| Thus we can look at the comet Chiron's sighting in 1977 in terms of our cultural history, as well as its meaning through the mythology of Chiron.
Barbara Hand Clow, author of Chiron: Rainbow Bridge Between the Inner and Outer Planets, associates the discovery of Chiron in 1977 with "channeling, divination, body/mind healing, homeopathic medicine and multi-dimensional perceptual skills." She also notes that the concepts of co-dependency and the wounded inner child were starting to emerge at that time, as well as an emphasis on healing the split between body and spirit. Clow sees Chiron as a key in this healing process.
Chiron's astrological symbol or glyph is a "key" and the myth of Chiron is associated with the Wounded Healer. Chiron was a centaur, half-man and half-horse, bridging two worlds. The comet Chiron falls between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus, the last of the visible planets and the first of the invisible – between Saturn, predictable planet of structure, lessons and the Old, and Uranus, surprising planet of the exotic, esoteric and the New. Chiron is the bridge – between Uranus (Aquarius, Heaven) and Saturn (Capricorn, Earth). This obviously corresponds easily to Yin & Yang, and the nature of duality, as well as to the Eastern concept of Man being the bridge between Heaven and Earth.
According to Joyce Mason in her article Why Chiron? Gifts of the "Wounded Healer", "The individual with Chiron prominent (angular or significantly aspected) has a foot in both worlds – the Establishment and the Leading Edge – and is able to work within the system to convey new ideas to society and catalyze change... It is the archetype connected with your individual journey to wholeness."
1977 was a time when the concepts of the "New Age" were manifesting. We were healing from many wounds and experimenting with new ways to connect body with spirit, without necessarily throwing the old ways out. Holistic healing was blossoming and there was a sense of this connection being imminent – many of us felt we had our hand on the key and needed only to open the door. |