Homeopathy & Chiron

archetype of the wounded healer

Chiron in Mythology

Chiron was a civilized (unlike his brethren) immortal centaur (half man half horse…) whose wisdom and knowledge was unsurpassed - especially in healing.

Cronus, ruler of the Titan’s and father of the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, was Chiron’s father - after disguising himself from his sister/wife!?, Rhea as a horse and raping Philyra the daughter of Oceanus.¹

Chiron, credited with inventing botanical pharmacy, was teacher to the children of the gods of Mount Olympus including Asclepius - the god of medicine.

Heracles (son of Zeus) was a pupil of Chiron.

During a savage battle with wild centaurs, obsessed with stealing wine from the only other civilized centaur Pholus, Heracles was forced to use the arrows he’d poisoned with Hydra venom.

One of Heracles’ poison arrows killed Pholus, and another pierced Chiron’s knee.

Chiron, in agony for nine days from the poison which neither he nor Heracles could neutralize, begged Zeus (his half brother) for his mortality.

Zeus granted Chiron death and placed him forever as the constellation of Centaurus aka Sagittarius.²

The constellation of Sagittarius is located in the Southern Hemisphere and contains two of the brightest stars in the sky - Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri.

The constellation of Sagittarius IMAGE TAKEN FROM https://globeatnight.org/constellation/sagittarius/

Chiron in Psychiatry

In 1951, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung introduced the concept of the wounded healer to the field of psychiatry.³

Jung’s self-realized statement that only a wounded physician could heal effectively,⁴ published just days before his death⁵ in 1961, remains a powerful archetype in healing.

Carl Jung is said to have traced his wounded healer concept to the myth of Chiron and Asclepius, has been quoted as saying;

“ A good half of every treatment that probes at all deeply consists in the doctor’s examining himself…it is his own hurt that gives a measure of his power to heal. This, and nothing else, is the meaning of the Greek myth of the wounded physician. ”⁶

The wounded healer was not ‘discovered’ by Jung, but rather built upon ancient, typically shamanic, traditions which held that to be truly effective in helping another to heal, the healer must first be wounded themselves.⁷

The exception to the wounded healer tradition in medicine is of course the standardized system of homeopathy⁸ introduced to the world by Samuel Hahnemann (1810).

Samuel Hahnemann perceived that the practice of medicine was chaotic - without definite law - and discovered that for medicine to be successful its practice must be standardized.⁹

Our solar system showing 95P/Chiron (2060) Chiron between Saturn and Uranus IMAGE https://theskylive.com 26-Jan-2025 23:54 (GMT+8)

Chiron 95/P (the comet)

Chiron was discovered on 1st November 1977 by Charles Kowal (on a photographic plate taken 18 October, 1977).¹⁰

Kowal¹¹ is said to have named the celestial body after Chiron the Centaur to reflect its dual nature - having characteristics of both asteroid and comet. Questionable celestial objects are now categorized as belonging to the Centaur family.

Kowal was proven correct in 1988 when Chiron was finally observed with a coma and tail, and was officially classified as a comet - albeit one with a much larger diameter than that of any other known comet.¹²

Chiron in Astrology

Simply, Chiron represents teaching, healing, and wounds.

It appears that a few astrologers were involved with forming the varying astrological interpretations of Chiron from its (1977) discovery.

By 1989, A H Morrison and Z Stein rectified Chiron’s chart (to 9:56 am in Pasadena, California), and B H Clow and M Reinhart published case studies within books interpreting Chiron by sign, house, and aspect.¹³

Representing the wounded healer, Chiron often signifies our deep-seated wounds and our journey towards healing them - a powerful symbol in understanding personal challenges and transformative healing processes.

The astrological glyph of Chiron

The glyph of Chiron is a mathematical design relative to the golden ratio¹⁴ and is likened to ‘a seed that uses the power of something extremely small to bring about changes in the world around.’¹⁵

Homeopathy & Chiron

As an Australasian homeopath (of fifteen years) I see real parallels with the current state of homeopathy in the Western world reflected in the origins of the myth of Chiron which lead to the archetype of the wounded healer.

Truly !

In a nutshell;

The rape of Chiron’s mother, the nymph Philya, by his father Cronos, and his status as a healer of renown reflects the barbarous¹⁶ state of the practice of medicine when Hahnemann ceased to practice it, moving on to conceive the idea of ‘similia similibus curentur’ - homeopathy!¹⁷

*

Made to feel ugly and then abandoned at birth, Chiron was endowed with intelligence, refinement and skills in healing, music and with animals, making him unique among the uncultured centaurs. Symbolic of the (continuing) story of the dereliction¹⁸ of homeopathic medicine and its sophistication¹⁹ as the only standardized system of medicine having the utmost respect for the individual.

*

Despite his marriage and children, Chiron lived alone in a cave where he mentored gifted students but remained aloof from family (and most other) connections. This embodies the isolation of most practicing Western non-medical homeopaths, and the exclusion by Western governments(?) of homeopathy as an endorsed health profession.²⁰

… and this is just for starters (aka brevity) !

Chiron, representing the wounded healer, signifies deep-seated wounds and our journey towards healing them.

This duality of wounding and healing makes Chiron a powerful symbol for understanding our own personal challenges and associated transformative healing processes.

Heartbreakingly, I have seen many homeopaths become symbols of the archetype of Chiron - wounded healers.

I am often in contact (as homeopath, mentor & teacher) with a fair few of these wounded healers whom I’m always, always, wishing to, and trying to, encourage back into homeopathy practice after -

Having dedicated years of their lives to the study of homeopathy

Incurring significant investments of their precious time, money and energy

Only to be let down when it comes to their own homeopathy practice

It sux!

However, recognizing our wounded ambitions as a healer and then working hard to turn these wounds into scars - hardens our resolve, thickens our skins, and energizes us in our quest to work alongside people as a homeopath, whose only goal is to restore health as best we can.

Sounding cheesy?

As fuck!

BUT it’s true…

AND additionally, a strength of Chiron is its synergism manifesting "the simultaneous action of separate agencies which, together, have greater total effect than the sum of their individual efforts."²¹

Enter the Wounded healer study groups

for all homeopaths suffering unrealized practice dreams

Wounded Healer study groups are available WORLWDIE

The idea of the wounded healer study groups is homeopaths supporting each other

so that we can each be a better support to the people we wish to work with

assisting, as homeopaths, the evolution of mankind back to health (and sanity… )

*

These study groups are not about emulating ‘tricky’ prescribing, introducing arbitrary ‘methodologies’ or ‘the latest’ remedy…

Practicing as a homeopath should be simple and easy !

Truly !

(not achieving the results you were promised by the college guru or during that webinar / presentation / podcast wounds you and your abilities as a healer.)

Another strength of the archetype of the wounded healer is that Chiron "forces us to accept that something in us needs to change," which helps us "to perceive the direction we need to go to do so."²²

!

Why consider joining an international homeopathy study group that is not promising, guaranteeing, or selling you anything?

Because our world needs you, as a well trained homeopath, now more than ever!

(and chances are high that I, Sarah Penrose, have been where you right now as a healer at some point during my various stages of working as a homeopath (now spanning fifteen years).

Again, I have nothing to sell to you.

My wish for you is that you succeed in your desire to practice as a homeopath helping people to actually regain their health via homeopathic medicine.

Collaboration can be a key to success because of the shared visions of each individual homeopath contributed via their specific, unique skills, and perspectives to help us all solve our clinical problems i.e., making decisions regarding remedy selection / case management / repeating or change the remedy and provide us with much needed support during our interactions, role, and responsibilities as a homeopath.

(also, being secure in the wisdom of a mostly female²³ group who have historically always been warriors for homeopathy!,²⁴²⁵ is an additional bonus!)

Facilitated by SARAH PENROSE* in New Zealand (UTC+13), the four wounded healer study groups will be offered WEEKLY from MARCH 4, 2025 in English via SKYPE in the following countries / time zones:

Tuesday evenings

• 7:30 - 9pm New Zealand (UTC+13)

• 7:30 - 9pm Sydney, Melbourne (UTC+11)

Thursday evenings

• 7:30 - 9pm United Kingdom / Ireland / Portugal / Morocco (UTC 0)

• 7:30 - 9pm Texas (UTC-6)

COST is just $15 (in your currency) or equivalent.

Homeopaths outside these countries are welcome to join us from anywhere in the world too ( https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html )

Interested?

*PLEASE NOTE your acceptance is not automatic - there is an interview process.*

Contact Sarah to express your interest in the following ways:

• by replying to this email

• dropping me a direct message (Substack or Facie)

• via the contact form at goodhealthforgreatlife.com/chiron-courses²⁶

Alongside the study groups Sarah ALSO offers

• Practice Creation mentorship program

• Case Supervision

For more information feel free to reach out / or visit

Feel free to SHARE with any trained homeopaths who you feel may be interested

* I (Sarah Penrose) am a triple qualified, internationally affiliated New Zealand registered homeopath and almost qualified adult learning educator. Always transparent with my work, I regularly publish peer reviewed case reports and case studies (spanning over a decade).

As an experienced mentor (since 2018*) I typically have not charged homeopaths.

I do so now in the hopes that my small fee ensures I can see myself through a Masters of Applied Health Science (Wellness & Rehabilitation) with my intended aim of obtaining crucial contemporaneous data of CAM use within the New Zealand population - in time for the writing of the natural medicine bill beginning 2026.

*Currently serving the Australian Homeopathic Association ‘Student Wisdom Exchange’ (and endorsed mentor of the West Australian branch 2018-22).

AND, I am ever grateful to Bill Meridian²⁷ for his insights and encouragement in helping me navigate my current solar arc and transit midheaven = (square) Chiron; Transiting Uranus conjunct Chiron; Progressed new moon = Chiron; Progressed MC opposed Chiron; and the sage statement;

‘‘ It’s only what you’re doing right now which will lead you to your future ‘‘

---

As a homeopath, Sarah Penrose is always keen on collegial connection and feedback, and can be contacted via her website goodhealthforgreatlife.com

‘In contrast to frequent claims, the available Meta Analyses of homoeopathy in placebo-controlled randomised trials for any indication show significant positive effects beyond placebo. Compared to other medical interventions, the quality of evidence for efficacy of homoeopathy was similar or higher than for 90% of interventions across medicine. Accordingly, the efficacy evidence from placebo-controlled randomised trials provides no justification for regulatory or political actions against homoeopathy in health-care systems.’²⁸

1. Cronus family and children. https://www.greekmythology.com/Titans/Cronus/cronus.html

2. Chiron in Greek Mythology. https://www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/chiron.html

3. Jung C. Fundamental questions of psychotherapy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 1951. [Google Scholar]

4. Daneault S. The wounded healer: can this idea be of use to family physicians? Can Fam Physician. 2008 Sep;54(9):1218-9, 1223-5. PMID: 18791082.

5. Jung CG. Ma vie: souvenirs, rêves et pensées recueillis et publiés par Aniéla Jaffé. Paris, Fr: Gallimard; 1967. [Google Scholar]

6. Hankir A, Zaman R. Jung's archetype, 'The Wounded Healer', mental illness in the medical profession and the role of the health humanities in psychiatry. BMJ Case Rep. 2013 Jul 12;2013:bcr2013009990. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2013-009990. (Jung quoted in Anthony Stevens, Jung Oxford, 1994:110 - https://openlibrary.org/books/OL1413777M/Jung)

7. Hankir A, Zaman R. Jung's archetype, 'The Wounded Healer', mental illness in the medical profession and the role of the health humanities in psychiatry. BMJ Case Rep. 2013 Jul 12;2013:bcr2013009990. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2013-009990.

8.

9.

10. Chiron fact sheet. Information on Comet 95P/Chiron / Minor Planet (2060) Chiron. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/chironfact.html

11. Charles T. Kowal (1940–2011). Jack MacConnell. https://baas.aas.org/pub/2022i077/release/1

12. The Thing Called "Chiron." Jay Bitterman. The Lake County Astronomical Society. https://www.lcas-astronomy.org/articles/display.php?filename=the_thing_called_chiron&category=the_planets

13. Denise Hancock. Chiron's Influence in Astrology https://www.astro.com/astrology/opa_article240221_e.htm

14. https://zanestein.com/chiron_glyph.htm

15. Stein, Z. Essence and Application, a View from Chiron: A View From Chiron https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1933303441?ref_=mr_direct_us_au_nz&showmri

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21. Stein, Z. Essence and Application, a View from Chiron: A View From Chiron https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1933303441?ref_=mr_direct_us_au_nz&showmri

22. ibid.,

23. Dew K, Clark-Grill M. (2022) Routes into the homeopathic profession: Witnessing, gender and subaltern therapeutics. Sociology of Health and Illness. Jan;44(1):99-112. DOI:10.1111/1467-9566.13401

24.

25.

26. https://www.goodhealthforgreatlife.com/chiron-courses.html

27. Bill Meridian. https://www.billmeridian.com/

28. Hamre et al., 2023. Efficacy of homoeopathic treatment: Systematic review of meta-analyses of randomised placebo-controlled homoeopathy trials for any indication. Systematic Rev. Oct 7;12(1):191. https://systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13643-023-02313-2#Abs1