Astrology by Lauren

June 14th ~ 21st

Recognizing undesirable situations as desirable is one of the most powerful thought-training practices.  It is the way to transform suffering into happiness. ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Chiron stations retrograde in Pisces on Sunday, the 16th of June.  This heralds a 5 month period in which the wounded healer unveils to us the complicated story we have woven within.  Traveling in Pisces the question is not so much about our physical wounds, but about any psychic and emotional traumas that have remained unresolved from the past.  These are the sorts of wounds that visit us as night terrors, or ghosts that linger in the shadows that cannot be seen, but continue to taunt us from behind the scenes.  These are the sorts of wounds that insidiously torment us and undermine our effectiveness in the world, without our even realizing it!  

The reason they undermine us is that we do not see our problems, our losses, our suffering as the teachers they are, but instead make them worse by thinking we are helpless, or victims of our fate, or blame ourselves or others whom we perceive to have undermined or harmed us.  And indeed wounds can leave deep scars and pains that are hard to cope with, there is no doubt.  But it is not the scars that hold us back, but our own perceptions.  One of the things that Chiron, the Teacher, has come to unveil, is that through suffering we achieve a higher level of compassion, wisdom and understanding.  And by knowing first hand what it feels like to have pain, through conscious compassion, we become better healers to others, when they experience similar challenges.

Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion. ~ Buddha

This means first having compassion and forgiveness for ourselves.  And then extending that also to others.  Scientific studies have proven the benefits of support groups in the healing process, and a good part of that is that these groups are made up of other people with the same wounds as you have.  This lets you know that you are not alone, that there are others in this same place with you.  And you can learn from each other in ways that people who do not share these challenges will never understand.   

But Chiron’s tuition is even more than just unveiling the wounds that allow us to be more compassionate healers, caregivers, parents, children, siblings and friends.  Chiron also unveils our hidden skills, pools of knowledge, experiences and accumulated knowledge that we had taken for granted, and did not recognize for the sacred tools and gifts that they truly are.  Healing is an Art coming from the heart, made more potent by the development of compassionate understanding and empathy, and made more meaningful by the experiences that inform us as well as educate us.

With Mars square Chiron this week, we may be inclined to erroneously believe that the antidote is even worse than the pain we are experiencing, avoiding the very thing we need.  However, with Venus trine from the sign of Cancer, through developing supportive and caring bonds with others, we will be able to withstand and overcome even the most daunting of trials.  And with Pisces co-ruler Neptune currently closely trine Saturn, this is actually a safe time to address whatever wounds may be unveiled through the retrograde passage of Chiron. It is also a time in which the tools and the correct antidotes to heal these are going to be revealed.  It is then up to us to courageously use them.

The above images were created by Elena Ray, whose portfolio can be seen on 123rf.com.

For the week of June 14th thru the 21st, be sure to read your Rising Sign as well:

Aries

Aries ruler, Mars, is traveling through Gemini dragging you out into the neighborhood this weekend to engage with new and unusual people, filled with all sorts of alternative and wacky but inspiring ideas.  It’s when he bumps into Chiron after the weekend that you find yourself gagged and bound.  The fear is that by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, you might hurt or harm someone else, and so you stifle the words.. or it may be that you fear revealing your wound, or your past to others, lest they perceive you as weak.  It takes a certain amount of courage to be willing to be vulnerable.  Find a way to express your frustration through dance, words, poetry, and art, so that others may share your wound with you in a safe and yet profound and meaningful way.

Taurus

The very thing which you may be fearing and avoiding, may be the very thing you need right now in order to cure what ails you.  The key to healing is found this week through caring and supportive allies and friends.  Your ruler, Venus, in caring and supportive Cancer will help you overcome even the most daunting of challenges.  Surround yourself with well-wishers, and pleasant discussions.  Read, write, and let people know how much they mean to you.  A sense of comraderie ensues.  

Gemini

As Chiron stations it may require a certain amount of courage to acknowledge deep feelings of insecurity.  But do realize with the Sun joining jupiter in your sign this week, that things are going to be looking up for Gemini (and for the rest of us too I hope!).  When the Sun meets Jupiter in this way, it feels like the sky is the limit, and we are all feeling a little bit more optimistic.  Not to mention that loving and protective Venus has come to call this week, warming the cockles of Gemini’s heart.

Cancer

With Mercury and Venus traveling together in your sign, this is a good week to gather the forces, and spread good will all around.  Abraham Lincoln concurred that “When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted.  It is an old and true maxi that ‘a drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall’.  So with men.”  If you wish to have influence with others, this is the way to win hearts and minds.

Leo

Instead of sitting around waiting for the other shoe to fall, realize that there is a whole world of possibility out there waiting for you.  As the Sun approaches Jupiter this week, all of our hearts are filled with a renewed sense of health and well-being, but none more so than Leo.  Allow that feeling of optimism to lift you and allow your heart and outlook to grow 10 sizes too big.  

Virgo

Friends and well-wishers will definitely help to raise you out of whatever funk you may have been subject to.  This is a week to gather your forces, and renew your hope and faith in the future.  A sense of tribal community is important to you now, as you seek out your supportive people, and find new ones, who share common interests and similar backgrounds and history. Things are looking up this week, so there’s no stopping you from achieving your goals.   

Libra

Hope and faith can be restored this week, as you begin to feel once again as if you have something to look forward to.  Something may occur this week, or you may be inspired to open up your perspective, to a new way of looking at the world, or understanding.  Allow that inspiration to carry you through the week, like a bark of support, over even the most daunting of challenges or circumstances.  As your ruler, Venus, travels with Mercury this week, this is a good week for well wishes and sharing with others.  Even the most ornery of people can be won over with kindness and understanding.

Scorpio

Chiron’s station seems poised to undermine us as those demons of despair try to stick their  little needles in us.  It is important for Scorpio to curb their tongues this week, and avoid stepping into some potential land mines, as your ruler Mars taunts Chiron.  Use the courage that Mars brings to the picture to face any challenges that may arise. Luckily the perspective is shifting right along with Chiron, opening up our eyes to broader possibilities.  This may come simply through a conversation, or through something you learn or hear.  Taking the higher road pays off.

Sagittarius

Healing comes through realizing that we all have some sort of dysfunction in our histories, in our backgrounds, whether we deny it or not.  George Bernard Shaw said, “If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.”  Actually, as Chiron turns, this is a good time to explore your family history, your roots, your background, and come to appreciate the gifts that are being unveiled in the process.  In some way the light is being shone on relationships this week, especially those one on one ties. If you need to get advice on a matter, this would be a good week to do so.

Capricorn

As Chiron rolls about this week, you come to realize how and why it is so important to communicate with others, and to do so clearly.  You have something important to say, and the ability to say it in a way that can help and heal others.  With Pluto traveling through your sign these days, you are no stranger to feelings of pain and frustration.  Your experience and perspective can and will help others to reestablish and reconnect with their own self-worth.

Aquarius

As Chiron is shifting about in Pisces this week, all sorts of things get unearthed in the process, leading us to lose our equilibrium, if only temporarily.  No matter what starts to crawl out, do not give in to the shame demons, realizing that healing comes through valuing your own self-worth. Chiron also reveals others stuff though, and many of these have to do with certain skills and gifts that are being revealed.  And as Mars nods to your co-ruler Uranus this week, change up your routine a bit, entertain the extraordinary.  Even if it means just taking a new route to work in the morning.  When you do this, all sorts of new and inspiring ways of looking at the world can emerge.

Pisces

You are being intuitively led to discover the means to your own healing, and well-being.  The knowledge is already there, as are the teachers and the healing methods.  It is up to you to acknowledge them as they arrive, and then use the tools and the remedies at your disposal.  With Mars square Chiron this week as Chiron stations, we may come to the erroneous conclusion that the remedy is even worse than the pain, and so avoid the very thing we need.  However, one method of healing is quite simple: through love, caring and nurturing and being nurtured, you create supportive bonds on the inner planes that carry you over and through even the most treacherous of trials.