Chariklo’s Meaning in Astrology
The Asteroid of Healing & Holding Space
“In our time of fast-track personal growth, uniting Chiron and Chariklo's majestic qualities can give us a fuller picture of our healing potential. I see it as such; if Chiron is known as the ‘wound that makes us wise’, Chariklo can be the caretaker of the invisible field around that wound.”
Sarah Whitridge is an Intuitive Astrologer, ordained Minister of Walking Prayer, Counselor, Death Advocate, Un-school Mother & Creative. She grew up in England and Ireland, and now has a home base on Orcas Island in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. She welcomes connection, conversation, and tea!
Chariklo’s Meaning in Astrology
My first encounter with Chariklo was a description from astrologer Pam Gregory:
“She is a beautiful, silent, eternal 'ground of being' that can bring healing to others simply by her state of being. She holds sacred space for the sick and in transitions of consciousness. She sits there silently within us, waiting to be called into service, so she is part of every one of us. Another aspect of her symbolism is that anything not of love falls away.”
Chariklo is a metaphor for how I’d like to move through the world. I had just finished a 2-year training as a Minister of Walking Prayer (an earth-based, secular mode of study) and started volunteering in a local hospice. Later, I completed a counseling program called The Empowered Heart® to facilitate healing spaces. When I had a spare moment, I spent it hiking the quiet side of the mountain near my home, writing, drawing, and observing nature. These vocations and my most significant role as a mother have a Chariklo flavor. Most recently, I set up a studio for astrology, counsel, and creative endeavors and felt compelled to use her name - Studio Chariklo. It was fitting to dedicate a Sky Scholar research project to Chariklo, to understand her better and honor this beautiful celestial being.
But who is Chariklo?
In Greek mythology, Chariklo is a biological mother and a foster mother to several well-known Greek gods, suggesting her abundance of non-judgmental love. Some say she is a nymph, others a centaur, but all agree she has the ability to shape-shift in natural cycles. Notably, she is the wife of Chiron, whom many of us know to be the ‘wounded healer’. Astrologers have called her ‘the healer of the healer’ or the ‘caretaker.’ She witnessed Chiron’s pain, suffering, and discomfort for 900 years before he became mortal. She has come to be associated with folks who have a propensity, either naturally or cultivated, to be in environments of ‘witnessing’ or tending. Essentially any care-providing role for people or the planet, for example, therapists, behind-the-scenes policymakers, midwives of both life and death or energetic healers, to name just a few.
Chariklo is the largest member of an asteroid class known as the Centaurs. She is, you could say, one of the 'healing council’ of asteroids alongside Vesta, Psyche, and Hekate, for example. Her discovery in 1997 has hallmarks of magic; she was configured in a six-pointed star on Valentine’s Day, at 6 degrees of Leo with a cluster of planets in Aquarius, including the Sun.
To begin a relationship with Chariklo is to feel her, and to feel her most acutely is to plant yourself in the natural world around you and observe the spaces between everything; the light between the fern fronds, the whisper of sunburnt grasses, or the perceived silence of a windless day. Astrologer and Chariklo researcher, Melanie Reinhart, recently introduced me to the word ‘arretos’. It's a Greek word meaning “too sacred to be spoken of.” We agreed that this word is very Chariklo-esque, which leads me to believe it is partly why one can cultivate a sense of her within the natural world. When Chariklo is at play in the cosmos, listening, feeling, and silence are natural responses. She is here to offer a gentle but powerful approach for an age of collaborative healing.
The Alchemical King & Queen
Ana Isabel (Life Astrologer) calls Chiron and Chariklo ‘the alchemical king and queen!’ If Chiron has fascinated you in your chart or the charts of others, I encourage you to get to know Chariklo. I would suggest they go ‘hand-in-hand’ in the astrology chart. Chiron wasn’t used much in charts 25 years ago and is now a point of interest for many, I think this may be the case with Chariklo in future. She is a likable character and a ‘feminine counterbalance to Chiron’ (Melanie Reinhart). She can show us where the quiet healing happens, parallel to Chiron’s active healing.
In our time of fast-track personal growth, uniting Chiron and Chariklo's majestic qualities can give us a fuller picture of our healing potential. I see it as such; if Chiron is known as the ‘wound that makes us wise’, Chariklo can be the caretaker of the invisible field around that wound. If Chiron is the recognition of ‘trauma’, Chariklo is the loving witness to it. If Chiron (proactive) is booking the therapy session, for example, Chariklo (subtle) is the integration between the sessions - she is fostering the magic of subconscious healing. If Chiron is the mental process of understanding ourselves, Chariklo is when we allow the body time to catch up.
Observing an aspect of myself ready to be healed or paid attention to (Chiron) takes enormous courage, engagement, and energy. It then takes enormous reserves (Chariklo) to process it. The trouble is, I have seen in myself and had conversations with others, that when a healing modality feels productive, some of us will subscribe for more and more, the ‘wound’ gets opened again and again with earnest efforts for it to be fixed and understood. One could say the pace of personal healing in recent decades appears to have a ‘pushing’ quality around it, reflecting attributes of society at large. If a modality is ‘working’, the mind wants it fixed, so we push! The will to heal is valid, needed, and essential, AND from experience, I found the pace of healing without pause for integration wasn’t sustainable. I’m curious if others have come to this conclusion as well.
A little time after my introduction to Chariklo, she moved alongside my life in another way. Chariklo was approaching my midheaven (place of vocation) which beautifully coincided with my work world, however, she then made a square (a challenge) to my natal Chariklo and my health took a turn. I had been experiencing numbness in my legs, particularly in the morning, and I found it hard to get out of bed and walk. My energy was depleting to the point where I couldn’t keep myself awake and I wondered if I was experiencing symptoms of narcolepsy. Medical results showed a virus causing extreme fatigue, so I took a new trajectory. Alongside supplements and herbs, doctors' orders were to create a routine around rest. It sounded so simple and I laugh in hindsight because it was so hard, but I was determined to make it happen as I felt this idea of slowing down was the remedy.
I kept an informal journal at this time and wrote “To be slow is to have time to witness”. Little by little (incidentally, ‘little by little’ was the name of my youngest son’s imaginary friend), I began a personal rest revolution and changed areas of my life so that rest could be included in my daily routine. I saw that making room to take a nap showed my children a sustainable way of living, and I could parent in a way that felt less strung out. I could also care for others with less burnout. When I rest, I really start to embody Chariklo. Over time, I came to recognize a feeling of profound groundedness that has become a baseline for my version of sustainable being. To me, groundedness is close to the root feeling of Chariklo, the one I desired to know when I came across her archetype. Now, when I am not somewhere near that baseline, I know it’s time to let something go. I could say that Chariklo assisted in cultivating a healthy yin and a healthy yang. As I witness her, she witnesses herself inside me. This is part of her magic.
Discover Your Chariklo Placement
If her archetype piques your interest, put her in your chart and bring on board intuition and curiosity as to what she can offer you. Here is how you can apply her to your chart on astro.com:
Log in
Extended Chart Selection
Additional Objects in the drop-down menu
Asteroid name/number list with 24997 names
Scroll for (10199) Chariklo and tick the box on the left
Show the chart
In my research on Chariklo, I have seen folks with a natal Chariklo and Sun conjunction (next to each other) have a natural magnetic quality - open, willing, and energetically attractive - with a gift of allowing others to be vulnerable in their presence. Often, they are natural space holders for children or elders, in some capacity, because they can offer a sense of safety. These folks can also speak to this quality in themselves. Many have caretaking roles as part of their work in the world.
Moon conjunct Chariklo people find they too tend towards caregiving, either with people or the natural world, often having had caregiving roles in childhood, to siblings or parents. However, they experience Chariklo’s archetype as a feeling rather than a knowing; sometimes they cannot recognize or speak to this quality in themselves, or at least do not need attention paid to it. Chariklo and the Moon have a synonymous, subterranean essence to them. When describing Chariklo’s archetype to a ‘Moon conjunct Chariklo’ interviewee, their eyes widened as they instinctively knew this way of being coming through in words.
I also studied Chariklo in transit charts. She can be nestled amongst other planets during significant moments of transition. The transit that stands out for me is the Chariklo opposition, between the ages of 31-32, which, for some of us, will coincide or come on the heels of our Saturn return. It is a fascinating time to study, sometimes lasting 1-2 years. She can accompany breakthroughs and breakdowns. I was privileged to hear some life-changing Chariklo opposition stories, and related to many of them. Stories of loved ones dying, break-ups, house moves, new jobs, or a newly found sense of self, and all along Chariklo was there, next to other planets, holding a loving space. Remember, she isn’t symbolizing any particular action, instead she illuminates poise and presence as an invisible force of enduring love.
Key Chariklo Transits to Look Out For
If you’ve passed your Chariklo opposition, look back and wonder if a sense of unconditional love was present in those years. Look for the serendipity, the folks who turned up bringing new philosophies or ways of being. Look for where these experiences provided an intentional pause for a new you. If it's in the future for you, it gives you a chance to integrate space and intentionally live with Chariklo for a while. Track your dreams, for she weaves through the subconscious, or plan for days with no plans and set in motion an idea to track synchronicities and gut feelings that come to you. You might like to make space to connect with Chariklo in the natural world or simply connect with her for support in a way that feels authentic to you.
If you are younger than 62, you have a Chariklo return to look forward to. Chariklo makes a complete cycle (or return) in our early sixties age 62-63. This is really exciting. I look forward to embracing her archetype in the best way possible; open-armed, grounded, less to say, and more resourced. To me, Chariklo can be firmly seated on a throne of elder, feminine role models that are sparse in our cultural narrative. I recently sat with a gentleman in the middle of his Chariklo return and his experience beautifully expressed her traits. With a natal Chariklo conjunct Moon, he had already spent his entire career in a role preserving salmon habitat on the coast of California; he was a natural, unbridled, unassuming caretaker. In his Chariklo return, he was diagnosed with epilepsy, willing him to create a strict routine of care, which he has embraced with acceptance and grace. At the same time, he supports his wife by helping her untangle her busy life. He remarked that he had always felt himself to be the calm one amongst the chaos ever since he was a child.
Indeed, witnessing the calm in the chaos is one of Chariklo’s gifts. Astrologers have spoken of her being a mediator amongst other planets making ‘hard’ aspects with her quality of silent love. As you can see, Chariklo is a type of celestial shepherd, willing us to trust in what we can not see. She encourages us to settle the nervous system once in a while: to watch the snow fall, to un-plan, to pause and delight in nothingness. She shows us how to play with the stretching out of time, she is a coiling movement inwards. Chariklo’s meaning is to leave space for integration to sustain the level of our advancement in consciousness. Funnily enough, even Chariklo’s name shows us what she does: In Greek, Chariklo translates as “grace spinner”. Her silent, sacred message might be the most powerful one you learn. It requires little effort and lots of listening, and in those moments, more and more of us are accessing Chariklo.
Sarah Whitridge is an Intuitive Astrologer, ordained Minister of Walking Prayer, Counselor, Death Advocate, Un-school Mother & Creative. She grew up in England and Ireland, and now has a home base on Orcas Island in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. She welcomes connection, conversation, and tea!
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These 60-minute readings will explore Chariklo in your chart, and guide you in understanding the healing gifts of this asteroid, and how they may present in your lived experience.