Chiron travels retrograde from July 26 to December 29, 2024, in the sign of Aries. Chiron spends around five months of the year in retrograde, so this is a natural part of its cycle. However, what makes this retrograde extra noteworthy is the addition of Eris.
Eris is known as the Goddess of Discord and Strife, and while that name seems a lot to live up to, Eris highlights discord in our lives so we can create harmony.
Eris is considered the sister to Mars, so she carries a similar energetic imprint. She is fearless, doesn’t care what others think, and has been linked to many women’s rights movements.
Eris is our feminine warrior that stands up to the patriarchy and people in positions of power to make her voice heard.
Eris is going to flavor the energies of Chiron retrograde as the two cosmic bodies will be traveling close together. Chiron will retrograde from 23 degrees of Aries back to 19 degrees, and Eris will be in her retrograde too, hovering right over the 23rd to the 24th degree of Aries.
Eris and Chiron traveling so close together is going to shape how we experience both these retrogrades. Chiron Retrograde is generally a very healing time when we can go back through our wounds of the past and find ways to better manage and cope with them.
The addition of Eris will perhaps give this healing journey more strength and fire. We may find that we are called to stand up for ourselves, put on our warrior masks, and perhaps even confront something or someone who has held power over us.
Our feminine energy may rise, giving strength to our intuition and inner world. We may look to the women before us or to our Mother Nature for greater guidance. We may realize new potentials or opportunities when we approach things from the lens of the feminine.
Let’s now take a look a deeper look into the energies behind Chiron and how this retrograde may influence us-
Chiron, the Wounded Healer
Chiron, the asteroid, is named after Chiron, the centaur, and the story of Chiron can help us to understand the energy it radiates.
The myth goes that Chiron was abandoned at birth and left to fend for itself. Chiron was unwanted and unloved, but it was through this painful wound of abandonment and difficult upbringing that he was able to rise up and turn his wounds into powerful portals of healing.
It was Chiron’s wounds that paved the way for his role as a powerful healer, teacher, psychic, and philosopher.
Chiron was able to take his wounds and allow them to guide him in the direction of power. Chiron knew his wounds would never leave him, but he allowed them to become portals of wisdom, compassion, and learning. This is why Chiron is referred to as the wounded healer.
We all possess the same powers as Chiron. Inside each and every one of us has the ability to take our wounds and pain points and turn them into a source of power.
As the poet Rumi says- the wound is where the light enters you.
Chiron & Eris Retrograde in Aries 2024
Chiron doesn’t want us to heal because it will make us “better.” It wants us to learn how to source these wounds as powerful portals of wisdom, knowledge, and power. By extracting this information, we can step into a greater and fuller potential.
This level of healing work is about transcendence rather than trying to “fix” ourselves in order to be worthy. We are already worthy, regardless of the wounds that live within.
With Chiron and Eris in Aries, we are even more supported to find the strength, confidence, and courage that can arise when we face our wounds and look at them not as pain points but as points of potential.
Chiron in Aries reminds us that it is far more beneficial to allow our wounds to inspire, motivate, and offer strength, rather than to think of them as something that slows us down or makes us inferior in any way.
Wounds are painful, and some wounds cut so deep that they never truly leave us, but this is ok. We don’t have to be a neatly wrapped package in order to lead the best life possible.
We can use this retrograde energy not to sugar-coat our wounds, but to recognize that just like Chiron, our suffering very often can lead us to the path of our destiny.
Use this retrograde energy to reflect on what your wounds have taught you. Sit with your wounds and get to know them. See if you can release any judgments and just sit with any pain they bring up. As you get comfortable with this, see if you can reflect on what these wounds have taught you, how they have shaped you, and what wisdom they may have for you.
Open to the wisdom and potential that your wounds have to offer, and don’t forget the nudge from Eris, reminding you to stand bravely in your truth.
Chiron Retrograde Exercises
1.) Identify a painful heartbreak or some grief you have been facing. See if you can step outside of this pain momentarily, and challenge yourself to identify 5 things you can learn or ways you have benefited from this experience.
2.) Take a challenging situation you may be facing with another person. Putting all other emotions aside, see if you can just look at the situation from a place of compassion for the other person. Observe what comes up for you. Next, put all emotions aside and see if you can find compassion for yourself in this situation. Observe what comes up for you.
3.) Think of a painful wound from your past. How has this wound inspired you? How can it continue to inspire you moving forward?
4.) Journal Prompts:
- If my pain could talk, it would want me to know…
- When I think of my hardships, I am grateful that…
- I am stronger today because…
5.) Try this Chiron Ritual
Want to learn more about Chiron or Eris? Read these:
Sabian Symbols: Chiron in Aries
Eris Astrology: The Goddess of Discord and Strife