I have to get this off my chest, so get ready for a bunch of astrological jibberish followed by plain english. Uranus has entered Aries, it is now exactly opposing Pluto, within two degrees of my Mars and Sun. And I’m just not feeling it– though I’m sure some folks out there, for example those in Libya, are. I have Uranus on my Ascendant, and I know the enlivened, exciting, restless live wire energy of this vivifying planet. When Uranus entered Aries last June (with Jupiter), I could barely contain myself. Since I have Uranus in Libra, art and music, specifically Erykah Badu’s Window Seat, and Sade’s Warrior of Love, calmed me down. Dancing around was all I could do to keep my spirit from jumping out of my skin. But now, all I’m feeling is sad.

Maybe it’s that transiting Saturn is opposing my Aries Moon from the Twelfth House, and Chiron now trine my Sun. I’ve been emotionally sober, and (unusual for my Aries Moon), also so needy & dependent on the people I love for my emotional health and happiness. This emotional sobriety is probably, definitely, contributing to the fact I’m finding the world events almost paralyzing. I also notice, in response to the recent collective disaster, a level of compassion fatigue and soul-sickness (if not outright sickness), emerging in myself and others. I’m a little worried about empathic overload. I connect this to Chiron in Pisces. Here’s what Melanie Reinhart says,

“With this placement, there is often a deep wound connected with grief. Perhaps we feel a chronic ‘existential grief’, often crying for no apparent reason; we grieve for the pain we imagine others to be feeling, even if they are not aware of it themselves. Our feelings may be archetypal rather than personal…”

Crying for no reason; unexpected illness & system ‘shut-down’; existential grief. Does this describe you? None of us are immune to compassionate connection, connecting with others’ across time and space, which is distinctly Piscean. What of Chiron, itself? Chiron holds our unceasing suffering, and the healing journey we undertake to free our self. That said, we astrologers need much more time to gather information on this relatively newly discovered asteroid. Aside from those in healing professions who exemplify the Wounded Healer, applying a ‘how to use this planet’ practical method has proven tricky for me. Given that I strive to be useful, here are some ideas I’ve floated for myself and clients- inspired by and some taken directly from Melanie Reinhart’s invaluable book, Chiron and the Healing Journey.

Chiron represents, among other things, the archetype of suffering, with an individuating purpose.

Natally:
It shows where compulsive patterns hold us in their grip.
It’s where we have a hard time seeing our self as strong.
-and- because we get caught in the compulsive re-wounding and pain in this area, we fail to take practical steps to improve our situations.

During Chiron transits:
We can be re-wounded, offering the opportunity to heal and ‘do it differently’.
A wisdom quality wants to emerge.
We can access deeply buried material, open to our reservoir of hurt, because its ripe for healing.

Whether it is the rain, Saturn-Moon or Chiron, I’d love to write about that zinger of a planet, revolutionary Uranus in Aries, but I’m just not feeling it. Yet. I can’t help but think I’m experiencing a planetary override, and being given an opportunity to understand how Chiron operates in my life, and what this next phase of the healing journey is. You?

Up next, Chiron aspects to the planets.