Art Journal with the Moon for March 20 – 26, 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 Begin

We are always cycling through the seasons. Spring to summer then fall to winter and back to spring where it all begins once again – at least that’s what it is like here in the Northern Hemisphere.

This cycling through seasons is helpful to notice and come into relationship with because it helps us understand our internal seasons as well.

In our inner world, like the seeds pushing out of the earth, spring brings this energy of rebirth. We are leaving the darkness and being born into the light again – hopefully being new and different in some way.

Where did your spiritual lessons take you this winter? What emotional or spiritual darkness did you experience?  Are you finding your way back to the light?

This winter felt like recovery and rebuilding for me. My body is growing stronger and healthier. I’m feeling more aligned with my soul which is really just another way of saying I know who I am now and I’m choosing to be that regardless of how other people react – at least far more than at any other time in my life. It also means I’m learning how to get quiet and listen to the wise whispers in my heart more and allow my soul to be the leader in my life instead of my wounded, lost or immature parts taking over and leading me down paths I don’t actually care to go down.

There’s so much restructuring to do in my life. I feel like it’s taken almost ten years for me to break down, fall apart and rebuild piece by piece. I’m such a different person than I used to be and at the same time, I’m the same person I’ve always been.

It’s been hard but I feel more capable and powerful than I’ve ever felt before.

Rebirth is not for the faint of spirit. In fact, we just have to look at Mother Nature and everything her creatures endure in the spring to see that coming out of the dark and being reborn in the light takes some work but the rewards are sweet.

The bees have survived the cold winter months by living off their storage of honey from the previous year. They now are in need of a new supply but for now the Queen is busy mating and laying eggs. Within three weeks the hive will grow quickly. The worker bees in spring are busy finding food for their colony in the first sources of pollen that emerge.

For trees, the arrival of spring starts their growing season. They get the signal from Mother Nature that they no longer have to be dormant and their internal sap transporting system wakes up and starts flowing again.

More sun, warmer weather and the ground thawing all support the sap to flow and the tree to grow. Trees will grow the most during the spring season. Sugars and starches that were stored in the tree roots during the previous summer and fall start to travel up the tree in spring and feed the buds on the branches to birth the first green leaves of the season. Some trees will grow flowers first then leaves later and some will grow leaves first and flowers closer to summer.

After spending the winter buried under mud at the bottom of a lake or surrounded by molding leaf litter, it’s no wonder frogs are ready to sing in the spring! Frogs can’t risk coming out too early in spring. They emerge when puddles are warm enough to keep their body temperatures above freezing.

Males of many species of frogs start singing as soon as they emerge. Females are drawn to those “romantic” sounds and the life cycle begins again. They lay their eggs submerged near vegetation at the bottom of a pond. Imagine a family of frog eggs feeling warm and safe in the home that was created for them at the bottom of the pond. Things grow well when they are warm and safe.

Early spring is the worst time of year for squirrels to find food.  The nuts that they have buried begin to sprout and because other food sources are still in the process of growing and blooming, not much else is available. In spring squirrels have few food choices – it’s mainly tree buds, fungi and cones.

The struggle to survive through the dark and find your way back to the light is real for all of us but we do it because the sun always returns.

It reminds me of the story of a mother and daughter, Demeter and Persephone, that predates the modern Greek version. You might be familiar with the newer version where Persephone is stolen by Hades and dragged to the underworld against her will but there is an earlier version I find much more interesting.

In the older version, Demeter is a Mother of the Earth, and Persephone, her daughter, feels pulled to help the spirits of the Underworld.

Demeter tries to convince Persephone that it is much warmer and gentler with the fields and flowers and sun but Persephone must listen to the call of her soul despite the discomfort and anxiety it brings her mother.

Demeter knows she must let Persephone go but she promises to mourn her every day until she returns. In her mourning she forbids any new growth to blanket the earth and winter is born.

Persephone goes down into the underworld and helps all the lost and confused spirits. She calls them to her and initiates them into their new world. She does this for months and months then returns to her mother.

When her daughter finally returns, the joy Demeter feels spills across the land and plants grow and bloom again and spring returns.

This may not have been an easy winter for you. There may have been more tragedy and isolation and loss than you wanted but spring is here and with it is an invitation to open up to light wherever you can find it.  Even if it is simply a sliver of light you find, it is worth celebrating.

During this lunar cycle, in my free Creative Moon Guide for the Aries/Libra Lunar Cycle, I invite us to use the new moon to explore what seeds of intention you want to plant for new beginnings in the area of life where Aries exists on your birth chart. On the full moon, I invite you to consider how finding balance in the areas of life where Libra exists on your birth chart will support your new moon intentions and allow them to manifest in your life.

Enjoy this season my creative friends and may your creations bring you as much light and warmth as the sun is now pouring over the earth.

Join Me

Join me on Tuesday for a live online class where we art journal with the moon and work with the MAP Method to tend to the soul and practice magic. Recordings will also be available.

Each week we focus on a different theme.

This week our theme is bold new beginnings.

The sun moves into the sign of Aries this week marking the spring equinox which is less than 24 hours from the new moon. There are also many planets in the sign of Aries with the new moon and it is a super moon all of which makes this an especially potent time for new beginnings. In your birth chart, the sign of Aries points to the areas of your life where this bold new beginning energy is most active.

In this class, I’m going to go over where in your life this bold new energy is most active and we’ll explore how you want to use it. We’ll also enjoy a creative ritual to set your new moon intentions. We wrap the class by working with your subconscious mind and the MAP Method to rewire your brain and clear any blocks that may prevent you from manifesting your new moon intentions.

You can learn more or register here.

Monday

Today the moon is in the balsamic phase.

This phase is when the moon is once again a silver sliver in the sky. She is retreating and preparing to hide away in the darkness of the New Moon. This is a time to move inward; to grow still and quiet and change the direction of your looking and to look within and trust your own wisdom and truth. Communing with Spirit and your deepest self is helpful during this phase.

I use this phase to make time to communicate with the angels and my Highest Self. I try to tune into the wisdom and support I carry within me. The veil between Spirit and my conscious mind is thinner at this time of the moon cycle so it eases communication and intuition. It’s also when I’m focusing on my intuition, paying attention to Spirit Signs, making notes of my sleeping dreams and communicating with Spirit.

It is a good time to address the shadow aspects of your personality and to get curious about what I have buried in my subconscious. Sometimes, when life is busy, we don’t have time to process the emotions and triggers that arise in our everyday life and in our relationships. This phase of the Moon is a good time to deal with whatever you didn’t have time to deal with earlier on in the moon cycle. Taking this time to make friends with your shadow before a new moon cycle begins will help you to be clearer and less influenced by my wounded parts as I make my New Moon intentions.

You can’t always see what needs to be tended to.

Ask your subconscious mind to show you what you most need to tend to today.

Is it something from your past?

Is there a belief or a memory that has been holding you back?

Trust whatever surfaces.

In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that captures an emotional or spiritual need that you can tend to today.

Tuesday

Happy new moon in Aries.

If your rising sign is Aries, the new moon is inviting you to set intentions about bold new beginnings when it comes to your identity, body, appearance or your spirit. Think about these areas of your life and consider what intentions you want to make during the new moon in order to invite bold new beginnings in your health, personal expression, identity or your relationship with your body.

If your rising sign is in the sign of Taurus, the new moon is inviting you to set intentions of bold new beginnings when it comes to your subconscious mind and those things you hide from others and most importantly those things you hide from yourself. During this new moon set intentions around the kind of shadow work or brain rewiring you’d like to do and the results you’d like to experience from that deep inner work so that you can experience bold new beginnings in your life.

For Gemini people like me, the new moon is inviting you to set intentions of bold new beginnings when it comes to friendships, community or your hopes and wishes. Think about these areas of your life and consider what intentions you want to make during the new moon in order to invite bold new beginnings through in your friendships and community or your hopes and wishes.

If your rising sign is in the sign of Cancer, the new moon is inviting you to set intentions for bold new beginnings when it comes to in your career, reputation or ideas of success. During this new moon, visualize your intentions for moving forward in your career, the kind of success you want to achieve or the kind of reputation you want to build and what bold new beginnings will look like in these areas of your life.

For Leo people, the new moon is inviting you to set intentions for bold new beginnings when it comes to your faith, spiritual practices, international travel or future success. Think about these areas of your life and consider what intentions you want to make during the new moon in order to invite a bold new beginning in your spirituality or travel dreams or your goals for the future.

For Virgo people, the new moon is inviting you to set intentions for bold new beginnings when it comes to in the area of death, taxes, your psyche or any debt you have accumulated. How will bold new beginnings help you clear any energetic, emotional or physical debt you may be carrying (your own or your ancestors’)? What would a bold new beginning in your emotional or mental well-being look like? What bold new beginnings can you imagine around these areas of your life? Write your new moon intention below.

If your rising sign is in the sign of Libra, the new moon is inviting you to set intentions of bold new beginnings when it comes to your close, intimate relationships or partnerships. Think about your marriage or partnership or best friend relationships and consider how a bold new beginning will help the closest relationships in your life.

For Scorpio people, the new moon is inviting you to set intentions of bold new beginnings when it comes to your routines, work, pets or wellness. If you were inviting a bold new beginning in one of these areas of your life, what would that look and feel like? Consider what intentions you can make during this new moon in order to invite a bold new beginning in your routines, your daily work tasks, your relationships with your pets or your health.

For Sagittarius people, the new moon is inviting you to set intentions of bold new beginnings when it comes to your children, hobbies, pleasure or your creativity. Think about these areas of your life and consider what intentions you want to make during the new moon in order to welcome bold new beginnings in your parenting life, a creative hobby that’s dear to your heart or those activities in your life that bring you joy.

If your rising sign is in the sign of Capricorn, the new moon is inviting you to set intentions of bold new intentions when it comes to your parents, your ancestors, your childhood or your home and living situation. Think about these areas of your life and consider what intentions you can make during this new moon in order to invite a bold new beginning in one of these areas of your life.

For Aquarius people, the new moon is inviting you to set intentions about inviting a bold new beginning when it comes to learning or teaching, communication, your siblings, the goddess or moon or earth-based rituals. Which one of these topics feels most important for you to focus on during this new moon? Choose one of them and consider what intentions you want to make in order to set a bold new beginning in one of these areas of your life.

Finally, for Pisces people, the new moon is inviting you to set intentions about inviting a bold new beginning when it comes to money, assets, income and your livelihood. Think about these areas of your life and consider what intentions you want to make during the new moon in order to invite a bold new beginning in your finances, possessions or livelihood.

In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that represents your new moon intentions.

Wednesday

The moon is in a close relationship with the planet Jupiter today.

This kind of closeness between the moon and Jupiter brings ease and flow.

Jupiter wants to bring harmony, well-being, kindness, justice, abundance, growth, expansion, good luck and balance to your life. The moon is supporting Jupiter’s desire to do this in your life today.

Take a moment to close your eyes and imagine what it would feel like to be bathed in goodness – as if a warm magical liquid light of harmony was being poured all over your body and throughout all the corners of your life – all the people you interact with, all the places you will go today, all the spaces you will be in and all the experiences you will have are bathed in this warm golden light of goodness.

Take a deep breath and feel that all the way in your belly.

Ask all your inner parts to notice how safety and harmony and goodness feels.

In your art journal, create an image that captures how safety and harmony feel.

Thursday

The moon is in a happy relationship with Jupiter today.

Jupiter wants to bring harmony, well-being, kindness, justice, abundance, growth, expansion, good luck and balance to your life. The moon is supporting Jupiter’s desire to do this in your life today.

The moon is the queen of the night. She wants to illuminate the darkness, bring about change, be a mirror to reflect us back to ourselves and awaken our receptive and intuitive powers. She represents your body and emotions and reminds you that life is an ever-changing cycle of birth, death, decay and rebirth. She wants to bring kindness, nurturing, novelty and adaptability.

Together, the moon and Jupiter are shining more peace into our lives today. They’re helping us feel open-hearted and generous. They’re supporting us in focusing on what connects us to each other and what brings us together. It’s energy that helps us feel calm and safe and willing to see and receive the goodness other people want to share with us. It’s energy that reminds us what’s good in our life.

One of the best ways to work with this energy is to drop into your heart and choose something in your life to feel grateful for.

Choose that one thing now and focus on it for a moment until you notice a calming, an opening or a small shift in your heart center.

In your art journal, create an image that represents opening your heart to receive more goodness in your life.

Friday

The moon is in an intense relationship with Venus today.

I call it intense because astrologically speaking they are close together and this amplifies and intensifies the energy the moon is reflecting down to us from this relationship with Venus.

Venus wants to bring fertility and growth. Venus loves the idea of reigning more beauty, grace, softness, love, friendship, harmony, passion, sensuality, intimacy and happiness into your life and relationships. The energy of Venus also brings playfulness, pleasure and joy. Venus wants to help you enjoy your life. Venus isn’t great at making you get your work done or motivating you to put effort into something but Venus does love to help you express yourself artistically and with love.

The moon is intensifying all this goodness so it’s a great day to focus on love, affection and pleasure. Venus wants us to see what its like to thrive not just survive. It’s a lot of good feeling energy to soak in so let’s magnetize all that goodness and anchor it into your body and spread it throughout your entire day.

In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that represents what it feels like to you to thrive.

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

with love,

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