Chiron in Aries through the houses (part 1)

Wherever Chiron is found there is hypersensitivity and pain until there has been what I would call a Chirotic awakening, the compassionate self-awareness is then activated and it becomes possible to give up your pain, even to take it on board gladly because it is a reminder of the connectedness of you and I, that we share a bond of human vulnerability. We learn then, wherever Chiron is found, to give up our self, and nowhere is this more true than in the sign of Aries. To some extent, I find that many, many partnerships are formed between those whose Chrion’s straddle the Aries Point, with one in Pisces and the other in Aries, because they are so very complementary. Chiron in Pisces is the pain of selflessness, whilst Chiron in Aries is the pain of selfishness, they are, despite being semi-sextile, strangely compatible, almost polarised positions. Chiron in Aries is concerned with hypersensitivity to the idea of self; it can manifest then as an inability to assert one’s own needs, or to be overreactive to criticism, perceived or outright. Usually this manifests as a lack of self-worth which can act as a brake on self-esteem or a goad to offended dignity. Today I would like to briefly consider this theme through the houses (in two parts) for the placement of the centaur in the sign of the ram.

1st House: The first rules appearance and physical self-expression, so here there is a sense of almost becoming a non-entity. The native will struggle to express himself in a way that “works”. This is probably best illustrated by an example. Consider Richard Burton, who showed a talent for English literature at grammar school, though his consuming interest was sport. With the assistance of his inspirational schoolmaster, Philip H. Burton (who mentored him), he excelled in school productions. Philip could not legally adopt Burton because their ages were too close together. It was at this time that he began to develop the distinctive speaking voice that became his hallmark, having been encouraged by Philip (who sidelined as a BBC radio producer) to “lose his Welsh accent”. To this day, many aspiring actors study Burton’s style of elocution which has been hailed by critics worldwide. So immediately we see that Burton had to lose (Chiron) some intrinsic part of his self (Aries), and learn to express himself in a way that was not his own (1st House). Anyone with Aries here will be unable to feel that their ‘way of being’ matters or is significant enough. Anyone with this placement should watch Burton’s performance in “Look Back in Anger”, (in my opinion his greatest performance) it is a seminal Chirotic expression of the Aries and first house placement, magnificent and unmissable. Walt Whitman (easily my favourite poet) shares this placement; and his Leaves of Grass (1855) consisted of 12 untitled poems, one of which was to later become famous as “Song of Myself.” His literary style was experimental, a free-verse avalanche in celebration of nature and self that has since been described as the first expression of a distinctly American voice. Thus the wound of Chiron in Aries in the first becomes clear, the pain of being unable to express oneself, one’s true identity, creates a powerful impetus and if awakened, can give magnificent expressive potential.

2nd House: The lack of self-worth that accompanies Chiron’s residence in Aries is compounded by a lack of material self-worth; here the native feels financially and materially insignificant and is hypersensitive to themes of money and possessions, particularly in the sense of deserving these things. IT would not be uncommon therefore for a housewife or homemaker to feel that her lack of self-esteem is in large part a result of not contributing financially to things. It is interesting that Queen Elizabeth II has this placement, so no doubt at some deep part of her psyche, the tax burden her status places upon her subjects must be deeply uncomfortable to her; and it is no coincidence then – in my view – that she is the first British monarch to freely commit to payment of income taxes, it is a classic expression of Chirotic guilt since she feels that she does not deserve her financial position in life. Another native evincing this placement is Spike Milligan, who – aware of financial issues of self-worth more than most – uttered the highly insightful words: “Money couldn’t buy friends, but you got a better class of enemy.” There is no question that considerable discomfort was attached to financial issues here.

3rd House: Here Chiron creates a low educational self-esteem and a sense that one’s eloquence is not up to scratch. Speech can literally be a painfully difficult experience and inadequacy and uncertainty in any particularly erudite or thoughtful communicative pursuits may cause genuine distress. A person with Chiron in Aries here may well feel as though they are not heard, or that their opinions do not matter because they are not considered or well formed enough. The gift of Chiron awakened here is the realisation of great power to speak, to rouse to action and to energise through the words. Consider then Malcolm X, the U.S. black Muslim leader, political speaker and activist who – despite having almost no formal education to speak of – embarked on a rigorous program of self-education whilst in prison where he copied the entire dictionary word for word and thus activated his Chirotic force whereupon he was able to generate incredible power to motivate, energise and assert a new political and social agenda in the United States. Remember too that Ares the God of War, is never far divorced from this placement, and consider one of Malcolm’s most radical and powerful speeches, delivered on April 12th 1954, in Detroit to a large audience where he used the immortal Chiron in Aries in the 3rd phrase “the ballot or the bullet”. Small coincidence that his speaking became so powerful that it provoked Mars – in the form of gunfire to cut short his remarkable life. Malcolm X was a true Chirotic warrior and he died on the front-lines without a doubt!

4th House: I talked yesterday about how some roles are nearly tailor-made for certain actors because of some psychic resonance that is cast into a particular role (for better or worse) and quite apart from the fact that somebody in Hollywood needs to hire me for a casting role (not the couch thanks), I am amazed how often this comes to be proven in the astrology. Consider Chiron in the 4th where themes of family, tradition, the “old country”, roots, beginnings and endings are all configured in such a way as to cause distress through the sense that the self does not figure properly in this context, Chiron in the 4th ought to be fairly critical since it is the house where true identity is formed, and Chiron in Aries creates identity impotence. Of course as Chiron is awakened, the power will manifest. If ever there was a manifestation of Chirotic power in the themes of the 4th house then it is in Mario Puzo’s epic 1972 drama “The Godfather.” Consider the polarity of Chiron, unawakened it creates distress, pain, and in Aries this manifests out of consciousness as a sense of irrelevance, that our contribution simply does not matter in terms of the family, the tradition passed from one generation to the next, all 4th house themes. Small coincidence then that Marlon Brando, with Chiron in Aries in the 4th gave one of the most evocative, meaningful and powerful performances as the Godfather of an ancient and violent (Aries) family dynasty (4th).

5th House: Here Chiron manifests as a sense that our creativity has no relevance, is not worthy of recognition or provokes resentment in some painful manner. Our children may be overly dominant towards us, or not take our needs into account, romantic partners may do the same (not marriage partners: that is the 7th) or, if we create art, music, poetry or somesuch, we may feel that it is overlooked or considered irrelevant or unworthy by others. It is probably not too great a stretch to say that it is possible to identify the most creative human being that ever lived as Ludwig van Beethoven, who evinced this very placement. Chiron is about the wound or suffering though, so is it really any surprise that the man who wrote one of the most beautiful pieces of music in all creation (in my view: Piano Concerto No. 5, not to mention Fur Elise), was almost completely deaf by the age of 28. Imagine that depth of inner agony and ongoing suffering! Fittingly for the 5th house too, Beethoven’s greatest work, and no doubt the most recognisable introduction to a piece of music in the world today was his 5th symphony! Here, the Chirotic force in Aries is expressed as nearly unbridled power and relevance. Artist’s with this placement have enormous potential if they are able to awaken to it.

6th House: Here is always a tricky placement for Chiron, regardless of sign, because it manifests as an experience of one’s work and health not mattering. Here is a person who becomes sick and nobody seems to care, or who is dedicated and conscientious in their job, but somebody else always seems to get the credit for the smallest and most insignificant contribution, while your own enormous dedication is ignored or glossed over completely. This is also a calling to become a healer in this lifetime, especially where Chiron is retrograde also and if conjunct the descendant, counselling ought to be a part of the design too. I have noted a strong propensity for pacifism with this placement, since no doubt, it seeks to habituate the pain of violence in some way and heal the dichotomy of war and suffering in the world, (it’s a big ask, but Chiron in the 6th wants to heal the lifestyle of course, their own and everyone else’s!) Thus healing (6th) of violence (Aries) is of particular import here. Bertrand Russell, whose daily work was as a philosopher spoke directly to Chiron in Aries’ sense that their contribution is not properly acknowledged when he said: “The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent full of doubt.” Here is a statement that speaks volumes about 6th house themes of habituated attitudes and the angst they cause; and of course Russell was too a vociferous opponent of both the Vietnam War and nuclear armaments.

I may well continue with this study tomorrow 🙂

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