(no subject)

[bitterlawngnome]

I've been thinking about the Chiron myth lately. It never really clicked for me until recently. I wonder if that's an age thing? or a me thing? and I also wonder how Chiron entered astrology (there seem to be as many stories as sources).

Comments

[leafshimmer]

Curious as to which facet of his story is speaking to you. This site has a lot of ads but has an interesting collection of original sources:

https://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/KentaurosKheiron.html

One of my Craft Initiates took the name Chiron.

[bitterlawngnome]

Several, to be sure. Today, it was thinking about the shrink or social worker who rather than presenting themself as some sort of Ubermensch owns their neuroses as part of helping other people.

Why do we never say "Uberfrau"?

[leafshimmer]

Forgive me if I'm being unduly literal or, worse still, "mansplaining": in German, mensch means person. Brecht's play The Good Woman of Szechwan has as its original German title Der gute Mensch von Sezuan; the play's protagonist is a female prostitute named Shen Teh.

Owning one's own neuroses as a means of helping or healing others makes me think of the main thing I learned from a favorite novel of childhood, A Wrinkle in Time; Meg's faults save herself, her family, and the Universe. Worth pondering.

[bitterlawngnome]

Versus "Mann", I guess? I never thought about it but you must be right!

[edit] It came to me: (der) Übermensch is often translated as "the Superman" (since 1909, it turns out, patterned on Shaw's _Man and Superman_). So I had it in my head as male gendered.

[angiereedgarner]

I painted him a while back (ok like 10 years now) - "Chiron lectures on war and sustainability" - and I've been looking fresh at the painting anyway if not the myth.

Maybe it's about teaching from a place of embodiment? And comfort with that? I don't know, there's an ease and disinterest in criticality about my body, and comfort there too, even as aches and pains increase because aging.

https://angiereedgarner.com/uploads/1/1/9/5/119539235/chironlectures-40x30-lores_orig.jpg