Reconciling Chiron’s Wounds

There is a rumour that circulates in the astro-healing fields that says we never really heal the wounds of Chiron. However, through shifting our perspective we may finally develop a new relationship with them. Rather than acting out the injuries to the soul in an unconscious way, thus perpetuating the pain, we gradually come to terms with our experiences and find ways to integrate them. In my personal experience and in the experiences of some of the people I have had the honour of working with, making space and time for inner child work is beneficial if not necessary.

With softness, compassion, and empathy for the parts of ourselves that were broken or damaged, we can call these parts back home. This is why Chiron is linked to the shaman archetype; the Chiron process is essentially a soul retrieval. The Chiron return is not only the returning of Chiron to its original placement in our natal chart, but also an invitation to the lost parts to return. But first there is letting go of the false self we have developed to be in the world.

I recall in my shamanic training in 2005, my teacher said that illness or spiritual malaise occurs either because we have something we should not have, or we do not have something we should have. That is, when we are unbalanced, we may have taken on board things that are not of our essential nature, either through coping strategies, addictions or inherited ancestral trauma and other kinds of psychic infection. In adapting to these intrusions, we surrendered aspects of our true self; in shamanic circles this is known as soul loss.

In integrating our shadow aspects, it is possible that we begin to feel quite different from the adapted self we have unconsciously been acting from. While integrating and reframing the wounds of Chiron can feel like a homecoming, there may also be challenges during the transition period while we are adapting to the new (old) self. Taking time to reassess who we thought we were in the world is a major undertaking. Although the core of the Self has remained intact, the masks we wore and the strategies we executed are no longer fit for purpose and our soul needs time to realign.

During and after their Chiron return, I have witnessed people make a 180 ° change in aspects of their life. Friends and family may find these changes challenging; relationships may be let go of and new ones forged. As we slowly create a more authentic life for ourselves, the external world and reflections also change.

Like the butterfly in the chrysalis, transformation on the deepest level is at work. We are in the alchemical alembic. Just as a fully formed adult butterfly waits in the pupal before emerging, we too may wait until we instinctively know when it is the right time to return to the world. This is the moment of “kairos”, it is the sacred timing of our own soul that will not be prematurely willed by the ego or the demands of “kronos” (clock time). This is a delicate and critical operation.

In reconciling the wounds of Chiron, emerging from the transition requires patience and care. But it is also an exciting time. Not everybody gets to be in the world as their essential authentic self; this work was hard won. And as Jung says, “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”

In time, we may even consider that what we thought were our Chiron “wounds” is really our greatest treasure.