Mental Health Matters: How I Healed Myself: Chiron and the Concept of the Wounded Healer (PART I)
I have been studying astrology and using it in my life way before Gen Z normalized it, way before knowing your Big 3 became common knowledge, and way, way before astrology apps and social media reels made it easy for the masses to tap in. However, I’ve rarely shared this due to fear of being shamed. But we’re living in a different time now, and I’m semi-confident no one will call me a witch or burn me at a stake.
So, prior to talking about how I self-healed, it’s necessary to begin with a small dive into my birth chart.
In 2019, my sister introduced me to her astrologer, David. Since then, I’ve received two one-and-a-half-hour birth chart readings. Within 20 minutes of my first reading, David highlighted a significant section: my Chiron placement. It is important to understand Chiron as a planet and as a Greek mythical creature before moving on.
Chiron orbits between Saturn and Uranus and was found in 1977. Initially, it was classified as a comet, later, a minor planet/asteroid (source). This planet was named after a centaur in Greek mythology.
According to mythology, Chiron, the centaur was different than his counterparts because he wasn’t violent and savage. Instead, he was known for his wisdom and knowledge of medicine. He also lived with a wound that wouldn’t heal; as a result, he would heal everyone, except himself.
Astrology combined knowledge of the two and assigned meaning to it in birth charts. Everyone has a Chiron placement, but it means something different for each of us. Overall, this is the gist:
Chiron’s placement in the chart can reveal a core wound that may take a lifetime to work through. As we grapple with pain, we gain wisdom that we can pass on to others like a magical salve. In fact, the symbol for Chiron is shaped like a key since unlocking his powers opens up a portal to deep, inner peace. (Astrostyle)
Carl Jung, who we respect for creating archetypes, calls Chiron the wounded healer, and so do astrologists.
My Chiron placement is in Aries in the 9th house. What follows is a combination of notes from my 2019 reading with David and the website, Mastering the Zodiac.
Chiron in Aries:Your sense of being has been violated in some way and you may fear asserting yourself.You may also over-compensate by attempting to be the first at everything.Physically you may suffer head wounds.You may become a pioneer in a way which will be of service to humanity.Characteristics of Chiron in the 9th house:Potential for deep self-awareness and healingAn opportunity to heal emotional wounds through spiritual exploration, philosophical understanding, and broadening of horizonsA chance to transform ‘lower’ aspects of self and ascend to ‘higher’ states of consciousnessAnother strength is the potential for communication skills, especially in matters of spirituality and philosophyFurthermore, David said that I would have to “release the bondage I had with my family,” and to reach a higher spiritual level, my career should be focused on “some type of healing work.” He reiterated multiple times that if I wanted to attain enlightenment, then I should be doing work that heals people.
I was given this information five years after I’d begun a healing journey and four years after I began this blog. I mention this timeline because I never use astrology to predict the future. After all, we do have free will, and it seems silly to me that my entire life would be laid out, while I just perform as a human being. Typically, I use astrology to understand what happened in the past or to confirm the present.
At the 50-minute mark, David stopped to ask if anything he’d said made sense. “What do you do for work?” he asked.
I told him about my degrees and being a professor. Then, I talked about writing. By 2019, this blog had become an intentional space for inspiration, I had written/published The Unhappy Wife (a book to help women heal from misaligned unions), and I’d edited/published Daddy: Reflections of Father-Daughter Relationships (an anthology designed to help women heal from dysfunctional parental ties).
David was shocked. So, was I.
Learning about my Chiron placement affirmed writing decisions I’d made up to that point. Understanding that my healing journey is closely tied to the themes of identity, belief, and the quest for meaning justified every published word. And knowing that I may be drawn to guiding others through their own journeys of self-discovery, and by extension, healing my own wounds, demonstrated that astrology was more than just a hokey personality test.
Finally, because I don’t use astrology to predict events, I seemed to have ignored and forgotten everything David had explained years ago. When I re-watched the recording for this post, he mentioned that I would have to reckon with my marriage in some way. He also said 2024 would be a big year where everything he’d outlined would come together. At the time, I had no idea what in the who-hay hell he was talking about. Of course, I do now.
Next, I’ll explain explicit processes I used to heal myself. Until then, feel free to leave a comment. I’m on summer break, so I have time to engage 
