Some of us are predisposed to it; perhaps a lot of '8th housers'. Classically, the 2nd house is the house of gain while the 8th is the house of loss. Loss, especially for
those of us with afflicted Moons (hard aspects from Saturn, Neptune, or Pluto), can lead to extended bouts of despair because afflicted Moons don't 'bounce back' from adversity with great ease.
But you don't have to be predisposed to despair in order to experience episodic despair in your lifetime. Transits, progressions, and solar arcs can reflect periods of endogenous or exogenous despair. Exogenous despair is generally episodic, caused by
calamities or tragic external events, such as the loss of loved ones, loss of job, loss of beloved other-species-companions, the onset of illness within oneself or a loved one, etc. Endogenous despair is seemingly acausal -- it just happens for no apparent reason.
Of course, there *is* a reason. It is simply hidden from one's own view. A very likely possibility is the soul's revisiting of past events and assessment of present conditions. Perhaps an early goal was never achieved; perhaps one realizes that time was wasted or misused. These are what the soul understands easily, even if one's conscious mind tries to block it out, or justify the choices one has made.
The pharmaceutical companies have brainwashed us via the media to believe that despair, or depression, is a "chemical imbalance" which must be treated by their drugs (so that they can make more money). The drugs, at best, are a band-aid, masking the problem but not healing it. As for "chemical imbalance", it is as viable to say that the despair is causing it, as it is to say that the "imbalance" is causing the despair! Our moods and emotions change our brain chemistry. Don't let the pharmaceutical companies fool you; they are for-profit capitalistic corporations no less than say, AT&T.
I am not saying that you should not avail yourself of any helpful medication that an enlightened and competent physician may recommend, especially if you are feeling suicidal. Short-term use of antidepressants might get you past the point of suicide.
But, a caution: the drug "Prozac" has been linked to suicides in some cases. Apparently, the drug has a motivating effect which enables suicidal people to regain the energy to commit suicide. If you are suicidal, it may be a very good idea to avoid Prozac, as well as the other drugs in its class, known as "SSRI"s. You may be better off, if you are suicidal and wish to try medication, to request a non-SSRI antidepressant.
The reason suicide is not a good idea is that there may be considerable karmic repercussions. You may, for example, find that you'd only have to do the 'hard parts' over again in another lifetime. Certainly there is the chance that you will be cognizant of, and empathically experience, the whole range of emotions experienced by your surviving loved ones, such as rage, guilt, hatred, grief, and misery. Since there is no hard evidence in this field of metaphysics, we can only go on the accounts recorded in Near Death Experience literature. As long as there is the possibility that this is what happens, it is advisable to avoid suicide.
I realize that the pull of suicide can be tremendously powerful. But the Near Death Experience literature suggests that not only will you not escape your despair, but you will be further burdened by the full weight of others' misery in the wake of the act. So, it is best to avoid suicide.
In some cases, however, suicide may seem to you to be your only best option. This can occur when you are burdened by the terrible suffering of mental illness, when there are no medications or therapies that will work for you. A lot of very fine, sensitive, and tortured people made the choice to take their own lives. This is not a matter upon which any of us can pass judgment. The pain that the suicide of a loved one may cause family and friends (if any) is not comparable to the pain endured by the loved one who chose the option of suicide. Again, there is no hard evidence in the realms of faith and/or metaphysics that can definitively tell us the consequences that may be pursuant to the act of suicide.
If you feel you can simply not endure anymore, especially if you are not a youngster, and if you have suffered terribly throughout your incarnation, then no one has the right to judge you if you should choose to take your own life. But I do urge you to meditate upon the possible consequences which to us are so far unknown. And if I could speak with you, I would try to help you find alternatives to suicide, but if you perceive that it is necessary to end your own life due to unbearable lifetime suffering, that is a decision that in my opinion should be respected.
I would recommend to anyone who is seriously considering suicide the books: Suicide and the Soul by James Hillman; and Death is of Vital Importance by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. These two books will give you very different opinions to mull over regarding life, death, and suicide. I will add the ISBNs for these books if I can track them down, although you should be able to find them in a public library (if your local library does not have them, you can ask them to borrow them for you from another library).
It's important that the loved ones of an individual who chose to end his or her life hear this message: You could not have prevented this from happening. Your loved one was in terrible pain for a very long time and had been considering suicide for a very long time. Please try to forgive your loved one if you possibly can. It is ironic that we human beings feel it is only right to euthanize our gravely ill other-species companions -- because it is not necessarily our choice to make, and because we consider it taboo to euthanize our gravely suffering human loved ones. Something seems a little asymmetrical about that type of thinking.
Maybe all living beings deserve to make such choices for themselves? Or, if there is a Supreme Being, then possibly the choice is up to It, first, and the individual, second? I think my point here is that essentially, as far as we know, we are each alone in our own skins. I'm alone; you're alone; your cat is alone. And in our aloneness, only the individual (human being, cat, dog, etc.) has the right, barring intervention from a Supreme Being, to make a choice for herself, or himself.
A Means to Resurrection for the Living:
So, what *do* you do, when you are in a very bad despair? Well, if it is recommended by an enlightened, sensitive, and competent physician, short-term use of antidepressant drugs may be indicated. But, as I've said, they are only a band-aid. What is really necessary, although seemingly impossible, at times of severe despair, is to access the love you have within you.
If you are an astrologer, or student of astrology, you will have to examine your natal Sun position, no matter if you've done this a zillion times before -- because when you are in despair, the first person you cease to love is yourself. So you will need to examine your natal Sun, by sign, house, rulership, and aspects, and see what it tells you to do.
For example, if your Sun is in the 9th house, in Cancer, square Pluto, your Sun is telling you that one way to access your inner love could be to nurture the refugees of a cultural background different from your own. There will be numerous indications for you, described by your natal Sun. Just grasp whichever one your intuition leads you to at the time.
That is a very simplistic example, but my point is that your natal Sun will tell you the ways in which you can access love and this will help you out of your despair. Of course it will be difficult at first because you have no sense of confidence, or motivation. You really have to *force* yourself, perhaps with the boost of a short-term prescription of an antidepressant drug, or with the 'coaching' of friends or family members. For example, you may need someone to physically pull you out of bed and start whatever activity your natal Sun has suggested to you *with* you, either once, or many times, until you feel the motivation and self-confidence to 'do your Sun' on your own.
As I write this article, there is an applying opposition of transiting Saturn and Pluto. Anyone with planets at 12 to 17 degrees of the Mutable signs will be affected. This is a transit of despair and it will affect many, many people. It will also affect nations, companies, businesses, relationships, etc., which have planets or angles at 12 to 17 degrees of the Mutable signs.
So, if you will be affected, or if you struggle with despair otherwise, remember to look to your natal Sun for guidance on bringing you back to yourself. If you can do that, you will be able to move on with your life and you will no longer feel as if you are buried alive.
To those in despair, may you be blessed and protected. If you do not know the position of your natal Sun, and are not a student of astrology, I recommend that you consult a professional, reputable astrologer for insights as to how to access your inner love via your natal Sun's condition, and thereby conquer despair.
July 27, 2001 All Rights Reserved; Gail Sandra Klein
Modified March 18th, 2002
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thank you.
