Chiron retrograde dares us to revisit the wounds that still shape our lives
Journaling gets me through life’s ups and downs. Writing is how I make sense of what’s going on for me, big and small. My laptop is the first place I go when life leaves a mark.
Trauma makes a jagged cut and leaves an ugly keloid scar behind. Mine certainly did. I was molested by my father. I’ve experienced enough abuse to know these wounds don’t disappear. With time, they eventually stop oozing and scar over.
I know firsthand that recovering from trauma becomes the balm we share with others to soften their crusty scabs. After all, who knows better what they’ve gone through than those of us who’ve been there and have the scars to prove it.
Chiron, the wounded healer planet, turns retrograde today.
Whenever a planet spins retrograde, it proposes we go inward. Chiron represents where our open sores, once tended to, become medicine—not only for ourselves, but for others. This minor planet symbolizes the intersection where our greatest hurts morph into our greatest gifts.
I think trauma is a catalyst for evolution—the wound transformed into wisdom.
I’m not condoning trauma (of course). Abuse is horrific to experience. I wouldn’t wish that torment onto anybody. I’m saying we grow and become empowered by healing from our pain. Recovery is infinitely better than getting mired in victimhood.
I spent many a year in victim mode, barely scraping by day to day. I desperately wanted to heal but had no clue how to go about it. I tried so many different things: therapy, meditation, diet, exercise, and more self-help books and courses than I can count. Some temporarily alleviated the sting. None reached the subconscious beliefs controlling my life. That didn’t occur until I started actively excavating my unconscious mind. It felt miraculous to finally gain agency over my choices instead of pinballing around, unaware of what was driving me. I’ve gone from isolation, addiction, and depression into the mostly functioning writer before you.
Chiron mirrors that unconscious-to-conscious healing process. Our wounds are deeply personal, but they often echo familiar themes: rejection, abandonment, betrayal, humiliation. With Chiron turning retrograde, now is a supportive time to dip your toe into the deep end of your emotional pool. Where are you still hurting?
This week’s internal exploration is also supported by Wednesday’s last quarter moon. Waning half-moons bring up the rear of the monthly lunar cycle. They are naturally reflective times, as the moon makes its way back to the sun to meet for the next new moon. There’s a magnetic pull toward the stillness of the dark moon.
Now’s the time to reflect on this lunar cycle. What came to fruition? What didn’t? Where did you support yourself and where did you sabotage yourself? That’s what a last quarter moon asks of us: to become more aware of our patterns and choices. Also, this musing inspires us to contemplate what we want our next new moon intention to be.
Can you feel how these Chiron retrograde and last quarter moon energies unite? Both are encouraging meditation and inner exploration. Your personal work doesn’t have to be life-shattering, just life-shifting. Something small that opens a new doorway of understanding, a sliver of light emerging from the darkness.
This week’s effort prepares us for next week’s Leo new moon, solar eclipse (sadly not visible here). More to come on the opening of the eclipse portal—an inherently internal time.
Reflect on where you’re still getting stuck in your wounds, unable to move forward. How can you shift that a teeny, little bit? Our deepest wounds don’t go away. But they don’t have to control how we write our story. We decide who we’re becoming.
Sheridan 💫
Moon Sisters Circle, Astrologer, Life Coach, and Creator of the Astrology In Real Life Method