Chiron – The Wounded Shaman

This is the glyph for Chiron. Chiron is also known as the “wounded healer,” and is associated with shamanism.

Chiron has an irregular, sort of egg-shaped orbit between Saturn and Uranus. Sometimes Chiron is closer to Saturn, other times closer to Uranus. It’s not known what exactly Chiron is. Astronomers’ best guess is that it’s a remnant of a comet that got trapped in orbit in our solar system. An outsider.

There are four important phases in Chiron’s story that may help you understand what he represents in your chart.

His youth. He was a centaur, but not like other centaurs, who were raucous and rowdy, in my mind they’re like frat boys, and Chiron is the nerd. He didn’t know how to fit in. That’s why there’s an alienation theme at some point in life.

Chiron was adopted into this community. Chiron often figures prominently in charts of adoptees and their adoptive families.

His career. Eventually, Chiron found a teacher who taught him about herbs and healing, poetry, music, etc. The very reason he suffered in youth became his greatest asset once he recognized it. He could then go back to the Centaurs and care for them in his full glory. He finally fit in. I see this as Chiron’s gift— a calling that won’t let you settle in where you don’t belong. Chiron didn’t fit in with the Centaurs because he wasn’t meant to be a jock.. he needed to become who he was, a healer. So it’s what makes you nerdy that you need to develop.

His wounding. Chiron went on to become a mentor to heroes like Hercules and Jason (of Jason & the Argonauts). After Hercules slew the terrible 9-headed monster the Hydra, the other Centaurs were fooling around with arrows dipped in her blood, a poison so deadly there was no antidote. And one of them accidentally shot Chiron, who was immortal, so he didn’t die. But the poison was so strong he couldn’t heal from it either. The only way to cope with his suffering was to transcend it by serving others.

His death. In another myth, Prometheus gets in trouble for stealing fire from the Gods and giving it to mortals. As a punishment, he is chained to a rock, where his fate is to have his liver eaten out by birds (and restored) each and every day. The only way he can be released from this is if an immortal is willing to take his place. Chiron offered. The Gods were so touched that they allowed him to transcend the physical, to die and be reborn in spirit.