Chiron is an interesting figure in both mythology and astrology.

He is the noble centaur, a mentor to heroes, a healer, astrologer and wise teacher. He also gains a wound which won’t heal.

In astrology Chiron is again connected with healing themes, and with the inner wound that we just can’t shake, that torments us repeatedly, and that in a sense we have this tendency to re-open, and rewound ourselves with. It’s one of our big challenges (but also opportunities) on the road to wholeness.

The reason that Chiron’s wound wouldn’t heal is because it was the result of a venom tipped arrow head which should have killed him, but due to his immortal nature it couldn’t. So he had to suffer until a deal was done on his behalf with Zeus that he should give up his life for the freedom of Prometheus.

The reason that Chiron is immortal is that he is a son of Saturn. Astrologically this should tell us something about the theme of our persistent wound, the pain we can’t seem to let go of or escape, or apparently escape visiting. This wound, which can seem like a curse or an obsession, is actually linked to our inherent divinity, our deepest connection with the life force, with our sense of meaning and value. This is why it is so hard to let go of, because it carries a clue to our deepest value, even as it seems impossible of happy fulfilment. It is a curse because it is a blessing we know deeply, but can’t seem to live ourselves. Anything less valuable would not cause such pain in its denial. Anyone less valuable would be killed by such a wound. And there is the gold in the riddle of pain. Only one touched by the divine would suffer and bear such a thing. And we are all touched by the divine, at a place in ourselves shrouded by the wound.

I think here we can also learn from Chiron’s parentage. To understand Chiron’s place in our natal chart we need to also look at our Saturn, his father and source of his divinity. Indeed, there is a definite resonance between Chironic and Saturnine experience. Just think of how Saturn affects the experience of the house it is in, or the affairs of the sign for that matter. But Chiron is a centaur that traverses the orbits of Saturn and Uranus, so brings the awakening potential of the latter. Another resonance here is that Prometheus, who Chiron ultimately liberates, is himself such a Uranian figure.

In any case, it shows the power and intensely personal meaning of the healing journey, and its universal connection at the same time.