Chiron, Scorpio, Band-Aids, Bactine and Antibiotics
© 2018 by Joyce Mason
Healing is the process
of becoming sound or whole again.
—From a fusion of definitions on healing
We are all part
of the Great Wheel of Heal. Life itself, as depicted by the seasons and the
zodiac, is the Constant Wheel of Change. It isn’t forever spring and summer.
There is autumn, where at the peak of beauty and bounty, we “lose our leaves”
and begin fading into winter, a time of dormancy and pseudo-death.
Wellness—even joy—come from being in sync with these seasons
of change, not just surrendering to them but celebrating them. And I don’t just
mean the literal seasons. I mean changes in every moment of every day. In
Chinese medicine, wellness is all about energy flow, the movement of chi. This
supports the idea that to be well and whole is to move with the energy of the
moment. As Eckhart Tolle calls it in his seminal book, it’s the Power of Now. And that
power heals—makes whole again—or finally. It is about being hospitable to what
is.
One of the most healing statements we make that has become a popular saying nowadays when dealing with a difficult situation expresses the healing gold standard: “It is what it is.”
There is a lot to this idea of healing, acceptance and energy flow, but I think it’s easiest to start with a visual of people in a park doing t’ai chi or qigong. They are learning to bend to the flow of their energy, to let it flow through them and awaken them. I have gotten as much healing from a qigong session as an acupuncture treatment. These centuries-old healing modalities are steeped in wisdom and the reality of what works.
To bring astrology and its cousin mythology into it, let’s
talk a bit about Chiron.
Chiron: Surgeon and Vocational Counselor
Some people might find Chiron’s jobs on Mt. Pelion in
ancient Greece to be a bit of an odd combination. He was a surgeon, herbalist
and mentor of heroes. As a hero maker, he honed the special skills of each of
his mythical charges. He prepared them to use those talents in the world to
help themselves and others. Chiron was quite literally a vocational counselor.
For instance, Hercules had strength and Asclepius had medical
skills. Forget the dough in do what you
love and the money will follow. Chiron knew that doing what you love is the
real gold, the key to wholeness for both individual and community. Doing what
you love and are good at is simply another way of going with the flow. You are
who you are, and you are simply being yourself. Interesting how difficult it is
for most human beings to fathom that being yourself is not only enough; it’s
the one thing you can do to feel at one with yourself and everyone else. If
you’ve had the experience of those magic moments where you’re “on,” being 100%
you, you know there’s nothing in the world like that feeling. It is
electrifying. No circuits are jammed, no energy flow is constrained. You are a
pure expression of universal spirit humming in your own skin.
The Lemonade Stand. Perhaps of all the keywords
that unlock Chiron, my favorite phrase is, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Wholeness asks one
simple thing from us. Accept what-is and find the good in it, the life flow.
There are many things in life we can have considerable influence molding. And
then there are the monkey wrenches, the unexpected slings and arrows that, at
first blush, look like they are derailing our plans and direction. Often they are
giving us a side trip to bigger more important lessons. They come with those
“difficult” transits. They are invitations to your next level of mastery.
Sometimes they demand that we put everything aside that mattered to us in order
to focus on something we didn’t even know we needed to learn or do. In that
sense they are shocking. (Do you smell outer planets here?) Your energy is
full-boar in one direction and bam! Roadblock, detour—construction zone.
Surgeon. Mythology is one of the main
sources for interpreting astrological meanings. Why would Chiron be a surgeon?
Sometimes energy flow is blocked, backs up and gets obstructed. At times the
only cure is to remove the block or diseased tissue, bone, cells—whatever—in
order to make the body whole again. Surgery comes in when other methods fail to
restore the flow. This is the part of Chiron’s work that was Scorpio-tinged and
why Chiron is connected with holistic medicine. Natural methods, when woven
with man-made technology, help to achieve optimal wellness. Another Chiron key
phrase comes to mind: It’s not either/or.
It’s both/and.
Herbalist. Similarly, why was Chiron a
natural pharmacist? We are surrounded with substances
for the picking that
contribute to harmonious energy flow. I had the most interesting conversation
this past week with a woman in her 70s who has had multiple medical conditions
since the 1970s, including epilepsy and lupus. She was supposed to be gone long
ago, but here she is, still full of spirit. Our conversation was about how
marijuana has helped her enormously and how many people in California are now
accessing the cannabis pharmacies since it became legal. “It grows everywhere
on Earth,” she said. “God put it here to help us heal.” It makes sense to me
along with countless other herbs, often gentler in their natural state than
drugs derived from them that must be modified to be patented. Yet we don’t want to ignore modern pharmaceuticals because they are
sometimes the thing that restores energy flow better than others. It’s all
about balance—and a balance constantly moves before it reaches a point of
temporary stasis.
Community: Your Personal Wheel of Heal
During recent years, both my husband and I have had major
healing crises. I like to observe how healing works when I’m not calling the
Fire Department or an ambulance, having a surgery, or putting on Band-Aids and
Bactine. Lately Transiting Chiron has been opposite my Sun. I believe
oppositions help us have clear views of planetary energies because they are
right across the table from us where we can see them best and how they operate.
One of my major communities is Facebook. I talk about Facebook wisdom—inspiring sayings and
posts—and I love the ability to reach out to others to share both joyful and
stressful times. I saw a fascinating article about the role of Facebook in
helping people grieve. Here are some
other articles on social media and grief—but social media friends also are
a balm for healing from medical conditions, surgeries, broken hearts and all
kinds of other dis-ease. For those who are isolated or somewhat so, forums like
this provide a connection that is essential to becoming whole again.
Back to Chiron for a moment, while he provided plenty of
one-on-one mentoring and instruction, his heroes in training were at a coming-of-age boot camp on Mt. Pelion. Just like any other troopers about to take on
life, they must have bonded deeply with their “platoon” and found support in
their special school for growing heroes. And do the rest of us life warriors.
“Don’t
feel like the Lone Ranger.” When we interrupt someone’s isolation during a
major life challenge to share or own similar stories, both the teller and
listener heal. This is the essence of healing—to eradicate a sense of aloneness.
The original dis-ease is feeling disconnected from Source. It is our fear that
Source—God/Goddess, All That Is, however you see Higher Power—has abandoned us.
With others to share the journey of healing, the Source in others is the light
that heals. Many people sharing this light at a time of crisis is as sacred and
comforting as a full installation of votive candles in any church.
Chiron
and Prometheus. After 30 years of studying Chiron, I am still learning new
things about the part of the Chiron myth where the centaur-healer trade places
with Prometheus. Promie was chained to a rock for eternity for having the gall to
steal fire from the gods. Every night an eagle pecked out Prometheus’s liver, a
painful suffering. Every morning, it had grown back for a vicious cycle of
misery.
Chiron offered to trade places with Prometheus, since he was
suffering himself anyway with his incurable wound. What does that mean? Are we
really supposed to suffer for other people?
I have come to see this more as a reminder that your suffering
is mine and mine is yours. We all suffer. It’s about compassion and when I was in your shoes, chained to
your rock. Pain is universal. In sharing our experiences with suffering, we are
lifted up, we divide our sorrow. The gods were so impressed with Chiron’s
generosity in pinch hitting for Prometheus, after three days they lifted Chiron
up to the sky in a constellation, breaking his bonds of immortality and ending
his pain. We lift up others by sharing painful or scary experiences. We want to
relieve the pain because it’s human suffering—a piece of all our pain.
Compassion: Feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, along with a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.
In astrology Prometheus is the mythical character most often associated with the planet Uranus and society. The rebellion that Uranians are famous for is often the spark of genius that moves us forward as a civilization. Unfortunately, those that want to keep the status quo and their place in the existing power structure often punish those living on the leading edge. They could be the people behind the next cancer breakthrough or the newest application of machines to healing. Others may have at one time thought them crazy or criminals, but the great healer Chiron knew they were the leaven in the loaf, the essential ingredient to make new ways of healing rise up. They had to be free to be themselves, too.
We can’t leave others on the block to suffer alone because we are too busy to get involved. Being part of the Wheel of Heal, whether the community is our neighborhood, social media networks or family, is a ritual reenactment of our own suffering that redeems us. (Do you hear a Christian parallel here?) Remember that Chiron volunteered, as did Jesus. As we must.
May compassion and lightening the load of all suffering eventually
be as easy for you as all other ways of being there for others—in sickness and
in health.
~~~
~~~
Photo Credits: Healing Circle of Hands, © BillionPhotos.com; Group Practicing T'ai Chi, © ulza, Source Fotolia.com; Balance Scales, | Dreamstime.com.
