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Chiron:
Key to Higher Consciousness
Terry Lamb, M.A.
When astrologers erect and interpret charts, more and more of them are including Chiron in their interpretations with results that truly enrich their clients. With Chiron stationary, direct and conjunct my Moon in my chart, I have always been fascinated by the potential that it represents. Because Chiron is a relatively new arrival to our awareness, its proposed interpretations are diverse. Since I am primarily interested in the spiritual essences of the planets, I like Barbara Hand Clow's interpretation in her book, Chiron: Rainbow Bridge between the Inner & Outer Planets.
Chiron was first sighted on November 1, 1977 by Charles T. Kowal. At first identified as a planetoid, it recently has been found to be a comet.1 The name Cheiron (or Keiron) comes from cheir meaning hand, and centron, goat.2 In Greek esoteric teachings, he was the guide to the spiritual seeker. Mythologically, Ceiron was born of Kronos (Saturn) and Phylria, a sea nymph, thus the notion that he is half man, half animal. However, I feel that this provides a strong link to the earliest mythic period, and that he is actually half god, half sea creature. The earliest myths from all the Near Eastern cultures tell of great master teachers who came out of the sea. Makara, the Sea Goat of Sumeria is thus a close relative of Cheiron. This was the original archetype for Capricorn. Many elements of the Cheirotic myth suggest that it predates the Greek culture. The comet's discovery thus suggests that the time is close at hand to uncover the mystery religions from which it came.
What strikes me most about Chiron is its position in the solar system, between Saturn and Uranus. It has been my feeling that Chiron functions as a bridge between Saturn and Uranus, helping us to make that difficult transition between what seems real and what seems illusion. Barbara Clow says, You are casting a natal chart. You know the meaning of each planetary energy, aspect, and house so completely that you no longer think of the verbal or imagistic meanings. You feel each part of the chart in your body as your mind comprehends the meanings and is busy integrating all the parts into a whole. Suddenly your system shudders with orgasmic pleasure when you grasp the incarnational search of the soul revealed on paper in front of you.
Chiron is process. It is the way to Uranus, but just as you would not wish to hold a lightning bolt, do not try to freeze process. Process exists only during the experience. Chiron rules growth from one energetics plane to another—from the inner, personal planets to the outer planets that help us to resonate with all things in the universe so that we can increase our vibration.3 This is how we go from mere transformation into transmutation and transfiguration. Therefore, in the natal chart, I relate Chiron to the outer planets as a means of discovering clues to a person's path to these processes. Specifically, I look at the aspects between Chiron, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. I note their house and sign placements to determine the larger context of what they fulfill in the chart. I then look at close aspects to the personal planets to find themes in personality that relate to the spiritualization process.
These realities of the natal chart will be triggered at predictable points in the chart: when Chiron squares or opposes its natal position; when Chiron transits the Saturn/Uranus midpoint; the Saturn return (age 30); the Uranus opposition (age 40); the Chiron return (age 50).
The waxing Chiron square occurs anywhere between age 6 and 23. The opposition comes between the ages of 13 and 38. The last square takes place between age 28 and 45. The Chiron hard aspects generally create a new understanding of our relationship to transfigurational influences. At those times, we may feel cut off from our current-life roots so that we can get in touch with deeper soul processes and psychic realities.
The Saturn return brings on the famed crisis of adulthood" which is actually the soul's request that we move beyond physical reality and look for something deeper
The Uranus opposition brings a quest for freedom. Those who do not understand that freedom comes from within suffer an emotional crisis that affects the heart, throat and brow chakra. If this transition is successful, the chakra opens completely to the naturally triggered kundalini flow.
The Chiron return brings a crisis in consciousness through the attainment of a difficult or heroic task. If we have succeeded in balancing the left and right halves of the brain, then we can cut across the wheel of karma." The crown chakrum opens and we achieve Cosmic Consciousness. Of course, these initiations can occur at other times, but this is when the opportunities come to those who have followed natural evolutionary processes.
In the natal chart, Chiron provides the how" of the spiritualization process. It gives us opportunities that we would not otherwise have for smooth transitions into new levels of awareness. The archetype of Chiron goes back to before memory. The symbol for Chiron, a key, is well chosen, for Chiron is truly the key to higher consciousness.
1) Related by Robert Hand in a lecture entitled, The Uranus-Neptune Conjunction," from the Metamorphosis Conference, November 1988.
2) Robert Graves, in The Greek Myths. Pelican, 1982.
3) Chiron: Rainbow Bridge Between the Inner and Outer Planets, by Barbara Hand-Clow. Lewellyn Publications, 1987. Page 41. | 
