
At the last new moon, and for a while to come, Chariklo is at 17 degrees Capricorn, closely conjunct Pluto at 19 degrees Capricorn. This is no brief liaison, no hit and run… these two are in it for the long haul, each a powerful agent for change in human consciousness.
Chariklo stays close to Pluto right up to and through the much-anticipated Saturn/Pluto conjunction beginning in January 2020.
A female centaur and the wife of Chiron in Greek mythology, Chariklo exists as a dwarf planet somewhere between Saturn and Uranus. Discovered in 1997, she is a relatively newcomer on the cosmic stage- at least as far as human consciousness is concerned. Whenever a celestial body is discovered, it coincides with a previously unrealized aspect of human consciousness that is now ready to be integrated. Accordingly, the appropriate conditions are presented in the world psyche, and on the world stage so that can happen.
This process is often not without disruption and when heavy weights like Pluto and Saturn are involved the stakes are high.
Chariklo is a divine goddess archetype; her name is from the Greek word, ‘chari’ which means grace, and ‘klo’ which means spinning. It is said that Chariklo weaves grace into creation.
As the wife of the great wounded healer himself, Chiron, working with Chariklo can connect us with how we heal the masculine in our life, either the outer masculine through our relationships with men, or our inner masculine- which of course reflect each other (see Marion Woodman’s ‘The Ravaged Bridegroom’ for an in-depth exploration of how this works).
In a culture that neither acknowledges the gifts of the feminine or appreciates the alchemical nature of the masculine/feminine union, these subtleties are often lost.
Women heal men, and men heal women, and each possess magical ways to do this.
On a socio-political level, it has been much noted and lamented that women’s work has gone relatively unnoticed and has not been fairly factored into the cheques and balances of the material world. Women’s work may never indeed be done but neither is it fairly acknowledged and in some countries the contribution of women is nothing more than slave labour.
With the pay gap still in existence in the West, this disparity is acutely felt by many as is the unacknowledged domestic output of women.
But what of the emotional and sexual healing that women administer for their husbands, partners, and friends on a regular basis? In psychology and psychoanalysis, it has been realised that women are often the emotional caretakers for their partners and family- this pattern often begins very early in a girl’s life- ‘mummy’s little helper’, ‘daddy’s little princess’ (I love you because you are sweet and pleasant).
Chariklo raises the question of how we take care of the masculine without harming ourselves. The ways in which we have been taught to serve men is greatly out of balance. As we have lost touch with our feminine power as women we have been forced to compensate by trying to fulfill an impossible social ideal that drains us and can leave us feeling bitter and resentful.
Chariklo knows of a different way. A way that can truly heal and honour the masculine, touching his heart, body and soul and elevating his spirit beyond the restrictive confines of an equally oppressive masculine cultural condition.
Chariklo’s gift teaches us that we are free to receive and surrender to the wisdom of the masculine and his ability to heal us, and at the same time serve the masculine- a symbiosis that facilitates a profound healing for both.
Chariklo is the feminine principle that can heal the wounded masculine not through judgement, criticism, rejection, and emasculation but through love, receptivity, compassion and a feminine wisdom that transcends duality.
She helps us to heal the core wounds of disconnection and separation transmuting them into a feminine Christ consciousness. She is one of the light bearer goddess archetypes and can deprogram our over-loaded, fragile minds returning us to a state of embodied mysticism- the mystery of spirit and matter. The body dies without spirit and the spirit is homeless without a body.
In her original form Chariklo is a water nymph who shapeshifts into a Centaur- a chimera of half woman, half horse. This blend tells us that she is still fully in touch with her primal instincts as well as her spiritual feminine essence. Her ability to shift from one state to another also reveals her shamanic abilities.
She is the receptive feminine principle, fluid and life giving in accordance with natural cycles, the moon, and the higher spiritual laws beyond man-made laws and desires. She does not judge. She is not Kali whose purpose, like Pluto, is to transform at all cost, rather her power is the power of love and a deep wisdom of the cosmic principles.
As the companion of both Athena and Vesta, Chariklo sits somewhere between the virgin solar goddess of wisdom and the sacred sexual priestess.
Perhaps in this time when we witness so much uncertainty and confusion about what it means to be man, what it means to be woman, and how we can harmonise our differences, the archetype of Chariklo may impart some precious wisdom.
If you would like an intuitive astrology consultation to discuss how Chariklo and other asteroid goddesses move in your life, please contact me to arrange a time on Zoom, or in person.
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Thank yoy for writing this
Excellent article… Gratitude for sharing your knowledge and knowing.
Thank you Frederique, you are most welcome- glad you enjoyed it.