Astrology of Depression and Suicide
Suicide is a tragedy, and as the saying goes, it is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Yet pain and depression are real, and how does one find answers to live a life that is not only void of suffering but is one of deep contentment? I have been asked; can you see depression and suicide indicators in the astrology chart? The short answer is there are some charts that are more prone to seeing life through melancholy eyes although this in itself is not an indicator of depression. Yet everyone will experience at one time or another certain astrology transits that are not easy and are a time when we are more prone to depression and deep dark thoughts of why are we on the planet?
As an astrologer, it saddens me deeply every time I hear of suicide and know that if only they understood their chart, which is a cosmic instruction book for living our life to the fullest, they would have seen or known what was happening and why and be able to move through the hard times. Of course knowing something is only one piece of awareness, following the messages and taking action to overcome the problematic points in the chart is another step.
If you or someone you love has a lot of water in their chart, or a lot of their planets in the natural water houses, such as the 4th, 8th, or 12th they can be prone to sadness, depression or worse if they do not find a way to release and let go. Same is true for heavy Saturn with personal planets in the more introverted houses. Anyone, any sign, earth, air, fire, or water can be depressed and have times that are important to reach out for help and understanding.
Sometimes water elements in the chart are indicators of depression in the chart. For example, Robin Williams chart has much water in it, a sign of emotional sensitivity and whose fate was the task to understand the role of emotions. Robin Williams was born with his Sun in Cancer, his Moon in Pisces, and a Scorpio ascendant, the 3 water signs. In the Cancer cycle of the year it is a time that helps to clear out the emotional body, or emotional baggage that has accumulated through any trials and tribulations in life. Grief, sadness, anger, hurt, frustration, all of the emotions that get lodged from situations that occur in life and stuck in one’s memory. You can say that he was born in a Cancer cycle, and his life path was to learn to heal his emotional body as his Sun was in Cancer. Of course there are many elements to any chart that point to depression in life and there are other characteristics in his chart that explain the inner conflict.
All of the water signs have different lessons to cope with yet they all carry feelings deep within. Think of throwing a rock into water, it sinks to the bottom and can stay below the surface. That is what happens with water people when they are hurt or angry. Furthermore they can be very sensitive to outside emotional influences and feel the pain or rage of others and unknowingly pick it up and experience it themselves.
The lesson of Cancer is to let go; many times it is more about letting go of bad memories than physical places or even people. The lesson of Scorpio is to know what you can control and that which you can’t and accept that you can’t control everything. The lesson of Pisces is to accept that things happen that are unfair, and in a perfect world would be different, yet to have belief and faith that when you do your part in life, however small it might be, that is enough. There is a higher plan from a force or power greater than us and even if we do not the pain and chaos of a situation there is a deeper purpose that exists.
In astrology, understanding your chart and how you are wired helps to accept oneself with love and compassion. With a strong water chart, such as Robin Williams has, one must recognize that yes, you have emotions, and sometimes deep sad emotions, but you are not your emotions. There is a being behind the emotions and to catch oneself when the force of the water chart starts pulling in its current down a deep emotional drain.
Robin Williams suicide coincided with the super full moon which was on his Pluto, co ruler of the chart, digging up a solution in his mind that death, (one of Plutos subjects) was the way out of his pain. (The August astrology sun sign videos explain why this full moon was complicated) Yet there were many astrological influences that led up to this decision that were in force for the last couple of years.
Common Depression and Suicide indicators are usually heavy Pluto with Saturn and Neptune transits.
By transit it is impossible to say that for everyone having a difficult Pluto, Saturn, and Neptune transit will be depressed. Yet if there is an indication in the Natal Chart the challenge comes out at these times.
If you or someone you know goes into deep depression more than likely there is a strong water element (with Saturn or Pluto) that can be seen in the chart. Know that they can get so identified with how they feel that it carries them away to dark places contemplating suicide. Learning and having an ah ha moment that they are not their emotions, even though they have emotions, and to learn to shift emotional responses will allow them to find joy of living life, even when there is something in them that feels sad. Odd but true.
Helpful ides of what to do when your emotional body feel out of balance.
Don’t be afraid or timid to get professional help.
Call the suicide hotline and talk to someone when you are overwhelmed and in pain.
Your astrology chart and transits shows what planets are giving problems. Sometimes finding out the why and reason for your current emotional state brings relief. Knowing when the cycle is complete helps too. And understanding which planet within needs more expression to bring equilibrium and more joy is a game changer.
Consider an astrological session to find out what is missing and what can help.
To relax and relieve stress consider some of the following options.
1) Take a long shower or bath and imagine the water washing away the negative feelings.
2) Go to a place in nature close to water, have a picnic with nourishing food.
3) Drink plenty of pure water.
4) Emotional Freedom Technique, EFT for short or tapping.
5) Get a massage to help release the stuck emotions in the physical body.
6) Chakra cleansing exercise and imagine all the negative emotions being washed away.
7) Let go of physical objects that when you look at them remind you of a time when you were not happy.
8) EMDR, a technique that helps shift emotional trauma, don’t judge your trauma, if it feels bad and makes you sad it is a trauma for you.
9) Move, when you begin to spiral down, get up and go do something different.
10)Breathe in deep while imagining all things pure and happy, let it fill every space within and breathe out all sadness, exhale completely.