Roman gardens often had a shrine devoted to the morose god Saturn. A place one went to be alone to brood, to grieve. A place to be melancholy. The word "melancholy" derives from a word that meant "black bile" which was one of the four "Humours" whose balance was believed to determine one's emotional and physical state. But in today's world we don't see "melancholy" as about balancing the humors, we see it as something inconvenient. Depression is often viewed as an illness, and we want it to go away as quickly and efficiently as possible so we can "get back in the race".
The pace of contemporary life leaves little room for the kind of Saturnine "composting of spirit" that a good depression can give, the cyclical return to the dark that is reflected in all organic systems. To rot, fall apart, not know, slow down, re-form and be re-formed by the organic, universal forces that are the cycles of planetary life. Why must we always "keep up"? We all have responsibilities and obligations.......but inner life doesn't always respect such timetables. Sometimes a depression is a valid response to circumstances: loss, grief, work that is unfullfilling, a marriage that is no longer viable. Sometimes a depression is trying to tell us something, and it's necessary for those who are "falling behind" to go on a retreat (even if it's in the quietude of your own backyard) in order to discover what it has to say.
Reversed: Depression may be becoming debilitating, and you need to seek support and help. Some of the problem may be physical and can be helped with diet and exercise.
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