Astrologers commonly refer to Chiron as “the Wounded Healer,” a label that reveals many of the qualities astrologers have learned to associate with this planetary body. For almost 40 years, since astronomer Charles Kowal discovered and named Chiron in 1977, we’ve been noting its placement in natal charts, observing its effects in real people’s lives, and coming to conclusions about its meanings.
Ancient myth tells us that Chiron was a centaur, the half-human, half-horse child of an oceanic nymph named Philyra and the god Cronus, or Saturn. Versions of the myth vary in the details, but the consistent legend tells us that, in Chiron’s adult years, he was wounded in the leg by a magically poisoned arrow. Being the son of a god, he was immortal and could not die — but neither could he escape the ongoing physical pain of the injury. After this event, the centaur dedicated his life more fully to healing others, even as he sought relief for his own suffering.
This story of Chiron’s suffering and his search for healing has become the
foundation for much of our astrological work with Chiron. The centaur’s physical wound is often referred to when astrologers explain Chiron’s influence in our
natal charts. However, there is an earlier wound that Chiron received — an emotional and psychological wound — that I feel is even more compelling in our ongoing search for the meaning of astrological Chiron, and especially when it comes to resolving our own childhood wounds, as this article will explain.
Chiron’s early life experiences were also deeply wounding. Certain versions of the myth describe his abandonment by both parents: His father, philandering Cronus, exits the story right after Chiron is conceived. And Philyra is horrified when she gives birth to a child whom she sees as deformed. She pleads with the gods “to be changed into anything other than what she is — the mother of a ‘monster.’”1 Taking pity on her, the gods turn her into a linden tree, effectively removing her from Chiron’s life.
The myth goes on to describe how Apollo and other gods stepped in to take care of the infant, providing a buffer for him against the additional wounding — and even death — that might otherwise have ensued. This foster parenting allowed Chiron to develop the skills that would lead to much success in later life.2
In my mind, Chiron’s mythical beginnings as an abandoned child make him a powerful symbol of the human need to make conscious an earlier, psychological wound.
How did this parental rejection affect Chiron? The myths themselves don’t provide much insight into specific psychological wounds resulting from this early abandonment. They tell us that he grows up to be a wise mentor, physician, and teacher to the sons of kings as well as to many famous Greek heroes, such as Achilles, Heracles, and Asclepius. In fact, Chiron is “known everywhere for his goodness and his wisdom.”3 Until his injury by the poisoned arrow, Chiron’s life appears outwardly to be the picture of fulfillment.
Although astrologers see this gifted centaur primarily through the lens of “the Wounded Healer,” in my mind Chiron’s mythical beginnings as an abandoned child also make him a powerful symbol of the human need to make conscious an earlier, psychological wound, one that often surfaces when we suffer chronic illness or pain. Like Chiron, we may not feel compelled to do the nurturing self-care required to heal these emotional wounds until we experience a disabling physical trauma or condition.
Our own earliest childhood wounds, represented by the sign and house location of Chiron in our birth charts, rarely disappear on their own, although our conscious awareness of them can recede. Like the centaur, most of us receive the support we need to develop into competent adults. And as was true for Chiron, we often successfully hide the effects of our core wound as we move through our lives — until
we undergo a Chiron transit that compels us to look more deeply into the past.
On 17–18 October 2026, Brian Clark, Frank Clifford, and Melanie Reinhart will present with a dozen world-class speakers for Chiron: Returning Home.
In my early learning about Chiron, I felt most drawn to the interpretations offered by Melanie Reinhart in her book, Chiron and the Healing Journey. Ms. Reinhart’s insightful exploration of Chiron’s effects through the signs and houses spoke to me, and I integrated much of her perspective into my work with clients.
But not surprisingly, my understanding of Chiron began to shift and deepen in the late 1990s, in my 41st year, when I experienced the waning square of Chiron to my natal Chiron in Aquarius.4 Through the issues that arose at that time, I began to understand Chiron not only as the Wounded Healer, but also as a symbol of a fearful, small-child aspect of myself, a child I could communicate with, feel compassion for, and fully accept and love — the ultimate healing tools.
This personal revelation came as I struggled once again with the fear of separation that had plagued me since childhood — the fear that, if I were to fully claim my unique place in the world, I would become an outsider, separate and alone.5 Dismayed by the familiar but painful course that a relationship seemed to be taking, I was determined “never to feel this way again.” Knowing that I was the common denominator in my various experiences of rejection, I sought help.
from a counselor who, it turned out, used inner-child work as a tool in her therapy. In our time together, I began to under- stand more fully Chiron’s effect in my life. Most importantly, I came away with tools I could use again and again, as needed, both for my own personal benefit and for that of my clients.
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Children may, at times, be wise beyond their years, but they are also prone to extreme reactions, not yet having the developmental maturity to handle intense emotions. When a young child really wants something and doesn’t know how to get it, we may first see confusion, then a disintegration of confidence, and ultimately an emotional overreaction. In that moment, the child is able to focus only on the object of his or her desire, coupled with the frustration of not being able to attain it.
This is exactly how our inner Chiron, the part of our psyche I am calling the Child-Self, can react when it has a strong need that it doesn’t know how to fulfill. It tends to act instinctively, even fearfully, as though its very survival depends on that specific need being met. Its ability to see objectively is colored by the core fear that it will never have, feel, or know the fulfillment of that need.
For instance, with Chiron in Aquarius, I am among those who typically have a strong need for independence but must also deal with fears of being separate. The Child-Self doesn’t know how to create one without the other and can feel left out and isolated, even when the separation is of its own choosing. This Aquarian Child-Self may see abandonment and rejection at every turn, since it views life through a lens colored by the fear that it will never be accepted for who it is.
Chiron was in Pisces when President Barack Obama was born. Chiron is prominently placed in his 1st house and is also square his Moon and opposite his Pluto. The Child-Self represented by Chiron in Pisces yearns to feel connected, to express compassion and understanding, and to receive these from others. And yet this Child-Self fears that it will never be able to let go and trust, so it tends to experience disillusionment, often playing either victim or martyr roles. The hard aspects to the Moon and Pluto further complicate President Obama’s natal picture, adding both emotional distancing and emotional reactivity, along with a deep desire to fulfill a sense of destiny.
Singer Miley Cyrus was born with Chiron in Leo in her 4th house. The yearning to be seen and admired propelled her into the limelight early in life and has seemingly grown stronger since the Chiron opposition to her natal Chiron in 2009–10. With a natal square between Chiron and her Ascendant, it is appropriate that she uses her clothing and personal style as a way of gaining attention. The square between natal Chiron and her Moon–Mercury–Pluto stellium in Scorpio is evidenced by the powerful reactions people have exhibited to the sexualized persona she has been cultivating. It would be interesting to know how she’ll feel years from now when she looks back at this time in her life. Will she have compassion for her Child-Self’s need for attention?
© 2015 Pam Younghans – all rights reserved
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Pam Younghans is a professional astrologer and writer, living in the Pacific Northwest. She offers personal and relationship readings, posts daily astrology updates on Facebook and Instagram, and writes a weekly astrology e-forecast, the NorthPoint Journal, offered free by subscription. Visit www.northpointastrology.com to subscribe and to learn more about Pam’s work. To schedule a reading, please send an email to pam@northpointastrology.com.
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Barack Obama, August 4, 1961; 7:24 p.m. AHST; Honolulu, HI, USA (21°N18’, 157°W52’); AA: birth certificate.
Miley Cyrus, November 23, 1992; 4:19 p.m. CST; Nashville, TN, USA (36°N10’, 80°W47’); AA: birth certificate.
Little leaf Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Barak Obama Official White House Photo by Pete Souza, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Miley Cyrus Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Casey J. Hopkins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Melanie Reinhart, Chiron and the Healing Journey: An Astrological and Psychological Perspective (3rd edition), Starwalker Press, 2009, p. 54.
Edith Hamilton, Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, Little, Brown and Company, 1942, p. 430.
Of course, important life transitions often involve more than one significant transit, and we should always take all planetary cycles into account when exploring the influences at work. Due to space constraints and the need for clarity, I have not listed other transits that occurred at the times in question for myself and for my client, Dawn.
This fear of being an outsider is fairly common for those born with Chiron in Aquarius. The sign of the Water Bearer is known for its independence and nonconformity, but the Chiron placement in Aquarius indicates a fear attached to fully expressing those qualities.
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