Chiron - The Key to Balance and Healing

The irregular orbit of Chiron brings together the polarities of Saturn and Uranus, earth and heaven, matter and spirit, rational thought and intuition...

Chiron of the myths was both horse and man. His name is from Greek cheir, meaning hand. Chiron was the teacher. The things he taught combined insight and skill. Perhaps it can be described through the word culture. 

The heavenly body Chiron was suddenly discovered by the astronomer Charles Kowal at 10 AM on the 1st of November in 1977. It is remarkable that the horoscope of the discovery - when Chiron was "born" into human consciousness - has Sagittarius the Centaur rising!

Chiron´s Discovery, November 1, 1977, 10 AM, Pasadena, CA

The small planet was first named "Object Kowal" after its discoverer. The symbol of Chiron shows an O with a K on top. It soon came to be looked upon by the astrologers as a key - a key to man´s evolution of a higher consciousness.

Then occured that remarkable and truly magical thing that always seems to happen when a new heavenly body is discovered. The astronomers gave to the new planet a name from the Greek mythology that in a most remarkable and magical way fits into the astrological pattern. They chose the name Chiron.

The astrologers thankfully recognized the new planet´s role as a bridge between the traditional visible planets and the more newly discovered outer planets - Uranus, Neptune and Pluto - which during the last three centuries have been incorporated into the astrological pattern.

Chiron´s discovery chart has Venus, Pluto, and the North Lunar Node in conjunction with Medium Coeli in the sign of Libra, suggesting the necessity of a renewed balance and harmony of human relations.

Neptune in Sagittarius in the 12th house forms a sextile to Pluto and the Lunar Node in Libra, suggesting the great importance of intuition and a spiritual outlook for man to reach a higher and more expanded and balanced state of mind.

The Sun - the portal between spirit and matter - conjunct Uranus and Mercury in Scorpio points to an impending - or perhaps already begun - deep revolution of the human mind...

Your Galactic Gondolier

Astrology and Kabbalah

Could it be that the opposition between Uranus and Saturn is the prime and most fundamental polarity there is?

In the Kabbalah this polarity is shown by the way the two planets are positioned on the "Tree of Life". Anyone familiar with the Kabbalah knows that the planets of Astrology - even the newly discovered outer planets - have their allotted places on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. It appears that Uranus and Saturn occupy the opposite positions two and three among the Tree´s ten (plus one) "Sefirot". This means that they are opposite each other, each one heading one of the two outer pillars. Uranus is at the top of the "pillar of energy" (to the right in the diagram below) and Saturn is at the top of the "pillar of structure" (to the left in the diagram). And this is in full compliance with their astrological significances. The diagram shows the Astrological Tree of Life in its entirety.

Now, if the opposition between Uranus ("heaven") and Saturn ("earth") is an expression of the ultimate polarity of life, you soon realize that there must be something to bridge, combine and integrate these two opposites and to bring them to collaborate in a creative and life-sustaining way.

And there is! In a lofty view, opposites always appear to be different sides of the same thing, contrasting forces in a synergistic whole. Summer and winter may seem wide apart but seen in another perspective they make up a year. And so on.

The same of course goes for the opposites of heaven and earth and of spirit and matter. Our whole life is made possible by the integration of these two opposites. But what is it that makes them work together? What is it that overcomes the contradiction?

In the Kabbalah it is shown that it is the middle pillar - the "pillar of consciousness" - that holds together and unites the two extreme players - the pillar of energy/movement/expansion (to the right in the diagram) as opposed to the pillar of structure/matter/incarceration (to the left in the diagram).

In the Astrological Tree of Life, Neptune in the treetop represents the higher union of the opposites. Further down the middle pillar at the very heart of the Tree shines the Sun - another expression of the unity from which the yin and yang world takes shape.

So Kabbalah shows that it is consciousness itself that bridges the opposite poles - represented by movement (energy) and matter (structure) - and have them interact in the alchemical dance of life that we all take part in.

It is fascinating to see how Astrology and Kabbalah - the two ancient knowledge systems - can be reconciled in this wonderful way.

Your Galactic Gondolier