Chiron in the Birth Chart (Pt. 2: Houses 4, 5, 6)

Chiron in 4th, 5th, 6th House: Close-up of the broken face of a doll
Chiron in association with 5th House, Leo or Sun: “Doll in Grey Crew Neck Shirt” by an anonymous artist

[This is a continuation of the previous post]. In this article I will address Chiron in 4th House, Chiron in Cancer, or Chiron in aspect to the Moon; Chiron in 5th House, Chiron in Leo, or Chiron in aspect to the Sun; and Chiron in 6th House, Chiron in Virgo, or Chiron in aspect to Mercury:

Chiron in 4th House / Chiron in Cancer / Chiron in aspect to Moon:

There is a fundamental hypersensitivity on the soul level,  affecting one’s perception of stability, domicile, origins, or parental figures. The soul has a deep perception of the wounding nature of “be-ing” and has thus yielded herself to merely a fleeing degree of safety and predictability in her earthly existence, not expecting any more.

The Vulnerability of Chiron in 4th House:

Depending on the condition of Chiron in the chart, this perceptual oversensitivity can very well spread to other areas of life, characterizing much of what a person actually is. For instance, the French symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé (1842 – 1898) once wrote about his own literary work:

“And my Verse hurts me at times, and wounds me as if it were of iron!”

He had a Gemini Moon as the dispositor of his Fourth House Cancer Chiron, while Chiron was also squaring Mars in Aries on his Ascendant. The idea of “hurt” (Chiron) was thus at the base (Fourth House) of his psyche, connected with words (Gemini) acting as a wounding iron (Mars).

Much of Mallarmé’s poems are, in fact, characterized by his preoccupation with how language functions, his sensitivity towards imagery, and his deep awareness of the musicality of words (which can be discerned from other planetary placements in his chart as well), but above all, apropos to his Chiron in the Fourth House, he believed that “beneath the surface of appearances, reality consisted of nothing but darkness and emptiness.” [New World Encyclopedia] Indeed, because of such perception, he aspired to “candle the darkness and bring out, however faintly and however briefly, the light of creativity and thought” through his literary contribution [Ibid].

If Chiron is on the IC, there may exist a deep level of empathy (for better or worse) towards a parental figure (usually the nurturing parent), and/or the individual may unconsciously tap into a wound that has been psychologically carried over by that parent. Alternatively, the wound might have been ancestral, related to one’s place of living, or heritage, and yet the individual’s whole existence might have been somehow crystallized around that wound. A meditation upon the inevitability of hurt feelings as part of human legacy may lighten up one’s perception in relation to the past and may assist one to develop a soothing, motherly attitude towards oneself and others.

Evolution of Chiron in 4th House:

If Chiron in 4th House, Chiron in Cancer, or Chiron in contact with the Moon is evolved, a profound caring born out of pity already exists on a soul level, and the individual would usually be able to offer nurturing and emotional support to others, especially those who may occupy a parental position in his or her life. Quite a number of psychologists and therapists have this configuration in their chart, providing emotional assistance to others, and thus “candling the darkness” that may exist in the depths of the human psyche.

Chiron in 5th House / Chiron in Leo / Chiron in aspect to Sun:

Some degree of psychological rupture may be present regarding ego structure, creative outlets, or consciousness of self in general. One may find it difficult to develop an uncontested sense of “who” one is, or one may find it awkward to joyfully love oneself. Chiron associated with the “core” of one’s being usually indicates a level of embarrassment regarding the notion of individuality or the path one has to take in order to individuate (which, like most Chironic conditions, may also be camouflaged by an exaggerated drive to be oneself).

Quite often, people who have this configuration in their natal chart seek ways of connecting themselves to the collective (gravitating towards the polarity point of the Eleventh House) in hopes of alleviating their “Unbearable Lightness of Being” (as the Czech writer Milan Kundera has phrased it). A large number of people, therefore, who have been blessed with fame and fortune have a natal Chiron in association with the Fifth House, Leo, or the Sun, as it seems the awkwardness of being themselves has constructively propelled them towards heights of success.

For quite a number of Solar Chirons, it seems that acting or creating is the proper way of curing oneself, as it can be discerned from quantitative research of the presence of this configuration in the natal charts of those occupied in the media and entertainment industry:

Dustin Hoffman, for instance, who played an autistic character in the movie Rain Man (1988) has Chiron in Gemini in the 5th House, quintile his Virgo Mercury. One can guess the role had a special appeal to him, as it could simultaneously tap into the Chironic energy of his 5th House and his prominent Mercury (he acted as someone with communicative disabilities).

Another example would be the highly-celebrated French writer and filmmaker Jean Cocteau (1889 – 1963), who had Chiron conjunct his Cancer Sun. Not surprisingly, one of his most celebrated novels, Les Enfants Terribles (“The Terrible Children” or “The Holy Terrors”) describes the isolation of childhood and the inevitability of facing disappointments and anxieties of adolescence. The novel is indeed a Chironic helix of sickness, protection, caring, abandonment, and trauma, which would recur in Cocteau’s other literary works as well.

The Vulnerability of Chiron in 5th House:

If Chiron is uncomfortable in the Fifth House, or in association with Leo or the Sun, the individual may have unconsciously registered his or her presence in the world as undesirable, and precisely for this reason, may have developed an unconscious defense mechanism that may include narcissistic behavior. In this case, a constant preoccupation with the “Self” may arise, hindering the individual’s chance of truly relating to the “Other.”

Creative outlets can be significantly helpful in moderating this constant self-gaze and can provide the individual with an opportunity to connect with the collective and thus heal his or her very personal wound: with Chiron in this position, often an embarrassing yearning for attention and approval exists on the soul level, which can be soothed through what the individual brings to the world, in the form of literal or metaphoric extensions of the “Self” (i.e. children or any creative products).

In case one chooses to have children, one has to be aware of the Chironic mechanism present in one’s psyche: that children may be unconsciously regarded as “panacea” and thus invested in too much, whereas in reality, children are autonomous individuals whose lives are largely out of parental control. They may simultaneously inflict wounds on their parents and heal certain aspects of their parents’ psyche. It is, therefore, vital to see the whole picture in this regard, not just a version of reality that may suit one.

Evolution of Chiron in 5th House:

An individual with an evolved Chiron in the Fifth House, or in association with Leo or the Sun, would find creative outlets to construct a sense of “Self” with the help of the collective or would help others find their own special talents and leave their own individual mark on this world. Through such collaborative endeavors, the individual would eventually soothe the Chironic wound inflicted upon his or her center of being and would become someone who can be proud of his or her presence and performance on this stage we call life.

Chiron in 6th House / Chiron in Virgo / Chiron in aspect to Mercury:

There is a deep pity on the soul level, for the impossibility of perfection in life, and a consequent compulsion regarding practicality or soberness. One may find oneself disengaging from the steady routines of life because no matter how hard one tries, perfection is not meant to be attained.

The Vulnerability of Chiron in 6th House:

It is not uncommon for individuals with an uncomfortable Chiron in the Sixth House, or in association with Virgo or Mercury, to “escape” (inclining towards the polarity point of Pisces) from the “Lower Mind” (i.e. Mercury) to the “Higher Consciousness” (i.e. Neptune) in order not to feel the awkwardness implied in the minutiae of mundane life. This escape can take place in various forms and can range from overconsumption of alcohol, drugs, or sleep medicines, to getting helplessly engaged in music, dance, or the world of fantasy: an individual with this placement would not hesitate to occupy himself or herself with anything that can take his or her mind off the “dumb” and “dirty” details of physical existence.

For an individual with this configuration, the cleansing functions of the body (such as urinating, sweating, or defecating) may also be especially embarrassing to deal with; sickness or neediness can be quite off-putting as well. Precisely for this reason, such individuals may feel inevitably attracted to “sickness” or “neediness” in others, as if finding something similar to their own physical and/or psychological incongruities in others somehow offers a degree of relief. Taking care of plants (especially asymmetric or thorny ones), animals (especially those with injuries or anomalies), or helping any living being in an undeniably pathetic condition can thus be quite soothing to the Chironic “glitch” these individuals may be feeling on a physical or psychological level.

Evolution of Chiron in 6th House:

If Chiron is evolved in the chart, one can possibly witness others’ sinister qualities without either feeling victimized by them or assuming a self-righteous position towards them. The ultimate healing attitude, in this case, would be an acceptance of the limits and imperfections of those we love or live with, not in the purely Neptunian fashion of extending compassion (which, in fact, is derived from a camouflaged sense of superiority), but in a humble, Chironic manner of recognizing and sharing the awkwardness implied in the very condition of being human.

An individual with an evolved Chiron in the Sixth House, or in association with Mercury or Virgo, can thus truly help others and heal himself or herself by shifting focus from things that cannot be to things that can be: through listening to the “other,” preparing a simple meal for the “other,” or merely witnessing the burden of being the “other” one can offer the most precious gift to the “other” and thus to oneself: healing of the soul, regardless of how “perfect” or “deserving” one may be or may not be.

 In the next post, I will address Chiron in Houses 7, 8, and 9 of the birth chart, and in association with the archetypes related to these Houses as well.

If you are interested in understanding your own birth chart or if you have specific questions, you can book a consultation or take a class.

25 Replies to “Chiron in the Birth Chart (Pt. 2: Houses 4, 5, 6)”

  1. Hello,
    I have only just found your site and found it very interesting.
    I was planning to shop tomorrow but I haven’t been feeling too
    good lately and may give it a miss. Your interpretation of Chiron in the 6th house was very uplifting but some sites mention physical
    problems and I will have transitting sun conjunct chiron in 6th
    tomorrow. Maybe another day.
    Kind Regards,
    Isabel

  2. I have natal 8thH. Chiron @ 25°taurus…conjunct fixed star Algol,
    “The Blinking Demon”
    [[[My beloved Mother passed i was 9yrs.old]]]
    My 2ndH. cusp@ 5°scorpio but.has Uranus@1°sag.

    I don’t understand my 8th house Taurus Chiron.
    To me, it says trauma/wounding around: -Loathing my body/Lack of abundance
    (earthly Taurus)
    -Death (orig. house of Scorp.)
    Algol conjunct screams lifelong pain
    But i feel this interpretation leaves something to be desired.
    How & where can i help & heal others?

  3. hello!!!english isnt my first language so sorry in advance.Im dissapointed i recently found i have chiron both in cancer and in 4th house.My parents left me with my grandparents for about a year for work when i was 2.Thank you in advance for some details/advice

    1. Hello and thank you for your feedback. English is not my native language either, so no worries 😉 What is your native language, by the way? There is nothing to feel disappointed about! Remember that the birth chart is only there to guide us, and we can always make things better. That is the purpose of life, I believe 🙂 Wishing you luck! Tina

    2. Chiron has played a prominent role in my recent life, in my 2nd house Aries natal and 6th house solar arc. My husband of 4 years passed away on December when Chiron went direct in Aries exactly conjunction his Chiron north node combo. We have chiron in 12th composite as well and his illness was 9months….what I wouldn’t give to have it all over again, so much sadness yet forced to accept that we all leave this plane and wanting to see him again in my arms is a grief like no other. My angel you’re my moon my sun my stars I love you eternally

      1. I’m so sorry for your loss:( i lost my mom to cancer when i was 9, she was 36. At times, Life rly is funny(a.k.a incomprehensible) Covid is very bad where i am rn, and makes me feel like all we have is today, for i fear I’ll go buy food, and wake up tmrw w/symptoms, sick.
        Teaching me to relinquish worries over things out of my control & be present in the moment. And to have faith, that its all part of the grande design. For me, i need pain to grow, or else i stagnate.
        Bless your heart.
        xxx
        You will be reunited with your love, until then, find peace in small beauty surrounding.
        Theres no force, not even Death, that is greater than Love

  4. Thank you, dear Tina for another amazing handful of articles!

    I loved your writings on an ‘Intro to Chiron’ and the ‘Chiron in the 4th house’. I have recently delved further into trying to solve the mystery that is Chiron the past few months, and have purchased a few new books on the subject. I have found Melanie Reinhart’s book especially profound – it’s so good of you to mention her book for others on here!

    I have Chiron in my 4th house at 29 degress Taurus – the ‘Weeping Sisters’ degree. Have you ever come across that particular degree? It’s named the ‘Weeping Sisters’ degree because whatever planet, fixed star, Arabic part, or what-have-you happens to be in that degree ends up causing much strife and many, many tears to be shed. The fact that my deepest soul wound aka Chiron is placed in this degree makes perfect sense to me!

    I had quite a rough childhood and haven’t really gotten on the road to success or been in the driver’s seat of my destiny until my first Saturn return occurred. That finally blew open doors for me and let things die that were hindering me greatly. But anyhoo….

    Thank you again for sharing with us your excellent knowledge and insight into these astrological placements. I count myself very lucky that you’ve decided to gift us readers with your wisdom. Out of curiosity, do you happen to offer astrological counseling? And do you offer it long distance? Thanks, Tina!

    1. Dear Kacee, I’m happy you enjoyed what I wrote on Chiron… It’s always a pleasure to receive feedback like this 🙂 I know about “Critical degrees” in astrology, but have not done any conclusive research on them. Thank you for sharing your own experience of the “Weeping Sisters” degree, and the fact that you have Chiron conjunct this point in your chart. I am happy that despite all the childhood grief, you are in a better place in your life now.
      Yes, I do offer astrological counselling via Skype, to people who are aware of the Psychological / Evolutionary nature of my readings. Thanks for being interested in what I do, and thanks for your friendship xoxo

  5. Dearest Tina,

    As usual your words display such a depth of understanding and experience of the astrological archetype you are describing. Thankyou so much for being so huge-hearted to spread your words freely to our world audience.

    I really would like to address and agree with your wide explanation of Chiron -Moon-4th house. When I did my PhD I used qualitative research, which most quantitative or statistical researchers see as a study of the “perceptions” of the researched subjects. Rather than this ethnological approach, I preferred to see my “researched subjects”, in my case Aboriginal elders of high degrees or “wise ones” like the famed Chiron, as co-researchers rather than some statistical object, so one becomes Chiron to Chiron as a team approach in astrological counselling. We then have a win-win situation where both teams learn. Here we gather the depth of the Moon/4th House/Cancer as the Great Mother- all intuitive and all -empathic and she was the guiding divine figure or collective mentor of the world in Chiron’s time. So Chiron becomes Janus or the “veil” into other times and other worlds.

    I am particularly interested in reflectivity or in this case co-reflectivity, where the researched client or patient learns from being reflective about their perceptions. So it is a psychological reflectivity or better still a healing through self-hypnosis, shamanic methods, which Chiron would have done as a mentor or even glimpses into past lives or ancestors in this vital position (Chiron-Moon-etc.) Here perceptions gain truth and real clarity, instead of the distortion that immaturity and the pain of dysfunction or over-sensitivity can cause, when reflecting about beliefs about one’s parenting and childhood.

    Three of my clients, who have this Chiron-Moon-4th-Cancer position, spring to mind here. One has Chiron in the 4th house and he was brainwashed by his father, by continual beatings and rantings and raving. He was taught to hate his mother and yet through shamanic healings and past life healings his mother gained divine grace and her wounded son forgave her. It was his perception of course that his mother needed forgiving. We know that we aim for holism astrologically , thus a chart is never one planet or aspect and this man had his Moon in Aries opposite Pluto, so we do have some past life pain here on a grand scale and an obsessive belief which may be caused by mental distortions of being dragged down into Pluto’s dark world.

    Patient/client number two has Chiron conjunct Moon up in the tenth house. This conjunction is quincunx both Neptune and Pluto which emphasise the sensitivity. Her mother never stopped criticizing this young lady (really it was abuse) and her sensitivity led to trauma and the PTSD led to an auto-immune disease. Now she is dying. I will not go into her past lives. The mother seemed to be a jealous person and hated her daughter because her father always stood by her. When I finish my book on Chiron you can read about them. We worked together for a few years.

    The third person who has a Chiron-Moon archetype is a male who had an overpowering mother. He has Moon conj Chiron conj Venus in the 8th, all opp Uranus. The Moon -Chiron squares Jupiter and it also quincunxes Mars. When the Moon-Chiron male was born the mother ignored the male’s father-her husband from then on, so much so that on the male’s 33rd year (he sounds like Bilbo Baggins) the father finally left. The mother brainwashed the male that the father was a good-for-nothing. The male has had two disasterous relationships with women and while he is successful financially on a minor level, he crashes psychologically and has to hire a locum for his business and thus he has to recoup his savings. He wants and needs women in his life and yet they hurt him badly.

    I will add one lady who had Sun conjunct Chiron and both are opposite Moon. Her father died unexpectedly at age seven and she and her mother lost their comfortable life. Wisely her father had made sure that “Alice”- a pseudonym went to a private school and received training as a teacher. Alice and her mother moved continents for a teaching position for Alice in a household of wealthy people. Alice’s mother had to take positions as a servant and later was buried in a pauper’s grave when she died far away from Alice. Alice gave love and amazing guidance to many children and then her grandchild and now she is a guardian angel or guide to her grandchild, so she did and does “candle in the dark” as you said some Chron-Moon-4th house people do.

    The first two subjects are very brilliant intuitives and have learned great wisdom even though their health is not great. They both are not mainstream. I can say that I emphasise what you said about the sensitivity and perceptions (distorted or otherwise) of Chiron-Moon-4th house and I also agree with you about lack of safety via parenting and childhood.

    I will return to your first post about Chiron in houses, one, two and three Tina.

    Thankyou again.

    Take care and many blessings,
    Hilary

    1. Dearest Hilary, I read what you had written several times… I cannot express in words how grateful I am that you have shared all this with me. The depth of the work you do with the lucky people who come to you has really moved me. I cannot wait to read your Chiron book! It will be such an honor and privilege.

      Thank you so so much for this enlightening, beautifully-written feedback. I still need to savor it.

      Love and blessings,
      Tina

    2. I wanted to thank you, Hilary for sharing your insights with us. Reading, first Tina’s outstanding articles on here, and then reading your amazing replies has been a real treat!

      I found it fascinating how the theme of a controlling and powerful mother figure kept repeating in the lives of your research clients. That was the same for me. My relationship with my Mother has come a long way the past 5 years or so, but it’s still a struggle. Finding my independence is going to continue to be a hard won battle, unfortunately.

      I appreciate all of your real-life examples that you shared. With Scorpio on my Midheaven, I love the research aspect of astrology. Seeing patterns form with many clients over the years as you work with them is quite amazing to experience. I hope to see more of your wonderful comments on this blog – it makes Tina’s blog even more enjoyable than it already is! Take care and God bless!

      Love & Light,
      Kacee Leigh Connolly

      1. Dear Kacee, thank you so much for sharing all this with us. I hope your relation with your mother improves over time, and of course, your own wisdom and acceptance will play a significant role in this process. Yes, Hilary’s comments are indeed profound… I consider myself lucky to have her in the circle of my readers, and of course, as a very dear friend. She is a wise soul and has helped me understand Chiron and other planets better. In fact, we are going to collaborate on a Chiron book, which would soon be available for astrology lovers and Chiron enthusiasts.
        Thanks again for your sweet feedback!
        Love & Light,
        Tina

      2. Kacee, are you still on here?
        If so, I’d love to chat, be “friends”, if you will lol
        I have no astro friends, i might as well be speaking a foreign language, as far as everyone i know is concerned lol

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.