A New Culprit: Chiron

I don't think that normal bread is the "culprit" that I accused it of being in my earlier post titled Looking For the Culprit. I stopped with the bread and for a short while I seemed better but then my GIT disturbances reemerged with renewed intensity. It's something else that's the cause or there may be no irritant at all, my system may be imbalanced in some way.

Currently transiting Chiron is sitting right on my Ascendant and it has a cycle of a little over 50 years. Looking back to when it was last in that position, I noticed that the date was March 3rd 1976. It was around this time that I was stricken with a serious disturbance of my GIT that saw me lying mainly on the bathroom floor for a couple days. I don't remember the exact date but I remember the episode vividly because I'd not experienced anything like it before or since. At the time, I was a young man in good health and my collapse was not caused by alcohol or drugs. I was simply struck down.

I'll discuss the astrological details in my Astrowatch blog but it's interesting that Chiron is prominent in my chart on both occasions. I asked Gemini the following:

Astrologically can you find any evidence that the transits of Chiron across a person's Ascendant can be associated with a cleansing of sorts, either psychically or physically.

This was the response: 

In the realm of astrology, there is a very strong, well-documented association between Chiron transiting the Ascendant and a profound period of "cleansing."

While it is always important to ground this by noting that astrology is a symbolic framework and belief system—meaning there is no empirical, scientific evidence linking planetary movements to human health or psychology—within the astrological tradition itself, this specific transit is viewed as a major catalyst for deep purging and healing.

To understand why this transit triggers both physical and psychic cleansing, it helps to look at the two astrological components involved.

The Astrological Mechanics

• Chiron (The Wounded Healer): In astrology, the comet Chiron represents our deepest, most sensitive wounds, our vulnerabilities, and the holistic healing that comes from finally addressing our pain rather than suppressing it.

• The Ascendant (The 1st House Cusp): This point in the birth chart represents the physical body, vitality, outward appearance, and the fundamental sense of "Self" or personal identity we project into the world.

When transiting Chiron crosses the Ascendant, the archetype of the "Wounded Healer" makes direct contact with the "Self" and the "Body." Astrologers widely interpret this as a time when any toxic, unhealed, or suppressed energy can no longer remain hidden. It must come to the surface to be cleansed.

Here is how that cleansing typically manifests across both the psychic and physical planes.

The Psychic and Emotional Cleansing

The Ascendant often functions as our social mask or our defense mechanism. When Chiron crosses this point, it initiates a psychological detox by stripping away any superficial layers of identity.

• Shedding False Identities: If a person has built an identity around being "invulnerable," "perfect," or entirely self-sufficient, this transit often breaks that facade down. The psychic cleansing happens by forcing the person to embrace their vulnerability and authenticity.

• Surfacing of Old Wounds: Repressed psychological baggage, insecurities, or childhood dynamics often bubble up to the conscious mind. The cleansing process here isn't usually gentle; it is often likened to emotional surgery. It requires acknowledging the psychic wound in order to finally release its hold on the person's identity.

• A Shift in Self-Perception: The "purge" ultimately leaves the individual with a highly refined, more compassionate sense of who they are, stripped of the ego-defenses that were secretly draining their energy.

The Physical Cleansing

Because the Ascendant literally governs the physical vessel, Chiron’s transit here very frequently correlates with events centered around the body.

• Somatic Manifestations: Astrological practice frequently notes that during this transit, emotional or psychic blockages that have been ignored will manifest as physical symptoms. The body begins keeping the score in a very loud way.

• Health as a Catalyst for Change: It is common for people to experience a depletion of vitality, strange flare-ups, or physical vulnerabilities that force them to stop, rest, and completely re-evaluate how they treat their physical form. The "wound" appears in the body to force a lifestyle change.

• Literal Detoxification: People under this transit often feel an overwhelming, instinctual urge to physically cleanse. They may suddenly drop bad habits, adopt rigorous new health regimens, seek out holistic therapies (like acupuncture, somatic experiencing, or dietary overhauls), and actively work to purge toxins from their daily lives.

Ultimately, astrologers view the transit of Chiron over the Ascendant as a holistic detox. It is a demanding transit that brings vulnerabilities out into the open, initiating a necessary purging of physical neglect or psychological baggage so that the individual can move forward with a more authentic, integrated, and healed sense of self.

So it may well be that there is no external irritant at all and that my condition is the result of a purging. If so then it's best to let the process run its course and my symptoms should dissipate as Chiron moves away from my Ascendant. Time will tell.