Awakening the Healing Warrior
(Quoted from Ernest Hemingway and Leonard Cohen)
The Solar Eclipse in Aries takes place at on April 8th at 2:21pm EST. Although this Eclipse has sparked a lot of hype as being “the great American Eclipse” —meaning it is visible at totality throughout the United States (which is undoubtedly exciting for all of us living in the US) — this eclipse is monumental in more ways for humanity as a whole and offers a powerful impetus for healing. I prefer to title it “The Great Chiron Eclipse.” Even down to the minute, Chiron will conjunct the Solar eclipse at 19 degrees in Aries and the North Node. Chiron is the centaur dwarf planet associated with the archetype of the “wounded healer.” Coined by psychotherapist Carl Jung, he found the wounded healers to be the best healers. How much suffering we have personally experienced is the depth to where we can meet others in their pain.
Chiron is different for each of us in different ways. This solar eclipse highlights highly unique individual healing journeys for each of us. Where is Chiron in your natal chart? By working with Chiron in our natal charts, we are able to understand our deepest inner wounding and our greatest challenges. The insights and healing you gain from coming face to face with these wounds can remove obstacles through a process of empowerment.
Chiron is the founding father of the healing arts, botany, and the science of herbs and medicine. He tutored Achilles, Aesclepius, and many ancient Greek heroes. He was considered the master teacher and healer to the gods. As his story goes, an arrow poisoned by the blood of the Hydra mistakenly struck Chiron in his leg, causing him excruciating pain and agony. Because he was immortal, he could not die. He spent the rest of his days trying to find a cure to ease his suffering. This put him in touch with the suffering of humanity, and he discovered cures for many who came to him, yet he was still unable to heal himself. Chiron asked Zeus if he could trade his immortality with Prometheus and give up his life to end his suffering. Zeus granted his wish by placing Chiron in the sky, where he took his place among the gods.
Chiron embodies both human consciousness and animal instinct. Intelligence and survival. Compassion and sensitivity. Chiron is such a useful indicator of where healing is needed in your chart - initiating a process that says: where we have wounding experiences - of trauma or shutdown or brokenness, mostly from childhood - we are given the capacity to heal ourselves and others. If you would like more information about your personal Chiron journey, I highly recommend the book, “The Chiron Effect” by Lisa Tahir, or consider a birth chart reading with me for an in-depth and personalized look at how you can work with this moment through your own Chiron journey.
What house is the 19 degrees Chiron solar eclipse in Aries in your natal chart? The astrology for this eclipse, and really for the duration of this month, occupies Pisces, Aries, and Taurus. These three signs are activating all 12 zodiac signs in some way with connecting transits, and no sign is left unscathed or unaffected this month. Check out what houses each of those signs are in in your natal chart. The pile up of planets in the two houses of Pisces and Aries will point to the area of your life where you are most likely feeling this eclipse and some of the bigger changes and shifts mounting. The house that occupies Taurus at 21 degrees will signify where you will feel changes towards an expansion of freedom (perhaps rather abruptly or spontaneously) later this month with the Uranus/Jupiter conjunction, which only occurs every 12-14 years.
Many astrologers see eclipses as beginnings and ending points, with hyper-speed in between. It's as if we start eclipse season with one life, and our expectations drastically redirect in the span of eclipse season. In ancient times, eclipses were often correlated with the death of a king or some other prominent figure, and in fact, monarchies and kingdoms did drastically change over eclipse periods. Many of us are already beginning to witness the lead-up to some of these shifts: bridges are collapsing, and earthquakes are being felt - both in the news and metaphorically.
Redirection is taking place. Mercury is retrograde under this eclipse and fittingly started on April Fools Day, as Mercury the trickster-planet would have it. If we dig deeper, we see the archetype of the tarot deck’s Fool card cast into the meaning of this Eclipse. The Fool is the wanderer with the number 0, an empty egg. This is a blank slate archetype, the beginning and the ending of the heroic journey. Without a care in the world, the fool sets out, approaching life with blind faith and crazy dreams, necessary to take him towards the edge of the cliff, where he can fall or soar.
Sometimes, we feel cursed, but we realize later that we are actually blessed. Where we are broken is where the light gets in. This eclipse in Aries will shine a ray of awareness on your own healing journey with regard to Aries themes. Chiron in Aries are wounds of worth/self-worth and the confidence to be yourself. Where can you be more brave? Mars rules Aries, and Mars wields the sword that individuates us from the start: the cut that separates us from our mothers. We become individuals through the cutting away of the umbilical cord. We are returning to this healing process of fundamental self-trust: the trust of our animal instinct. This includes awareness around where we feel triggered, our actions and reactions, and when we have that gut-punch experience.
The Aries eclipse may also have to do with the emotion of anger. Anger is a complex emotion rooted in protection and defensiveness. Anger is also a way of cutting the cords with others to define the self. We are angry when we disagree. In the opposite sign of Libra, we see themes of peace. We are all entering uncomfortable periods of eliminating toxins from our system, where after they are purged, you will feel much better. But the purging can feel awful. That’s what the next six months hold for us: layer after layer falling off. This requires a union between love and separation; when we are liberated, we become more capable of loving truly.
We are healing from Libra South node deficiencies: losing ourselves to the other, merging with others/entities, not knowing what we want, not giving ourselves permission to do the thing we know we want to do, or misappraising ourselves and others.
This Chiron eclipse is the warrior eclipse. Aries needs adrenaline, excitement, and trial and error. Aries wants you to come back into your power, and Chiron requires a huge amount of self-forgiveness and honoring your and others’ healing paths. Remember that these healing journeys are not linear or perfect—there is no perfection; it is just about healing. Attempting perfection creates crisis after crisis. Life is only about healing.
The eclipse will absolutely have you feeling exhausted and overcoming hurdles as you realize what you need to change to clear the toxins in your life. You are likely to get information about what does not work, be it a relationship, a job, or a living situation. The “I can’t” is the beginning of the journey.
Additionally, Mars, who is ruling this eclipse, is joining Saturn in Pisces during this eclipse. Mars conjunct Saturn says: get back on your horse - keep going. You might feel stuck in the mud, but the only way out is to keep moving and trying to unknot the knotted place you find yourself. Old stories need to change: to heal the feminine wound, to heal the witch wound, to heal the wound of masculinity and identity. We need to heal those dark stories, understandings and colonial mentalities that disallow for true freedom. Dare to do something new, different, and act.
How can you get back on your horse?