead instigates it, healthy integration of the “Warrior” archetype is an integral component of Chiron’s “Medicine” when it is found in Aries.  This becomes particularly relevant in the months ahead – both to the aforementioned generation of folks born with this placement and to all of us – as Chiron prepares to enter this zodiac sign once again.  Chiron will remain in Aries until mid-April 2027 and for roughly the next 9 years it has much to teach us regarding healthy integration of the self-assertion principle.

12/09/2017

Chiron Transits To Venus: Unpretty

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It’s not every day asteroid Chiron visits our Venus (thank goodness!) – Chiron is far enough out in our solar system that it moves pretty slowly, so years pass from the time it makes one aspect to a planet or point in our natal chart to contacting that very same spot again via a different astrological aspect.  If you want to understand the basic premise of how transits between Chiron and Venus operate, just have a listen below:

“Never insecure until I met you
(Now I’m bein’ stupid)
I used to be so cute to me
(Just a little bit skinny)
Why do I look to all these things
To keep you happy?
Maybe get rid of you
And then I’ll get back to me…

My outsides look cool
My insides are blue
Every time I think I’m through
It’s because of you
I’ve tried different ways
But it’s all the same
At the end of the day
I have myself to blame
Can’t believe I’m trippin’….

You can buy your hair if it won’t grow
You can fix your nose if he says so
You can buy all the makeup
That MAC can make
But if you can’t look inside you
Find out who am I to
Be in the position to make me feel so
Damn unpretty…”

                              -TLC, “Unpretty”

Even the “easy” contacts (sextile and trine) between Chiron and Venus can feel raw – deep wounds regarding our own sense of attractiveness, self-worth, and value tend to surface when these planets make aspect; particularly as this is reflected back to us through the mirror of relationship (or the lack thereof). Often this expresses as a crippling internal ache regarding the ways in which we’ve been commodified and/or objectified; especially for the sake of illuminating how we may have done this to ourselves.  This isn’t to imply we’re to blame, but it does give perspective on the vulnerabilities we’ve had in the fabric of our own self-worth that made such tears possible.  “Hard” contacts between Chiron and Venus (conjunction, square, opposition, quincunx) can be especially brutal; tripping off every insecurity we have related to our attractiveness as well as our sense of value as a human being.  We may look to Others to make us feel (superficially) whole; potentially attracting agonizing and sometimes even abusive relationship dynamics for the sake of getting us to realize this must be healed from within.

Because women are broadly ruled by Venus, this has the ability to be especially heart-rending for the fairer sex and these transits may have us addressing deep-seated injuries regarding our sense of femininity.  Though both sexes can certainly resonate with any and all of these themes, it is worth pointing out that men may tend to experience this energy more through the lens of financial issues since (even still in this day and age) the sense of self-worth tends to be more readily tied up in what they are or aren’t making monetarily.  Very broadly speaking and certainly with exceptions, women do seem to internalize Venus energy a bit more while men often look at it more as a tangible resource.  Again, this isn’t meant to be one-size-fits-all astrology, but any time we talk about “gendered” planets such as Mars or Venus we do well to consider basic differences between the sexes in considering how that planetary energy may express. Over time I feel this will be less and less the case as we continue evolving as a species and increasing room is made to circumvent the gender binary, but for the sake of not derailing this post further that will have to be a topic for another time.  Regardless of gender my point is merely that part and parcel of Chiron affecting Venus is that it may very well affect matters relating to what we earn and have; especially as this impacts our sense of self-worth.

No matter what form the manifestation(s) of this energy take, it’s important to understand Chiron never leaves us bereft of Medicine – despite however excruciating a visit from this cosmic Centaur may be, it always prompts us to heal from within and address any congenital weakness impeding our soul’s evolution.  There is something achingly beautiful about this process – where we’re often rubbed raw in order to realize that we’re so much more than just our wrapping paper – and slowly we’ll come to realize the love that we would give to others must first be gifted to the Self.  ❤

11/26/2017

Shamanic Chiron, Part 2

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***Get caught up with Part 1 of this series HERE.

I do not use the term “shamanic” lightly at all when discussing Chiron – I sometimes hear this word thrown around rather casually within the spiritual community (often within the context of someone describing experiences with things such as psilocybin, peyote, or ayahuasca) and to me it feels…disrespectful; as if it were some kind of catch-all term watering down the word’s real significance. While I do not dismiss the cultural and spiritual role such substances play when safely and respectfully handled in their proper ritualistic contexts by the proper people with proper training and authority, if you’re equating being in an altered state of consciousness as the sum total of “shamanic”, IMO you’ve got it all wrong. Waaaaay wrong – *that* is Neptune’s domain; more on this particular distinction in a moment.

Needless to say, I must admit that I cringe a little inside whenever this happens because to me it feels to me like cultural appropriation; especially if/when the word “shamanic” is being astrologically ascribed to a celestial body other than Chiron. Chiron is so often overlooked as it is in astrology that it hardly seems fair to take his “land” away like this; much in the same way the conquistadors of yore encroached upon the native kingdoms of indigenous peoples; the results of which were effectively cultural – if not literal – genocide. I do not want Chiron to suffer the same fate in a cosmic context, so as an astrologer I find myself rather protective of his domain and of the keywords that resonate with this vibration. In my eyes, Uranus is the clairvoyant, Neptune the mystic, and Pluto the occultist but it is Chiron alone who has the ability to walk the liminal boundary between Earth and Sky to reconnect body and Spirit with the Earth and the element of Aether for profound healing. It can be literal healing of mind/body/soul or it can be more figurative in nature, but the word “shamanic” is less about experiences with psychedelics and more about Initiation into a Medicine of one stripe or another that helps us to understand life on a profoundly different level so we can heal others. The modality(ies) can be different for each person, but the effects are the same.

I mentioned in Part 1 of this series that I have seen this celestial body’s fingerprint feature very strongly both in the charts of clients whose personal sacred beliefs resonate closely with those of indigenous peoples and those who literally follow a shamanic Path in terms of being actual healers. One of the more memorable consultations I had along these lines was for a woman seeking career guidance – I remember telling her that she had actual shamanic lineage flowing through her blood and was rather stunned when she subsequently revealed that she was in fact descended from the Inca people. Needless to say, I have no doubt in my mind her ancestors had indeed served as the village healers!

However, don’t just take my word for it – there are also many famous figures that provide us with some great examples of the Chiron vibe. The first and most literal that comes to mind is the nativity of controversial author Carlos Castaneda; a man with (not surprisingly for someone known for writing several books on the subject of Mesoamerican shamanism) Chiron in the area of his chart associated with writing and communication. Castaneda is a Capricorn (ruled by Saturn) with Aquarius Rising (co-ruled by Saturn) with Saturn sitting in tight but funky aspect to Chiron. Chiron is also linked up to fuzzy fictional Neptune, which means Saturn & Neptune are in a tight square as well; is it real, is it a hoax, or maybe it was all just a dream (or entheogens??) – no one knows for sure. Chiron is also noteworthy in his chart by virtue of the fact that it squares Jupiter and his Nodal Axis – it seems he was fated to write about this subject regardless of how contentious the publication of that material was destined to be

But many times Chiron’s “shamanic” vibe isn’t quite so literal in its expression and is instead translated through creative mediums. One of the better examples we see of this is via actor/director Kevin Costner; another Capricorn Sun but with Chiron less than a degree away from it. One of his best-known works was “Dances With Wolves”; a film that won several academy awards with its sensitive and humanizing (albeit romanticized and sentimental) depiction of Native American people; which was pretty much unheard of in the Western genre up until that point in time. Costner’s artistic vision did much to heal damage done by the Hollywood film industry’s depiction of the Native American as “the savage” – unsurprisingly, his Sun/Chiron combo is in a tight square to soft, idyllic, cinematic Neptune. One of his other best-known roles (in Field of Dreams) was that of a clairaudient man Ray Kinsella whose vision (Neptune) led to the healing of the painful wound (Chiron) he carried regarding his relationship with his father (Capricorn Sun) – if that’s not a perfect illustration of his astro, I’m not sure what is.

There is also the astrological case study of Jim Morrison; a Sagittarius with his Sun situated in a very tight square to Chiron in Virgo. Lead singer of legendary band “The Doors”, Jim also served as the group’s primary lyricist and expressed Chiron in Virgo’s energy via the written word – fitting, given Virgo’s literary ties. Chiron began affecting Jim very early on in life and one of the formative experiences he described having was the memory of driving through a Reservation with his family at age 4 and seeing a car accident involving several Native Americans. He was deeply affected by this incident in a spiritual sense and it eventually gave rise to the now-famous “Indians scattered on dawn’s highway bleeding; ghosts crowd the young child’s fragile eggshell mind” lyric along with his adoption of the totemic Lizard King moniker. Jim claimed that it felt as if he were in fact possessed by the wandering souls of the Native Americans he had encountered on that fateful day; perhaps in a sense he was (metaphorically, if not literally). The Lizard symbolism seems eerily fitting if we consider its possible ties to the shamanic concept of soul loss – lizards frequently drop their tails when in danger and to me this seems to align with the premise that a trauma (such as that of a young child witnessing a horrible automobile accident) can result in a part of the soul actually being lost. IMO, it is entirely possible the souls of these individuals stayed with the young Morrison emotionally, psychologically, or perhaps in Spirit in a surrogate capacity and led him to become a sort of poet-shaman in a sense.

There are many interesting examples of the Chiron vibe in action, but I thought these astro-case studies might provide readers with a richer understanding of the word “shamanic” beyond the myopic context of just the (recreational? ritual?) use of psychedelics. Linking the (possibly hallucinogenic-induced) seeing of “visions” with the word “shamanic” is a lot like equating a Ferris Wheel with Disneyland; yes each of the formers are part and parcel of their respective latters, but just because you’re on a Ferris Wheel it doesn’t automatically mean you’re at “The Happiest Place On Earth”. The result is a rather one-dimensional perspective on what Chiron is all about and my hope in continuing this series is to help crack open the doors of perception to shift the way people understand this astrological energy.

08/21/2017

Healing Chiron In Pisces Pain

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A how-to guide in a nutshell:

The agony of isolation is actually an illusion caused by a disconnection from the Universal; reconnect to this and you will find respite from that which ails you. We are never truly alone – anyone in human history who has experienced, is currently experiencing, or who will experience similar pain is right beside us in Spirit. Imagine how many people over how many thousands of locations and lifetimes understand exactly what we’re going through! If this visualization isn’t enough by itself, there is always Divinity to turn to; Spirit is always there for us. Go within and reconnect to God/Goddess/Source, your Guides, Angels, Ancestors, and any Power Animals (living, passed on, or symbolic) that resonate with you – remembering always that Divinity has an infinite amount of love, mercy, and compassion for whatever we are going through – because spiritual healing is a huge keynote of this energy. Meditate, pray, and in those moments when the road ahead seems impossible, practice surrender and ask for help. The more we do so, the better our chances for a miraculous healing.


08/04/2017

Shamanic Chiron, Part 1

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“Jason and His Teacher” (Chiron) by artist Maxfield Parrish

In this writer’s humble opinion, Chiron doesn’t receive nearly enough astrological recognition – many people haven’t even heard of this relatively newer celestial object, so if you are one of them please don’t feel badly because I am about to change that right now. I plan to do a whole series on this topic as a matter of fact, so do stay tuned for more.  But for now let us begin with some basics, which involves a little background on this astrological body.   Let’s explore…

In 1977 Chiron was discovered in an expanse of space between the Asteroid Belt and the Kuiper Belt – it was the first of its kind found and as such actually prompted the classification of a whole new variety of space objects; the centaurs. Chiron has always seemed to have a bit of a problem with labels – we might expect this with something named for a mythological demigod/horse “half-breed”. Astronomers first called it an asteroid, then a minor planet, comet, and finally seem to have settled on a combination comet/minor planet designation, with a few preferring to use the term “proto-comet”. Astrologically, we tend to place it under the catch-all umbrella of “asteroid” in much in the same way as the Sun and Moon are often generically lumped into the category of “planets” simply for ease. This is why we tend to hear far less about it comparatively speaking – in most astrological software, it has to be selected as an additional object to even be viewed in the chart.

I think this is a mistake, personally – if your chart has Chiron featuring prominently in it, you’re *going* to feel it and in a big way; similar to how you’d notice a broken toe that causes you to limp around for an unspecified period of time. And if you don’t splint it properly, you could even wind up favoring that foot for the rest of your life. Chiron conditions can, unfortunately, be chronic and have a crippling effect on body and/or soul…unless we avail ourselves of its Medicine. And while its brand of healing does improve symptoms/quality of life, it tends to be more palliative in nature as often there isn’t a solid, definitive, singular “cure” for its ailments.

Chiron shows where and how we have been deeply “wounded” to the point where structural integrity has actually been weakened and there is no “safe container” available hold that hurt. It also reveals where we must heal ourselves, learning through this process things that will actually help us to heal others – for this reason, it aligns with the Shaman or Medicine (Wo)Man archetype. Chiron has huge ties to health and wellness, the physical and spiritual “bodies”, as well as holistic and alternative treatments/modalities. It represents the Initiatory or Healing Crisis that becomes a rite of passage for those who would undertake this physical and spiritual “Journey”. I should mention at this point that I’ve actually worked with a good number of clients who follow such a path in terms of their own personal sacred beliefs and/or work (one is so often tied to the other with Chiron), and it is always, ALWAYS Chiron I find activated. Chiron is the “walker between worlds”; someone who straddles the liminal boundary between Earth (Saturn) and Sky (Uranus) – is it any wonder its physical orbit takes place in the space between these two planets? What I also find amazing about this is Chiron has a natural affinity for astrology – in Greek mythology he was *the* premier teacher of this Art, so it stands to reason Chiron-dominant individuals would tend to seek the counsel of astrology.

To be continued…   *** See also: Shamanic Chiron, Part 2

06/13/2017

Chiron Trine Mars: Healing Anger

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AngerIsNaturalMars retrograding in Scorpio sure has been bringing a lot of internal sludge up to the surface and putting it front-and-center for us all, serving it up raw-and-bleeding-style.  It gets pretty hard to ignore our character defects under this vibe, as Mars retrograde in Scorpio is all about facing down anything grotty lingering in dark corners of the psyche.  Now the Red Planet turns direct in fairly short order (June 29th), but its current slowed movement has put it in prolonged contact to both Uranus & healing asteroid Chiron.  We have certainly seen the Mars/Uranus end of things via the shocking outburst of rage that hit the news recently; a man said to be waging an internal war with his own sexuality who lashed out and perpetrated a horrific act of violence at a gay nightclub in Orlando. But rather than focus on this tragic facet of Martian energy, let’s direct our attention to the tremendous healing potential afforded to us by the current trine between Mars in Scorpio and Chiron in Pisces.

With Mars in Scorpio, what we are fundamentally looking at is the destructive side of anger and how it can implode on us from within if we don’t transform it. Before I go any further, let me just state that I strongly disagree with the general New Age mentality that entails automatically slapping a “negative” label on emotions such as anger – I don’t believe in judging any natural, organically-occurring emotion as being inherently “bad”.  All emotions serve a legitimate purpose, and our ire can also be a vastly effective motivational tool when channeled properly.  But for the purposes of this post, right now we’re going to be discussing the more pathological side of anger, as any planet found in Scorpio can easily corrupt if we’re not digging for the insight that allows us to turn it into a source of empowerment.  It is the nature of the beast, after all; Scorpio is either the Scorpion or the Phoenix as it is a sign of extremes.

So Mars’ retrograde back through Scorpio (since May 27th) has involved many of us getting face-to-face with our “demons”; anger being one of them.  But with The Red Planet now in harmonious contact with Chiron in Pisces, we start to heal this with things like compassion, acceptance, and forgiveness.  We come to an understanding that – underneath it all – anger is often just a reaction to pain, and we start confronting it instead of denying so it can be dissolved, released, and ultimately healed. Perhaps the source of this is frustration, or even deeply buried grief – if you’re into working with the metaphysical properties of stones and crystals at all, the energy of Apache Tears may be helpful to this end.  Regardless, the next month+ is a fabulous time to bravely face the REAL source of our rage: Our pain. The blessing inherent in Chiron/Mars contacts is they do tend to bestow motivation to “heal thyself”, where we are driven to seek wholeness rather than act from a place of woundedness. Along this vein, anger (especially the chronic variety) can take energy away from our individual healing process, so when we’re pissed off about something know the answer isn’t always the outward-based focus of having it out.  Sometimes it lies instead in retreating to look within so we can reflect upon the way(s) this emotion may not be truly serving us, and seeking to mend that which has been doing more harm than good.

06/22/2016