Retrogrades in 2026: Chiron

Merry Meet and Welcome to you magickal souls!!!!

Another planetary body goes retrograde but this time, it's Chiron. Chiron will be retrograde from 3rd August 2026 until 6th January 2027.

Chiron is a centaur, a comet and an asteroid at the same time. Comets have tails while asteroids don't so it depends on where Chiron is within its path around the sun. Currently, Chiron is more of an asteroid but will show as more of a comet in about 20 years.

Mythologically, Chiron is the Greek wounded healer, typically a centaur son of Cronus, a titan, and Philyra, a nymph. Chiron was bot healer and wounded because he known for learning about medicine, showing his compassion for and kindness towards others. He was wounded accidentally by one of Heracles' arrows that had been dipped in the venom of the hydra, which had no antidote.

Chiron was immortalised in the sky as the Centaurus constellation by Zeus because he was willing to give up his immortality to end the suffering of the titan Prometheus by setting him free. Giving up his immortality also served to end Chiron's own never-ending pain.

For this retrograde, Chiron will be starting in the sign of Taurus and moving backwards into Aries. Taurus brings a steady, grounded energy to the healing aspect of Chiron. So perhaps for the first 6-ish weeks, this is what we will be dealing with until Chiron moves into Aries until it stations direct in January 2027. Aries brings bold, dynamic, beginning energy to the healing. This could then mean that the healing is going to be grounded and steady for a while before it becomes more obvious to ourselves and others around us.

To help me to make the most of this retrograde, I have put together a spread specific to Chiron and then pulled cards from The Wild Unknown Pocket Tarot deck by Kim Krans. I will admit that this is a deck I have struggled to connect with in the past but I am working on this as it is a beautiful deck.

What wound is my theme for this retrograde?

Father of Pentacles

With this card, it wasn't obvious what my wound-theme would be. This Father is a steady, calm and passionate energy. To me, this card is full of Taurus energy.

The stag has this energy too but is also ready to defend who and what it cares about. But perhaps this is where my wound lies: how I care for others but also how others have cared for me in the past.

My childhood guardian seemingly loved routines so brought that energy but they were also very strict, to the point where I stopped trying to think for myself, let alone speak up. I understand why but I wasn't allowed to be a child or have my own opinions.

Perhaps it is that I need to speak up about these things now, to bring those energies back to my life. Or that I need to work on softening those wounds.

What limiting belief is stopping me from healing?

The Fool

This card is usually all about beginnings and taking a leap of faith. But here, I think it's about believing I am too young, too naive, too undeserving, too unworthy, too stupid and/or too ugly for anything, let alone healing.

I was always compared to classmates and friends, as well as older cousins, so I never felt clever enough or good enough. I still feel like an imposter, even with writing this.

I shouldn't have been compared to people who weren't me. This is what I need to overcome: believing that others are always better than me.

But I should also try new things and learn what I truly can or cannot do well. If a hatchling can grow into a fledgling, I can learn how to do something similar, even as an adult.

How can I heal this wound?

9 of Pentacles

With this card, I smiled at it because, again, it feels like a confirmation of the previous two cards. It's almost as if I need to see how far I've already come from who I used to be.

I am not the person that some people knew me as, but nor would I want to stay the same person forever. I would like to grow and heal the wounds of the past.

Healing is noticing where the pain was and returning to an idea of being whole, so by seeing who I was and surrounding it with what I've learned and who I am now, I can see my whole Self.

The feathers framing the pentacles seem to be telling me to be gentle, to hold every part of who I have been with kindness, to not hate who I was and see that that version of myself was who I had to be in that place and situation. But I don't have to revert and be those versions again.

How can I help others to heal this wound?

10 of Cups

I'd usually say it was the end of a cycle but with this card, I'd say it's actually showing connections.

Not just connecting with other people who ave similar wounds but also making connections with who I used to be and who I am now, with what I learned then and what I know now.

Weaving every thread of my life to create something that is better than what came before. But better may not necessarily be the same as safe, beautiful, abundant or successful. However, it can show growth, just as I might not be able to see how a small corner fits into the bigger picture.

A rainbow is made up of many colours, not just the obvious ones, so being willing to see more is perhaps necessary and stepping back from being too close is a good idea. Distance is not always a bad thing as it can be a good thing.

The cards from this Chiron Retrograde spread seem to confirm the messages from the Saturn retrograde reading I did. (The Saturn retrograde starts just a few days before Chiron goes retrograde so it ties in nicely.) I'm not afraid of the next few months - if anything, I'm actually looking forward to doing this work.

I hope this has inspired you to consider what you might need to heal. If you'd like to receive your own reading for this Chiron retrograde from me, my diary and inbox are open.

Peace and love to all!!!!