I had this thought at the beginning of December and felt it was the right way to start this post. And, logically, my next thought was I needed the perfect song to commemorate the end of this historically fucked up year. Since I had a month to think about it, I didn't worry too much about it. But later that morning, I was commenting to my coworker about how backwards our processes are now. I had to call attention to the irony that, prior to this year, you needed a doctor's note to be out sick and now, we need a doctor's note to come back to work. All of a sudden, this song popped into my head. And, as all divinely inspired things are, it was perfect.
Destination unknown, as we pull in for some gas
Freshly pasted poster reveals a smile from the past
Here's the thing - my ability to see the humor in the absurdity of this shared delusion we call reality is probably the main reason I'm alive today. I thank the Universe every day that I have Saturn in Sagittarius because if I had been born a half year earlier (Saturn in Scorpio) or a few years later (Saturn in Capricorn), I don't know what I'd do with myself. Our Saturn in Scorpio friends are crying and listening to the Smiths on repeat while the Saturn in Capricorn guys are counting their pennies and being angry things aren't working out. Meanwhile, us Saturn in Sagittarius folks are sandwiched in the middle, saying "Man, this sucks - but God is a DJ, Life is the dance floor, Love is the rhythm, You are the music." And if you don't get that, you clearly don't have any Sag placements. And yes, those are song lyrics. True story: While writing this, I was like "before I publish that, I should check if Pink even has any Sag placements." And - wouldn't you know it? - she's a Sagittarius Rising. It's the little things that make me think I may actually know what I'm fucking talking about sometimes.
Wonder Girl, in her analysis of this week's Full Moon in Cancer, said something that struck me as applicable to this entire year with the thugs in Capricorn. All signs have good and bad, and it's how you choose to use the energy that matters. When Capricorn is at its worst, it can be entirely focused (even obsessed) with appearances. All the blood, meat, and bones underneath could be rotting but as long as it looks good on the outside, Capricorn doesn't give a shit. It's like getting a facelift when your body is riddled with cancer. Or, for an example from the US headlines, the stock market is at an all time high but our economic fundamentals are worse than the Great Depression. Or that as much as 50% of COVID cases are asymptomatic so you have tons of people walking about with a highly contagious disease but they don't "look sick." I could pull even more examples from recent US history where we did things that seemed good at face-value but had devastating consequences (I'm looking at you '94 Crime Bill). And just so y'all don't think I'm dragging Capricorn, I'll rag on my own sign as its foil - Cancer has a tendency to make things too deep and see things that aren't there, to the point where it's delusional (Guilty!) and results in taking actions that look insane from the outside (like, say, telling your followers to not trust the election results if you don't win....yes, Trump has a few Cancer placements). Just underscoring that we need to find balance because extremes are destructive - both the inside and the outside need to be healthy for an organism/society to function. It ain't that deep...but it ain't that shallow either.
We're making moves and starting grooves before they knew we were gone
Jumped into the Chevy and headed for big lights
Wanna know the rest? Hey, buy the rights...
Regardless of how you feel about 2020, it has been an interesting year to be alive in. This year has been one for the history books in more ways than we know. And, assuming we all live through tonight, when you're old, you know you're going to be telling "I lived through 2020" stories. It almost makes all the bullshit worth it. What did I tell you about Jupiter in Capricorn last year? "The luck is more in seeing the lesson for what it is, not that you'll get anything tangible out of the experiences you have." This year may have sucked but - if you were doin' it right - you grew as a fucking person. And that's the only surefire way to know if a year was good or not - Did I grow as a person? I don't know about you, but by that measuring stick, 2020 was fucking great year for me. And I'm prepared to finish out the rest of my 8 year (the Year of Inner Strength) with grace, enthusiasm, and just a touch of gallows humor. With that, let's sum up some of the chaos of 2020.
Music: Holy shit, did 2020 turn out some great music! It seems like everyone from Anti-Flag to Zebra Katz (yes, I went through the whole list to find an artist that started with Z) released an album. Even some dead folks released albums (RIP Mac Miller). Over a thousand (approximately 1036) albums were released over the course of 2020 - and those are just albums with notable coverage! By comparison, 2019 had 743 notable album releases and 2018 only had 443. I can't go through every album that was released but it's an impressive list. Classic 80s and 90s bands, like Green Day and the Pet Shop Boys had new work. Pop heavyweights like Ariana Grande and Meghan Trainor dropped some good shit. There was literally every kind of musical assistance available to get everyone through this year. As I mentioned, Taylor Swift released two albums that comprise easily her best work. She plays a lute on the album version of "Willow" - The Bitch plays a Fucking Lute!!! She's also very openly embracing the witch label - all of her "Willow" remixes have names like "dancing witch version" or "lonely witch version," as well as her increasing use in recent years of witchy themes/aesthetics for her lyrics and videos. And I'm so here for it - you do you, Taylor. (Please note I use the term "bitch" with the fondest endearment, because I personally take that word as a compliment.) And Dave Grohl had a legit drumming battle/rivalry with an amazing little English girl. This may be the musical revolution we were all hoping for but hadn't come to fruition until now.
The Election: Trump will probably be considered one of the worst presidents in history - a title he worked hard for and has earned. But, in my mind, he does have one success that no other president in recent history can claim. He made the American people actually give a shit. This year was the highest voter turnout (by percentage of the eligible voting population) in over 120 years! People voted, even with the risk of potentially dying looming over them. It's almost a miracle. No - it is a miracle. Not that people voted him out (personally, I was expecting 4 more years, even with the pandemic) but getting people to stop being so apathetic about the outcomes of their choices and how they affect others. How people started grasping that personal choices in the present affect the future in real ways. It's all very Aquarian, if I may point it out. While I was somewhat relieved Biden won, I'm concerned we'll become complacent again and nothing truly will be repaired. But the only thing I can control is myself and I intend to be just as critical with Biden's choices as I was with Trump.
COVID-19: The pandemic has changed how we function in society on so many levels and will probably continue to change our lives for years to come. It has altered how we stay connected when being physically together is not an option. It has uncovered the cracks in our approach to healthcare. It has given us an entirely new perspective on how to balance the work-life equation. For many people, it has forced them to take an honest look at their closest relationships. For others, it has taught them who they are when they have no other choice than to be alone. Not all of these have been happy or easy lessons, but they are necessary for progress. And of course, many of us have lost loved ones or know people who have lost loved ones to the virus. Those deaths are painful to deal with and, in my opinion, most were not necessary at all. We're going to look back at the handling of the pandemic for years, shaking our heads and saying "mistakes were made." But the important thing is that we commit to not making those mistakes again.
Personal Growth: Rather than doom scrolling this year, a lot of people decided to use their time stuck at home to work on themselves. People took classes, tried out new hobbies they've never had time for, read books that were gathering dust on the shelves, and spent a lot of time on projects that weren't necessarily income-generating. Some people realized how social they really were and learned how to reach out for connection. Others learned how to enjoy their alone time. I have this theory (it's one most psychologists and therapists share) that if you work on yourself, other things - relationships, careers, projects, society as a whole - start to get better. And if things aren't getting better in a certain area as you focus more on your own self-actualization, it's probably because a major change needs to occur in that area. Yes, I do apply this to my own major depressive episode. I thought I was doing all the work but I got to a point where I couldn't do it by myself. That was my thing - vacillating between codependence and extreme independence. I'm learning how to be interdependent, which has me doing really brave things, like fully trusting people to handle their responsibilities, being vulnerable about how I feel, and actively asking for connection instead of assuming it will come to me. Doesn't sound very scary? Fucking try it first and then get back to me.
Spirituality: Finally, the last thing I'll mention is that witchcraft and New Age practices like tarot, astrology, and numerology, have never been as widely accepted as they are now. Every day, I see more and more baby witches, sorcerers, heathens, pagans, etc. openly embrace the call for a different way of understanding the world. A way that weaves together the mystical and mundane, the scientific and the spiritual. It's something I always wanted to see when I was a naïve yet already spiritually jaded teenager. The amount of validation I feel is palpable. It took nearly 20 years for me to see it in my lifetime but it's so worth it. More books on the occult and esoteric come out every day and I wish I could buy every one of them. But I should probably read the ones I already have (which takes up two shelves in my book case). It's one of the things I'm grateful for as we move into the New Year.
A few posts ago, I mentioned I had a deep desire to "find the others," to quote Gordon White. If you're reading this, I'm pretty sure you're the Others. Lucky you.
As I've mentioned, I've created a "Party Like It's the End of the World" mix - it's a work in progress but I'm sharing it anyway. Happy New Year!
"How Bizarre" Video
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