My Thoth card is The Magus reversed. The Magus/Magician corresponds with Air (hot/separates and wet/adapts, and quick and animated energy which usually presents problems or challenges), Mercury (reason, intelligence, orderliness, communication), Beth (house; builder) and the Path between Binah (female, receptive energy and the origin of form and structure) and Kether (the source, limitless possibility); he takes action with confidence and is willing to work hard to manifest his goals. Crowley sees this card as being connected to cunning and occult wisdom. My Magician is reversed, so communication could be a problem; I may experience a lack of focus, or perhaps I might just need a time of rest and quiet.
My Legacy card is Temperance, flavored by the Eight of Wands reversed. Temperance corresponds with Sagittarius (“I seek,” philosophic, adventurous, blundering) Fire (hot/separates and dry/shapes, and spontaneous, impulsive, energetic change), Samekh (the tent post), and the Path between Yesod (the place where patterns and images emerge that may manifest into the physical world of action and outer reality) and Tiphareth (the hub of the creation process where energies harmonize and focus to illuminate and clarify), and it is one of the Major Arcana cards that presents the concept of dynamic balance. The Eight of Wands (Mercury, reason, intelligence, education, skill, communication, in Sagittarius, “I seek,” philosophic, fun-loving, adventurous, blundering) is a card of action, of quick developments, and of pulling it all together so things can be completed. My Eight of Wands is reversed, however, and it is supporting the Temperance card. No sudden movement, no burst of action; balance is the key.
My 6-digit date number is 9, the number of completeness of manifestation and experience.
My horoscopes: “Successes have been coming your way continually for a while, Sagittarius. The downside is that excessive celebrating and overindulging in food and drink could have you feeling physically out of sorts today. Nonetheless, your mood should still be very high, and you should still be strongly motivated to continue whatever it is you've been doing that has brought such positive results. Let your imagination flow freely, and keep on going.”
And: “Give your adventuresome, world-traveling spirit room to soar today. This is a good time to embrace your dreams and express them. Write them down, talk to others, and physically say them out load. Communication and information are key elements to this day. Things may be moving fast and furiously so stay alert and stay tuned in to the electric energy that is buzzing all around you. The best things in life are apt to come on a whim.”
My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Eight of Wands. This card tells of a sudden eruption of wonderfully potential-filled energy. This eruption could be the beginning of an exciting journey; all I need to do in order to access the potential is to be aware of it, to open myself to it. Momentum is being offered, and I want to take it.
Today, I am going to pause in my own studies to talk about a serious affliction that is paralyzing many people. Depression, clinical depression. So, what is clinical depression?
I have a dear friend who is totally debilitated by depression right now, unable to even get out of bed most days. She is under professional care, thankfully, and her family is very supportive of her, willing to do whatever it takes to help her to move towards a more stable state of being. In an effort to attempt to understand what she is feeling, I have done a bit of internet research on clinical depression, and would like to share what I learned.
One of the biggest issues regarding depression is the stigma associated with it. Yes, we are the information generation, but not every bit of information out there about depression is correct. People with depression often feel completely alone and isolated because it seems like no one understands them, and to a large extent this may be true. I am assuming that unless we’ve experienced true depression, we might only have a hint about what it feels like.
Depression goes way beyond “the blues,” or sadness. That sadness is only one part of the entire experience; often someone suffering from depression may also be irritable, they may have difficulty concentrating or remembering things, they may feel guilty about their inability to cope, and they may feel absolutely hopeless, with no solution in sight.
There are physical symptoms of depression as well. People suffering from depression can have sleep problems, fatigue, headaches, back pain, or general aches and pains. They can experience eating disorders and digestive problems.
The emotional and physical symptoms can lead to drug or alcohol abuse, which can in turn increase guilt and hopelessness. Talk about a damaging cycle.
Depression is not a normal part of the aging process, however depression can happen during the grieving process after loss of a partner, family member or loved one. Depression can run in families.
Many of those suffering from clinical depression may have abnormal chemical levels in their brains. For some this chemical imbalance alone can make depression a challenge to be overcome, but for others, it is the perfect storm of this chemical imbalance along with stress or sudden chaos or abuse or loss of a loved one, and the inability to cope with these challenges, that brings on the depression, or even causes the chemical imbalance.
Medication is not always required to successfully treat depression. For some, psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy are helpful on their own. But others who are suffering from more severe depression need a combination approach, psychotherapy and medication. And that in itself can be a challenge for those of us who are choosing to use more holistic paths to health and well-being. Severe depression requires that combination approach, no ifs, ands or buts about it, and the medication associated with this treatment is necessary.
People suffering from depression are not lazy, and they can’t simply snap out of it. The apathy associated with severe depression is different from laziness, and the exhaustion associated with severe depression can’t be cured by taking a nap or going to bed earlier. Yes, professional therapy can teach those suffering from depression to identify negative visualizations and thoughts in order to help lessen their effects, but therapy cannot teach people to refuse depression. No one chooses to experience depression, no one allows the symptoms to debilitate them, and no one can just choose to not be depressed any more. They can certainly choose to seek help and to access treatments and follow plans of recovery, but they do not have the ability to refuse to be depressed. This is very, very important to remember.
The most important thing to remember is that the person underneath the depression who is buried under her or his symptoms is still there. Only proper treatment, the right treatment for each person, can offer them the key to get out of this situation.
My thoughts and prayers and healing visualizations are being sent to the Universe in the name of my dear friend, Patty. I hope that they, combined with her professional treatments and the support of her loved ones, will help to bring her healing.
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