We’re entering an exciting part of the year, infused with a lot of vibrant energy from many of the great planets. Amidst all this energy, though, we have some slower transits happening in the Universal order.

　　This energy will ensure the next few months of your life are not just fun and exciting, but also growth-oriented.

　　One of those transits is Chiron retrograde. Chiron is one of the smaller and lesser-known bodies in the Solar System, but its importance is not small by any means. As we deal with the energies of Chiron retrograde, let’s talk today about how to use this transit’s energy to your advantage so you can finish the summer (and the rest of the year!) exemplifying your personal best.

　　

What is Chiron Retrograde?

We talk about retrograde planets quite a bit, but not often enough about Chiron. Let’s explore Chiron more specifically today. A retrograde occurs when the orbit of a planet or cosmic body appears to change directions, from direct to retrograde.

　　This doesn’t mean a planet is actually moving backward, it just looks like it is. I always use the analogy of cars on a highway when discussing retrograde motion. If your car is moving forward (direct) at full speed, and a car behind you is moving slower, a look in the rear view mirror makes it appear as if that car is moving faster, but it’s not. Planetary motion is very similar.

　　A retrograde planet is the planet behind the planets moving in the fast lane. As for Chiron, it’s known as the planet that rules healing and synchronicities. When Chiron is retrograde, you are still going to have opportunities to embrace spiritual healing, and will still see synchronicities. Retrogrades are very connected to our past lives, and our past experiences in this lifetime.

　　Under Chiron retrograde, you are going to have opportunities to embrace the healing of old wounds, and the energy Chiron sends you along the way is going to help. Chiron will be retrograde for nearly the rest of this year. It started on July 4 and does not go direct again until December 8, 2018. Let’s examine the themes of this transit more closely.

　　

The Myth of Chiron the Wounded Healer

Understanding how Chiron came to be the wounded healer is essential in understanding how to use this energy in your daily life. In Greek mythology, there was a couple named Cronus and Philyra. Philyra at first balked at Cronus’ attempts to court her and tried to turn herself into a mare so as to avoid him completely. It didn’t work. Cronus turned himself into a horse, and the pair had a baby named Chiron. Chiron had the upper body of a human, with the legs and body of a horse.

　　When Philyra saw this, she became so upset that she rejected Chiron and begged the gods to change him. The gods were greatly displeased with her lack of gratitude and turned her into a tree. Poor Chiron was abandoned forever. A lot of what we deal with from Chiron is about this key theme: abandonment.

　　Hold on, the story of Chiron continues. After he was abandoned, Apollo found Chiron and took him under his wing, teaching him many things, including how to get past life’s wounds. One day, Hercules came to dinner and a big fight broke out. Chiron was right in the thick of it and eventually suffered a wound to the leg by an arrow that would never fully heal properly.

　　Although the wound would never heal, Chiron himself was immortal and would go through the rest of his life learning to adapt and work around this wound. Eventually, Hercules himself would plead with the gods for Chiron to trade places with another immortal, known as Prometheus.

　　That’s another long story, but eventually, Zeus heard Hercules’ plea and allowed Chiron to trade places with mortal Prometheus. This meant that Prometheus’ wounds would never heal completely, and Chiron would become a mortal, whose wounds WOULD heal.

　　After Chiron died, Zeus gave Chiron his own cosmic body and his own constellation in the sky. The constellation of Centaurus is directly connected to Chiron, as it was the Centaurans who helped him in the great battle with Hercules.

　　

How to Use the Themes of Chiron In Your Life

The moral of Chiron’s story is that he suffered great wounds in his life through no fault of his own. Thus, he suffered no karmic debt that would follow him through his life. He was literally in the wrong place at the wrong time, engaged with people he normally wouldn’t have been if he hadn’t attended that dinner with Hercules. Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever felt victimized in life over something of which you had no control?

　　The answer is probably “yes” because it seems everyone has been in that type of situation. While Chiron’s wounds stemmed from his mother’s abandonment, they were also caused by something he did not start. All of the things that have happened to you in your life have created scars that have not yet healed.

　　These wounds can be healed when Chiron is in retrograde. That’s why it’s such an exciting transit! We get 6 months of this energy to heal old wounds. During Chiron retrograde, you are going to see all sorts of synchronicities, signs, and coincidences to help guide you on your path of healing.

　　To fully succeed under a Chiron retrograde transit, you first need to recognize those signs. You also need to embrace opportunities for healing, which can be painful. Confronting people and places from your past that have caused you harm is hard and painful.

　　You may be asked to face these people directly. You may also face them spiritually and set the intention to let them go and move past them for good. You also need to make up for your role in things, just like Hercules did when he set things right for Chiron with Zeus. It came with great sacrifice, as Chiron had to give up his immortality to heal, but he did it and left his legacy in the stars.

　　Begin to recognize these themes as they appear in your life over the next few months and you too will begin to see scabs forming over those old wounds. Don’t keep picking at them though, let them heal once and for all. Chiron is always watching and waiting to tell you exactly what you need to do to move past your pain for good.

　　

Conclusion

　　Retrograde periods are often feared, but there is no need to overreact. Now that you know the power of Chiron, you can begin implementing this in your own life. Look for the signs and when you see them, thank the heavens as they are little messages passed on from Chiron that you’re on the right path.

　　You deserve healing from the things in life that have wounded you. Everyone, no matter what your Sun sign is, can and will benefit from Chiron retrograde, if you want to. With wounded healer and synchronicity king Chiron in retrograde, those things will come back so that you can put them to bed for good.

　　Related Article: Need Healing This Spring? What Chiron and Mutable Energy Can Teach You