Centaury and Chiron

I have just learned* that the centaury flower was named after Chiron, the Greek god known as the wounded healer. He was a centaur – half man, half horse – fathered by Cronus, and the only centaur (a brutish species) to help others, including humankind.  He was a healer and herbalist and his name lived on in chirurgeon, the old English word for surgeon. Chiron was said to have invented surgery.

Chiron comes from the Greek word for hand, and as we know, Centaury types in the Bach flower system are people always willing and happy to ‘lend a hand,’ to help others wherever they can. Even if they do so at the expense of their own health or needs because they never feel able to refuse. That’s when the Centaury flower remedy will help them to recover a better life balance, strengthening their will by learning when to say no to excessive, unreasonable or inconvenient demands on their time or energy.

Chiron was abandoned as a newborn and later was permanently infected by a poisoned arrow.  He used the centaury plant as an antidote to the poison but the pain never left him. So he was wounded in two life-changing ways. His mission in life – as is often the case with Centaury types – was to serve others.  In order to free Promethus from everlasting torment Chiron relinquished his immortality; as a result, Zeus fixed Chiron in the sky as the constellation Sagittarius – also known as Centaurius. 

For more on the flower essence, click on Centaury in the index on the right.

 

Photo: Ally Matson

References:

* Beatrice Groves on X/Twitter

Neel Burton, M.A., M.D. in Psychology Today

Chantal Bourgenje on flowerology.substack.com

Boundaries for personal autonomy

When we think of Centaury we usually consider the issue of boundaries, since those who need it are unable to say No to requests for help or attention.

There’s a Meatloaf song called, ‘I would do anything for love but I won’t do that’, currently the theme song for a UK TV advert. It attempts to convey the message that however much we want to please people at Christmas, we shouldn’t let it go against our own values, wishes, or need for self-care.

However, maintaining or erecting boundaries does not mean trying to control other people’s behaviour; it means preserving our autonomy by not allowing them to exploit our willingness to help, usurp our needs or time, invade our space or decide our commitments. 

People who need Centaury are generous in spirit.  Service to others may even be their life mission, but it needs to be undertaken with discernment and self-awareness. Their ‘weakness’ is one of the kindest and gentlest in the range as they so much want to help, and their good hearts will not let them say no.  Centaury gives and gives, well beyond the need for rest and respite.

And they loathe conflict and often agree to help, or get involved, rather than risk hurting or offending others.  By taking Centaury they learn the authenticity of maintaining their own values, their own priorities, and need for relaxation and space. Dr Bach expressed so sweetly the mind-set of Centaury types: “… I have learnt to hate strength and power and dominion … just for the moment I would rather that I suffered than that I caused one moment’s pain to my brother.”[1]

The positive emotions of all the flower remedies have sterling qualities and, once back in balance, a Centaury person is ‘One who serves wisely and quietly. One who knows when to give or when to withhold.’[2]

Photo: by 822640 on Pixabay

“The boundary to what we accept is the boundary to our freedom.” Tara Brach

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[1] Quoted in The Bach Flower Remedies Step by Step by Judy Howard

[2] Dictionary of Bach Flower Remedies by TW Hyne-Jones

Boundaries define our limits

Sometimes the simplest remark or quote can spark thoughts about emotional states and how we might address them with flower remedies.   This photo heading reminds me that we lose our sense of identity if we don’t have adequate boundaries in our lives.  It attracted this comment by artist Nick Pumper: “In order to define a thing, there must be limits.” Sand dunes notoriously shift because they have no boundaries, being subject to all the winds of change. 

This is what happens when we need Centaury – our boundaries are so weak or ineffectual that we shape-shift in order to please people.  We want to help but there are times when we neglect our own needs in order to do so.  In this sense Centaury types have something in common with those needing Walnut.  Both are in the group Oversensitive to Ideas and Influences because they are susceptible to the demands and priorities of others.   The pressure on those needing Walnut is from those who want to hold back the future, whereas the pressure on Centaury is from those expecting attention in the present.  These influences or expectations can throw us off course.  When we need either remedy, taking it strengthens our sense of what is right for us, lets us see that we are not being selfish in addressing our own needs, and that to fulfil our destiny we must live our life untrammelled by the push and pull of others.

 

“Sometimes it is easy to be generous outwardly, to give and give and give and yet remain ungenerous to your self. You lose the balance of your soul if you do not learn to take care of yourself. You need to be generous to yourself in order to receive the love that surrounds you." John O’Donohue, Anam Cara

 

Boundaries

Boundaries are barriers that stop us from being inundated – physically, emotionally, or mentally.  If we don’t raise an umbrella against the rain, we can expect to get wet.   If we don’t put on coats and hats when it’s freezing, we can expect the cold to enter our bones. But when it comes to raising a sensible defence against the incoming tide of other people’s demands or expectations, we find ourselves unable to act.

Our life history may have led us to be people-pleasers and unable to say no.  But growth comes when we understand that the only way forward is through changes we make in our perspective.   Boundaries, Brene Brown tells us, are the key to self-love.  When we allow people to cross our flimsy and unreinforced boundaries, we lose our self-respect and make our work doubly hard next time someone persuades us to do something we want to decline.  It’s a sign that we’ve lost our self-respect when we become begrudging of our time and efforts and resentful.  When we’re genuinely willing to help another, we give freely of our time, care and intention.  ‘Generosity cannot exist without boundaries.’ ~ Brene Brown.

Our determination to be stronger and say no when necessary can be enhanced with the flower remedy Centaury.  This is particularly helpful for those who love to be of service but can’t refuse even when it’s against their better judgment. Depending on the need and situation, other remedies which might help include Oak, Elm, Olive, Willow. 

Part of our learning in this life is to recognise when challenges to our psyche arise: they’re an opportunity to face our weaknesses, identify our ‘fault lines’, develop self-discipline, and overcome an obstacle to growth so that we are stronger and wiser on the next occasion.