Chiron is a small body that orbits the Sun between Saturn and Uranus, discovered by astronomer Charles Kowal in 1977. It takes about 50 years to go around the zodiac and stays in a sign for between one and a half and eight years. In astrology, Chiron describes your oldest wound and the wisdom, and often the gift for helping others, that comes from healing it.
What are the key facts about Chiron?
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Discovered | 1977, by Charles Kowal |
| Orbit | Between Saturn and Uranus, about 50 years |
| Time in each sign | About 1.5 to 8 years, because its orbit is very oval |
| Named after | The wise centaur of Greek myth, a healer who could not heal his own wound |
| Glyph | ⚷ |
You can look up Chiron's orbit in the NASA JPL Small-Body Database, where it is listed as 2060 Chiron.
What does Chiron mean in a birth chart?
Chiron shows a place where you may feel hurt, lacking or different, often from early in life. The sign shows the style of that wound and the house shows the area of life it touches. The other half of Chiron is the gift: by working through that pain, many people become unusually wise and helpful to others in the same area.
How is Chiron calculated?
Chiron is not one of the classic planets, so its position comes from an ephemeris, a table of positions. Our report takes Chiron from a daily table from the NASA JPL Horizons system for 1900 to 2060. Because Chiron is a minor body, we give its aspects a smaller orb, three quarters of the orbs used for planets.
Where can you read about your Chiron?
See Chiron in astrology, with Chiron in each of the 12 signs and 12 houses. Your natal chart report, for 20 crystals (about $1), includes your Chiron by sign, house and aspects in the chapter on healing, shadow and fortune.