What Chiron Actually Is
Chiron is a comet-asteroid hybrid discovered in 1977 by astronomer Charles Kowal. In mythology, Chiron was a centaur — half horse, half wise teacher — who was accidentally wounded and spent the rest of his immortal life teaching others to heal. He could not close his own wound. He became the healer of everyone else's instead.
That myth is the entire thesis of the placement. Wherever Chiron sits in your chart names a wound you did not cause, probably cannot fully heal, and which becomes — if you do the work — the exact site of your specific gift. Therapists, artists, teachers, healers of every kind tend to work in the field their own Chiron touched. This is not coincidence. The wound is the tuition.
Sign Versus House
Chiron's sign describes the flavor of the wound — the quality it carries, the archetypal story it belongs to. Chiron in Aries is about the right to exist and assert; Chiron in Pisces is about sensitivity and porousness. The sign tells you what the wound is about.
Chiron's house describes where the wound plays out — the life area it shows up in most visibly. Chiron in the 7th house runs through committed partnership; Chiron in the 10th house plays out in career and public identity. The house tells you where you keep meeting the wound.
Most people read only one of these. Reading both gives you a sharper picture. The combinations matter: Chiron in Aries in the 10th house is a different story than Chiron in Aries in the 4th house. The sign sets the theme; the house sets the stage.