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November 22 through November 28, 2021

We'll celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday in the U. S., but a sense of gratitude and appreciation are likely to be felt globally all week long as the Sun moves deeper into Sagittarius. A Cancer Moon will hang over us on Monday and Tuesday, making the main focus home, family and tradition. Preparing for the first official holiday of the season will likely be more gratifying and joyful than the event itself, so feel free to dive right into creating the perfect backdrop to Thanksgiving gatherings. Mercury will move into Sagittarius on Wednesday, just in time for the festivities. Communication, reconnecting with loved ones from afar and general sharing of past memories will be a theme from now through the end of the year. Friday's Leo Moon will have some people shopping the sales, while others choose to focus on self-care and regrouping after a hectic week. That's a good idea too, because the weekend unfolds under a Virgo Moon, where we'll be busy making plans for the holiday season ahead. Lists and more lists will be the order of the day, but in between all that planning, be sure to stop here and there to smell the roses and give thanks for the blessings in your life!

9 Pagan Ways to Manage Depression, by Terence P Ward

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Depression is a suffocating and miserable experience, and periods of depression can be both debilitating and life-altering. Symptoms not only include suppressed emotions and reduced energy, but also brain fog and body aches. Struggling to think or act can impact life plans, from education to family to career, and behavioral changes can result in loss of motivation, as well as struggles with addiction and other health problems. The percentage of people who experience depression is on the rise, but incredible progress is being made when it comes to treating this complex condition. Pagans can do well to supplement both traditional and emerging treatments, such as medication and therapy, by addressing the spiritual harm that results from periods of depression. This is a condition that impacts the body, mind, and spirit, and treating it on all three of those levels has the potential to multiply the effects of just therapy or medication alone. Here are nine ideas for how to proceed.

1. Pray. According to Courtney Weber, "You should go to your altar every day, but if you're in a bad place, go three times a day." Pagans may uncomfortable with prayer; the late Judy Harrow said it, "feels like begging." It doesn't have to be that way. If your entire relationship with a human is you asking for favors and gifts, then talking might feel like begging after a while, too. Try simply telling the gods about your day. Perhaps if you're also in the habit of leaving offerings, you might catch them in the mood to intervene. Spending time with your gods should bring comfort in any case.
2. Meditate. To focus attention on something like a candle flame, or to cease thinking altogether, is a way to quiet the conscious mind. This allows deeper parts of the self some space to heal, a respite from the barrage of recriminating thoughts common during depression. This is sometimes considered a form of shifting consciousness, but at its best this is an altered state that puts consciousness in the back seat and allows other parts of the mind to drive instead. It can be surprisingly difficult to meditate at first, particularly if the mind is filled with runaway thoughts, but it's not impossible. Even starting with just one minute at a time establishes the habit, but try to extend that by a minute as often as you can. A solid goal is to have sessions that last at least twenty minutes each, but take as long as you need to in order to reach that point.
3. Connect. Seek out a person and have a conversation. Silence is also fine, as it speaks volumes. There is healing that comes simply from being in the company of others of our own kind. We evolved from tribal primates, and our spirits respond to one another. We can feel like we're completely alien during a period of depression, that we are shunned and ostracized, or forgotten or mocked. Those introduced thoughts make avoiding the healing presence of other humans feel justified. It's important to exercise discernment—people who have harmed you in the past may harm you in the future—but companionship is a necessary part of the human experience.
4. Remember. We are open to depression in part because of the trauma experienced by our ancestors, and inadvertently passed down to us as our habits, beliefs, and capacity to manage stress. Our ancestors also have an interest in our own success, and understand us in ways that no one else ever could. Call upon the ancestors for resilience when all seems bleak and hopeless.
5. Laugh. Life is funny—all parts of life. Some of the best comedy comes out of suffering, because the spark of humor is all the brighter when it flares in darkness. Laughter shakes our body, mind, and spirit, and allows for a reset of all three. Think of a time when something funny kicked off uncontrollable laughter. Recall how you felt when you have basked in the afterglow of laughing deeply and fully. Laughter is a gift of the creator gods, a way to recenter into our truest selves. Give yourself permission to receive this blessing with all of your being when that is possible, but use discernment! There are times when it's best to restrain that guffaw welling up. There will be times when it feels wiser to quash even a chortle, but always silently honor the feeling, and thank whoever you hold holy for this incredible gift.
6. Move. Our bodies are parts of our full, sacred selves. In depression it's easy to heed the call to physically slow down, to become one with the bed or a device like a phone or television. The body's stillness is often reflected by a fixation on negative thoughts. Social worker Barbara Rachel taught me a saying used in Alcoholics Anonymous: "Move a muscle, change a thought." Start simple if you must: leave the remote control on the television stand, or your phone on the other side of the room. Work up to walking around your building or neighborhood, spending time gardening outside or tidying up inside, or taking up an active hobby like bicycling, mall-walking, or hog-calling.
7. Ground. A state of depression can include the sensation of heaviness in the body, but this is not the same as being grounded. More likely, that's negative emotions sucking up the energy needed to move the limbs about. Grounding is to allow that emotional charge to pass into the earth. Sometimes it is easier to ground with the help of another person, such as a tree, a stone, or a human. Pay attention to how it feels when another person is helping to ground you, as you can tap into that sensation when grounding yourself.
8. Purify. Acts of purification are intended to clear out spiritual clutter that accumulates around us all, the result of living a mortal human life. The first step in purifying a space is to clean it, and the first space that should be cleaned is one's body. In periods of depression, even basic hygiene can seem like too much effort, but a good scrubbing from head to toe will at least temporarily elevate mood and restore energy. Tackling a cluttered or untidy home space may require help, depending on how bad it's become, but it's worth it: the home is a reflection of the heart and mind, and improving the outer environment impacts the inner in turn. The spirit of depression finds no value in a clean and ordered home, a mind free of clutter, or a path to the gods unfettered by pessimistic thoughts or stacks of boxes in front of the altar.
9. Commune. Spend time with people who are not human. Walk among trees, spend time with pets, care for houseplants, feed local birds, work in a garden. Feel sand between toes, sunshine on the face, or dirt under fingernails. Attune to the spirits of place, be they of the land or the home built upon it. Walking is an opportunity to pay attention to local spirits, whether or not they are incarnate. There are even forms of walking divination that one might try while on a mini-walkabout; I recall that author Tom Cowan taught me a Celtic walking divination once upon a time.

Depression is a condition that impacts the body, mind, and spirit of anyone experiencing it, and treating the body, mind, and spirit in concert is going to yield the better results than avoiding one or another aspect. The voice of depression encourages us to avoid behaviors that are going to be the most effective in that treatment, too. The above list is about intended to aid the spirit, and to a lesser extent the body. None of these suggestions is a substitute for getting treatment from a mental health professional, someone trained in the healing of the mind. Asking our gods or other spirits for help when we are in crisis is a good idea, but most of the time our gods are going to help us through a mental health professional. The gods work with the tools that work best.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2022. All rights reserved.

Do you believe that good deeds like kindness, love, compassion, and good thoughts are rewarded? I believe in showing love and kindness to others, and I pray for peace and other blessings for family, friends and mankind. It seems like people who may have wicked ways prosper while people who try to practice righteuosness struggle more. What are your thoughts? I practice loving others and being kind, yet I have been struggling financially and with achieving career and business success for about two years. Thank you for your insights.

Sharon

Susyn:

Living a spiritual life does not always afford us an easy path. Further, while the challenges we face related to financial and career matters are designed with a higher purpose in mind, they are not necessarily connected with lessons related to how we treat others.

I believe that good deeds are a reward in and of themselves. I also believe that practicing love and kindness will bring us spiritual blessings if not material blessings. Doing the right thing is what generates inner peace and enables us to live in the world with integrity and self-esteem.

One thing to keep in mind is that comparing ourselves to others will always result in inner turmoil. Though you see others appearing to win at the game of life despite their wicked ways, you are not looking at the bigger picture. True happiness comes from living as you describe yourself doing, while those who live through their egos experience fleeting moments of joy instead of long-term contentment.

It's easy to look around and see people who seem to have all you desire whether they deserve it or not. If you look for them, you will also find people who are having an even harder time than you are who don't seem to deserve to suffer either. Your perception is clouded because others' karma or destiny is different from yours and because you are only looking at the superficial aspects of others' lives.

When we focus on others too much, we waste time, power and energy we could use to improve our own lives. The best way to change this situation is to stop comparing yourself to others and look within for answers. With more time spent in meditation and self-examination, you can access spiritual direction on how to change your own circumstances.

As a Gemini, you tend to process your world from an intellectual perspective. This can sometimes be a liability, for it can keep you from aligning with emotional and spiritual well-being. Though you may not be successful in terms of society's values, you are clearly successful at expressing your emotions and treating others with spiritual kindness. If you were to stop being a loving person in the world, your heart and spirit would suffer, which in the long run would cause you much greater strife than not having an ideal career or lots of money in the bank.

A powerful way to shift your focus and gain more balance in your life is to make a daily gratitude list. Writing down and acknowledging all the ways you are blessed will make you less likely to focus on what you lack. Further, because an attitude of gratitude generates more abundance, this is an ideal way to manifest both the spiritual and worldly blessings you desire.

*****

Oceania:

Kindness, love, compassion and good thoughts are their own reward, for we are so much happier when we choose to embody those qualities than when we choose to be mean, hateful or intolerant. Praying for blessings for others is its own reward as well, because positive thoughts create peace within. Being jealous, envious and hateful only leads to bitterness and unhappiness.

There may be some with wicked ways who prosper, but prosperity is a fleeting pleasure. To make sure righteousness doesn't turn into self-righteousness, focus on yourself instead of judging others. Perhaps the greatest source of fulfillment is having a solid sense of self and living according to your own higher values. Integrity lasts a lifetime, whereas things like money and successful careers are transitory.

There's a play called You Can't Take It With You about a three-generation family and their adopted band of misfits who all live together in a big old house. Their needs are few and they spend their days pursuing whatever makes them happy. Included among them are a ballet dancer, a writer of plays, a portrait painter, xylophone player, fireworks designer and candy maker. They're not necessarily accomplished at what they do, but they love doing it.

They cross paths with a proper upstanding banking family who are at first appalled by the lifestyle of the free spirits. As I'm sure you can guess, by the end of the play, the bankers have let down their hair and joined in the fun, for they've discovered that joy is priceless and worth more than status or success. Like the bankers, I encourage you to expand your notion of success to include lightheartedness, humor and the ability to laugh at yourself.

You say you've been struggling with career and financial worries for two years. You seem to carry the belief that this should not be happening due to your goodness. You may want to expand your notion of goodness to include humbleness, for it's arrogant to presume that life should always go our way. There are powers greater than ourselves that know best, and lessons to be learned in every circumstance.

As struggle is experienced by many, it has little to do with righteousness; instead, it's tied to outlook and attitude. Imagine being carried by a river. You can choose to enjoy the ride and appreciate the view or you can try swimming upstream, which is only an illusion because the river still carries you downstream! Attempting to swim against the current causes struggle. When you release your agenda, let go and let God, and choose to trust in the inherent wisdom of the big flow, your struggles will fade and be replayed by peace and adventure.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.