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Art Journal with the Moon February 6-12 2023

Art Journal with the Moon for February 6-12, 2023

This is a summary of the moon’s energy for the upcoming week and the inner work and magic you can do in your art journal to make the most of the opportunities the cosmos is gifting us with.

Every week the emotional and magical opportunities the moon is sending you are different because the energy she is drawing down from the planets and stars changes moment to moment. Planets and stars and moon phases and moon signs each carry their own unique energy .This is my weekly update (Mon-Fri) of the moon’s comings and goings to support you in aligning with her energy.

Get your art journal or a scrap of paper you see lying around, your art supplies or those pencil crayons you have hidden away somewhere and have fun. Spend 10 – 20 minutes focusing on the themes the moon is supporting you to explore that day while you play with colors and shapes and watch what happens over time.

It’s amazing what a little consistent creative time can do.

A Few Thoughts Before We Get Started

The moon is now in the waning phases which is a great time for reflection, release, gratitude and shadow work. In this energy, I’ve been contemplating how healing my wounded inner parts is essential to my magic. 

I define magic as my ability to create the changes I want to see in myself or in my life. I believe the best magic is the magic I create when I am connected to my spirit or in other words, my true essence, my core self, my higher self or whatever you call the sacred, eternal part of me.

That magic starts with an intention and that intention is created by trusting a deep, sacred longing or desire I have. When I grow still or quiet and allow a desire to bubble up from deep within me and I feel pulled towards creating a change in myself or in my life – not because I need to create that change in order to prove my worth, belong or become more lovable but because my spirit calls me to experience and express itself – I’m tapping into a desire that flows from the clearest, purest, truest part of me. Despite what others might think or the judgements they hold about people who long for the kind of experiences my spirit longs for, I am pulled towards that dream or goal. In order to move towards this longing and manifest the changes my spirit longs to experience, I need to be open to growing or expanding.

This is why healing is essential to magic; I can’t manifest the changes in myself or in my life without growing or expanding but I can’t grow or expand until all parts within me are ready to grow and expand alongside me.

My magic begins with listening to my heart or in other words, setting an intention from my spirit or true essence but the healing part of the journey, to me, is tending to all my inner parts that are afraid of the changes my spirit wants to create in myself or my life.

As you may know, I see myself as an eternal being (my true self) with a multiplicity of parts (inner child parts, past life parts, ancestral parts etc.) but sometimes parts of me are stuck in a memory from the past. These parts feel differently about my dreams and goals than my spirit does. They don’t hold the same wisdom. They carry limiting beliefs, traumatic memories or fears. The changes my spirit wants to create scare them. They feel threatened by the direction my true self wants to move in.

Ignoring, dismissing or bulldozing past these parts is cruel, hard on my body and ultimately ineffective because they will not be ignored. They will prevent me from creating the changes my spirit wants to create. These parts must come into agreement with my core self or my spirit. I have to do the emotional or spiritual work that needs to be done in order for these parts to feel safe, relinquish control and surrender to my spirit.

For reasons I don’t fully understand but can see are divinely inspired, my spirit cannot and will not overrule or bulldoze past my wounded inner parts so if I want to move towards my highest dreams and goals, I need the patience and compassion to be in relationship with my parts.

I have a multiplicity of parts. Some are complex. Most are mine. Some have been influenced by my ancestors or my culture. Some were created in a moment of trauma.

The parts that hold memories of trauma are so important because there are many of them and even when my spirit wants to move towards a goal or dreams these parts will respond in fear and influence my body, thoughts and feelings. They often cause debilitating anxiety or self-sabotaging behaviors.

Let’s imagine there is a continuum you’re always on. On one side your body is completely relaxed, you feel safe, open and connected to yourself, others and Source energy. Let’s pretend this is the side your spirit is on. On the other side your nervous system is highly activated, you feel like you are in danger and you feel disconnected from yourself, others and from Source. Let’s pretend this is the side your wounded inner parts are on.

When you feel safe, your body feels relaxed, you can think clearly, you can process information, connect to your emotions and allow them to flow through you, you can move and speak and take the actions you feel you need to take. You can CREATE. You can receive inspiration and listen to your intuition. You CAN TAKE ACTION on your dreams and goals.

When you feel unsafe your body tenses up, you react suddenly or you become frozen and unable to speak, move or act. You feel overwhelmed. You can’t connect to your thoughts or your emotions and you either want to react in anger or defensiveness or you collapse and shut down or you want to avoid or run away. You CANNOT CREATE nor can you feel inspired, connected or motivated and you CANNOT TAKE ACTION OR MOVE FORWARD. You feel stuck.

As you can see, if you want to move in the direction of your goals and dreams, your wounded inner parts need to feel safe.

What your wounded inner parts consider traumatic is not up to you and your conscious mind and it usually has more to do with the past than what is happening in the present because your wounded inner parts carry these memories – not your core self.

We’re used to thinking trauma is caused by severe and horrific events but more subtle and less intense experiences can also be traumatizing. To a child, not having their feelings seen, validated or acknowledged can be traumatizing. If what I’m experiencing isn’t being held or heard by anyone or if I’m shamed, ridiculed, blamed or punished for expressing my emotions, then I’m left to carry unbearable feelings on my own. These unbearable feelings and memories become feelings I push down inside myself. I try to hide them away. They become parts of me that feel separated or cut off from my core self or my spirit. They live in a space that feels disconnected from all the other parts of me. They feel alone and scared and like they don’t belong.

Whether the events that created these parts were mild or intense, these parts live in my body and will continue to respond in a traumatic way in my present-day life even if it doesn’t make logical sense to me why I am reacting the way I am or why I’m having so much trouble creating the changes in myself or in my life that I long to make.

I am not in control of how my inner parts respond to the changes my spirit longs to make. When I judge myself and my inner parts for how they respond and think they should be stronger or think that whatever bothers them shouldn’t actually bother them, I don’t give them what they need to feel safe. When they don’t feel safe, they can’t let go, relinquish control and surrender to my spirit.

My magic will be affected by what I can’t see, own and acknowledge. Holding my parts and helping them feel seen, validated and acknowledged so they can unburden themselves of the unbearable feelings they’ve been carrying is crucial to my magic. Once they feel seen and heard, they feel safe to let go of control and surrender to my spirit. This is when everything within me is in agreement. The energy can flow freely towards my dreams and goals. My wounded inner parts no longer interfere. All lights are green and my spirit is ready to work its magic in my life.

On that note, let’s work with the moon this week to heal your wounded inner parts and work your best magic.

Monday

The moon is void of course from early morning to early afternoon in the mountain time zone.

This sometimes happens when the moon is moving from one zodiac sign to another or when it’s not making any aspects with other planets – I think of it as though the moon is just hanging around alone and in the in-between space – no longer where it was but not yet where it will be. The moon likes reflecting energy down to us but when it’s void of course there’s nothing substantial for it to reflect so its reflecting that emptiness back to us.

When the moon is void of course it is a good time to rest and relax and look inward. If you can prevent it, don’t start anything new or sign anything important when the moon is void of course since the energy it carries speaks of not having the momentum to carry it through to the end or in other words, whatever you start when the moon is void of course won’t go anywhere or won’t go where you thought it would.

It is a good time, however, to connect with your subconscious mind and your intuition.

Think about a situation in your life you would like to surrender to the Divine and trust you will be taken care of.

In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image of a challenging experience or relationship in your life you are ready to surrender to a higher power.

Tuesday

The moon moves into the sign of Virgo today.

Virgo is ruled by the planet Mercury so it’s carrying a little of that planet’s energy as well.

Virgo energy is nocturnal and of the earth. It is mutable and versatile. It supports you in being efficient and organized. It wants to help you find the most effective way of doing things. It brings practicality, attention to detail, a love of quality and precision but it can cause you to get lost in the details.

When the moon is in Virgo, it’s the perfect time for review and adjustments.

Do you like what you’ve been creating in your life lately?

You’re not in control of creating everything you experience in your life but of the things you do have control over, which situations and experiences that you’ve been creating do you enjoy and which situations and experiences have you not been enjoying?

If you don’t like what you’re creating, what adjustments can you make?

In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that represents an adjustment you’d like to make in your thoughts, feelings or actions.

Wednesday

The moon is in a happy relationship with Mercury today.

Mercury is the messenger of the Gods. It is concerned with communication and connection. It influences transportation, commerce, language, writing, speaking and education. It also represents the mind. When it’s happy, it is helpful to the mind and learning and inspires curiosity, ingenuity and business. In a happy state like it is today it brings helpful thoughts, good communication, ease with technology, curiosity and success in commerce or business.

It’s a day where your right and left brain are harmonious and respectful of each other. You’re more likely to trust your intuition or follow your creative impulses. Because the moon rules your emotions and dreams it’s also a day where you’re more likely to communicate how you feel in a way that others will accept, hear and honor.

In your art journal, create an image that celebrates the energy of the planet Mercury.

Thursday

Today the moon is in the disseminating phase.

This phase is when the moon is just starting to become smaller.  It is a time to rest, relax and rejuvenate and move inward and focus on self.  This isn’t a time to start anything new. It’s a time to reflect. It’s a great time for expressing your devotion or gratitude to Spirit and for presenting offerings to your Divine helpers, your ancestors or the Earth.

It’s also a great time to share the wisdom and knowledge you’ve harvested. There’s a generous energy or giving back quality to the waning phases of the moon. We’re taking note of the goodness we received as the moon was growing in power and feeling grateful and wanting to share what we learned or received with the people we love and care about.

What did you receive or learn since the new moon in Aquarius?

Looking back over the last couple weeks, what do you feel grateful for?

In your art journal, create an image that represents the gratitude you feel for what you received or learned since the new moon.

Friday

The moon is in the sign of Libra today.

Libra is ruled by Venus so the moon is carrying a little of that planet’s energy as well.

Libra is an air sign which means it is fluid and dynamic. It brings energy that is soft, beautiful and artistic. It likes to help you be sociable and enjoy friendships, gatherings and groups. It also likes to keep things balanced and looks for equality in relationships. It brings an energy of acceptance and understanding but it can also be too outwardly focused or, in other words, have you focusing on other people’s needs at the expense of honoring your own feelings and needs.

Let’s celebrate the helpful energy Libra brings.

Think about the beautiful relationships you have in your life – you know, one of those relationships where you feel accepted for who you are. 

What do you like about those relationships?

What does equality look like in that relationships?

What does having harmony in those relationships feel like to you?

If you could attract more of those kinds of relationships in your life, what would that look like?

In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that celebrates your favorite relationships and calls more of them into your life.

Have fun with your art journal and the moon this week.

with love,

 

Dana da Ponte

 

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This is a space where art and spirit come together. On the blog, I share art rituals for working with the magic of the moon. I also work with the subconscious mind to lighten your emotional load and follow your creative dreams.

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