Guest article by Alison Dhuanna, UK Astrologer

Following the discovery of Chiron in 1977 it took over a decade for the rest of his herd to be discovered in the heavens. Like Chiron the Centaurs all have unusually strange orbital patterns crossing the path of the outer planets. From an Astrological point of view, they are important bodies in illuminating the ‘Rainbow Bridge’ and emergence of a trans-personal, interconnected global culture. The Rainbow Bridge refers to the area of the solar system between Mars and Jupiter and a state of consciousness.

Chariklo like Chiron crosses the path of both Saturn (Underworld) and Uranus (Revolution). This is one of the reasons both are strongly connected to the emergence and liberation from an underworld journey. Chariklo is the first small body discovered to have rings – could this mean she shares traits of Saturn such as feeling limited by her role? She almost certainly has a moon yet undiscovered.

Chiron is the Wounded Healer who learns through recovering from his own illness, a wound to his leg. Chariklo was his wife, a Nymph and the Daughter of Apollo. In mythology, we never hear directly about Chariklo but we know she is there on a life long journey supporting Chiron. She embodies many of the qualities of the Carer archetype – she is invisible, undervalued and not paid for her healing services. In other words, she has had to let go of all status and reward in her role as Carer and Healer.

The archetype of the Carer has been part of my life for many years now despite my futile resistance to it. My adopted son has extreme behaviors which made normal parenting, going places and socializing with other families an impossibility. I know there are many families in this position and its very isolating and challenging being desperately worried about the one you love, having no time to yourself so your resources gradually become depleted no matter how strong a person you are.

The reason I decided to look up Chariklo today is my partner has been in hospital with angina. My resistance to being a Carer has risen again in the early days of the diagnosis (I apologize darling for being like Nurse Ratchet). Chariklo helps me to see that being a Carer is part of my path – not a diversion from my path. When I accept the role with Grace and the gifts it brings – I know a lot about a range of health problems, attachment, trauma – which I never would have known without the people in my life I have cared for. I would not be doing the Astrology I am doing or know the things I do were it not for these direct life experiences.

The path of ‘surrender’ and service to others may lead one spiritually to explore the Carer archetype as a way of letting go of ‘self’. A strong Pisces/Neptune theme in charts for example would point to this. How challenging this is to achieve will be determined by what else is in the chart. A strong Aries/Mars theme for example interacting with Pisces/Neptune would create challenging feelings about taking on such a role.

Last summer I attended a Native American Indian teachings workshop and was paired up with a woman who was ill and struggling with the whole caring thing from the other side of the fence. This helped me understand how frightening it can be to become ill and feel alone and a burden on those you love. It must be also a deep ancestral fear because in days gone by you would just have been left to die. Some exceptions have been found for example in the Orkney Islands. Anthropologists believe people with disabilities thought of as shamans were looked after but this was not the norm.

It is also very hard for people who are ill not to feel stigmatized, less than other people. Illness may bring poverty and social isolation with it. The power dynamics which can arise in relationships where one partner is ill and one the carer can be difficult to negotiate and not fall into victim/oppressor roles. Often children must make sacrifices where parents or other siblings are ill which can shape who they are and their feelings about illness, being supported. Saturn often highlights such issues.

It did not surprise me to find that Chariklo is travelling with the Golden Trio of Goddesses in Capricorn, Astraea, Juno and Hygiea. They are coming up to a meeting with Pluto which is why the intensity of their issues is growing. In a nutshell, these could be summarized as the need to harmonize with natural rhythms and create an environment of beautiful, harmonious energy to be in. Also underlying problems with partners and power imbalances may come to the surface to be looked at again.

For the next 2 weeks, I’m going to offer a special chart reading which also includes Chariklo plus a £20 voucher off the cost of a reading for Carers and those in need of caring. The reading would therefore be £67. Email me at astroalison@gmail.com to book quoting Chariklo reading. I donate 10% of all my readings to Mahala to say a big thank you for sharing my blogs.

Below is a video about the discovery of the Rings of Chariklo which astounded astronomers [Editor’s note: turn your computer volume down before connecting, a commerical runs on the video before the news clip] http://www.space.com/25225-asteroid-rings-discovery-video-images.html