Discovery of Chiron: 1977

Horoscope of the Discovery of Chiron by astronomer Charles Kowall when the mysterious body (comet? centaur? asteroid? planet or planetoid?) was at 3Tau09 and retrograde (Rx). The official discovery date/time is Oct 18, 1977 when the photographic plate was actually taken (Chiron 3Tau50 Rx), Palomar Mountain Observatory, CA.

Whenever a celestial body is sighted one looks to see what’s going on in society at that time and this helps astrologers with the body’s meaning and import. 1977 was the year Voyage blasted off to flyby and photograph Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune…Saturn–the knee, AQ–the ankle, Neptune–the heel!

And Chiron is associated with alternative medicine which gained much wider acceptance beginning around 1977.

Chiron’s Sabian Symbol:

“4Tau”: “The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow”…rainbows are said to be bridges to the divine. This Symbol speaks of the rewards gained from linking earthly with celestial natures and Chiron is, as you know, the Christ archetype in an astrology chart, aka The Key. (If you’re not familiar with the graphic for Chiron, look for the symbol resembling a key.)

Both charts–Oct 18 and Nov 1–are descriptive of Chiron as unawareness morphed into awareness of the Wounded Healer.

In Greek mythology Chiron is the wise and benevolent centaur, son of Chronos (Saturn–Father Time) and the sea nymph Philyra. Saturn also represents the earth (soil, crust, rocks.)

Most of his life Chiron lived in the cave where he was born and where he was taught by Artemis and Apollo, goddess of the Moon and god of the Sun. He passed on this knowledge to the heroes: riding, hunting, music, ethics, philosophy, medicine, astrology…and Chiron IS the Tarot reader, The Hierophant, The Magician, the High Priestess.

There are many versions of the myth concerning Chiron’s Wound–one is that Heracles accidentally wounded him in his left knee, ankle, or heel  (Cap = knee, AQ = ankle, Pisc = heel.) In constant pain, he gave up his immortality to die in the place of Prometheus, who was eternally tortured for stealing fire from the gods to give to mankind. Thus self-sacrifice is an attribute of Chiron.

Half-brother Zeus placed Chiron in the heavens as the stars of Sagittarius–or as Centaurus, some say, and both constellations are associated with teaching and the higher mind. Half man-half beast, Chiron symbolizes the duality of our world and indicates in our natal charts where our greatest weakness or blind spot–and thus potentially our greatest strength–will be found although some work may be required in the Know Thyself department.

Note that Astrology can aid us with that!

Chiron teaches us that integrating our higher minds with lower, our earthly natures with celestial, brings the most golden and lasting of rewards, the kind that rust does not destroy!

As son of Cronos, Chiron was grandson of Uranus and is considered the ‘the bridge’ between Saturn (the past) and Uranus (the future)–Chiron is the Present with a capital ‘P’…the you-are-here-now indicator in a chart.

With an orbit between Saturn and Uranus, both associated with the sign Aquarius (and both linked to Astrology), qualities of Saturn-Uranus are then connected with Chiron, that of the unusual teacher who unites Saturn’s conservatism  with the radicalism of Uranus. Chiron is literally “the bridge” between old and new.

And with the upcoming Saturn-Uranus opposition now forming as Saturn prepares for his Direct Station and then moves into orb opposite radical Uranus, Chiron will become more prominent in most charts and I hope to update here on the subject of Chiron as time and tech gremlins permit, with details on Chiron’s connection to atomic issues included as well.

Update February 7, 2018: if you’re curious, here’s a more recent post concerning Chiron and its natal Saturn @29Leo