Chiron, the Wounded Healer is drawn to Face his Fate

Chiron and the North Node Meet on 19 February at 9.12 pm UT, How might this Manifest?

Chiron, for Astrologers, is an asteroid in the sky and seen in the charts that we read. However, in Greek Mythology he is known as the Centaur with healing gifts who often presents with two wounds. The first wound was at birth, following the rejection and abandonment by his parents. The second wound came after he had built himself a life as a healer and had taught many students. The Great Hercules mistakenly shot him with a poisoned arrow. Chiron, as the son of the God Kronos (Saturn) was immortal and couldn’t die from the poison in his body. The wound was poisoned with Hydras blood and unfortunately would never heal. After his misfortune, he retreated to suffer alone in his cave and to contemplate his fate.

His experience asks us to consider the nature of the poison and the healer, how we often find both so close together, entwined in nature and in our actions. Like the companion plants that grow along side each other, the dock leaf as a calming balm, growing near to the stinging nettle.

Do we choose to over treat our second wound and allow it to fester within us? Do we replay our suffering through the stories that we narrate to ourselves? Do we thrash out on those who are all around us, spreading the poison to loved ones? How do we react in our animal nature when suffering? We may feel called to consider some of these questions around this time.

The lunar nodes are two mathematical points that show where the orbit of the Moon intersects with the ecliptic. We see eclipses happen when the Full or New Moon line up with the Nodes. The north node, in Vedic mythology is called “Rahu”, the Head of the Dragon and “Ketu” the Tail of the Dragon is what the south node is called. In their myth, they were once one creature whose head was severed by Lord Vishnu. While the interpretation of the nodes varies among traditions in astrology, a general consensus of the Rahu is that it symbolises an increase in whatever it touches.

Aries, the Sign which represents the new zodiacal year, is ruled by Mars, a planet known for conflict, determination and passion. Aries is a cardinal, initiatory sign, where we may see new actions being taken. It is where we explore our place in the world, how we belong, who we are. It takes the courage of Mars to push forward with the self determination needed to make our mark in the world.

There is always a story, particularly for the collective, when Rahu & Chiron meet in the sky. Individually, there is more nuance in the areas of life that are affected by this astral contact. It depends on what planets they aspect (or “see”) when they meet at 16 degrees of Aries. For further discovery, we know some astrologers you can consult ;)

The last time the two met in the sky was 16 October 2008, most people remember that year as the collapse of the Lehman Bank which triggered a global poison through the banking world. Was any healing offered? Have any solutions been found to that problem that was brought to light? Society was offered the chance, but it seems that the retreat into the cave to contemplate wounds was chosen.

The opening square of their synodic cycle on 23 March 2012 in Sagittarius and Pisces included seeding events for the Black Lives Matter movement, China recording its highest trade deficit in a decade and a financial slowdown. The closing square in Aries and Cancer on 14 March 2020 included the escalation and higher prominence of Black Lives Matter while the world news was dominated by the Covid Pandemic.

The contrast of Pisces and Virgo, like any opposing signs is of the nature of Saturn. Oppositions can bring tension and ask us to find a balance through hard lessons, hard work and ultimately setting boundaries. This opposition was on 24 March 2016, a time when the UK was preparing for the Brexit vote to leave the EU, the political consequences still rumbling on and we are yet to reach the sunlit uplands many voters feel they were promised. Donald Trump decided to skip the Fox News presidential debate and was subsequently elected. There was an outbreak of the Zika virus. There was also news about the tensions of North Korea and US relationship at this time.

The reason why Astrologers often look back is because it can inform us to look forward as well as ground us in the present. We get an idea of the themes that we may expect to see developing going forward. We may see themes around the idea of a collective poison in society being brought to light for healing. It will be up to society (all of us) and the collective as a whole whether, this time, we take action, or turn away for retreat to our individual caves.

We have already seen the heartbreaking and sadly not shocking confirmation of the death of Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. The Astrological timing, coming at this conjunction, and also on the day of the Conjunction of Pluto and Venus suggests this is the inception of a matter, not the end of it.

Navalny didn’t just show enormous courage and express irrepressible hope – he embodied them

Carole Cadwalladr

If you have an interest in these things which I think we can assume if you have persevered and read this far, please do watch the global news over the next few days and weeks. See if any themes carry over from the last Chiron north node cycle that remain unhealed. What new healing is our society and collective is calling out for?

All that we can do individually is tend to our own little corners of this earth, but who knows, together, we may all make the difference. Pluto in Aquarius will be wanting to get to work transforming the collective so we may be entering a time of rapid change soon.

All the best

Sonia - CelestiaAstrology.com

With grateful thanks to ISAR and Jonah Emerson-Bell whose talk Hydra Poison and Hungry Ghosts Chiron’s Conjunctions with the North Node inspired me to get writing on this topic.