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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.

I am wondering about my twins, Amanda and Aiden, born at 7:15 a.m. and 7:23 a.m. on March 23, 1988. I had their astrology charts done and they appear to be virtually identical, yet these two could not be more different from each other. Is this because they are fraternal (one male and one female), or could the few minutes they were born apart cause a huge difference? Thank you for your time!

- Monica

Susyn:

The study of astrology is fascinating, especially when it comes to twins. One would assume that because they were born on the same day at virtually the same time, they would behave in identical ways, but this is often not the case.

Because Amanda and Aiden are fraternal twins, one male and one female, obvious differences will be apparent right away. As a rule, the male and female members of any sign carry very different traits. For example, many Pisces men come across as passive and easygoing, while many Pisces women possess a stronger, more determined nature.

Along the same vein, a Capricorn man will carry a strong sense of duty, responsibility and stability, while a Capricorn women may appear to be flighty or unpredictable. If you compare the male and female members of any sign, you'll notice they tend to be very different from each other. To learn more about these common differences, I recommend Linda Goodman's book Sun Signs, for it's one of the most comprehensive studies on the traits of males and females born under each sign.

Another aspect to consider regarding Amanda and Aiden in particular is that they were born near the cusp of two signs, Pisces and Aries. When this happens, one twin will tend to take on the traits of the zodiac sign the Sun has just exited, while the other will embrace the nature of the sign it has just entered.

You may notice that your daughter tends to be dreamy, moody, artistic and unpredictable like a Pisces, while your son embodies the determined, adventurous and action-oriented nature of an Aries - or vice versa. Even if your twins were identical and of the same gender, it wouldn't be unusual to note big differences between twins born near or on the cusp of a sign.

As you mentioned, your kids' astrological charts appear to be virtually identical. It's important to keep in mind that natal charts are like road maps; their basic purpose is to indicate where the planets were located at the time of one's birth. There are all sorts of other forces that influence the development of an individual's personality.

Environment, gender and the placement of certain planets all contribute to which aspects of a sign an individual will embody. It's also important to keep in mind that we all have a specific destiny and soul purpose, so even when a natal chart appears to be identical to another chart, the soul will shine through above all.

Thank you for your question, Monica. Your letter indicates that you respect the differences between your twins, which suggests that you have encouraged them to follow their own paths and be their own people.

2635

Oceania:

There are three factors that make up a personality: nature, nurture, and free will. Nature refers to genetic material. When twins are fraternal rather than identical, they share no more genetic material than any other two siblings, so Amanda and Aiden may have inherited completely different sets of physical and personality traits.

Nurture refers to environmental influences including family, friends, school and culture. Even though your twins share most of the same outside influences, their different personalities may cause them to react differently to those influences and to evoke different attitudes from others as well. A mellow, happy baby will elicit different reactions than an aggressive complainer. Your twins are also of different genders, and many people react differently to boys and girls because of preconceived notions about gender roles.

There is a third factor that contributes to personality: free will or as I like to call it soul power. I believe we come into life with some degree of this energy, and that it grows every time we face and overcome a challenge by turning roadblocks into stepping stones.

Drawing upon this energetic force, we can choose to override the impulses of body and mind and thus transcend both nature and nurture. For example, a person may inherit a genetic tendency towards obesity and have a family who reinforces it through poor diet, but choose to draw upon free will and make healthy choices to become fit.

A person may inherit a propensity towards anxiety and grow up with poor role models who cope with stress by drinking, drugging or other self-destructive behavior, yet that individual may still muster the will power to avoid such patterns.

We can also use our will to seek out help when we need it. While working as a psychologist, I observed two types of clients: those with flourishing soul power and those without it. The first group was eager to learn and grow by actively shedding parts of their lives and themselves that no longer served them. These clients reminded me of water flowing freely in a stream. (Maybe these are the so-called old souls!)

The second group seemed unable to override the forces of nature and nurture; regardless of intervention, they remained much the same. These clients reminded me of water stagnating in a swamp; it might swirl in a tiny circle but it isn't going far.

Your twins are different not because they were born minutes apart but because they inherited different personality traits, have had different life experiences, and have freely exercised their soul power to choose who they would like to be.

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.