"Enchanted" by Taylor Swift

Today marks the second New Moon in Cancer for this year and the first new moon after Eclipse Season. Two new moons within the same sign is a rare occurrence and can only happen if the first new moon in a zodiac sign occurs at the 0 or 1 of the sign - which, if you remember, happened this Summer Solstice, when the new moon occurred at 0 Cancer. The way astrologer's have interpreted this occurrence as a chance to do the New Moon in Cancer over so if you wanted to do a New Moon ritual but chose not to due to the volatility of doing magic during an eclipse period, you've got the go ahead now. The New Moon in Cancer is an especially good time to work with the Divine Feminine and Dark Goddesses, doing inner child shadow work, or magic concerning love, family, home, and personal manifestation.

There I was again tonight forcing laughter, faking smiles

Same old tired, lonely place

Walls of insincerity

Shifting eyes and vacancy vanished when I saw your face

All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you

To celebrate the Moon being in her domicile, Cancer, I picked a song by an artist whose Moon in Cancer placement truly defines her work - Taylor Swift. I have this theory that all people with water moons filter life and relationships (especially romantic relationships) through a particular story lens within their internal monologue. Cancer Moons have a tendency to view romance through the traditional fairy tale/fantasy lens. Scorpio Moons filter it through a paranormal romance or neo-noir lens. And Pisces Moons filter life through what I call a more whimsical indie romance lens (for example, picture any film by Wes Anderson). Cancer placements have a reputation for being old-fashioned and even a little traditional. This translates into an aesthetic that is classic and maybe even a little bit vintage. For example, Dita von Teese, whose South Node is in Cancer (North Node in Capricorn), has built an entire career around vintage glamour and feminine beauty - she's simply capitalizing on what her soul knows best (an exquisite interpretation of this nodal axis)! By traditional, it's been said that Cancer energy has a very Disney-movie-esque interpretation of love. Big romantic gestures, a steady courtship based on friendship, the idea of soul mates, a tasteful engagement ring, a fantasy wedding, and then happily ever after, which involves a nice house with a white picket fence, 2.5 children (and possibly more - Cancer is the Mom of the zodiac), and a couple pets. It does evoke the imagery of a fairy tale romance, which has been a staple of Swift's music from the beginning. Even in her racier songs, she relies on her elite story telling to depict a cinematic interpretation within the corresponding music video. Aside from this, her aesthetic is generally very classic and feminine. Even when she went on her angry, goth tangent for her "Reputation" album (i.e., embracing her Scorpio Rising), those elements were still present in both the wardrobe styling and the music.

Your eyes whispered "have we met?"

Across the room your silhouette starts to make it's way to me

The playful conversation starts

Counter all your quick remarks, like passing notes in secrecy

And it was enchanting to meet you

All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you

Taking a look at Swift's natal chart, she has a number of oppositions along the Cancer-Capricorn axis. Although the opposition aspect can be challenging, mastering those challenges can bring a lot of rewards. Aspects, in astrological understanding, bring a special focus and relationship between the planets in the aspect and the signs those planets fall in. Remember that an opposition relationship (such as between Cancer-Capricorn) is a relationship where the energies are trying to do similar things using different methods. Mastery, in this case, would mean being able to balance the positive aspects from both signs to create an even stronger effect. Taylor Swift's Mercury in Capricorn (planet communication) is in a strong opposition with her Jupiter (planet of Luck and Fortune) in Cancer and conjunct Neptune (planet of dreams and imagination) in Capricorn. Jupiter is also exalted in Cancer, giving this planet's beneficial effects more power. Astrologer's can interpret this opposition as Swift being especially good at her method of communication (music) and also having a special ability to describe her thoughts and feelings when she does communicate. Mercury in Capricorn also means that she has a calculated and well-planned way of organizing her thoughts when she does use her musical abilities. Another aspect of all this Capricorn energy is that she is no stranger to hard work and she can a veritable workaholic, especially when she's on tour. Her Moon in Cancer in loose opposition to multiple planets in Capricorn means she views those she works with and for as family and Taylor Swift is notorious for being incredibly gracious, generous, and kind to fans, her backup dancers, and other people who assist her when she's working. With Saturn in Capricorn opposite Jupiter in Cancer, it's also no surprise that she succeeded very early on in her music career (she became famous when she was 16 years old) and has been able to maintain and grow from that level of success. Finally, her Neptune in Capricorn is loosely opposite her Moon and Chiron in Cancer. This means she is able to manifest and make others understand her emotions and, in particular, her inner wounding. As I mentioned before, Taylor Swift has a different song for every kind of heartache. If you're being bullied, she has a song for that. If you've been cheated on (or, conversely, been cheated with - she has experienced playing both parts), she has songs for that. If you've been in love with someone who doesn't know you exist, she has dozens of songs for that. Part of this is because she has dated a lot - Cancer placements have a tendency to be on a perpetual search until they find "The One" - but she also had a lot of life experience for her short 30 years, because of the success she's had. With Chiron in Cancer, she is hypersensitive to how others react to her feelings and needs and I'm sure she's been on the receiving end of comments such as she's "too much" or "too sensitive." And that's the fine line those of us with personal placements in Cancer must walk - we're highly empathetic but we also want someone who is equally compassionate and caring and are often disappointed. With this Chiron placement, people often get in a cycle of repressing their own needs to make others comfortable, which only leads to resentment and self-betrayal. Again, the key here is balance and the uncanny ability of fill your own cup first before giving to others, something all Cancer placements must learn to master.

This is me praying that this was the very first page

Not where the story line ends

My thoughts will echo your name, until I see you again

These are the words I held back, as I was leaving too soon

I was enchanted to meet you

I chose this song because it very recently was added to my list of top Taylor Swift songs. Although my favorite T-Swift song will probably always be "Everything Has Changed," which still makes me smile and calms my heart (seriously, liquefy this song and shoot it straight into my veins, please), "Enchanted" comes in as a close 2nd place. Over the past year, I've gotten into the habit of listening to the "This is Taylor Swift" playlist on Spotify whenever I'd have a particularly rough day, which is how I found this song. She is prolific and this is one of her older songs, from when she could still be roughly classified as country music. The lyrics depicts that fairy tale vibe you see in so many romance stories - eyes met across the room, love at first sight, and all that jazz. The high you feel after a moment or night like the one she describes. The uncertainty of whether the other person felt the same or if it's all in your head. In general, it's a sweet, youthful song, which I felt captured the essence of today's New Moon in Cancer. Enjoy!

"Enchanted" Video

December Theme: My Favorite Things, Rapid-Fire Edition

I'm ready for this year to be over. As far as I'm concerned, 2020 started today, around the time Jupiter slid into Capricorn (which was at approximately 12:30pm EST, according to the Internet). I walked into work this morning and told my team that we're sprinting until the finish line, because I have a lot I'll be trying to build next year and I'm ready to get started. Jupiter will be transiting my 8th House, emphasizing the themes of major transformation, inheritance, and the occult. And I'll be turning 33, which we all know is a super important birthday and a 10th House profection year. And, if I really want to go down the rabbit hole into numerology, it's going to be an 8 year for me, which are usually good years for people. I've been irrationally optimistic about 2020, like if we could just end this decade, everything will be okay. Luckily, other people on Twitter have been feeling the same energy, so I feel a little less crazy. Still crazy, just not as much as usual.

I've been thinking back on how much I've changed this past year (this past decade, really), but it didn't hit me until the husband and I started re-watching "Parks & Rec." I don't usually re-watch anything but this is the third time I've watched "Parks & Rec." It's just that funny. The characters are also really likable, in spite of their very obvious flaws. I see a lot of myself in Leslie Knope - her desire to succeed and contagious unrelenting hopefulness that often borders on delusion. I also see myself in April Ludgate - trying hard to maintain her cool kid image even though she secretly loves her job and coworkers. But the character that has really hit me hard this time around has been Ann Perkins. It has been physically painful to watch her lately, especially during Season 1, because she's been mirroring an aspect I really don't like about myself. To some critics, Ann was a plot device, an unnecessary character, the best friend Leslie badly needed but who could've been filled by literally any other character. But part of the purpose of "Parks & Rec" was to show the range of femininity - in both men and women - and one of the more unfortunate aspects is who Ann was in the beginning of the show. She's an unfailingly kind and nurturing person but she interpreted these good qualities as being a doormat in the beginning. It seemed like she had given up on living a fulfilling life. Ann meeting Leslie was the spark that made them both want something better for their lives. Their development as people gets kickstarted and we watch them both grow as their friendship continues until they both get their happy endings. I love this show. And, in my opinion, that's the only reason to re-watch or re-read anything - because you haven't gotten all the lessons out of it yet. I still have some more lessons to learn from "Parks & Rec."

Last December, the theme was "A Few of My Favorite Things" - I've decided to keep up the tradition, because this year deserves a good wrap-up. Especially since we're making a switch next month to a new project for this blog. This month, I'll feature some of my favorite songs that helped me get through this year - songs I discovered, songs that came out this year, and definitely some songs I played on repeat way too much. You may have noticed I'm calling this a "rapid-fire" edition. That is because I will be challenging myself to post at least one song a day this month. I already know some days will be harder than others - this upcoming Saturday, for example (because "back on my bullshit" for me means getting too embroiled in event planning for my work) - so I'm going to set some expectations:

Not every day is going to be a rant.

I know. I know. It's very sad but I don't have that much writing time to spare. Don't fret - Some days will definitely have rants. Long, tortuous rants that incorporate every stray thought I've had all week. Other days (most days), I may just leave the music to speak for itself. Sometimes it's better that way.

I'm going to end with the following panel from "Heart & Brain." Something to remember while we push through this last month of the decade.