An Opportunity to Heal on Imbolc
I want to talk to you about an astrological conversation taking place in the heavens on Imbolc. Chiron will be "conversing" with the sun. But before we discuss what this means, let me give you a bit of background on Chiron. After all, you are all familiar with the sun, but not everyone knows who Chiron is and why this asteroid is associated with one's healing journey, personally and collectively.
Chiron, classified as an asteroid, was discovered in 1977. According to Greek Mythology he was a Centaur (a creature that was part horse and part man). He was the son of Kronos (Saturn) and the nymph, Philyra, who had transformed herself into a mare in order to flee from the unwanted sexual advances of Kronos. Kronos turned himself into a horse and succeeded in raping and impregnating her.
When Chiron was born to Philyra, she was horrified that he had the body and legs of a horse but a torso of a man. Chiron, who had already been abandoned by his father, was abandoned at his birth by his mother. He was taken by a shepherd to the sun god Apollo who fostered him. In spite of his early abandonment, Chiron became a wise man, prophet, physician, teacher and musician due to the care, love and tutelage of the god Apollo.
In astrology, Chiron is often referred to as “the wounded healer” and there are several renditions of this story. The one I am most familiar with involves his friend Hercules who was visiting Chiron in his cave. Hercules clumsily took off his satchel of arrows causing one to accidentally spill out and pierce Chiron’s leg. Unfortunately the tip of the arrow contained a poison and Chiron suffered greatly as a result of this wound, a wound that was not of his own doing. A wound that despite all his efforts to heal remained a chronic source of pain throughout his lifetime.
This Imbolc, February 1st, the sun in Aquarius will create a beneficial aspect called a sextile with Chiron in Aries. This conversation between the two planets allows one an opportunity to see their "wound" illuminated, allowing for greater sensitivity and openness. The sun can spotlight our pain enabling us to acknowledge it without being overtaken by it. We can consciously examine our hurt and become stronger through the understanding of it. Perhaps your wound will be highlighted (depending upon how this energy aligns in your natal chart), and if not you personally, you will certainly see it happening to someone around you, if you are sensitive to these energies.
On Imbolc, when the sun “talks” to Chiron in this harmonious manner, we can consciously acknowledge our own pain or suffering without being diminished by it, and potentially experience healing. We can do this for those around us as well. We can have a greater compassion for the suffering of others, and like the Sun, we can offer warmth and light, and like Chiron, in spite of our own wounds, we can mitigate the suffering of another.
This Imbolc, may the Light (sun) shine upon you as the Goddess holds you in her healing (Chiron) embrace.
