Welcome to my Astro Advice Column! If you subscribe to my Astro-Kats or Star Kids Club groups you are able to ask me questions about astrology for this advice column.


Greetings Ace! My question is about Chiron in my natal chart: what internal resources do you recommend for someone actively working with their Chiron sign, with this area of tenderness?

I'd like to provide you with some context: My sun and rising signs are Libra. My moon is in Pisces. In a Placidus chart, my Chiron is in Leo, in the 10th House. In a whole sign chart, that moves to the 11th House.

As I reflect on my life, I've realized that I've experienced my Chiron in Leo quite acutely, especially in my creative life and career. As a child, I savored the visual art classes I went to, only to be pulled out of them by my parents, who were dissatisfied at my art teacher's evaluation at my being "very good" (read: not talented) at art. At age 30, I launched my own therapeutic art business last week.

Internally, I've experienced contradictions regarding my Chiron sign. For instance, I yearn for social visibility and acknowledgement in my work-- which I had, as a community organizer, before I burned out. At the same time, I've experienced serenity being mostly in solitude, ever since I moved to a rural area two years ago. As I move back to living in a city environment again, I imagine my career and my social ties becoming more emphasized in my life: two areas that my Chiron sign touches, according to house placements. I'd appreciate your recommendations. Thank you.

—ClarityWithChiron


Hmm ClarityWithChiron! First of all, I want to acknowledge that what you say about Chiron feeling tender is incredibly astute.

Chiron is a point of entanglement, a knot in our backs. I used to have these huge knots which are really just swollen lymph nodes in my back because I did a lot of heavy lifting at my job. God! I wanted to just cut these knots away. I wanted to remove them. They hurt all the time, especially when I was stressed and made it hard to fall asleep. But they were part of my body.

Just like knots in our backs, Chiron can feel very frustrating. We want to get rid of Chiron. We want to ease our aches. I used to use a rolling pin on my back just to try and get the knots out. But all that did was flatten the knot. Maybe there’s a metaphor in there about how we sometimes flatten our wounds in order to try and remove the pain.

My partner taught me something recently. They taught me that the body is like silk. Small and subtle movements can transform what the body holds.

I, like you, also have Chiron in Leo. When I read your words about being pulled out of art classes, about parental disappointment in your talents, and about yearning for recognition, I felt like you were pulling words out of me like silk. I see that you are an art therapist and I hope that you are aware of your talent around describing not just a creative process but the bendy path that a creative life can take. Burnout is a part of creative life. We’re dealing with Chiron in Leo here and Leo is the sign of the Sun which burns. Recognition and solitude are equally indispensable.

You have a way with words, with understanding how right we feel within our creative power is intrinsically connected with childhood morality, connected with how we were told that we are good or bad as kids and why. I’m reading your words and marveling at the Leo wisdom of your Chiron.

Do you feel the brilliance of your own observations about yourself?

Do you sense yourself pulling the strands of your body around like silk?

The silk of your body gathers around Chiron like a knot. Knots aren’t punishments. They are just places where our bodies get more complicated because they have moved through a lot. Once we loosen a knot, our bodies can continue to flow. In order to loosen a knot, we have to study the knot’s internal structure. I see you studying the internal structure of recognition, of morality, of visibility and success.

I know that I have some thoughts about the matter too but I’m not sure how relevant my thoughts are to your life. I think that recognition is a deep need not just for humans but for most living things. My cat gets pissed when I don’t mirror her meows back to her. I think that people of all ages want to be good at things or good and seen as good because we know that goodness is innate in our personalities. I think that capitalism uses our desire for recognition and desire for goodness against us and that this is a problem to be studied. I see you studying the problem in your own words and own life.

But I hesitated to share my opinions with you just now as I wrote because, as you probably know, being told to just be more confident and to own our art doesn’t always work for Chiron in Leos. Being told to be more comfortable in being perceived doesn’t make someone more comfortable, especially when a person’s doubt around social perception might have really valid political foundations. I’m sharing my opinions because I’m hoping that a little reminder that wanting to be seen to be a good person does not make a person bad can ease some tension around Chiron’s knot and turn it into some kind of helpful questioning.

Now, I’ll suggest something preposterous—give yourself praise. Choose people who praise you. Praise others back.

Choose gentle praise. Let praise in when you can take it and hold it. Treat praise like a medicine. Medicine can be overwhelming if too much at the wrong time. It can regulate when taken in the right dosage.

You have Chiron in Leo. Praise is your medicine.

When does gentle praise turn the knot of Chiron into an area of complexity? An area of perpetual questioning and curiosity? Knots make us so curious, don’t they? They’re just so complicated and cool. Parts of our body that aren’t connected to other parts otherwise can get connected through knotting.

Chiron in Leo’s desire for recognition and goodness is rooted in the body like a knot. The body is made of silk. Flattening the knot doesn’t promote better circulation and neither does barking instructions at it. Luckily, there are many ways to relieve the tension of a knot. Most of the ways require some study of how the knot is built. All knots need gentle and encouraging fingers. Most knots get tighter when we yank on them. Remember—your body is made of silk.

I just wanted to write this to uplift your careful study of your own feelings about recognition. You have this really unique wisdom and I hope you celebrate it with gentle praise everyday. I know that praise can be hard to accept for us Chiron in Leos so this is my convoluted way of giving you some <3