How Chiron affects our lives depends very much on whether we resist its influences or we try to work with its energies.

Chiron acts to open up wounds in the parts of our lives and of our psyches that it touches, especially by hard transit, and then Chiron asks us to work on healing them.

Initially, hard Chiron transits can make us feel weakened or ineffective. As the transit progresses, we begin to learn what it is that is holding us back from healthy expression of the traits associated with the transited planet or point.

Under heavy Chiron transits, we feel ineffective and encounter situations in which we feel we need to prove ourselves to others. The trick is to prove ourselves to ourselves first—to build our own self-respect. Efforts to prove ourselves to others will backfire--they simply won't work. We will appear less effective to them, and we'll exacerbate our own feelings of unworthiness.

It's an endless loop. We have to take a step back, be patient, and let our characters speak for themselves. If others are not seeing us in a particularly positive light right now or if they are doubting us (which can very much be the case during these transits), the only way to solve the problem is to resist the urge to prove ourselves to them.

Under heavy Chiron transits, we also need to avoid a tendency to follow others, to "suck up" to them. Chiron activates, by hard aspect, our "wounds"—areas where we feel weakened and unsuccessful-—and while it shines its light on these wounds, we may be inclined to blindly follow others' advice or to get ourselves into subservient roles.

The following are interpretations of Chiron's transits to planets and points. As always with interpretations of this type, remember that the transited planets' natal aspects and position by sign and house need to be considered. These are generalized interpretations.

Chiron-Sun Transits

Chiron transits to the Sun - Conjunct, Square, Opposition act to uncover fears and wounds with regards to our ego and our life path. We discover our "weaknesses" in the foundation of our very identity. Insecurities, fears, perceived failings, and unresolved issues about our sense of purpose in life are uncovered.

In some cases, women experiencing these transits deal with issues surrounding their fathers and his effect on their identity and adult relationships with men. Our creativity, self-expression, and independence are questioned.

Look for Leo in your natal chart, as the Sun rules Leo, and this is an area of life that will be directly affected by the transit (in addition to the houses where the transit actually takes place).

Initially, circumstances in your life tend to make you feel weakened and ineffective in the world. There can be a feeling that you just don't have the courage to make it on your own, or to express yourself creatively.

As the transit progresses, you begin to gather the courage to express yourself and your needs, and your doing so may surprise everyone around you! Chiron acts to pull up courage and bravery, but your initial expression of this newfound bravery may be so abrupt and unrefined that you seem to be acting completely out of character.

During this period, you come fact to face with patterns that you have been repeating in your life, especially with regards to relationships with men (and/or your father figure), addictions, and co-dependency issues. Relationships with men that leave you feeling insecure or ineffective may be dealt with now. Addictions that undermine you may need to be dealt with. You may need to deal with your own wounded pride.

These transits may bring "teachers" into your life in some manner. With the Sun, these people who are very willing to offer you advice are often males. With hard aspects, you need to be careful about blindly following someone's advice at this time, simply because you are feeling weakened and in need of help. Later, you may resent the fact that you didn't stand up for yourself.

You are bound to open yourself up to an entirely different perspective on your life, but be careful not to fall into the role of victim and let someone else "save" you. By transit's end, you will have uncovered your own power and effectiveness, and the decisions you made following someone else's advice may not look so good anymore!

Very commonly with these transits, you deal with others doubting your character, and you could feel like you're forced into a position of proving yourself. This may take place on either professional or personal levels.

Your first reaction is to do just that—prove yourself to others. However, you eventually realize how fruitless this effort is. Others are likely to interpret this effort as weakness, and this can only exacerbate the problem.

Eventually, you need to learn to stand up for yourself by not falling into a pattern where you are essentially "sucking up" to people. Ideally, you recognize that stepping back and letting your character speak for itself will earn you far more respect, as well as self-respect. In fact, self-respect is what this transit is truly about.

In contrast to hard Chiron transits, under Chiron transits to the Sun - Easy Aspects (Sextile, Trine), we tend to be looked upon favorably by others. We have the chance to shine, largely because we are projecting ourselves with self-respect and modesty at once.

You are especially appealing and charming during this transit just by being yourself. Opportunities—both personal and professional—are likely to present themselves as a result. You are not looking for credit for what you do, which frees you up to get it anyhow!

Interpretations are written by Cafe Astrology's Annie Heese, unless otherwise noted.

References & suggested further reading for transits:

Chiron (Special Topics in Astrology) by Martin Lass.

How to Predict Your Future: Secrets of Eastern and Western Astrology by James Braha. This is an excellent resource for outer planet transits: Jupiter through Pluto.

Planets in Transits: Life Cycles for Living by Robert Hand. A classic transit "bible".

Alive and Well With Pluto: Transits of Power and Renewal by Bil Tierney. A common-sense book dedicated to Pluto transits. Very realistic interpretations.

The Book of Pluto by Steven Forrest. This book is an exploration of Pluto both in the natal chart and in transits and progressions.