Chiron in Astrology

Chiron is a small Solar System body, found in 1977, that circles the Sun between Saturn and Uranus; astronomers class it as a centaur. Some astrologers add it to the natal chart and read it through the Greek myth it is named for, as the "wounded healer," a symbol that describes themes, not diagnoses.

Chiron at a glance

• What it is: a centaur, listed both as a minor planet (2060 Chiron) and as a comet (95P/Chiron)
• Found: 1977
• Orbit: between Saturn and Uranus, highly eccentric
• One trip through all 12 signs: about 50 years
• Time in one sign: from 1.3 years (Virgo, Libra) to 8.2 years (Aries)
• Named for: Chiron, the centaur healer and teacher of Greek myth
• Astrologers' symbol: a glyph shaped like a key
• Reading in the tradition: the "wounded healer"

When it was found in 1977, Chiron was called an asteroid and given the minor-planet designation 2060 Chiron. In 1989 it turned out to behave the way comets do, so today it carries both labels and a second designation, 95P/Chiron. Observations through the 2010s and early 2020s also showed that Chiron has rings. Only three other minor planets are known to have them (10199 Chariklo, Haumea and Quaoar), and no other known comet does.

What made Chiron stand out was its path. It was the first object found on an orbit like this, well outside the asteroid belt, and it became the first of a class called centaurs, objects that orbit between the outer planets. Its orbit is stretched, with an eccentricity of 0.37. At its closest to the Sun (perihelion), Chiron comes just inside the orbit of Saturn. At its farthest (aphelion), it goes just beyond the point where Uranus comes closest to the Sun, yet it never reaches Uranus's average distance and never crosses its orbit. Since one end of the orbit lies in Saturn's zone of control and the other in Uranus's, astronomers call Chiron a Saturn–Uranus object. It reached perihelion in 1996 and aphelion in May 2021.

Centaurs do not keep their orbits for good. Over millions of years the giant planets pull them onto new paths or out of the Solar System altogether. Chiron probably came from the Kuiper belt, and in about a million years it will probably become a short-period comet.

Like most bodies, Chiron is not generally given a symbol in astronomy. The one in use was devised for it and turns up mostly among astrologers. It resembles a key.

The name comes from Greek mythology, where Chiron (pronounced KY-ron) was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs." His foster father Apollo taught him medicine, herbs, music, archery, hunting, gymnastics and prophecy, and the myths credit him with discovering botany and pharmacy. He was remembered as a great healer, an astrologer and a respected oracle, and above all as a teacher and tutor who nurtured the young.

His death turns on a wound. Chiron was pierced by an arrow belonging to Heracles, once his pupil, that had been treated with the Hydra's blood; in other versions the poison was one Chiron himself had given Heracles. The wound could not be cured, and as an immortal son of Cronus, Chiron could not die naturally. He gave up his immortality willingly, in an exchange Heracles negotiated with Zeus, and that act allowed Zeus to release Prometheus from his punishment for giving fire to humankind.

Some astrologers have incorporated Chiron into natal charts, reading it next to the planets in astrology. Those who use it take its symbol from this story: the "wounded healer," a teacher and healer who carries a wound he cannot cure. The image comes from the myth and stays a symbol: wound and healing here describe themes, not diagnoses.

Astrology is an interpretive tradition, not a scientifically validated method, so Chiron's place in a chart is a symbol to reflect on, not a finding about anyone's past or what lies ahead.

Because the orbit is so stretched, Chiron moves through the zodiac at a very uneven pace. In NASA JPL Horizons positions for 1901 to 2052, one stay in a sign lasts anywhere from 1.3 to 8.2 years:

The recent pass shows how the stays follow the orbit. Chiron's aphelion in May 2021 fell during one of its 8.2-year stays in Aries, and its 1996 perihelion fell during a 1.3-year pass through Libra. All twelve signs together take about 50 years.

For reading the sign, that pace matters more than any single figure. Someone born while Chiron sat in Pisces or Aries shares its sign with everyone born across roughly eight years. Even the quick passes through Virgo and Libra cover a year or more of births. Either way, Chiron's sign points to when a person was born far more than to who they are.

The house is where two such charts can part ways. It is set by the time of birth, not only the date, so people who share Chiron's sign can still have it in different houses.

You can find your Chiron sign and house in Astrolivo's Chiron calculator.

FAQ

What is Chiron in astrology? A small body that some astrologers place in the natal chart beside the planets. They read it by its myth: Chiron the centaur, a healer and teacher who carried a wound that could not be cured. Its symbol, a key-shaped glyph, is used mostly in astrology.

How long is the Chiron cycle? About 50 years for one trip through all twelve signs. Within that cycle, a single sign can take as little as 1.3 years (Virgo or Libra) or as long as 8.2 years (Aries).

How this page was made

Prepared by the Astrolivo editorial team from the Wikipedia articles "2060 Chiron", "Chiron", "Planets in astrology" and "Astrology and science" and NASA JPL Horizons ephemeris data for 1901–2052, and fact-checked against them. Astrology meanings are given as the tradition's readings.