Dark Night of the Soul

[anagogy]

what do you think it means exactly?

can one have a Dark Night of the Soul without the accompanying previous spiritual awakening?  or would that just be seen/classified as a normal 'depression'?

in terms of the archetypes, what would the impairment/difficulty be?  The Sun card?

I tend to view depression and dark night of the soul as the same thing, in practical essence.  When somebody feels depression (which is a feeling/emotion that can be described or characterized in a variety of unique ways), I understand it to mean they do not, in this moment, feel fulfilled in some fashion.  To me, seeking fulfillment is spiritual work regardless of what it is.  Self actualization is the purpose of life, as far as I am concerned.  That is the spiritual game we are here to play.  Why is it so damn hard?  Challenges are what make life satisfying. The mountain that was challenging to climb feels way more satisfying than the mountain that was a piece of cake. Satisfying challenges are the eternally sought after currency of the spiritual world.

As for the archetypes, I think Jade pretty much nailed it.

When we feel these feelings of unfulfillment, or dissatisfaction and anhedonia, it just means you have asked for more from the universe than you are currently experiencing -- that you have been catalyzed to greater and more expansive spiritual lessons.  After coming to terms with that, the real work begins where you seek out and discover what the new inspiration is now that you have grown beyond the limitations of your previous experiential nexus.  It is essentially figuring out what your new spiritual course load is, and making a concerted effort to line up with it.  Naturally, your heart will always be your guide in this department, and when you find it and feel a degree of weight lift off your heart, you then begin to make small steps in the direction of that new and improved mode of being.  

The great thing is that you don't have to be living the full fledged manifestation of that new way of life to feel emotional relief, you just have to at least point the sails of your spirit in its general direction, and the weight will lift off your heart as you move towards what life has inspired you to be. In any journey, for 99% of the journey you are not where you fully want to be, but as long as you are moving towards it, you will feel satisfaction with what life has to offer.