RESEARCH INTO CHIRON
Greek Mythology
Born of a violent union between Kronos and the Nymph Phylira, Chiron was rejected by his mother who was devastated that he was born a Centaur. This was because Phylira had turned herself into a mare to spurn Kronos’ advances, but this did not stop him.
This initial wound of rejection never left him, although he was taken in by the god Apollo who educated Chiron in healing, music and the arts. He was wounded a second time, when accidentally shot by the arrow of Hercules and although Chiron was immortal (being the son of a god) he could not heal himself and spent his life in pain. Hence, he became known as ‘The wounded healer’
In astronomy, Chiron was discovered and named as a Centaur Planet in 1977, and orbits between Saturn and Uranus. Find out more here.
The sonic frequency of the planet Chiron is 172.86 Hz. This is equivalent to the note of F and is thought in sound healing terms to induce lucid dreaming. When we have a lucid dream we are in control of our dream; we can have power over the outcome of the dream. Sigmund Freud suggested that we live out our desires and unfulfilled wishes through our dreams, and to have control over those dreams could allow us to have agency over our emotional, psychological and behavioural growth.
In astrology, Chiron, (depending on where he was situated when you were born), invites us to heal the deepest wounds in our psyche. Taking around 50 years to complete a full orbit between Jupiter and Uranus, he comes around each sign for the last time when we are age 50, and for probably the last time in our lives he invites us to look deep inside for the initial wounding we have all suffered and to heal ourselves once and for all.
The amalgamation of these concepts inspired me to conceive ‘Chiron’s Return’. Not so much a composition of my own, but an invite to compose one’s own healing soundscape. Taking the frequency of the planet Chiron (or the note F) And selecting a ‘box of toys’ or healing instruments that are recorded in F, the performer is instructed to play their choice or combination of instruments that feels particularly healing to them while focusing on their own wounds.
This is akin to a Fluxus performance, a toolkit for healing art. This process has allowed me to experiment with the intersectionality of mythology, astrology, astronomy, psychoanalysis, sound healing, and contemporary art concepts as well as electronic music. The project could also be developed into a therapeutic music workshop for participants to discover and explore all these worlds in pursuit of self-awareness and empowerment.