Chiron
Key to Our Careers
by Aubrie De Clerck
I
n the Career Coaching profession,
few of us talk about the deep pain
that career and work can cause.
There are how-tos and prescriptions on
LinkedIn every day, but not much conver-
sation around the feelings of hopelessness
that conflicts on the job, purposeless tasks,
or layoffs can bring.
In one-on-one sessions, clients speak more
openly about this pain and it has become
clear to me that it is a bigger barrier than
ageism, gaps in work history or any other
common concern. Underneath their wor-
ries was a universal feeling that there was
something wrong with them, something
Adam Gainsburg calls a “subconscious belief
or pattern of assuming we are permanently
damaged, wounded, broken or unfixable in
specific ways necessary to our fulfillment.”
Work troubles can trigger this pattern in
short order.
I looked to astrology to help me find a
commonality in client charts that would help
explain the pain, change the lens they were
seeing through and help them see possibil-
ities. At first, I looked to Saturn, where fear
and work can overlap. It seemed especially
obvious with the material losses and hard
times people were facing. Yet Saturn place-
ments, aspects and transits were not indica-
tive of the pain they were describing.
Then I looked for transits of Pluto and/
or Uranus and they came up short as
The
Career
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well. Houses associated with work and
career, while important, didn’t hold the key.
Informed by intuition and years of hearing
the hurt underneath my client’s fear, anger
and despair, I looked at Chiron.
Since that first look, I include The
Wounded Healer in my career readings for
clients and us it as the focus of talks and
workshops. Over and over I see clients shift
when Chiron is added to the picture. They
were able to see not only their inner chal-
lenges, but also their innate gifts and talents.
Let’s look at a client example, a woman
with Chiron in Aquarius in the 5th:
This client continually worked in toxic
non-profit environments over her career. Her
creativity and innovation were unwelcome
in each workplace, the very things she iden-
tified as giving her energy and satisfaction in
life. She wondered if no healthy non-profits
existed out there, but when she went deeper
she shared her worry that there was some-
thing wrong with her that w as causing this
struggle - something she couldn’t fix. Her
Chiron placement affirmed that she was here
to contribute her ingenuity. She realized
that she was wired up to give this gift and
had been choosing organizations that only
supported the woundedness. She was able
to conduct a search that focused on under-
standing the culture of the organization and
how to find the place that would welcome
her fresh perspectives. She landed in a
healthy non-profit that was a fit. A year later,
she sent me a note saying that leadership
was changing the organization in ways that
might limit her contributions and that she
was keeping a close eye on it, ready to move
on if necessary.
There are a few things I love about this
example.
1. It shows how applying Chiron placement
simply can be powerful
2. It illustrates the practical career applica-
tions of the placement
3. It shows how the client is empowered,
using the knowledge as her career contin-
ues
How clients orient towards Chiron is
important. I think of it as two sides of the
same coin – the wound and the gift. Many
people identify with the wounded side (espe-
cially prominent when Chiron has harder
natal aspects) and stop there, trying to pro-
tect their vulnerability from the light of day.
When we can acknowledge, as in the Chiron
myth, that we all are born with the notion
that we are separate and imperfect in a way
OPA’s Newsletter for Professional Astrology
that will cause rejection, we can look at the
wound differently. It can inspire compassion
for ourselves and others. Once in the light,
we can see that in actuality, the wounded
place is exactly what is key to our fulfill-
ment—and our purpose. By going into the
wound, we find the very thing we are here on
the planet to contribute.
How do we know when Chiron might be at
work in our clients’ work lives? The following
are some of its telltale characteristics:
• What they do well for others is difficult
to do for themselves
• Inability to identify how they are unique
and special
• Feeling understood more by people
who are older than them by about 50
years, such as grandparents or mentors
• Swinging between denial and over-
achieveme
Chiron shows up uniquely for each person,
however there are common ways it has been
pivotal in my work with clients:
• Identifying gifts: Giving name to the
gifts and the comforting idea that they
are innate within the client already.
This paves the way for motivation and
self-acceptance.
• Defining healthy work environments:
Encouraging clients to advocate for
themselves at work in a balanced way
and guiding clients to structure search-
es that support the expression of the
gift, rather than furthering the wound.
• Finding empowerment: Helping clients
understand that the key to change
is right in front of them and does
not require outside circumstances to
change in order for them to access it.
To deepen your understanding of Chiron’s
influence on the careers of your clients, con-
sider looking at sign, house and natal aspects
to start. It can provide specific information
about a client’s gifts, areas that create road-
blocks and paths to healing and purposeful
expression. Why not look at your own, too? : )
Aubrie De Clerck is a career coach and astrol-
oger, with over 8 years experience in corporate,
non-profit and education environments. Aubrie
was featured in Willamette Week’s 2012 Best
of Portland as “Best Cosmic Career Coach” and
named of one of the 100 Most Powerful Women
by the Northwest Women’s Journal. Aubrie
is known for being highly inspirational and
deeply practical - with an innate capacity for
supporting people in going after what brings
them joy. Visit Aubrie’s website at www.coach-
ingforclarity.net. R
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