Chiron Return: The “Mid Life Crisis” In The Natal Chart

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chiron return

In astrological communities, the Chiron return is known as the classic “mid-life” crisis, occurring around the ages of 46-53. However, the Chiron return can also be a time of intense healing. 

Known as the wounded healer, Chiron assists us in releasing and healing something from our past that we don’t understand, providing us with an opportunity to release this pain and reclaim our power.

In our lives, we reach a point when we begin to question things in a much more profound manner. As we search for answers, our true purpose and calling become more apparent, yet this can also be a time of immense confusion and pain. It’s often the case that these periods coincide with the Chiron return in the astrological chart.

Today, I’ll be going over various aspects of the astrological Chiron return to help you figure out what this period means for you.

What Is Chiron Return?

When this planet returns to its birthplace, the cycle concludes with the Chiron Return.

If you’ve been consciously working with your wounds and progressing towards wholeness and individuation, you will experience this differently than someone who has not done the work. In addition, Chiron’s return will be affected by any other transits to your chart at the time.

Our long-standing wounds and unresolved issues can be reopened by the Chiron Return. If we are unable to address the tortured calls arising from our fragmented consciousness, we fall into crisis, or if we retreat even deeper, engaging in fight or flight to escape the pain of Chiron. But if we’ve done some work then we can use the Chiron return to transform our lives.

Chiron Return In The Natal Chart:

Many people do not know what to do at this crucial time in their lives as they do not know how to respond to how they feel or where to turn for assistance to find answers. They end up feeling frustrated and alone.

When we are frustrated, we may make drastic life-altering decisions to reorganize our lives by making significant changes so that we feel valued and valuable. But this can mean that we leave behind relationships or even parts of ourselves. 

It’s helpful to know about the Chiron return because this can aid you in figuring out what is important long-term versus what is not.

During this transit, anything still needing healing relating to your Chiron sign/house/aspects will become apparent. This is a time of intense transformation that can be good or bad for your evolution, depending on what you choose to do with your Chiron return.

Your life may be impacted by a healing crisis or by the consequences of your past decisions. So if you’ve made decisions in the past that didn’t serve you, that was made from a place of woundedness, to protect yourself, you will now have to look out at the fallout of these decisions. That’s why the Chiron return is often called the midlife crisis: people who made the decision to marry, work, have children, etc. because they felt inadequate or insecure are now faced with the fact that those decisions never really healed their wounds.

Another possibility is that you could feel fulfilled, like you’ve found yourself or your true calling. Usually, this can occur during the Chiron return if you’ve already done a lot of work on your Chiron. This period will indicate that you’re at the ultimate stage of Chiron healing, letting go of the fear and inadequacy of your shadow self and embracing who you are, becoming one integrated being. If this fits, then your Chiron return will also be a time where your own power grows immensely because you become who you truly are.

What you do during your Chiron return depends on your work on your journey so far.

You can respond with acceptance and love or with fear, anger, and guilt. A negative response indicates that you’re living in a victim mentality and don’t see the power you have to create your own reality. You’re still blaming others for your failures and for your own decisions. After all, your Chiron return is just the culmination of the reality that you have manifested over the last 50 years.

So it’s important to remember that any pain you experience only teaches you that you must change something. And this isn’t necessarily something drastic, as many people try to do during the Chiron return, but is often a change that comes from within.

Changes During The Natal Chiron Return:

Chiron return always brings about changes, though they’re often self-induced. This is a time when you’re forced to see your reality clearly, to see where you still feel inadequate, insecure, hurt, and wounded, and this makes you want to make extreme changes.

Some people make physical changes, such as leaving their family, moving to a new part of the world, or quitting their jobs. And I’m not saying these changes are wrong. But I am saying that these changes are often born out of extreme reactions to try and escape the pain.

No physical changes will truly alter the way you feel based on your Chiron sign. These changes might make you feel better temporarily, but the Chironic wound will always exist underneath. And if the Chiron return is your chance to deal with this pain once and for all, why not take it?

You may have to grieve the pain of the past so that you can move forward with a future free from the burdens of the past. Additionally, you may have to allow your hopes and dreams to change, or let them morph into something else that reflects who you are now. The only way to come out of the Chiron return is to go through it.

Do nothing – at least for a little while – if you are feeling lost and unsure of what to do next. It is imperative that you get out of your own way so the path can unfold in its own time. You are being guided by the planet Chiron to slow down and go within so you can listen to what your soul or higher self is telling you to do. This is a time to surrender yourself to life and make peace with yourself.

Big changes aren’t usually advisable during the Chiron return because they won’t truly heal you. And if you’ve already gone through your Chiron return and made massive changes, don’t worry: it’s never too late to do the inner work. This is the way to truly manifest the life you want; your power comes from inside.

Chiron In Mythology + The Chiron Return:

By examining the mythology of the centaur, who stood out from all other man-horse hybrids, we can see the significance of synchronicity and the sacred wounds we carry. Cronus (also known as Saturn) is said to be his father in one myth. As a result, he gained civilized skills and talents from Artemis and Apollo. His students included several Greek mythological heroes, including Heracles.

Chiron’s death was actually caused by the well-known hero. While drunk, Heracles attacked a pack of centaurs and killed some. Many of the arrows he shot during the wild battle were dipped in Hydra’s blood.

However, as an immortal, Chron could not die. In agony, he begged Zeus to end his suffering. The constellation we know as Sagittarius was installed after he was allowed to die.

Chiron shows up in the birth chart as a source of wounds from the gods. Chiron’s influence on our charts and the planets it aspects gives us a sense of being wounded and unable to heal the wound. While this is not true, it is the feeling that Chiron gives.

Hercules learned how to make arrows from Chiron, but these arrows also killed Chiron. So Chiron indirectly wounds himself. This is, of course, a metaphor for Chiron in astrology: our Chironic wounds form because we believe the lies that live behind them. We attribute meaning to the events that form Chiron, meaning that tells us we’re inadequate or bad. 

But just like we create the wound, only we can heal our wounds. And the Chiron return is one of the most prominent times to do so. So remember that neither fight nor flight will truly heal Chiron. If the lie that created the wound comes from within, then healing must come from the same place.

How To Heal Prior To Your Chiron Return:

Any Chiron return will bring up deep issues, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t work through some of these issues before your Chiron return. The earlier the better!

Look to your Chiron sign and house to determine what your Chironic wound is, for starters. To learn more:

Next, start to notice when these Chironic issues make an appearance in your life. Every time your Chiron surfaces you have the opportunity to work through a bit of your wound. You’ll notice the wound surfacing when you feel the insecurity and inadequacy that’s related to your Chiron.

And this is a time when you can really begin to work on these hurts and integrate that shadow part of yourself. By doing this, you can not only lessen the pain of your Chiron return but give you a chance to really transcend and completely integrate the shadow self.