How many of us are familiar with the Chiron house position on our birth chart? I’ve written elsewhere on this site about Chiron but this guide introduces the mysterious Centaur planet to your very own chart.
Firstly, to know how Chiron will operate natally is to understand the theme of ‘sacred wounding’ and just how it might unfold in your life. Chiron’s story in Greek myth – where his ultimate redemption came through sacrificing his mortal wound for immortality – tells us that the wounding of a hero or god is somehow necessary to their later development. Jean Houston, Ph.D. has written perceptively about this theme in The Search for the Beloved (Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., 1987): “All of these myths of wounding carry with them the uncanny, the mysterious, the announcement that the sacred is entering into time. Each prefigures a journey, a renaissance, a birth or rebirth, a turning point in the lives of gods and mortals.” This is highly relevant where Chiron on the birth chart is concerned. For those interested in knowing more about this undoubtedly important addition to modern astrology, I would also recommend Melanie Reinhart’s Chiron and the Healing Journey (revised 3rd edition, Starwalker Press 2009). There is also Melanie’s site, also good for Chiron resources.
The Chiron house position represents an area where there may be an unsolvable, or at least unresolved issue – this is simply a less dramatic way of saying ‘unhealable wound’. Chiron often appears where we feel capable of more, but frustrated in our ability to achieve it. It is thus where we may feel life has let us down, where all our efforts have come to a painful naught. If this is the case, then it’s certain that we’re missing something. Perhaps we are being too idealistic and must alter our whole perception on the matter. You may have to work through your Chiron area and find the means of transformation. Or we simply must accept what is – without attempting to change it. This is real wisdom. To simply allow what cannot be changed in us. In any case, it’s what makes us human – it is a necessary part of us. We can no more truly ignore it than we can chop off our own head – for the ‘wound’ isn’t something that needs overcoming. (Just like an ordinary flesh wound, it needs loving care and attention.) Healing, in short.
Chiron’s birth position often figures prominently in the charts of ‘outsiders’, whether good or bad, famous or infamous, there is usually something ‘different’ about such people. (Naturally, one must consider other chart factors at the same time.) It can often be the planet that secretly shows just what is driving someone, but like the other planets, it is neither good nor bad – it can be used in either way. It all depends on our level of awareness and moral values. In time we may find that what hurts also heals – that is, the ‘wound’ can be seen as a kind of catalyst that is a spur towards further growth, inner knowledge, as we stretch to raise our consciousness and truly understand ourselves.
Chiron house 1:/Ascendant.
The first house is about our self-image, how we come across to the rest of the world whether as a personality or simply a ‘look’. Chiron here can point to many things – a lack of self-confidence, a dissatisfaction with that ‘look’. There may be a feeling that life is against you (breeding the victim-complex) and even some actual physical defect (possibly arising at birth). But you must, in time, come to accept certain limitations; in fact, Chiron is constantly urging you to become more than all of this. To see that you are more than an ego or physical body. You may be able to see that your life is a kind of ‘mission’ – possibly to be of service to others, certainly you are likely to feel very different from others, an outsider that others find difficult to understand. Your task is to accept yourself as you are. In any case, you have much to give! But first you must heal yourself.
Chiron house 2:
The second house covers how we feel about (and what we attract in) the realm of material security, finance, possessions and the like. Chiron here indicates initial difficulties with this area, possibly due to a wanton disregard of the ‘rules’. That is, the routine business of earning a conventional living may feel too restrictive. Maybe the person earns their money in quite unusual ways, possibly through therapies, spiritual teaching, healing. With Chiron we rarely fit into an ordinary category. If there is money about, perhaps it is poorly managed or spent too freely. But it is certain that the issue of self-worth is at the root of any problems here. This is the task of the person with a second house Chiron: to discover their real ‘value’ in life – to themselves and others. To ask why they value what they do. Perhaps a serious reappraisal is due when this process begins.
Chiron house 3:
The third house on the birth chart is where we learn about the world and give back to others what we’ve learned, whether through casual exchanges, teaching, gossip etc. The Chiron third house individual may find problems with this type of communication. Not in the Saturnian taciturn, ‘slow-learner’ sense, but in that one feels forever misunderstood. This can only occur, however, when the person believes they’re always right about everything – a distinct likelihood with Chiron in the third! The Chironic ‘wound’ may have been ’caused’ through unresponsive parents, siblings or feeling that one’s schooling in general was quite unsympathetic. But Chiron here can be mentally brilliant – making intuitive leaps, discovering hidden truths and getting to the bottom of things. Your task is to find your real niche, something that will fulfil your overactive mind. Or you’ll never be happy.
Chiron house 4/on IC:
The fourth house is the domain of home and family, where you come from, what you belong to. It can represent either parent, mother or father, and it is likely (as with its opposite house, the tenth) that Chiron here will produce painful issues involving the parents. Here is the Chironic ‘wound’ – the experience with one (or both) of the parents has somehow left its emotional mark. The individual may then spend the rest of their lives somehow trying to compensate, projecting the parental ‘image’ on to a series of future partners. In time they may learn that the nurture they’re looking for can only be found within – one first needs to love oneself. In any case, when they make the effort, Chiron fourth house people can be wonderful at nurturing and caring for others. This is how, in the end, they heal their own ‘wound’.
Chiron house 5:
The fifth house shows our capacity for creativity, romance and pleasure. ‘Wounded by love’ would be the dramatic way of interpreting this placement. The root here is the theme of creativity, and our ability to find ourselves through our creations. When that ‘creation’ is our projection on to a lover we may then invoke the Chironic wound. It may seem as if one is unlucky in love, and scapegoated to be such. (Even if one is in a stable relationship.) But this theme applies to other fifth house matters, whether it is our ability to enjoy life, our relationship to our children, or ability to create, there may be some nagging dissatisfaction. For the artist or musician with Chiron in the fifth this may be the spur to try new and amazing things. But artist or not, Chiron fifth housers must find and express their unique sense of self somehow, whilst remembering that they are still mortal!
Chiron house 6:
The sixth is traditionally the house of service, work, duty, health, putting off short term gain in favour of the long view. Maintaining a healthy and efficient routine is vital to good progress, it’s just that people with Chiron here may be rather impatient with all of this. They want results now, and even when they get them they may still not be satisfied. The ‘wound’ may come from feeling that one is only fit for ‘dead-end jobs’. Possibly there are genuine health concerns (stemming from birth) that limit them. But usually these are self created, born out of a poor relationship to their bodies, which they probably neglect. Someone with Chiron in the sixth must realise their health comes first – they need to see just how their attitudes to life affect it. How mind affects body. That even work doesn’t have to be a drudge – some ordinary jobs really do give satisfaction.
Chiron house 7/on Desc:
The seventh house encompasses all personal relationships, marriage, agreements and business. As can be expected, with Chiron here, there may be a sense that what has wounded one is some particular person. The tendency to blame others must be overcome, as must the feeling that one is suffering through no fault of one’s own. There may be a syndrome whereby the other person leaves as soon as they have taken all they want, so to speak. These are classic projection scenarios – one’s own behaviour is contributing to all of this and the sooner one realises it, the better. This is likely to be a ‘mirror image’ of a part of the Unconscious – one sees in others what one refuses to see in oneself. But if you are humble enough, you may see you’re blaming others for your own imperfections. With real effort, the healing process can properly begin. Know thyself!
Chiron house 8:
The eighth house goes beyond the seventh, so to speak, and the everyday surface of relationships is torn away – hence psychology, intimacy issues, sexual matters. But it’s really about genuine emotional union, or exchange, at least from the point of view of the overall psyche. With Chiron here there may be a sense that someone (probably in childhood) has wielded their power in a negative way, and one is determined that no-one else will exert a similar hold. There may be the usual eighth house issues, such as losing out financially to another. So you try to be in supreme control of everything, especially feelings and emotions, for this is where the wound begins – in a state of vulnerability. Oddly, you can make a good healer/counsellor where other people’s emotions are concerned, but sooner or later you must ‘let go’ and trust – enough to let someone into your heart.
Chiron house 9:
The ninth is the domain of higher knowledge and education, foreign travel, religion, spiritual ideas and philosophy. What unites all of these is the experience of moving beyond one’s everyday world, increasing one’s understanding of life, and thus raising one’s consciousness. Like Chiron in the third, this is the placement of the classic ‘know-it-all’, but the individual is also driven to find a belief system, a philosophy to live by. This may provide the Chironic wound, if one is finally disenchanted with the result. Or maybe one’s parents had strict religious beliefs, and one is left with its unlovely consequences. At any rate, you are searching for ‘something’ – but it won’t be found in anything external. The inner wound will only heal when you see the quest for the ‘right’ belief system, a guru, or even the Holy Grail is really an inner one. For you are the thing you have been searching for!
Chiron house 10/on MC.
The tenth house is the pinnacle of the chart – where we are going to, in terms of ambition, professional career and social/public prestige. But it is really about our experience of (and relationship to) authority and the person with Chiron in the tenth has ‘issues’. Where the power issues in the eighth were rooted in one-to-one, emotional relationships, here they concern parents, teachers, employers etc. Chiron tenth housers can be a law unto themselves – perhaps the ‘wound’ came from mother or father, a harsh taskmaster or an employer. Maybe you were made to feel inferior, pushed too hard, or just neglected. Either way, there is now a desire to carve out your own individual path to success. Indeed, for your task is to discover what success really means for you, beyond money and status. It is about coming to terms with your own power – not someone else’s!
Chiron house 11:
Usually the astrological house ‘ruling’ friends, hopes, aspirations, clubs, groups, societies, it is underlined by its ‘collective’ tag. It’s about how we may (or may not) fit in with the larger social context. Usually, Chiron doesn’t ‘fit in’ anywhere at all – and a sense of alienation from friendships may be present from an early age. This produces the loner, and either you are compulsively ‘needy’ for company, or are determined to revel in your solo status. In either case, your link to the larger whole is ‘wounded’ somehow. There may be difficulties in maintaining friendships or a sense that you can never find the ‘right group’ to belong to. Even so, you have much to give as a friend – be sure not to be taken advantage of. True healing can occur only when you realise that there is no ‘right group’ out there. Better still, when you live out the eternal truth that we’re all one under the skin!
Chiron house 12:
In the twelfth house, individual will and ego tend to dissolve, personal barriers disappear and we are driven by forces beyond our control. Essentially, this is an Unconscious area, containing everything that shows how we are our own worst enemy. (As with self-delusion, drugs or alcohol abuse.) But it also has to do with spiritual values, inspiration, self sacrifice and healing. This is virtually the meaning of Chiron itself – almost as if this planet is at home, here! The Chiron energy maybe projected and one is forced to care for a sick and needy person, possibly a parent or child. Either way, ‘wounding and healing’ will be a major life-theme of someone with Chiron in the twelfth. It is certain you will have strong spiritual beliefs, even if you consciously deny them. Get in touch with this aspect of yourself. Reach out to others. Make compassion your duty. Healing others means healing yourself, too.
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