Some years ago, motivational teacher Debra Poneman was preparing a big speech for Jack Canfield’s Transformational Leadership Council. But fate had a twist up its sleeve. As Poneman recalls, “I had my presentation all planned, replete with my flip chart and white board and power point, and I was ready to romp around the stage and give the presentation of a lifetime. And then, two nights before the big day, I tripped over a curb in the dark and broke my right foot.”
In so much pain she could barely think, Poneman cancelled her presentation and attended the rest of the retreat in a wheelchair. But when the morning came that she’d been scheduled to speak and no replacement had been found, this brave warrior got up on the stage anyway – and gave one of the best talks of her life. “I was forced to be raw and real and talk heart to heart,” she confessed. “With no dog and pony show to depend on, I had to be the person Debra and not the personality Debra.” And in the process, she discovered one of the greatest gifts of pain and seeming misfortune: “When you’re really suffering, it allows your true self to emerge, the one with no defenses.”
When I read this story on Debra’s blog, I was sure that Chiron had to be active in her chart at the time this happened. (Alas, I was unable to find her birth data to confirm.) Either way, though, this story personifies the mythical centaur, who became a great healer-shaman despite suffering his own wounds. And with planetoid Chiron traveling through feisty Aries since 2019, we’ve all been challenged to heal our own wounds around self-assertion and deal with insecurities that block our true selves.
Chiron in impulsive Aries is the superstar of the upcoming total solar eclipse. Chiron will exactly conjunct the Moon as it eclipses the Sun at this New Moon eclipse (April 8, 11:20 a.m. PDT), bringing themes of wounding and healing to the forefront. To behold this eclipse, many folks are running off to Texas and other points on the path of totality, which cuts a narrow swath through the U.S. I, for one, will not be among them. When you witness an eclipse, you become complicit with it – for better or for worse. At the very least, retrograde Mercury (April 1 – 25) is apt to bring traffic snarls. Mercury in Aries gets frustrated if it can’t go FAST, and this retrograde Trickster will need to exercise a lot of patience.
The eclipse ruler, Mars, is conjunct Saturn in Pisces, last sign of the zodiac. One door is closing so another can open. You may have to do what’s required, no matter how tough, to get the job done. Luckily, courage is heightened with four planets plus Chiron and the North Node in Aries – calling forth your authentic self. Just be sure to rest enough to keep your strength up. Still, since it’s a North Node eclipse, we’re urged to take a step toward something new. Even with Mercury backward, we can plant a seed – bearing in mind that it’s unlikely to sprout right away.
Look to where 19 degrees of Aries falls in your chart to see what’s being activated:
1st house: Personal identity, body, new territory
2nd house: What you value, financial status, how you spend money
3rd house: State of mind, brainstorms, immediate environment
4th house: Family, home, roots, ancestral patterns
5th house: Creative self, ability to play, romantic pursuits
6th house: Habit patterns, health or workplace issues
7th house: Primary relationships and style of relating
8th house: What must be sacrificed or transformed, shared finances
9th house: Spiritual path, higher purpose and teaching style
10th house: Where you open out to the world, career, authority
11th house: Friends, community, goals and wishes, social impact
12th house: Dream life, hidden obstacles, feeling imprisoned
On top of everything else, the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction peaks on April 20, sparking revelations. This alignment occurs every 14 years. It’s happening in earthy Taurus for the first time since May 1941, revealing the future in concrete, even if shocking, ways. Jupiter magnifies things; Uranus shakes things up. Their union can bring a radical new way of seeing life or a startling new sense of direction. Look to where 21 degrees of Taurus falls in your chart for clues. As astrologer Steven Forrest puts it, “There’s a treasure within reach, but you have to look in the right place – somewhere you’ve never been before.”
April should be a turning point month – especially for those in power, who are ruled by the Sun (which is getting eclipsed). We’re all likely to be confronting limitations that have obscured our true selves. If a twist of fate should occur for you, realize that it’s happening for a reason. You may be stripped down to basics, as Debra Poneman was, prompting you to take a risk you might not otherwise have taken. If that occurs, just trust your instincts – and let synchronicity do the rest.
Ditto. I will be lighting a candle inside and listening to music I cherish. As it falls on my aries Sun; Moon and exact su/moon in 8th midpoint, sq Juno and trine Jupiter in 11th, I am curious to see what the transits that touch that point bring. Perhaps an epiphany as I help others with health issues. I will watch later as it becomes simple video recollection of a point in history. The dichotomy of sun being eclipsed conjunct Chiron, wounded healer, and Rumi’s “the wound is where the light enters” has not escaped my heart.
Sounds like a great way to spend the eclipse, Anita. May it bring you deep healing and insight!
Thanks for this. Yesterday my mom had a severe stroke. Eclipse falls directly on my 6th house natal Saturn and my north node is 17 degrees Aries, also 6th house. Plus I am Scorpio rising with sun at 19 degrees Taurus.
To say I am feeling this one would be an understatement.
Thanks for your insights.
Michele
Oh Michele, I am so sorry to hear that the eclipse brought you such devastating news! Chiron-eclipse on your Saturn (which I’ve found can often represent the mother) is really intense. But it must have been fated since your Nodes are activated. And the Jupiter-Uranus is also at play. I hope it manages to bring some good news or other blessings for you and your family. ❤
Thank you for an informative article! I’m new to astrology and trying to learn as much as I can about this solar eclipse and what it will mean for me. You said in the article “When you witness an eclipse, you become complicit with it”. I’m not sure what that means – could you say something about that? Many thanks in advance!
Thanks for the question, Jeanine. I don’t mean “complicit” as in committing a wrongdoing. Complicity in its original Latin sense meant to unite intimately by intertwining. When you witness an eclipse, you become intimate with it, take its energies into your very being. This can be a good thing, but it can also be destabilizing. So you need to be clear and grounded, or you risk having your own inner light “eclipsed” in some way. I prefer not to be that intimate with an eclipse, though I do mark the moment in a ritual setting without witnessing it..
Thank you .
I was wondering the same thing.