What is healing, really?

Can anyone become a healer?

What is it that defines someone as a healer?

Can we identify the profile of a healer astrologically?

These are all questions that come up when the topic of healing, whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, comes up. And this topic does come up in these turbulent and uncertain times when so many of us are struggling to find balance and wellness.

Healing is the process that brings back that which is broken or separated into a condition of wholeness and soundness. A good alternate word for healing is integration. When a physical wound begins to heal, it is reintegrated into the body. The cells of the body begin to regenerate and close the wound until all that might be visible is a scar where once there was a gash. Sometimes even a scar is no longer evident. This same process applies to emotional, mental and the more profound spiritual wounds. The bits and pieces of the emotional and mental bodies that may have been ‘wounded’ are nurtured and salved until they can be reintegrated into the self and contribute to the functioning ego. Spiritually, it is a process which restores balance to the psyche so that the individual can face his or her existence with confidence and hopefulness. A healed soul is a soul in balance on every level of its manifestation (existence). A wounded soul is one which is not able to experience a full and free expression of self on one or more of the levels of being.

In these turbulent and changing times healing has become a topic of great interest to those who are seeking this balance of being. Many have turned to alternate means to accomplish this integration of self though it must be stated that conventional medicine still offers some solutions in this area, particularly on the physical level. However, we know now that healing can be accomplished with or without the aid of conventional means. Our minds and ultimately, our souls, are a critical factor when we undertake healing. It is no wonder that so many seekers of spiritual understanding eventually find their way into the fields of alternate healing, like herbalism, homeopathy, acupuncture, osteopathy, reflexology, massage for the more physical types of ailments and shamanism and energy healing that includes both hands on and hands off methods for the mental, emotional and spiritual ones.

(For a good discussion of the various types of methods available google: Energy healing/types.)

Can anyone be a healer? The short answer to this question is, “Of course!” To suggest that only some can assume the role of the healer/facilitator is preposterous. However, on an astrological level we can hone in to a potential predisposition to being the healer type. 

The Virgo Healer

There are four signs of the zodiac which co-relate directly to the ‘healer’ profile. I want to emphasize that this does not mean that the other eight signs cannot perform as healers and we will explore this at a later date. However, let’s start with these four since they are the classical ‘healer’ type, wired to be natural givers and healers.

Let’s begin with the Virgo Healer and the physical body. The body is always in need of some form of healing. We have accidents, get illnesses and as we age the body systems begin to break down. In Virgo we find properties that fit the profile of the physical healer. Imagine the ultimate nurse who patiently and diligently attends to the physical needs of the ailing patient. The built in manual dexterity (Virgo is aligned to Mercury which rules hand/eye coordination), the efficiency that is a hallmark of this zodiac energy, the attentiveness to the minutia of patient care; these are all qualities that Virgo has the potential to manifest.

On the highest of levels, Virgo embodies the essence of the ‘Ritual Worker’, the one who is able to bring order to what is disordered. Ritual is actually process that has been refined over countless enactments to become something more than the sum of its parts. Through ritual, a greater ideal is being served. In the case of Virgo and the process of ritual, the greater ideal is healing. In the context of physical healing, it is Virgo’s innate understanding of process that contributes to a smooth recuperation and recovery. Virgo can establish a daily ritual or habit of patient care and through this aid in the recovery of the body systems.

The Capricorn Healer

Beyond the body, we know that much un-wellness can exist in the mind or the mental body. In this context we can turn to the superb efficiency of the
Capricorn Healer to heal the ailing spirit through the application of good management and gentle control. 

An unwell mind is one that has lost its grip on reality and as a result has become unbalanced. This zodiac sign is aligned to the planet Saturn. This is the planet that is representative of the function within everyone that deals with the essential construction of perceived reality by the ego self. The Capricorn Healer guides the ailing patient to examine her reality structures and explore ways to bring balance and equity to that reality. Slowly but surely, order is restored under the firm tutelage of the Capricorn Healer. Capricorn understands exactly what reality is. It is the energy within everyone that is concerned with protocols for orderly and successful living. It is the executive function within the ego. A Capricorn Healer is able to soothe the ailing spirit by the sheer force of his/her presence. The Capricorn ability to align action to outcome can aid someone with an ailing mind to slowly find a sense of stability and security and begin to make headway into mental wellness. Mental turbulence is gradually replaced by a growing calmness that is based on solid systems of living, well understood by Capricorn.

Capricorn is not considered to be a nurturing or personal energy and this also fits nicely. To support someone who is mentally unwell, a certain degree of separation and distance must be maintained. Transference or entanglement with the patient is one of the main issues that can arise in mental healing. Archetypally, Capricorn is ‘The Counselor’, he who guides and manages. The process of mental healing is one of the more complicated paths to take as a healer and in Capricorn, we find the abilities that can lead to success on this level, strength, discipline, resolve, detachment from emotional transference and a keen sense of purpose. 

The Cancer Healer

The emotional body is the third of the four body systems. Healing on this level is both complicated and arduous. Emotions are irrational. The causes of emotional dis-ease are never easy to untangle and in most cases, hard to define. People who are suffering from emotional un-wellness need long term nurturing and care. They need to feel loved. Fear is often a large part of emotional illness so the healer needs to create a sense of security on the most intimate of levels. The emotionally un-well individual must feel accepted and embraced by the healer. Cancer, aligned to the Moon, is well-suited to understanding the ebb and flow of the emotional body. Depression can be cyclic in nature and Cancer understands how cycles occur. The Moon, on a physical level, is connected to the tidal cycles of the world’s oceans. These tidal cycles are a very fitting representation of emotional tidal cycles that can ebb and flow according to some unseen but inexorable pattern. 

Archetypally, Cancer is ‘The Great Mother’ and just as the image suggests, it is an energy that nurtures and embraces. The body part associated with Cancer is the breast. Can you see, in your mind’s eye, the picture of a gentle, caring mother holding a crying child in her arms close to her breasts which, of course, are layered over the heart. This is the energy that provides the emotionally wounded person with ultimate safety, warmth, love and unconditional acceptance, all facets that are critical if healing is to take place on this most delicate of levels.

Of course, emotional un-wellness is often partnered with mental un-wellness. In the wheel of the Zodiac, Cancer and Capricorn are partner signs, positioned exactly 180* away from each other. The one balances out the other and vice versa. A strong hand to guide the mentally unbalanced individual and an environment of safety and security to support any emotional ills is a nice working partnership.

The Pisces Healer

The last of the four types of bodies is the spiritual or etheric body. When the spirit ails, all levels of being are affected. Spiritual counseling must be founded on the highest of all of the love energies, that is, the agape level, love based on principle and not on personal concern. The Zodiac sign that fits the bill in this capacity is Pisces. Pisces is aligned to the planet, Neptune and secondarily to Jupiter. Neptune is representative of that part of the psyche that seeks the divine. Jupiter demonstrates the psyche’s search for truth. Through the energy of Pisces, illumination and higher understanding can be realized. A Spiritual Counselor serves spirit by providing his patient with guidance that is devoid of personal agenda. The love that comes from the Pisces Healer is pure, true and uplifting. If it is working well, it is beyond the ego even though it flows through it.

Archetypally, Pisces is the acolyte, the Boddhisattva. This is a Sanskrit term that essentially means ‘wisdom-being’ or ‘enlightened one’. At the highest level, the Pisces soul is one who is motivated by ultimate compassion. This is the quality that serves as the foundation for the spiritual healer, that desire to be of service to all, to give of oneself for the good of the greater whole. The obvious symbol that clearly identifies this is, of course, Jesus. According to the story, this wisdom-being offered himself up willingly to cover the sins (ills) of mankind. 

Pisces is the partner sign of Virgo. While the spirit receives succor, the body is salved. And really, spiritual dis-ease ultimately results in physical symptom.

Everyone has these four energies within them, though some may have them more emphasized. Certainly, they can be cultivated even if they are not highlighted. Life is about choices and what we do with those choices. 

Finally, healing is not limited to the signs discussed. Any of the 12 energies of the Zodiac can be used in the healing process. There is the mystery of Scorpio, the sheer joy of Leo, the comfort and dependability of Taurus, the grace and beauty of Libra to name just a few. All such attributes can be funneled into healing. 

Within each of us resides ‘The Inner Healer’. It is incumbent on us all to locate and connect to her/him so that we can work towards a condition of balance and integration on all of the levels of being, whether as a service to others or just for ourselves.