Chiron in taurus

Chiron is a complex and ambiguous planetary body, which has an unstable and highly elliptical orbit between those of Saturn and Uranus. It enters the sign of Taurus on 19th June 2026, where it will remain until September when it makes a brief return back to Aries. After it re-enters Taurus on 14th April 2027, it will remain there until 2033.

Chiron was discovered on 1st November 1977, at 3°08 of Taurus, therefore soon after its ingress we will see the Chiron return of that event. We will look at this discovery chart in more detail below. I believe it has a lot to tell us about Chiron, and works well as a chart for him as an archetypal figure for humanity. But firstly, I want to introduce Chiron properly.

Chiron in mythology, astronomy and astrology

Chiron is a figure characterised by depth, complexity and duality. He has a ‘betwixt and between’ quality: unique of his kind, neither one thing nor the other. As a centaur, he is part human and part animal, and by heritage he is also part god – the son of the titan Kronos (i.e. Saturn) and an oceanid, Philyra.

Important to Chiron’s nature is that he combines these hybrid qualities into wisdom and learning: as a divine astrologer and healer he possessed sophisticated intellectual knowledge of the stars and plants, cosmos and nature, and he was entrusted to teach the arts to gods and heroes.

Chiron was taught healing, music, and astrology by Apollo, while Artemis taught him archery and hunting. His broad learning and gentle temperament meant that he became the highly valued teacher of young gods and demi-gods. He was often depicted wearing clothing and with human front legs, embodying this unique heritage and civilised nature.

This favoured status clearly bestows a great specialness – and yet, at the same time, it was probably quite lonely. The other centaurs were nothing like him, their nature far more brutish and unbridled. It was their typical debauchery and violence which (in part) caused the tragic accident that wounded Chiron.

Once, after the other centaurs started a drunken fight, Heracles mistakenly shot Chiron with an arrow dipped in the venom of the Hydra. This left Chiron in a state of pain and suffering (a state associated with mortality) that could not end due to his immortality: another ‘betwixt and between’ state.

In November 1977, a small body initially classified as an asteroid was discovered by American astronomer Charles Kowal and named Chiron. It was discovered to have an orbit of c.50 years – a highly eccentric one that lies between Saturn (which represents the boundary of material existence) and Uranus (the first of the gas giants discovered in the modern era).

Chiron was later reclassified as a comet after it was observed in 1989 to possess a cloud called a coma, a distinguishing feature of comets. Subsequently, a new class of bodies called centaurs has been named, though Chiron is distinctive if not unique among them. Adding to their ambiguity, they are also sometimes called minor planets.

On 10th September 2023, a stellar occultation offered yet another view of Chiron, and as a result it is now believed to have rings. These revolve c.170-438 miles from the body’s centre and are composed of ice with rocky inclusions – similar to Chiron’s father Saturn.

In astrology, Chiron is the only body, other than the planets and luminaries, that is usually included by default in most software applications. Having been discovered <50 years ago, it may be early days in terms of our knowledge of Chiron. However, archetypes clearly associated with it include the wounded healer, maverick, and mentor or guide.

It can also represent a part of the chart where we do feel that we do not have, or that we are not, ‘enough’. Because this is characterised as an unhealable wound, this might represent a need to develop acceptance, and yet Chiron’s nature as a healer is also important here.

Many physical and psychological wounds can leave a scar or cause us to feel the effects indefinitely. Yet through management and treatment, as well as acceptance, we can live with them. And sometimes, Like Chiron, we can use that experience to help others heal.

Chiron’s 50-year cycle is resonant in many ways with a particular point in the human lifecycle, where we are perhaps around halfway through our lives (all going well), and when many people reach a life-stage that is more concerned with wisdom and healing.

The Chiron return comes just as the dust has settled following the mid-life ‘crisis’ transits of the 40s: the Neptune square, Uranus opposition, second Saturn opposition, and (for the generations currently in middle age) Pluto square Pluto.

It heralds a period when most of these outer planets are in or entering trine phases of their cycles, and prior to the second Saturn return and fifth Jupiter return of the late 50s. A very good time to learn from experience and develop one’s wisdom.

chiron in taurus

People born between c. 1976 and 1983 will be experiencing their Chiron return during this 7-8 year transit. People born between c. 1968 and 1977 have Chiron in Aries, and have been experiencing theirs between c.2019-present.

Due to the highly elliptical orbit of Chiron, Aries and Taurus are two of its longest transits, while other Chiron generations may only span a couple of years. This also makes the stages in the Chiron’s cycle irregular and different for each generation.

Since Taurus, the first Earth sign of the zodiac, represents materiality and embodiment, the generational wound for those with Chiron in Taurus centres around scarcity. In the UK and the US, the late 1970s-early 1980s were a time of economic change including increased inflation and unemployment. This greatly increased levels of inequality, leading to the experience of poverty for many people.

Regardless of our own Chiron placement, though, this Chiron-in-Taurus era may bring up our own issues around plenty vs scarcity. In what ways do we feel that we lack something? Insecurities around stability, self-worth, material and financial security could come up for healing during this time for all of us.

chiron’s discovery chart

Chiron was discovered at an early stage of its last transit through Taurus. Studying this chart can reveal insight into Chiron, or at least into its relationship to humanity. We might think of this moment as the inception of that relationship, as it is the beginning of humanity’s awareness of this celestial body.

Astrologers have derived the meanings of the outer planets in part from the periods in history during which they were discovered, as well as their mythological namesakes. And in many ways, Chiron’s era of discovery (late 1970s-80s) was one characterised by a sense of scarcity and loss in the western world.

Taurus as a sign has sometimes been associated with values and self-worth, mainly because of its rulership by Venus (and partly a connection with the 2nd House). It is also associated with nature and with embodiment, and has the Moon as its exaltation ruler.

Chiron’s placement in Taurus during its discovery therefore might resonate with his own archetypal woundedness. I don’t mean only the famous one that he sustained to his body, but potentially also a wound to his self-worth relating to his nature as a unique, hybrid being.

We could speculate further along these psychological and mythic lines. Chiron was rejected by his mother before he was adopted by Apollo (archetypally signifying the solar principle and the arts). It is therefore possible that one level of Chiron’s woundedness may resonate with Taurus and its double feminine (Venus and Moon) rulership.

Chiron has also been associated with the sign of Sagittarius, which is also symbolised by a centaur. It is said to be the constellation in which Zeus laid Chiron’s essence to rest after he gave up his immortality. It is quite striking that Sagittarius is rising in this discovery chart – and very close to the galactic centre.

The Ascendant is where the Sun rises, hence symbolically it is where the Earth touches the ecliptic, and earthly life connects to the great cosmos. At this moment, the eastern horizon was pointing directly towards the rotational centre of the milky way galaxy.

Jupiter, planet of generosity, wisdom and philosophy, rules the Ascendant. It does so from its sign of exaltation, Cancer, conjunct a domiciled Moon and in an angular house (7th). The Moon squares the Nodal axis, at ‘the bendings’; a fated place within the horoscope.

Therefore, perhaps this setting Moon-Jupiter conjunction in Cancer, the rising sign of the world in the Thema Mundi, hints at a blending of philosophical and embodied wisdom – such as reading the stars, or using herbs for healing.

In fact, this is a strikingly dignified chart overall. Venus, Chiron’s ruler, is in her other domicile of Libra. This is in the 10th House using quadrant systems, and widely conjunct the MC regardless. This means that, like Moon and Jupiter, she has both essential and accidental dignity.

The Venus-Pluto conjunction befits the nature of Chiron, and the challenge he can bring to Venus’s significations (such as nature, in the case of Taurus, and relationships, in her association with Libra). It is never all fluffy and fun where Chiron is in the horoscope.

Mars and the Sun are in a powerful mutual reception and square aspect in this chart, affording dignity to them also. Even Mercury is in its own bound. Interestingly, Saturn, Kronos’s father, is the only planet in a poor overall state of dignity, in detriment in Leo.

Every planet -ancient and modern- is above the horizon in this chart, with Chiron below it, opposing a Scorpio stellium. This is a huge amount of emphasis on the 7th-12th Houses, which in the natal chart are the externally-oriented ones. It almost reads like Chiron vs the world – which is quite a Chironic feeling.

It’s also worth noting that Chiron is the only planet in an Earth sign, in astrological terms a ‘singleton’, echoing the themes of scarcity as well as Chiron’s lonely status. His father, Saturn, is likewise lonely in his own way, being pretty much unaspected in the chart, as well as being in detriment in the 8th House.

concluding thoughts

Chiron’s discovery chart, together with its rich mythological associations, embodies a strong sense of difference and loneliness on the one hand, balanced by a great deal of emotional, intellectual, relational and philosophical richness on the other.

The latter is indicated by the strong position of both benefics, both luminaries, and Mars. The former is indicated by Chiron’s isolation, and the highly challenging position of Saturn, planet of (among other things) strife and things that are subjectively difficult.

The chart speaks of Chiron himself, in other words – not a person, but a myth and a rich combination of archetypes that offer us much to work with on a psychological and astrological level. With Chiron returning home to his discovery degree soon, continuing the journey after his extended time in Aries, no doubt he has much to teach us.

Thanks for reading. In subsequent posts, I’ll further discuss Chiron’s ingress, previous Chiron in Taurus transits, and the Chiron return of Chiron’s discovery.

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