Chiron was discovered in 1977 and astrologers slowly began their work to piece the asteroid’s astrological meaning together. The images, interpretation, and symbolism for Chiron has come from the mythological Centaur who bears the same name. However, on the face of it, Chiron closely resembled Saturn because both planets have a lot in common. In the book Barriers and Boundaries by Liz Greene, Saturn and Chiron are discussed in great depth. The author outlines the differences between them both and helps us the come to grips with Chiron in the natal chart.
“When we consider Chiron from the perspective of defenses, we are once again looking at an area of life, or of the personality, in which we feel wounded or damaged. But there is a different quality to Chiron. With Saturn we feel something has been denied us, something withheld that we badly need. This lack or sense of deprivation makes us feel inadequate and eventually forces us to develop self-sufficiency. With Chiron, there is a sense of something unfair hurting or humiliating us, something that we didn’t merit. We have been irrevocably spoiled or damaged…Something has crippled us and because of that injury we must take a different path in life, one which we feel we not have chosen if we had been left “intact”.
The author offers different examples for the experience of Chiron in the natal chart. For instance, illness, disability, our inability to have children, or something happening which ruins our career – like a dancer cracking his/her ankle and having to give up it up. I have personally seen this experience in the charts of those with Chiron in the 5th house and the individual often makes a very good dance/art teacher even though their own ambition has been unfairly ruined. Astrologically, Chiron is still the most difficult area to interpret and this “unfairness” of life is something which we all have to deal with and reconcile within ourselves.
The universe itself feels like an unbalanced place in terms of justice and punishment. In myth, Chiron was a gentle and wise centaur, especially compared to the other centaurs that were wild and savage. Chiron understood all the secrets of herbal medicine which is often considered a fringe way of dealing with illness, and he understood the stars and taught the art of astrology. Chiron is fascinating to study, but I haven’t been able to find the time to really study the centaur in depth, but some of these key notes may help towards understanding the wounded/healer.