16th June – 14th November 2013 (GMT): Chiron Retrograde
From Healing to Whole
Chiron is widely known to correspond with the notion of the Wounded Healer. In its archetypal energy we meet that part of us which seems forever in pain, and yet which simultaneously enables us to reach out to others in their suffering. Thus Chiron carries rulership over self-help groups, peer support services and any experience of suffering which reflects this relationship between the wounded and healing aspects of an individual.
This current retrograde passage of Chiron points specifically towards the ego’s role in this process and presents us with a challenge: can we recognise the healing gifts inherent in our wound whilst releasing its hold over us and allowing it to fade into the distance, no longer making it the centre of our identity? It can be easier said than done. When in a process of healing we often pass through a stage in which we need to claim and own our past experience in order to engage consciously with it, accept its presence in our life and then, with healing intent, begin to work through the constrictions it has placed around and within us. This stage can be absolutely vital to our future healing and wholeness, especially when working through issues that have caused us deep shame and humiliation. We must fully acknowledge the past in order to focus our energies upon healing in the present and creating a more positive and life-affirming future. But it is equally vital that we know when this stage has passed: when we can let go of identities rooted in past trauma and pain, in order to shift from surviving to thriving and from healing into wholeness.
Whilst the majority of us would claim to want freedom from suffering and liberation from painful conditions in our lives, our behaviour often gives the opposite impression! Despite our protestations to the contrary we may actually be very comfortable in our little world of victimhood or self-denigration, in which other people or past events are blamed for our pain or we live marinating in guilt and self-loathing, seeing ourselves as forever struggling against conditions that we can neither influence nor eradicate. In a strange kind of way our wound gives our life meaning. We identify with it so completely that it becomes the core of who we are, defining our world, dictating our life path and casting its shadow upon every possibility of change. It becomes our reason for being who we are, and who we are is someone with a wound, always trying to heal but never quite getting there…
In the coming months of Chiron’s retrograde passage, we have an opportunity to step out of this habit and see our lives and the world around us through fresh eyes. We have the opportunity to actually heal, not just say that’s what we’re doing and then never quite completing the process. This is a wonderful opportunity to finally let go of the things that have torn us up inside, left us full of fear, resentment, rage, grief. Not in a naively dismissive ‘Polly-Anna’ way, but in a powerful, insightful way that recognises the truth of what we do and do not need in our lives from this point onward. It is a challenging path and one that we must walk in full consciousness, bearing witness to the changes we make and letting go with full awareness, the conditions, experiences and people that have kept us in a diminished state no matter how significant they have been in our lives.
Chiron also has a certain maverick quality to it. It will buck a trend when necessary and stand out alone to honour its own truth, no matter what others may think of this decision. This aspect of Chiron in our psyche comes into its own now, enabling us to move away, if we need to, from connections we have forged as a result of identifying with our wounds. It can be difficult to let go and redefine ourselves in an environment that has grown out of our former identification with pain and struggle. Sometimes we have to move away physically in order to move on personally, emotionally and spiritually. Thus we can appear to be a maverick to others, posing what may be perceived as a threat or judgement to them. In the coming months we may see ourselves and those around us needing to do this very thing, and the best we can do is support their (and our) decision, allowing it to happen. There is no merit in clinging to an old definition of ourselves when a new and more liberating one calls, and we have no right to impose this upon anyone else either.
There are challenges ahead during this Chiron retrograde cycle, but they are healing challenges and the better able we are to respond to them the more healing we will experience. Come November, when it turns direct once more, we could well have let go enormous burdens, some of which we may not even have realised we were carrying. And in doing so we will open up new possibilities for who we can be in the future, free of old wounds and painful pasts that no longer speak of who we are today.
Let the healing and liberation commence…
Love to everyone.
Sarah Varcas
© Sarah Varcas 2013. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to freely share this article in its entirety on the condition that full credit is given to the author, it is distributed freely and the URL www.astro-awakenings.co.uk is included.
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