Quick note: I thought I had published this article last year and ended up spacing out on it (Shows you where my head has been, it’s been a really rough couple of years). It was only after referring a pal to this article that I realized it wasn’t actually up lols. Anywho, The Chiron Retrograde Dates for 2019 are July, 7th thru December , 13th .
Caution:
Long article ahead & some adult language!
Sooooooooooooooooooooo……….Of all of the retrogrades…I havta say that Chiron seems to hit the hardest. But that might be due in part to the nature of its influence.
It is known as the wounded healer, and its influence is to bring up anything in your past (No matter how deep you think you have buried it) that you have not healed from…… so yeah…Chiron retrograde is a great big fat universal FUCK YOU!!!
Now, will you grow from it?…YES Will it hurt like a Motherfucker?….also likely YES
That said, Lets dive on into this bad bitch of a retro-fucking-grade!!!!
What is a Retrograde:
Generally, planetary energies are shining themselves all around us in the external world. When a planet goes retrograde, its energies will manifest more in our inner worlds. *Remember even though they repeat, every retrograde is going to bring healing & growth(painful generally) to a different issue.
Retrogrades: when the planetary forces are moving backwards or are reversed.Translation: Things tend to get a little backwards and mucked up.
Chiron “The Wounded Healer” (Pronounced Kai-Ron)-. In the natal chart is symbolized by the “wounded healer”. He represents our deepest wound, and our efforts to heal the wound. He was a legendary healer & teacher who, ironically, could not heal himself.
Chiron ( a comet with a unique and erratic orbit ) goes retrograde roughly 5 months out of each year.
This Chiron retrograde period will, therefore be a five-month window of opportunity during which we can possibly make great strides in recognizing and even healing our own deepest soul-wounds. *Chiron: Perpetually wounded + medical wizard = “The Wounded Healer”
-You know that I dont actually go into much detail about birthcharts & such…but Chiron is a complex fellow and to do him justice…I will need to go into abit more detail.-
In our birth charts, Chiron points out an area where we bear some sort of deep-rooted “soul-wound,” some trauma or condition that causes us ongoing pain in our lives until we can (hopefully) learn to heal it.
This can be a very literal physical condition, or something less tangible (a spiritual, emotional, or mental “wound”).
The great part about it is, our experiences with our own Chironic wounds can allow us to become great healers of the same kind of wounds in others.
If you want to get the most out of Chiron Retrograde, here are 4 steps:
1. Start by analyzing the Chiron situation in your own birth chart.
Look into what Sign & what House your natal Chiron reside in.
The Sign will give you some clues about the nature of your Chironic wounds, while the House will point to some area of your life in which those wounds will most often & most intensely be felt.
2. (even if you dont do this step and just stick with the sign, you will have most of what you need)
Examine any Aspects that connect your natal Chiron to any other Planets in your chart.
Squares & oppositions will be of specific use in understanding more about the characteristics of your wounds, and also grasping what might cause you to keep aggravating them again & again.
Meanwhile, the more harmonious trines & sextiles will have more to say about ways you can soothe and heal those wounds.
3. Now, look at where the physical Chiron Planetoid is in the sky right now – in this case , the very final stretch of Pisces – and check if you have any important Planets or Points in that same area in your birth chart.
If so, your probably gonna feel the Chironic energy-waves during this five-month period like a brick to the head.
4 Also examine the corresponding sections in the other Mutable Signs (Gemini, Virgo, and Sagittarius) in your chart, and the same thing will hold true: if you have any important placements in the last few degrees of any of those Signs, this retrograde period may be an eventful one for you.
Chiron will be Retrograde from July 7th until December 13th this year. So we have five months to (hopefully, fingers crossed) tune in & really get some insight about our deepest, most longstanding sources of spiritual pain.
Chironic healing is a tremendous gift, so it brings a prized opportunity to encourage it during this retrograde period…but be warned it will get painful.
But as much as I may not like Chiron retrograde & grouse about it,It is very much needed , and so I view this period…. not as a time for wallowing in self-pity about wounds, but instead as a positive opportunity to bring about some deep and profound healing…
Myth of Chiron:
I dont know about you but, Iv always been better able to relate to astrological phenomena by learning the myth around it.
Chiron was a Centaur, and arguably one of the most important mythical figures when it comes to teaching. His students were many and included the likes of Heracles, Achilles, Jason, Asclepius, Ajax, Perseus, Theseus, and on & on. He was renowned for his skill in teaching & was famous for his wisdom and his knowledge of medicine.
Chiron’s parentage was a little different from the rest of his fellow centaurs, he was the offspring of the Titan Cronus & Philyra ( an Oceanid or Sea Nymph). Chiron made his home at the foot of Mount Pelion in Thessaly with his consort, the nymph Chariclo, they had three daughters ( Hippe, Endeis, & Ocyrhoe) & one son (Carystus), pretty happy family.
Chiron also makes frequent appearances in the legends of his grandson Peleus, & his great grandson Achilles…. Now there is some lineage for you. Now , His end was brought on by one of his former students, Heracles to be exact. It was mighty Heracles who accidentally shot his former teacher with a poisoned(with The blood of the Hydra) arrow in the midst of a battle with Chirons fellow centaurs. While Heracles was attempting to complete his fourth labor( the Erymanthian Boar: Eurystheus ordered Hercules to bring him the Erymanthian boar alive.) , he visited a centaur named Pholus at the centaurs cave home. They had supper & Heracles asked for some wine…..and Pholus opened a sacred bottle of wine given to him by Mr. party god himself-Dionysus-.
Yes there is much fail in this plan!
The smell of that sacred hooch acted like a homing beacon for the other centaurs in the vicinity and they tried to take it by force. Battle broke out, Heracles killed a bunch of them with poisoned arrows, but also ended up puttin an arrow in poor Chiron. Chiron was immortal, but the poison on that arrow caused him so much unbearable pain that, after searching the globe for an answer & significantly broadening his medical knowledge base in the process, he opted to give up his immortality & die in exchange for Prometheus’s freedom (Heracles actually had the stones to ask poor Chiron to do it). He was then placed among the stars by the gods as the constellation Centaurus.
Fun fact:*Now mind you, this is about as far as you can get from a regular centaur……Centaurs were known to be a pretty wild bunch, definitely able to give Satyrs a run for their money. Centaurs were famous for being uncivilized, heavy drinking, lusty, and at times violent creatures. Most of your garden variety centaur were the progeny of Ixion( king of the Lapiths, the most ancient tribe of Thessaly, and a son of Ares) & Nephele ( cloud made by Zeus to look like Hera- Zeus’s Wifey-, testing Ixions integrity after he made a pass at her….. while he was Zeus’s guest at a party. He failed, Shocker!, thus fathering the Centaurs.)……..Yeah I think we see the host of issues here!
**Remember a planetary (or asteroidal lol) retrograde is like an Oreo cookie:
1st shadow-zone (a couple weeks before the retrograde)= This brings up the issue that is gonna be affected by the retrograde. Retrograde= Brings issue and slams you in the face repeatedly with it. 2nd Shadow-zone (going direct, & a little after)= the issue resolves itself…probably painfully…whether you like it or not.****
Advantages, Opportunities & how this helps us, if you wish to use this time to your advantage:
Positively,
it brings everything into the light so it can no longer eat at you and prey upon your psyche or unconscious mind.
This retrograde is like no other.
There are always opportunities for growth in each & every retrograde.
But with Chiron, you have an intense focus on healing your mind , heart & sometimes soul….That is… if you are open to it.
Take advantage of this time by:
Going through your past pain, problems, trauma and taking inventory of it.
Assessing how it is effecting your life now.
Work on cleansing those old wounds, and letting go of them or healing them.Working out how you can use your lessons to help others (but most importantly, focus on your own healing, you will always have next year to figure out the rest ).
These are things that can help mitigate it’s influences:
I have no good advice for mitigation of a Chiron retrograde as its purpose is to help us heal & find a way to use our Chironic pain to help benefit others…and sometimes even the world at large.
So my only advice is ……….Do some deep reflection & self examination way before it hits , that way this retrograde wont completely whoop your ass.
However, Gentle healing and holistic practices will do a lot of good: Energy work, meditation, and yoga are some examples that you can look into. You can also research any techniques that can be keyed specifically to your Chironic situation.
What stones & crystals will help?Im sure there are more, but this is a brief list of crystals & gems to help with healing in this particular retrograde, which can be a pretty rough one!
Crystals that Help you dive into it and grow from it:
Phantom crystals-pulls up past life issues and blazes a trail for growth, also shakes any skeletons out of your closet.
Carborundum-pulls up past life issues & resolves them
Lepidolite-breaking repeating negative cycles
Chrysocolla-letting go
Crystals that Mitigate this retrogrades harsher moments:
Prehnite-heart healer, heals the healer
Peridot-takes away anger & blame, allows you to forgive & to trust
Mangano calcite-helps recover from trauma & emotional wounds
Pink Kunzite- emotional wound healer par excellence
Sugilite- Heart healer stone, helps you accept love and overcome any blocks towards loving & being loved.
Here is what you can do to counteract it:
You really cant, so sit down and enjoy the ride!
Chiron Retrograde dates: ( I include past dates, so as you can look back on that time in your life and see how it affected you)
2016, June 27th to November 30th 2017, June 30 to December 5 2018, July 5th to December 9th 2019, July 7th to December 13th
There is always more to know about any celestial phenomenon, but this is brief coverage of a Chiron retrograde, if you have questions -feel free to message me at Des Moines New Age Shop facebook page.
“Every Answer begins with a question”
by Alicia Anspaugh-McCullough