The Astrology of 2012 and Beyond
By Cal Garrison
Thinking about Thunder Beings, messengers from on high, and the implications of outside help, might prompt us to wonder if we could make this transition without that kind of support. While I'm as sure that the extraterrestrial presence will make it self known, as I am that Jupiter and Uranus will install a whole new way of seeing things, there's another piece to this and it has to do with our part in it.
We've talked about how important it is for all of us to change at the nuts and bolts level, as much as we've talked about the need to step up to a higher frequency, but there's been no mention of what it is in us that has the capacity to do either one of those things. Getting a little help from our friends is all well and good, but something in us has to be able to respond to that level of support, or match it, and our part in this has to do with cultivating the ability to do both.
I am also clear that not everyone reading this book buys into the idea of ET's, planetary rescue missions, or miracles and I am sure that many of you aren't the least bit impressed or reassured by predictions of some last minute reprieve. For the skeptics, and those of you who aren't totally convinced that all of the above is a sure thing, you'll be happy to know that there are other signs that suggest we're fully capable of making this Shift on our own.
Chiron is the planet that actualizes Spirit here on the physical level and mediates all of the issues that crop up between Saturn and Uranus; he stands between the two planets, much like a half-note in a musical scale. If we've made no mention of him it's only because up until April 2010, he isn't doing anything spectacular; no big aspects to speak of, no serious interaction with other planets or angles, he's just taking his time moving through the later degrees of Aquarius. As of April 20, 2010, however, he will enter the sign Pisces, and many things will be set in motion when he crosses that border — but before we can talk about what that will entail, it might be good to give you a little history on this profound and unusual planet.
THE CHIRON MYTH
Grandson of Uranus and Gaia, Chiron was Saturn's love child. Married to Rhea at the time, the story goes that Saturn was so taken by a sea nymph named Phylria he strayed from the path and broke his marriage vows. That such an upstanding God would even dream of jumping the fence seems totally out of character, but apparently that's how it went; in a moment of passion Saturn disguised him self as a horse, seduced Phylria, and it was out of that escapade that the Centaur, Chiron was born.
While the rest of his breed were overly fond of bacchanalian pursuits and too dissolute to do much of anything but abuse the life force, Chiron was known for his ability to tap into that force and focus it creatively, for the good of humanity. What made him different may have had something to do with his immortal blood, but instead of turning him into the odd man out, the Centaurs had so much respect for Chiron they made him their leader. High Priest to a pack of lustful, bloodthirsty, hybrid creatures, out of all of them he was the only one who knew how to channel his animal instincts toward a higher purpose.
The interesting thing about Chiron is that he was very bit a Centaur — but he couldn't follow the herd because he was born with the understanding that his connection to Nature was sacred, and he sought to learn as much about it as he could. In doing so he became adept at healing, herbalism, gymnastics, hunting, martial arts, divination, chiromancy, alchemy, astrology, astronomy, and all of the natural sciences. Unlike so many of the Gods, Chiron's wisdom came to him through practice and direct experience; none of it was magically bestowed. And while his desire for knowledge may have been God given he acquired every bit of it the hard way.
This hands-on approach applied to everything he did. When it came to matters of Spirit, Chiron knew that the only way to know God is through direct experience. It was he who informed the human race that the God force could be accessed directly, here in the physical realm, through the practical application of sacred knowledge. His own practices elevated him and it was through them that Chiron attained unsurpassed levels of mastery.
Famous for all of his remarkable abilities, he became a mentor of the highest order. The likes of Achilles, Hercules, and Jason sat at his feet prior to embarking on their respective quests. All the great heroes were initiated by Chiron, and I suspect that it was his wisdom that gave them the ability to confront every test and reign victorious over impossible odds.
That we know more about these heroes than we do about the strange creature who taught them seems a bit odd — until we realize that in Chiron's world, the quest matters more than any fame or recognition that might come from it. The consummate Spiritual Warrior, he shows up as the unsung hero in many of the Greek myths. Out of all of them, the story of Prometheus is probably the most well known.
If you're familiar with that myth you know that it tells the tale of how Prometheus took it upon him self to steal fire from the Gods and bring it down to Earth so that mankind could be warmed and enlightened by its flames. Unfortunately, his bright idea didn't go over too well with Zeus. When the King of the Gods heard about the theft he flew into a rage and sentenced Prometheus to be chained to a rock for all eternity. Just for good measure, Zeus called upon a vulture to peck away at his guts and liver day in and day out, till the end of time.
Meanwhile, back on Mount Pelion, Chiron happened to be suffering a similar fate. Accidentally shot in the foot by a poison arrow from Hercules quiver (an arrow that Chiron had not only taught the great hero to make and shoot, but whose poison was his own private recipe) the King of the Centaurs crawled back to his cave to nurse a wound for which there was no cure, knowing full well that his immortality would cause him to live with the pain forever.
Upon hearing about Prometheus's trials, Chiron decided to strike a bargain with Zeus. The deal went something like this; Chiron would give up his immortality if Zeus would agree to unchain Prometheus and release the fire element to man. The King of the Gods went along with the plan; at that point Prometheus was freed, and Chiron descended into Hell, sacrificing his immortal stature so that mankind could understand fire, and learn how to use power in the right way.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
In an earlier chapter we talked about how a planet's discovery coincides with the collective consciousness awakening to the principles it rules. When Chiron appeared in 1977 our relationship to everything, including God, changed. And it seems as if his original sacrifice, and what he gave up to enlighten us, finally met its fullest realization — because it was at that point that we began to move away from beliefs that instructed us to, "Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man" (*1) to constructs that were more along the lines of, love God, abide by your own Truth, and know that the purpose for living is to actualize the God within.
On the outer levels, the Chirotic force called humanity to wake up to a million other lies and misconceptions. That he arrived arm in arm with the environmental movement, the holistic healing movement, the free energy movement, and what became known as the New Age spiritual movement is no coincidence. All of those things bear Chiron's imprint, and each one of them brought our attention to the question of power and its use and abuse. Looking back now, it's almost as if, up until that time we were under some sort of spell that made it OK to rape the environment, give all of our power away to the establishment, remain blind to the fact that the ether is overflowing with free energy, and as oblivious to the idea that matters of Spirit are well within our reach and do not necessitate the presence of an intermediary.
Thirty years later it's quite clear that Chiron totally blew the collective mind. His appearance in the heavens not only rearranged our perspective on everything, it opened up the channel to the Higher Self. His natural wisdom and his reverence for Mother Earth reminded us that everything is intimately connected in a way that makes it impossible to separate ourselves from each other, or Nature, or God — and if everything coexists in a state of unity and oneness, guess what? We're all God — and like Chiron, our purpose for living involves developing a relationship to that aspect of our Being so that we can actualize that principle and embody it fully, here in the physical realm.
All of this presupposes that there is a way to do that, and fortunately, Chiron understands that there are many ways. As the archetypal mentor, or way-shower, he made it clear that the path to Spirit is unique to each individual. At the same time, Chiron knew that no one gets where they're going without a little effort, and our spiritual development, along with the practices we engage in, require work.
"Throughout antiquity, people believed that to acquire knowledge of supersensible truths one first had to develop supersensible organs. Everyone understood that spiritual forces lie sleeping in all human beings. They knew that such spiritual forces are not developed in the average person, but can be awakened and unfolded by prolonged exercises.
Adherents of the Mysteries in fact described these stages of development as very difficult. It was generally felt that a person who had developed such forces and was able to research the truth in this way was related to the ordinary person as a seeing person is related to one who is born blind. This is the kind of "vision" those within the holy Mysteries aimed at… ancient peoples understood that, for a person whose inner senses are awakened, a new world appears, one that ordinary seeing cannot perceive. Those consecrated in the Mysteries sought to create from ordinary human beings a human being who had evolved to a higher stage of evolution. Such a person they called an "initiate". Only the initiate was thought to be in a position to discover anything about supersensible truths by direct vision, by spiritual intuition." *2
"Mr. Hands On", Chiron initiated him self by finding ways to awaken his inner senses without any outside help — and he became an adept because he intuitively understood that the God-force or the life force operates as much in the Third Dimension as it does on every other level of existence. Nature was his laboratory, as well as his temple, and in living in accordance with its laws Chiron became the embodiment of, and the archetype for, the enlightened human being.
His example shows us that anyone living in 3-D has the same potential. And when Chiron finally appeared in the sky he didn't just tell us we're all God and leave it at that — he came with the keys for the realization of that potential. The self-help systems and the healing modalities that emerged in the late seventies attest to this. Those things popped the lid off the idea that buried underneath our limitations lies something quite precious and God-like.
Over time the Chiron effect flowed so far into the mainstream that the media cashed in on it and started pumping all kinds of free, therapeutic advice directly into our living rooms. Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil, Dr. Ruth, Montel Williams, Maury Povich, and even the notorious Jerry Springer, all of these prime-time TV shows place their emphasis on helping us solve our problems, heal our wounds, and clear our issues. What was once restricted to initiates and later got passed on to the New Age spiritual crowd is now in the hands of the masses.
We can joke about the fix-me-up craze but we can't deny the fact that it brought our attention to the truth; that all of us are deeply wounded in some way, and that our wounds are what stands between us and the God within. Those blocks aren't what they appear to be, nor do they provide us with an excuse to remain unconscious. We came here to work those things out and the key to getting beyond them requires us to understand that ultimately, what's in the way, is the way; regardless of who we are the path to Spirit opens up the moment we are able to recognize that our wounds hold the key to our unfoldment.
Chiron knew this better than anyone. Born to a race of profligate, barbaric creatures, his Karma never became his excuse — he took what he was given and transmuted it into something else altogether. If the wound is the remedy the Promethean tale takes that message one step further. Suffering from a self inflicted, incurable wound, rather than live with the pain forever, Chiron sacrificed his immortal Soul to heal it — and in healing himself, the God who later became known as "The Wounded Healer" knew that he gave up his life for a much higher purpose — one that involved helping mankind access the inner fire of their own divinity and the possibility of enlightenment.
WHERE ARE WE?
Thank you for your patience. You're probably wondering, what does all this have to do with the End Times? The Earth, along with each and every one of us is about to go through changes, the likes of which none of us have ever seen before — not in this life, anyway. With the understanding that our part in this is of major importance, Chiron would seem to be a touchstone for all of us. His presence in the heavens alone is proof that even without the ET's, or some other out of the blue, last minute saving grace, the chip that allows us to transcend our limitations was reinstalled back in 1977. Chiron reminded the human race that we were born with the ability to enlighten ourselves and use our creative power for the greater good — activating that ability is where it's at right now.
If you've got wounds, issues, recurring patterns, old sob stories, anything that blocks your ability to connect with your full self-realization, it's time to leave all that stuff at the door; if it stands in the way of your unfoldment you don't need it anymore. Whatever it takes to clear it out is your business, but it's time to do that work — no matter how far along the path you think you are. This is of premier importance — because the clearer we get, and the closer we get to what we really came here to do, the gentler this process will be, for each one of us, and for Mother Earth as well.
Up to this point I was convinced that Uranus is the "Man of the Hour" — now I am of the mind that the real hero here is Chiron. And I am happy to inform you that he is about to make some wonderful changes, changes that will make it easier for humanity to take full responsibility for our part in this.
WHO IS THIS GUY, AND WHAT'S HE DOING HERE?
We've only known this planet since 1977. With a 50-year cycle, Chiron hasn't been around long enough for any astrologer to really understand the full import of his message, or the full range of his expression. Judging from what he's done so far, it feels to me like the next 20 years could bring us to a place where wisdom and integrity reign over instinct and spiritual power is valued far more than material things. If the one who reverses our perspective on everything continues his work, I see us getting more and more tuned in to the ways of nature, more knowledgeable about how it works, and more enlightened about who we are in relationship to it.
As I say this I am reminded of the Sabian Symbol that came up in the Pluto chapter; the one that talks about the Indian Chief claiming power from the assembled tribe. And I am also thinking of the Native American prophesy that pointed to 1977 as the year when the Indians were freed to go forward and lead a spiritual revolution; that prediction coincided with Chiron's appearance in the sky.
It wasn't until I really got into writing this chapter that I began to see that Chiron and the Indigenous people are tied together in more ways than one, the most obvious being that they share the same values. And there's too much of the Shaman, or the Medicine Man in him for anyone not to see Chiron as the embodiment of Indigenous Wisdom.
After close to forty years as a practicing astrologer it amazes me that it took me that long to see this. My take on Chiron has always been limited by the puritanical belief that what is instinctive in us, or what we call our lesser urges, need to be reined in and controlled by the mind.
While that's one way to look at Chiron, the half-horse, half-man imagery flows in two directions — and the man, or the mind, or the Higher Self receives just as much instruction from the horse, or the beast, or the natural, more instinctive wisdom that comes from the part of us that is inextricably rooted to the Earth.
This two-way trail tells me that we can meditate and transcend till the cows come home, but if we ignore the visceral Truths that are only taught in Nature's Mystery School, nothing will change. Unfortunately we have civilized our selves to the point where those teachings have long been forgotten by the white man — and what we have lost our connection to can only be restored by the ones who have kept it.
If I am right about Chiron being the astrological standard bearer for all of the Indigenous people, his upcoming transit patterns will probably coincide with events that highlight their return to a position of honor, power, and respect. It will also coincide with the recovery of what we have lost. If we can restore that connection and integrate the Original Teachings with the inner wish to heal our selves and serve Mother Earth I have no doubt that our part in this will make all the difference.
Chapter 11 from the book The Astrology of 2012 and Beyond by Cal Garrison
About Cal Garrison
Cal is a writer with four books to her credit. ‘The Old Girls’ Book of Spells’, ‘The Old Girls’ Book of Dreams’, and her latest book, ‘Witch On the Go’ were published by RedWheel/Weiser Press and are available in bookstores or on Amazon.com. In addition to her own work, she also writes for Slim Spurling. Her first book with Slim, ‘Slim Spurling’s Universe’ is being followed up by their second book together which, with any luck, will be out in 2008—2009.
A professional astrologer with 35 years experience Cal has cast over 6000 charts and is one of the best in her field. She is also an expert on the Tarot. When she’s not running the Spirit of Ma'at office, or working on her books, Cal spends her time doing in depth astrology and tarot readings for people all over the country.
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