Art Journal with the Moon for April 29 – May 6 2024

The first couple weeks of May have a lot of Taurus energy to play with. This includes the Taurus new moon we greet next week. For this reason, in this post I want to talk about how exploring the archetype of Taurus in your art journal can deepen your spiritual practice.

In this blog post, I share what the archetype of Taurus is and how exploring it in your art journal can help you deepen your spiritual practice. Next, I share some creative ways to do that. Don’t forget, you can work with this energy during the new moon next week and for the two weeks of the waxing moon as well. Finally, as always, when you scroll past all that goodness, you’ll see I describe the comings and goings of the moon this week as well as the daily prompts you can use to art journal with the moon and align your emotional healing with lunar magic.

Before I talk about all this though, don’t forget, if you want to stay updated on how to work with the magic of the moon in your art journal, sign up to my mailing list. Every Monday, you’ll get reminders of the moon’s energy for the upcoming week and how you can work with it in your art journal to practice magic, tend to your soul or do your deep inner work. You can sign up here.

The Taurus part of your birth chart is receiving a lot of attention this week and next.

Taurus is a fixed earth sign that likes stability, security and safety. It also encourages you to appreciate the sensual pleasures in life. It is ruled by Venus who loves comfort, art, beauty, pleasure, intimacy and connection.

In the northern hemisphere, we are at a time in spring when growth really picks up. It’s a time of planting, productivity, agriculture and earthiness. Can you smell it in the air? I walked in my backyard yesterday and it smelled like good, fresh, healthy dirt. If Taurus had a smell, it might be that.

A Little About the Energy of Taurus

Taurus doesn’t want you to only meditate your way to enlightenment. Taurus wants you to dig your hands in the dirt and feel the Earth Mother drawing you towards her. Taurus wants you to feel the Divine moving through the bones in your hands.

Taurus is also a fixed sign which means it is good at sustaining effort and focusing energy in a consistent way, which is essential for manifesting your intentions. For this reason, on some level it’s probably helpful to embrace the energy of Taurus to be a witch. Taurus also teaches patience and respect for natural processes and reminds you that slow and steady growth is needed sometimes. I know. I know. No one likes to wait for what they want but such is life.

Overall, Taurus is the spirit of persistence, pleasure, and practicality. It wants to help you build strong foundations from which your sense of security and comfort can grow. The energy of Taurus is like your inner witch knowing you are safe and strong because the core of who you are is unbreakable and unfuckwithable. It’s YOU feeling strong like a bull who can bust through any obstacle.

A Little About the Taurus Constellation

I like learning a little about the history of the stars that are part of the zodiac because it helps me connect to the ancient myths and magic that surround them. The constellation of stars known as Taurus has a prominent star cluster called the Pleiades which ancients believed was linked to agriculture and the planting season. This cluster, also known as the “Seven Sisters,” has been observed and revered by various cultures around the world.

In ancient times, the Pleiades were closely associated with agriculture due to their seasonal visibility in the night sky. Their appearance was an important marker in the agricultural calendar. This event typically occurred during late spring, signaling the time for planting crops. The disappearance of the Pleiades from the night sky, on the other hand, coincided with the harvest season in autumn, marking a period of reaping what had been sown.

The Pleiades also appear in numerous myths across different cultures as guides, creators, or nurturers, reinforcing their role in supporting life and productivity. Their appearance and disappearance in the sky were interpreted as signs of the gods’ communication with the people, providing direct guidance on when to engage with the earth for planting and harvesting.

Therefore, in Taurus, the energy of the Pleiades emphasizes a connection to the earth that is both nurturing and productive. It underscores the importance of timing, patience, and alignment with natural rhythms—principles that are fundamental to both successful agriculture and to living a spiritually grounded life. As the song goes, there is a time and season for everything – and living in rhythm with that is, in my opinion, a spiritual experience.  Because of this, Taurus encourages us to embrace the material realities of the world while also recognizing the spiritual forces that animate and enrich it.

In modern new age spirituality, beings believed to originate from the Pleiades, often referred to as Pleiadians, are depicted as highly evolved spiritual entities that communicate through various channelers to impart wisdom and guidance to humanity. The overarching messages shared by these Pleiadian beings tend to focus on themes of love, light, and spiritual awakening. They emphasize the importance of human consciousness evolution, encouraging individuals to raise their vibrational frequencies and align more closely with universal love and harmony.

Pleiadians are often portrayed as benevolent and caring beings who want to help us transition to a higher consciousness. They teach about the interconnectedness of all life and the importance of living in a way that honors this unity.

The Pleiadians (through channelers) often speak about the power of healing through energy and light, suggesting that humans have the innate ability to heal themselves and the planet through meditative practices and by channeling cosmic energies.

They advocate for personal and planetary healing by encouraging individuals to clear negative patterns and to embrace their inner divinity. 

Taurus and Your Inner Divinity

The way Taurus encourages you to embrace your inner divinity is earthy. It encourages you to see your divinity through the sacredness of the physical world and your experiences within it.

Taurus’s earthy nature teaches us to appreciate the here and now, grounding us in the present moment and reminding us that the divine can be found in the touchable, smellable, tasty aspects of life. By slowing down and engaging fully with the sensory experiences that life offers—whether through nature, art, food, or physical touch—Taurus invites you to find the divine in everyday moments. This sign’s association with Venus enhances this by emphasizing beauty and love as gateways to experiencing spiritual connection and divine love.

Embracing your inner divinity, according to Taurus’s perspective, involves acknowledging that there is something sacred and valuable within you and in the material world around you. It encourages seeing the divine not only in spiritual or transcendent experiences but also in the simple, grounded aspects of life. For Taurus, the divine might be most palpable while walking in your garden, enjoying a gourmet meal, or crafting something beautiful with your hands.

The way I practice my spirituality in my art journal and encourage you to do the same is actually a very Taurus way of living with the sacred.

Taurus also inspires stability and perseverance, essential qualities for maintaining a spiritual practice and staying connected to your divine core, especially during challenging times. The endurance of Taurus shows that sometimes, embracing your inner divinity means persisting in your values and self-worth, even when external circumstances are difficult.

In essence, Taurus teaches that by valuing and nurturing yourself, your talents, and your environment, you honor the divinity inherent in all things. This approach not only enhances your personal spiritual journey but also allows you to live more harmoniously with the world around you, seeing the sacred in the seemingly mundane and connecting deeply with the divine essence that permeates every aspect of your life.

Your Journal as a Portal to the Divine

As you may already know about me, I believe fostering a better understanding of yourself and the divine happens when you paint and play in the pages of your art journal in rhythm with the moon and the seasons. Your journal becomes a portal to your inner self, your spirit allies and ancestors and to the forces of love surrounding you. It helps you live with greater depth and meaning and all you have to do is carve out time from your busy life to light a candle, tune into the season or the moon, open your journal and get out your favorite supplies and play.

It’s as simple and marvelous as that but nothing happens until you actually do it so go get your art journal out and commit to play with a couple of these themes this week to align with the archetype of Taurus.

Build Your Sense of Self-Worth

Building your sense of self-worth means recognizing and appreciating your intrinsic value as a person, independent of external accomplishments or validation. It’s about understanding that you are worthy simply because you exist.

Taurus inspires us to appreciate and nurture our talents and qualities, fostering a sense of abundance and contentment that originates from within.

Building your sense of self-worth is beneficial because it leads to healthier relationships, a more positive outlook, and a greater resilience against stress and adversity. What you’re looking for here is to explore what a strong and secure sense of self means to you or do something in your art journal that helps you grow a positive sense of who you are and the goodness you are worthy of.

Start by writing affirmations that reinforce your value and strengths. Use phrases like “I am worthy of _________,” or “My presence is enough.” Decorate around these affirmations with symbols of abundance and stability, such as trees, mountains, or fields. Use earthy tones that Taurus loves, like greens, browns, and golds.

Or, draw or paint a self-portrait that celebrates some good you’ve gifted the world or the people you love in it with. Surround your self-portrait with images or scenes representing the positive impact you make in this world just by being you.  

Play with Techniques that Ground and Center You

Taurus, an earth sign, is fundamentally about grounding. Grounding in this context refers to techniques that promote an immediate connection with the present moment, helping stabilize your emotions and calm your mind.

This is often achieved by engaging the senses, which brings attention away from stressors and anchors you in the here and now. And by the ways, all the suggestions I mention in the next section to help you engage with your physical senses would also be helpful for grounding and centering you.

Grounding can regulate your nervous system by shifting it from a state of heightened alertness (fight or flight) to a more relaxed state (rest and digest).

Grounding helps in your spiritual practice by creating a stable foundation from which to explore deeper emotional and spiritual questions. When you’re not overwhelmed by anxiety or disarray, you can approach your spiritual journey with clarity and intention. The grounded state enhances your ability to connect with your higher self or your spirit allies and ancestors, engage with your spiritual beliefs, and perform rituals with a focused and present mind. I usually incorporate grounding exercises before I begin a moon ritual in my art journal for this reason. Here are a few ideas to try:

1. Color Washing: Choose calming colors such as blues, greens, or earth tones, and use a wet brush to spread them in broad strokes over a page. The repetitive motion of brushing and the visual calmness of the colors can help soothe your nervous system, grounding your emotions.
2. Nature Impressions: Collect a few natural items like leaves, flowers, or small twigs. Place these on your journal page and paint over them, then remove the items to reveal their impressions. This technique not only connects you to nature—a powerful grounding force—but also is simple and playful enough for you to not get all up in your head about what you’re creating.
3. Visual Anchors: Paint or draw a personal symbol or motif that represents stability and calm for you. This could be a mountain, a tree, or any other image that evokes a sense of solidity.
4. Coloring Book Pages: Go back to the basics and color a page from a coloring book using colors feeling calming and soothing to you that day. This is often a simple enough exercise to keep your busy mind quiet.
5. Doodles and Designs: Fill a page with random doodles or repeat a simple design over and over again until the page is filled. The repetitiveness or randomness of either of these exercises should help ground you in the here and now.

Engage with Your Physical Senses

Taurus teaches the importance of the senses and the physical body in spiritual practice. By engaging with your senses, you deepen your connection to the Earth and the material world. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Touch and Texture: Start by focusing on the sense of touch. Use materials that add texture to your pages, such as adding thick layers of acrylic paint, pasting fabric scraps, or embedding small beads and natural items like leaves or sand. As you apply these things, pay close attention to how they feel. Notice how the roughness of sand contrasts with the smoothness of paint or the softness of fabric. Maybe you want to get your hands dirty and paint with your fingers. You might notice that focusing on touch makes the act of journaling more meditative and grounding.
2. Scent: Incorporate elements that bring scent into your art practice. You might add a few drops of essential oils to your paint or use scented markers. Maybe you want to make your own paints out of fruits and vegetables. Or maybe you want to play with things like mint leaves or rosemary and make prints of those plants as you enjoy the way they smell. You can even choose scents that connect you to any intentions you may want to set at the new moon such as lavender for relaxation, citrus for energizing, or pine for grounding. As you work in your journal, take deep breaths and notice how the scents affect your mood and creativity.
3. Sight and Color: Visually, Taurus resonates with rich, earthy colors that reflect its connection to nature and stability. Experiment with greens, browns, deep reds, and golds. As you select and mix colors, focus on how they make you feel. Do they evoke a sense of calm, vitality, or comfort? Use these colors to paint something you love in nature or just enjoy the colors you mixed.
4. Sound: While journaling, you can enhance your auditory senses by listening to sounds that inspire creativity and relaxation. Play nature sounds, like a forest or ocean waves, or calming music in the background. Notice how the sounds influence your creative process and how they make you feel.
5. Taste: This one might be a little tricky to play with in your art journal. Don’t taste the paint – unless you made it yourself out of fruits or vegetables! Instead, you can engage your sense of taste by keeping a small plate of snacks nearby while you work in your art journal—perhaps some fruits, nuts, or a piece of dark chocolate. Choose foods that are grounding and nourishing. Take a moment to savor each bite. You could also gather some fruits and vegetables that are about to go bad and cut them in half and put paint a part of their surface that interests you and press that onto a page in your journal to make a print of it. You’re not playing with taste directly but you are remembering how everything tastes as you make a print of it.

Express Gratitude for Physical Blessings

Expressing gratitude for physical blessings means acknowledging and appreciating the tangible things in your life—like your home, body, the food on your table, and the beauty of the natural world around you. This practice is particularly aligned with the archetype of Taurus, which values the earthy, material aspects of life. Taurus encourages you to find stability and joy in your physical environment and the comforts it provides, helping to cultivate a mindset of abundance and security. This shifts your focus from what you lack to what you possess, deepening your connection to the earth and the material blessings it provides.

Here are some creative ways to express gratitude for physical blessings in your art journal:

1. Collage of Comfort: Create a collage that represents the physical comforts in your life. You might include images of your home, favorite places, foods you enjoy, or items that bring you comfort like books, blankets, or your pet. Arrange these images on a page and paint or draw connecting elements that bring them together, such as roots or vines, symbolizing how these comforts ground and sustain you.
2. Blessings Inventory: Dedicate a page to listing the physical blessings in your life. Use a fine-tip pen to write small but legibly around illustrations of items you’re grateful for. You can draw icons representing these items, such as a bed for a good night’s sleep or a shoe for the ability to walk and explore. Color these drawings with warm, earthy tones to enhance the feeling of gratitude and abundance.
3. Gratitude Garden: Paint or sketch a garden scene where each plant or flower represents a different physical blessing. Label each one with a short note on why you’re thankful for that particular blessing. This visual metaphor can help you see the growth and nurturing aspects of gratitude, emphasizing how nurturing your blessings can lead to more abundance—key concepts in Taurus energy.
4. Visual Thank You Note: Craft a visual thank-you note to a higher power you believe in for the physical blessings in your life. This can be as detailed or as simple as you like.

I hope you enjoy playing with the energy of Taurus in your art journal to deepen your spiritual practice. I know I will. 

with gratitude,

The Moon This Week

If you want to work with the moon to do your emotional work or deepen your creativity, here’s a summary of the moon’s energy from Monday – Sunday with daily prompts you can explore in your art journal.