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Art Journal with the Moon for January 23-29, 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
If I had to give a word for the collective consciousness of 2023 it would be “Movement”. It feels like even the bigger, further, slower planets are on the move and movement, depending what direction it is heading, feels like a good thing to me.
As I mentioned last year and the year before, it’s time to get used to changes and as lovers of the moon we should be used to that.
According to an episode I listened to on the Astrology Podcast in 2020, we left a 200 year cycle where some of the major astrological conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn have been in earth energy and now we’re in a new 200 year cycle where some of the major astrological conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn are in air energy. Together Jupiter and Saturn conjunctions signal key moments in the formation of our shared collective reality. Earth energy is stable and solid. It can also have you feeling stuck for longer periods of time. Air energy, on the other hand, is constantly changing. When you’re in air energy, things will not be as they were before. It’s harder to find a stable center. It’s hard to emotionally catch up with all the changes you’ll experience in your life. It’s like standing in the wind – air swirling all around you. It feels like so much happening at the same time. That is definitely what it has felt like to me since 2020.
Air energy brings change and we’re in that cycle for 200 years so in your lifetime the energy all around you – the collective energy – is going to feel a lot less grounded. You will have to do the inner work necessary to stay centered and find your inner sanctuary because the world around you might feel more chaotic than you are used to. All the chaos and the changes are not bad but they can feel unsettling and they can trigger anxiety.
As I explained to my Moon Mapping Year community last year, I feel like my emotional and spiritual training of the last 20 years has prepared me for this time. All my major astrological birth signs are air signs. I’ve had to learn how to be healthy in a lot of air energy. This was not an easy thing to learn but now I understand how to acknowledge anxiety. I know what it feels like in my body. I know how to care for my body when my nervous system is feeling unsettled. I know how to find the calm in the center of the tornado.
Astrologically speaking and in terms of the collective energy all around us, these are the skills that are needed for the rest of my life and for the next few generations as well. When the world turns upside down and looks nothing like it used to or nothing like you thought it would, you have to look inward for the stability you used to receive from the world around you.
Preparing for the year ahead on an energy level helps your brain not feel so alarmed or worried when it comes across something we explained it would come across. Preparing for emotional challenges that may come your way helps your brain and your body feel more resourced, considered and acknowledged – all things that help your nervous system feel less alarmed and on guard.
I created a Moon Mapping Session to work with the MAP Method to energetically and emotionally prepare you for the year ahead so your Superconscious mind could do this work for you. If you are part of the Moon Mapping Year or you joined my online class, ART JOURNAL WITH THE MOON TO PLAN AND VISION THE YEAR AHEAD, you’ll have access to this recording.
If you do not have access to this recording but would like it, you can purchase it here and I will email you a link to download the recording for your own use.
I start this session by treating the major themes for the year in general then I go through each month and treat the energetic and emotional impacts of that month based on the natural cycles for that time of the year and the astrological influences predicted for that month.
Access this special recording here.
This is an hour long recording that works with the MAP Method and the astrology and natural cycles of 2023 to rewire your brain in preparation for the energetic and emotional challenges and opportunities you may experience in the coming year.
If you’ve never worked with the MAP Method before, don’t worry. You will also receive a link to all recordings you need to prepare you to listen to this special Moon Mapping episode correctly.
Monday
The moon is still in that new moon energy.
The new moon is the darkest of the moon phases. I like to think of this phase as an empty garden plot filled with rich black dirt just waiting for me to plant a seed in. It is a time to go inward, be still and dream up what you next want to create in your life. You can help yourself get unstuck by using this time to get clear on what it is you really want, look forward, plan and think about what success means to you – especially in the area of your life that the new moon was focusing its energy in.
During the New Moon, I like to create art journal pages around manifesting, getting clear on what it is I really want, looking forward, planning and thinking about what I want the next Moon Cycle to look like. I sent the new Creative Moon Guide for the Aquarius/Leo Lunar Cycle to those on my mailing list. Check your inbox. There’s still time to download the free guide and look through it to align with this new moon energy.
The New Moon is a perfect time to stretch your imagination so you can better conceptualize what is possible in your life. We have a tendency to not see our value or our worth and feel as if we don’t deserve all the love and abundance available to us and consequently we dream and/or think small. I like to spend some time during the new moon opening my heart and helping it learn how to feel worthy of receiving more goodness and possibilities.
This particular new moon happened on Saturday but we’re still in that new moon energy so let’s use it to magnetize your new moon intentions once again.
In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that magnifies your new moon intentions.
Tuesday
Today the moon is in the sign of Pisces.
Pisces is a mutable water sign. Pisces energy is calm and highly receptive. It can help you absorb more information from the environment and from other people. This is great when the energy you are absorbing is helpful, nurturing and positive but its not so great when the energy that surrounds you is heavy, intense, negative or unhealthy.
When the moon is in Pisces it can highlight our highly sensitive natures, our compassion and our ability to care for others. It can also help us tune into and honor our creativity but it can also bring flightiness, fickleness and indecision. Pisces energy is sentimental but can also change according to whatever mood or emotion it is feeling.
Let’s magnetize the helpful qualities of Pisces.
Think about your highly sensitive nature.
What do you like about your highly sensitive nature?
What is one positive thing you can say about your highly sensitive nature?
In your art journal, create a page that celebrates your highly sensitive nature.
Wednesday
Today the moon is in the waxing crescent phase.
This moon phase is when a silver sliver of the moon begins to appear in the night sky. The moon is moving from being dark, still and invisible to growing and coming into full power.
I like to think of this phase as the time when the dream seeds I planted during the New Moon are just starting to form shoots or tiny roots. I might not be able to see my prayers being answered or my dreams manifesting but I can have faith that despite the limited capabilities of what my physical senses can pick up, Spirit is conspiring in my favor and there are invisible forces at work in my life helping me to grow, heal, evolve and create.
In my art rituals, this is the time when I’m meditating on the intentions I set during the New Moon. I’m revisiting my intentions and trying to call them up in my imagination again and trying to tap into the emotions those intentions evoke within me. I’m feeding my dreams with the power of my imagination and my emotions.
How far can you stretch your imagination today?
How much goodness can you imagine growing in your life today?
How many invisible forces can you imagine are helping you today?
How many invisible actions can you imagine your angels and spirit guides are taking to help you reach your goals and manifest your new moon intentions?
In your art journal, create an image that represents the invisible realms helping your new moon intentions become reality.
Thursday
Today the moon is in the fire sign of Aries.
Aries is ruled by the fiery planet Mars so the moon is carrying a little bit if that planet’s energy today as well.
Aries is assertiveness, boundaries, quick responses and impulses. It values action. When the moon is in the sign of Aries as it is today, it can bring abrupt energy that is blunt and harsh – maybe even sometimes aggressive but it also helps to light a spark in your spirit and connect you to your passion and enthusiasm.
Think about what makes you light up.
What are the simple things in your life that bring you joy?
on the simple things that light you up today.
In your art journal, create an image that represents the simple things in your life that bring you joy.
Friday
The moon moves into the fixed earth sign of Taurus today.
Taurus is ruled by the planet Venus so the moon is carrying a little bit of that planet’s energy today as well.
Taurus energy is stable and secure. It brings an air of grace, calm, tolerance, tenacity, comfort, pleasure, grounding, safety and security. Depending on the way it affects you or the area of your life it influences the most, it may also bring laziness, inactivity or stubbornness.
Allow the stable and secure energy of Taurus to sit in your body for a moment.
Think of someone or something that makes you feel safe.
It could be someone you know or even a place in nature that makes you feel held. Maybe its the feeling of being wrapped in the arms of someone you love.
Your nervous system deeply benefits from dosing your field with feelings of safety. Taking care of your body includes caring for your nervous system and allowing it to remember what feeling calm and grounded is like. When you are able to achieve that feeling of safety its like medicine to your nervous system – a warm liquid medicine that flows through your nervous system and speaks to the energy you hold there and reminds your entire system you can let go and relax because in this moment you are safe. Your brain can take a break. It doesn’t need to stay alert. It can put down the guards.
In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that is calming and soothing to your nervous system.
with love,
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hi i'm dana...
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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