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Jean-Baptiste Regnault (1754–1829): L'Éducation d'Achille par le centaure Chiron, 1782. Musée du Louvre, Paris |
Chiron in Aries
The healing power of the willpower
A few days ago, I heard that the film "La sociedad de la nieve" (society of the snow), produced and directed by J. A. Bayona, based on the book of the same name by Pablo Vierci has just been released.1 In the La Nación + interview in which they interview Carlos Páez Rodríguez, they say that the film appears 51 years after the tragedy and miracle of the plane crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 that occurred on October 13, 1972 in the Andes Mountains.2
Immediately, Chiron came to my mind, because 51 is Chiron's age. In astrology, Chiron is a misshapen planetoid that, due to the whims of the cosmos, has an eccentric orbit of 51 years. In its perihelion it crosses the orbit of Saturn and in its aphelion - transiting through Pisces and Aries - it crosses that of Uranus. In this way, symbolically, it seems to function as a bridge between Heaven and Earth, the afterlife, and our incarnation. It was discovered in 1977, and some astronomers believe it could be a wandering celestial body that entered the solar system's magnetic field on its journey through the galaxy. Symbolically, in astrology this would reflect the pain that human beings experience in this world, feeling that they come from another dimension, and that they have been abandoned to their fate on Earth.
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| Chiron's orbit between Saturn and Uranus.3 |
The Myth of Chiron
Furthermore, the Chironian astrological archetype largely reflects the myth of Chiron, the Wounded Healer. Chiron was a centaur who turned out to be unusual. Please go to the link if you are not familiar with the myth.
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| Chiron teaching Geography to his disciple Achilles, Gaetano Zompini 4 |
Astrological Chiron
With this idea in mind, I opened the astrological software and entered the date and there it was. Chiron in Aries at 14º 49'. It took me a little longer to find the exact time and place of the accident, but I managed to find them.2
The story presents numerous aspects of the Chiron myth. First of all, Chiron in Aries, ruled by Mars, the sign and planet of athletes, highlights the injured athletes. Obviously, the first wound was feeling abandoned in such an inhospitable place and without appropriate means of survival. They had the feeling that they could only entrust themselves to some higher force, or to their supreme self who gave them the strength and determination to live.
Another aspect clearly represented was having to face their ambivalent condition of being spiritual beings, some of them believers and respectful of God, and having urgent physical needs to satisfy or die. That is, just like Chiron, they also saw themselves in their half-human and half-animal condition. Through this crucial experience, they managed, with a high level of wisdom, to combine both aspects, especially when having to decide to eat parts of the deceased bodies of friends and family. Similarly, the sting of hunger that harassed them mercilessly, and from which no one can be freed except through death or food, could emulate the poison of the Hydra in Chiron's wound.
The part of Prometheus exchange in the myth is reflected in several ways. One is that Fernando Parrado and Roberto Canessa offer to invest what they have left of energy, even with the possibility of losing their own lives, in starting the search for some 'salvation'. Just as Chiron offered to die so that Prometheus could save his life, they were willing to sacrifice themselves. They climbed and descended mountains of colossal height with a determination that even 51 years later is considered staggeringly incredible. One may well believe that, for ten days, some inexplicable superior force kept them alive to achieve this. This could be compared to Chiron's immortality offered on that stone 'altar' where Prometheus was chained.
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Fernando Parrado and Roberto Canessa with their savior, the herder, Sergio Catalán |
It is well known that it is probably the best studied accident in the entire history of accidents. Honoring, as expected, the myth of Chiron, who was a scholar and teacher of various sciences, not only have numerous books been written, several films and documentaries dedicated to the accident, but many professionals from different disciplines including doctors and psychologists have studied it.
Not only for that, but studying the astrological chart a little more in depth, I said to myself 'this is a purely Chironian story', and par excellence. It's a story about the fragility and resilience of life. It is the story of the deep wound in human conscience struggling between life and death. These are typical themes for Chiron in Aries. As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries represents birth, the entry into life and its inherent fragility.
Chiron in Aries wonders like the survivors of the Andes, "why have I been abandoned?" It is that moment when one realizes that one is essentially 'naked' in this world. And to survive, one needs protection, a mother and father, shelter, food, or one dies. Chiron in Aries makes this wound of helplessness, vulnerability and the fragility of life feel very acute. "We don't have mom, dad, home, or even food." Just like Chiron, who was abandoned by his parents at birth, the survivors say they felt abandoned by the world in that inhospitable place. With their inexperienced youth they felt that they lacked the necessary skills and resources to face such a desperate situation. Food, clothing and everything necessary to protect life was inadequate or scarce. That is the vulnerability of Aries, highlighted by the presence of Chiron.
Another aspect of Chiron's astrological archetype is that, unable to heal himself from his terribly painful 'wound', he turns to helping ease the wounds of others. In a cathartic act, Chironian suffering is alleviated by healing the other. In that "society in the snow", each person took the responsibility of looking out for others, thus saving the lives of several. And over the years almost all of them have dedicated themselves to giving talks and talking about their experiences, even confessing the most intimate details, because in doing so they have realized that they could inspire and encourage those who suffer in life situations or death.
They are the live testimony that "what you get in a crisis situation is an explosion of altruism. So people start helping each other on a massive scale."5
Around the world, many people today are grateful and recognize that their talks have 'saved their lives'. Even José Pedro Algorta confesses in a TeleDoce interview in 2012 that after 35 years of reserve, he decides to open up and 'talk about the Cordillera'. On that occasion, the host of the program, Facundo Ponce de León asks him, 'why did you decide to open up?' Algorta answers 'by seeing the impact our story had on people'. And he adds, 'Once I went to the Cordillera, and a woman told me that she was still alive thanks to our history. She told me that her son had committed suicide and that she gained strength to keep going thanks to our experience in the mountains.'6
They have also dedicated their financial resources to charitable projects. Since 1974, when they published the book "Alive", "the protagonists of the story agreed that they would donate part of the money raised in publications and conferences, benefiting schools in the interior [of Uruguay] that suffered enormous shortages, and so they did."7 Not only that, in 2007, they also founded a non-profit organization to help people in survival situations. "Together with Un Techo Para Mi País (A Roof for my Country) [they managed to build homes that allowed] the transfer of the inhabitants of Villa del Chancho (Pork Slum) to a decent land."7
So great is Chiron's influence on the accident chart that there have been many subsequent related events coinciding with Chiron's transits. To mention just one, twenty-five years later, shortly after the opposition of the Chiron transit, that is, in the middle of the cycle, some survivors and relatives of the deceased take an excursion to the Cordillera. They arrive at Los Maitenes where a religious service is offered. After that, Roberto Canessa and the children of Dr. Francisco Nicola return to the scene of the accident and install a cross in memory and tribute to the deceased. The Nicolas, although now adults, now feel the culmination of their grief. They name the site the Valley of Tears.
As expected, on that occasion, Heaven accompanies them. Saturn is in exact conjunction with Chiron on the accident chart. This indicates the pause, sorrow and recollection, a stage in which survivors feel the need to remember, seriously re-evaluate what happened, and take responsibility for the 'wound' - figuratively speaking. Chiron is exactly overhead in the midheaven, as if crowning the event.
The most recent film, "The Society of the Snow", was filmed since 2017 through the covid pandemic - says Pablo Vierci.8 Let us remember that Chiron enters Aries in March 2018. Since then, the process of Chiron's return to the position of the accident chart had started. Chiron's return is exact when the film is released. It is so exact that it is also retrograde (see chart below). Through historical research, Astrologers maintain that Heaven has memory, and that planetary returns are moments in which the original symbolism is revived in some way. Furthermore, the transit of Jupiter in opposition to natal Mercury favors the wide international dissemination of the film. The Moon square Pluto shows the deep emotions that the film has already provoked in all audiences.
With the return of Chiron in Aries, the film "The Society of the Snow" clearly reminds us of the values that generated that community or 'society' in the crucible of pain. Their odyssey teaches the best way to confront the desperate adverse circumstances that millions of people face around the world today. The enormous amount of human displacement due to violence of all kinds in their countries of origin makes it almost impossible for other governments and charitable organizations to help them all. So it is urgent to take the lessons learned in that tragedy in the Andes, and apply them today. Thus, the film seems to be in sync with current events. Of course, this synchronicity is related to the fact that Chiron is in Aries again.
The principles emphasized by the film are based on the fact that no one can survive alone, the care and protection of the group is needed. In order for everyone to provide support, we must develop cooperation skills to help everyone survive. Obviously it is useless to complain, and it is also prohibited because it negatively affects the group subjected to such circumstances. In survival mode, the benefit of the group is paramount. If everyone is fine, the individual is fine. Above all, each person must make the maximum effort, give the best of themselves, even sacrifice the most valuable thing they have for the benefit of the group. These cooperative principles of society have been lost in an era of high level of civilization, in which, paradoxically, everyone sought their own benefit, often regardless of the harm caused to others or to the environment.
Taking a closer look, many other important values can be useful in situations of extreme misfortune, such as those suffered due to natural calamities, or those caused by war. It is probably the goal of Chiron in Aries, to realize the supreme vulnerability we suffer now, and the strategies necessary to protect and strengthen ourselves. It is important to understand that to overcome the suffering of the physical plane we must use "the Higher Law against the lower ones, and transmute what is not desirable into what is estimable, triumphing in that way.[...] Mastery consists [...] in employing the superior forces against the inferior ones, thus escaping the pains of the lower planes through elevation to the higher ones." 9 The way to heal an existential wound like the one they suffered, was using determination, initiative, and an iron willpower, of which youth is especially capable.
Astrological analysis of the accident chart
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October 13, 1972, 15:34, Malargüe, Argentina, 34°45′54″S 70°17′11″W 10 |
If someone had asked me for an astrological consultation to travel that day in that place at that time, I would have categorically dissuaded them. The main reason is that the Sun is square to the Lunar Nodes. This indicates that it is exactly the midpoint between the two eclipse seasons. It is the square to the eclipses that occurred 3 months before and those that come in another 3 months. This phenomenon occurs when the Sun or Moon approach and pass through the points where the lunar orbit and the ecliptic change direction. In this case, the Sun was traveling from the South Node to the North Node, the North Bend. Like eclipses, this is a point of great tension associated with all kinds of accidents, explosions, bombs, earthquakes, high tides, plane disasters, train crashes, multiple accidents. Some historical examples were the Challenger space capsule explosion, Chernobyl, September 11, 2001.
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The lunar nodes, the ecliptic and the lunar orbit. Image credit Astrowiki 11 |
Curiously, on October 14, 2023 there was a solar eclipse at 21º of Libra, in exact square with the Lunar Nodes of this chart, and over its Sun. The next eclipse on October 28 happened at 5º of the Taurus Scorpio axis, with the Sun above the Mercury of this chart. The karmic memory of Heaven is undeniable. On October 19, between eclipses, Netflix announces the premiere of the film "The Society of the Snow." 12
The ascendant of the chart in Pisces clearly indicates the tragic confusion of the pilot, and that of the survivors after the accident. Pisces is the sign of communion with the whole, reflected in the energetic and physical symbiosis that occurred between the survivors and their environment. Even faith, the deeply spiritual experience of their 'odyssey' and communion with the bodies of the deceased are Piscean themes. They formed a 'society' of survival in which individuality was erased to create an indissoluble community. Hence the offering and consecration of their own bodies to sustain the lives of the survivors. Pisces is the sign of charity, which implies sacrifice for the good of the community. So they soon understood that everyone depended on everyone.
Chiron in Aries is opposite several planets with negative connotation, in the overcrowded and unusually intensified 8th house. Mars, the ruler of Chiron in Aries in the eighth house, joins forces with none other than Pluto and Uranus, emphasizing the pathos of the tragedy, but also the powerful determination to save life.
The eighth house is the area of experience associated with those deep traumas that lead us to savor death and rebirth, and the crises of life, often with loss of blood, such as childbirth. The ruler of Libra, Venus in the 7th house in Virgo, represents those outside the event. Venus square Neptune high in the sky indicates the confusion of those involved in the search for the plane. Venus at an 80º angle with Saturn represents the initiatory nature of the tragedy and miracle. Such an initiation helps participants establish sober personal values adapted to reality, such as taking responsibility and understanding the dimension of what it means to truly love others.
The 8th house stellium includes Ceres with Uranus. She is the goddess of nutrition, the support of life, but she is also in charge of death rituals. As the death priestess, she accompanies souls to the afterlife and rebirth. Uranus brings the alternative factor to these issues, like many things related to that revolutionary planet. The total lack of food leads to their decision to accept a taboo. Although the funerary rituals are performed with reverence, they were obviously unconventional. And it is evident that those who died find new life in the survivors.
Mercury in Scorpio (ruled by Pluto Mars conjunction) in the ninth house reflects the strange place in a foreign country. Mercury is the communications, the intense search for information, the painful conversations and thoughts, and also the cries of pain of the wounded who suffered (Scorpio ruled by Pluto) trapped for several hours without being able to be cured or saved. Mercury in Scorpio also reflects the religious debates, or the conversations about their beliefs. They discussed what to do to survive, until reaching the conclusion of a communion with the deceased similar to 'eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ'. In this way it could be said that the dead are resurrected through the survivors thanks to the offering of and communion with their bodies.
Mercury in semi-square with Jupiter also indicates the obstacles and frustrations in relating to the environment and with the rest of the world (Jupiter and house 9). For example, this aspect reflects the fruitless search and the renunciation of it by the authorities. To survive and ultimately escape the place, they had to use inventiveness, creative skills, and alternative methods of communicating with the world, and to explore the surrounding areas. For example, they drew a cross in the snow trying to be seen from the sky. To communicate, they had to use their inventive to operate a radio. Two of them exposed themselves to extreme risks by making the final walk to try to find a way out. And when they found the herder, Sergio Catalán, across the river, they had neither paper nor pencil to write a message. When the herder got them for them, Fernando Parrado had to throw the letter wrapped in a stone to the other side of the river, but being so weak, he was unable to bridge the distance and the message fell into the water. The herder's son went into the water to save it. The pain of losing their 'brother'-friends and other people who accompanied them was extremely painful. They suffered from seeing others injured without having the appropriate means to heal them. They improvised glasses so that the snow wouldn't blind them. All of these issues are associated with an 'afflicted' Mercury, as a planet in poor condition is called in Astrology .
What is most significant for this article is definitely Chiron in Aries. Once again we see the ruler Mars next to the symbol of death, Pluto. Together they make an undesirable couple, which portends unbearable pain, bleeding, infected fractures, tragic and cruel death and, as a corollary, a very disturbing psychological trauma.
Chiron is in the second zodiac house. This includes those resources necessary to sustain life, such as food, energy, the support provided by a family, a home (fire), a roof. Therefore, this is the area of experience of our desires and values. Chiron reflects the inadequacy and lack of such resources. Survivors have often told how difficult it was to even provide themselves with water, which is the basis of survival. Not to mention maintaining the energy level with a precarious food first, and then a mono nutrient such as meat. As a house they had a dilapidated fuselage that could not even protect them from the avalanches.
Individual desires are usually derived from what is necessary, or what the person believes to be of value to sustain his or her life, or lifestyle. All survivors have testified that this experience marked a milestone, a turning point in which their values and desires were turned upside down. For some it was definitive from that moment, others had to face other challenges and mature even more. But in the end they ended up confirming that those were authentic values that had to be upheld.
As the days went by, they formed a community with close ties of interdependence so lasting that even today they call each other 'brothers' and treat each other as such. Some have confessed that they are very different, that at times they have not agreed, that they have fought sometimes and reconciled immediately, that fraternal ties are stronger than everything. The main one, the most firm and lasting, is that of that family, which they call "society of the snow" - to return to the title of the film, the fraternal family that has sustained them for the rest of their lives. There they forged the unwavering value of brotherhood that has resulted in an inspiring example for many. Another value is having learned what true love is, practicing that message in the Gospel of John "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." 13
Conclusion
There is no doubt that given the karmic nature of the tragedy of the Andes, it will endure throughout history as an icon of human resilience. The sky has memory. I say karmic because of the significant influence of the Lunar Nodes (psychic memory) on cardinal signs. Let us remember that the cardinal signs form the cross that governs the world, the cross of matter, physical incarnation, taking physical form at all levels. They are the signs that represent the changes of season, thus determining the tropical zodiac. They mark the solstices and equinoxes. So they are signs activated constantly almost all year round. As explained above, every time there are eclipses or squares to them, in those four signs, this story will be named again, we will continue to learn from it. We will continue to listen to the survivors reflecting on what they learned. We will continue learning from them. The world will continue to drink their wisdom that saves lives, just as they drank that distilled snow that saved theirs.
REFERENCES
1 - The snow society, https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_sociedad_de_la_nieve#Producci%C3%B3n
2 - Flight 571 of the Uruguayan Air Force: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuelo_571_de_la_Fuerza_A%C3%A9rea_Uruguaya
3 - Chiron orbit image credit: Reyk - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38068800
4 - Gaetano Zompini - Imagen: Chiron teaching geography to Achilles http://collections.lacma.org/sites/default/files/remote_images/piction/ma-31723605-O3.jpgGallery: http://collections.lacma.org/node/232778 archive copy, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27295935
5 - When everything falls apart, Through line NPR Podcast, https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1151023362
6- The Miracle of the Andes: the story told by its protagonists. Youtube video https://youtu.be/3jOCxPEuWEA?si=VzGgVxdEq961n5mb
7 - The survivors of the Andes create a foundation. https://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/sobrevivientes-de-los-andes-crean-fundacion-de-apoyo
8 - In Perspective with Pablo Vierci and Fernando Parrado
9 - The Kybalion, Three Initiates, pg. 60.
10 - Exact coordinates of the accident- https://youtu.be/N10aP9JszDw?si=GSotOtrBA6igdFoO and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguayan_Air_Force_Flight_571
11 - Moon's Nodes - https://www.astro.com/astrowiki/en/Moon%27s_Nodes.
12 - Netflix official trailer, October 19, 2023 https://about.netflix.com/es_es/news/netflix-presents-a-new-trailer-for-society-of-snow-by-ja-bayona
13 - The Bible, Old version of Casiodoro de Reina and Cipriano de Valera, 1960. Gospel of John 15:13.
