Art Journal with the Moon: Themes and Prompts for May 12-18, 2025

In this post, I share a summary of the moon for the week of May 12-18, 2025 as it moves through the zodiac and interacts with the planets. I also talk about shedding emotional weight in your art journal with the full moon in Scorpio.

Working with the Scorpio Full Moon in Your Art Journal

The week starts off with the full moon in Scorpio. This is a deep feeling moon but it’s also a moon that is helpful for releasing stored trauma or emotions. If you feel like your body is heavy from the past or it is holding onto more than just your own emotions…you’re not alone. I know this experience all too well.

For highly sensitive people, especially those with a history of trauma or emotional neglect, the body can become heavy with emotions in no time at all. The full moon in Scorpio is a good time to move through and release some of the heavy emotional weight your body is carrying and, in this post, I’m going to show you how to do that in your art journal.

First let’s talk about the full moon in Scorpio so you can attune with all the loving energy that wants to support you as you release and let go.

Full Moon in Scorpio

This full moon in Scorpio is deep and emotional. It wants to shine a light on those heavier emotions that most days, you probably prefer to avoid. This moon, however, says it’s time to feel.

Scorpio is a fixed water sign that pulls us inward. It stirs up emotions that have been buried, hidden, or ignored to help us see what’s still living inside our bodies and energy fields. This is a moon that shines a light into the dark, murky places of your psyche and your subconscious. It draws your attention to the pain that’s been pushed down, the grief that’s been stored, the anger you didn’t know how to release.

The moon is asking you to feel what’s been waiting to be felt.

My astrology teacher, Kelly Surtees, describes how this full moon is being influenced by Uranus and I like the energy this brings. Uranus is the planet of surprise, disruption, and awakening and at the time of the full moon, the sun is sitting close to Uranus in Taurus. You might suddenly understand something about your past that you didn’t before. You might have an emotional breakthrough which, because of Uranus’ desire to lead you to freedom, if you let yourself move through the emotions that are showing up, it will probably lead somewhere freeing.

Scorpio and Taurus are fixed signs. Fixed signs aren’t fast or reactive. They’re steady and persistent so that means there’s a quiet strength to this moon. Mars, the ruler of the full moon, is in Leo, another fixed sign. Mars here brings clarity and a firm but steady push to express what’s been locked away. There’s momentum available if you want to finally say what needs to be said or feel what needs to be felt.

And beautifully, Mars is having a happy relationship with Venus. That means that even in the middle of all this emotional intensity, there’s connection and support available. It’s a reminder that you don’t have to move through your heavy feelings alone. You might even find that by being vulnerable, by opening to the truth of what’s inside you with someone else, something beautiful begins to emerge within you and within your relationships.

This moon also reminds us to come back to the body. With the moon in a water sign and the sun in an earth sign, there’s an invitation to use physical, tactile, grounding experiences to soothe your system. If emotions feel overwhelming, move your body, or in our case as we art journal with the moon, move your brush in circles, rip paper, swirl your paint, feel the textures of the material you’re working with and get your hands dirty. Bring the emotions through the body and onto the page, not just through your mind.

And if the emotions that surface under this moon feel bigger than expected or if you find yourself wondering why you still have so much to release from your body, you’re not alone in that either.

There are good reasons you might be carrying more than your share of emotional weight.

For highly sensitive people, especially those of us with a history of childhood trauma or emotional neglect, the emotional body is usually already loaded with years of untended to memories, many of which aren’t even yours. Your body just absorbed them and didn’t know how to process or release them.

Why There’s So Much to Release

There’s a few reasons why highly sensitive people tend to have a lot more emotional baggage weighing them down.

First, when no one was emotionally attuned to you growing up and when the adults around you didn’t see your feelings, didn’t ask about your inner world, or didn’t respond in a way that felt safe and loving, you learned to turn away from your own emotions too. You might have had to disconnect from what you were feeling just to survive or make it through the day. But those emotions didn’t disappear. They just found somewhere else to live and often that somewhere else was in your body, your nervous system, or the deep layers of your subconscious mind waiting for the right conditions when they could safely rise to the surface.

Second, if you also have a history of childhood trauma, especially the kind that repeats or happens early in life, it may have created a type of loop. When something painful happens and we don’t have the support, space, or safety to fully feel it, the emotion gets stuck. It’s like pressing pause in the middle of a storm. The experience freezes in place. Then, because we haven’t processed it, similar situations later in life can keep activating the same emotional response over and over again. Each time, more energy builds around the original wound.

A lot of emotional heaviness can build up over time from just one single event that you didn’t have a chance to move through.

We end up carrying decades of untended emotion from past versions of ourselves who just didn’t have the support they needed at the time.

Third, if you’re sensitive, you likely pick up on more than just your own emotions. Your body might absorb the emotional energy of others such as the emotional energy the people in your family, your community or even strangers are carrying. Sometimes it’s ancestral. Sometimes it’s collective. Sometimes it’s from the land itself and especially if it holds memories of suffering or grief that were never tended to. It’s a beautiful gift to be that tuned in, but without tools for clearing and releasing, you can end up carrying things that were never even yours to begin with.

And finally, many of us were taught that feeling deeply was “too much.” So we learned to keep it all in and to be polite, quiet, easy, agreeable. Over time, those suppressed feelings pile up. But emotions are meant to move. When we don’t give them space, they don’t go away. They just wait.

The full moon in Scorpio opens a door to tend to these feelings with love. Not to fix them. Not to force them out. But to gently listen, give them color and shape, and invite them to move again so we can feel lighter, freer, and more at home in our own bodies.

What To Remember When You’re Annoyed That There’s Still More To Tend To

If you are not new to working through your emotions and you find yourself wondering why there’s still so much to release from your body and why the emotions keep coming and why there always seems to be another layer to feel or another part of you asking for care, you’re not alone in that either. This is something I hear all the time from my clients, and honestly, it’s something I live too.

It can feel incredibly frustrating.

You’ve already done so much inner work. You’ve been showing up for yourself in ways no one else ever did. You’re tending to your body, nourishing it, learning to listen to its rhythms. And still, there’s more to feel. More to move. More parts of you rising up, asking to be seen. Sometimes it feels like you’re walking into a house that hasn’t been cleaned in so many years. Nothing was thrown out, nothing was dusted, everything just piled up. And now you’re the one gently sifting through it all, piece by piece, trying to make space. Trying to feel lighter and less burdened.

And there’s grief in that as well. Deep grief. Grief for what no one helped you feel. Grief for the parts of you that were left alone with their pain. Grief for the way your nervous system had to hold it all together for so long. And for those of us living with chronic illness or complex body symptoms, there’s also the grief of realizing that the weight of all those unmet emotional needs didn’t just shape our inner world, it impacted our health, too. It landed in the tissues. In the cells. In the way our bodies respond to stress, to food, to life.

Sometimes it feels never-ending. Like no matter how much you process, there’s still more. And that can be discouraging.

The full moon in Scorpio invites you to feel all of that. The frustration. The grief. The weight of what was never witnessed. And the sacred strength it takes to turn toward all of that with love and say, I see you now.

But I want to remind you: the reason it feels like there’s so much is because for a long time, there was no one there to help you carry it. Now there is. Now you are here and the moon is with you and so is your art journal. And you’re not starting from scratch. You’re tending to a lifetime of emotion that was never given space to breathe. You’re not broken or doing it wrong. You’re just finally in a place where what’s been waiting can finally begin to move. Keep going. Don’t give up. Even if it feels like it’s taken years.

You will eventually feel lighter and the inner work you’re doing matters and it will make a difference.

In a moment, I’ll guide you through an art ritual you can do in your journal to help your body release some of this heavy energy in a gentle, intuitive, and creative way.

But first, just take a breath. Let yourself soften into the truth that you’re allowed to let go. You don’t have to carry it all anymore.

Shedding Emotional Weight: A Scorpio Full Moon Art Ritual

If you’re new to working with the moon in your art journal or you want a refresher on how I approach these spiritual practices, I’ve created a beginner’s guide that walks you through the steps I recommend for creating a moon ritual in your art journal. You can find it here. That guide will help you prepare your space, set your intentions, and create a ritual that feels personal and sacred.

Once you feel ready, here’s how to work with this particular full moon in Scorpio to release whatever emotional weight is ready to be let go now. This ritual is about honoring the emotions your body is still holding and especially the ones that never had a chance to move or be seen. Think of it as a gentle invitation to let the body speak in color, sensation, and memory.

Art Supplies Needed

Art journal or paper

Pencil or marker

Pencil crayons, markers or paints in these colors only: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, black, white

Instructions

Create a quiet, private space.

Light a candle if it feels right. Place a hand on your heart or your belly. Breathe slowly. Let yourself arrive. This is sacred time. You’re not here to fix or change anything. You’re here to witness and feel.

Draw the outline of a body.

On a blank page in your journal, draw a loose, intuitive outline of a body. It doesn’t have to be realistic or perfect just a simple shape to represent your own body. This is a symbol, a container, a sacred space to explore what’s living inside you

Add nine circles.

Inside or around the body, draw nine small circles. Let your intuition guide where each one goes. Some might be over your chest, some near your legs, some floating just outside the body. There’s no wrong placement. Just feel into it. These circles represent areas of the body holding emotional or energetic weight.

Choose your colors.

Color each circle using only the seven rainbow colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) or black or white.

Let yourself be led by your intuition. This is about listening. Trust your first impulse. There’s no need to analyze it yet. Ask each circle, which color do you want to be? Then gently color or paint it in.

Reflect on the colors.

When all the circles are colored in, spend some time sitting with what you created. Look at the colors you chose.

What do they feel like?

What do they remind you of?

Which emotions or memories come to mind?

You can write down your thoughts and reflections near each circle if you like.

Let your body speak through the color. I’ve created a downloadable color guide to help you interpret what each hue might symbolize emotionally or energetically—you’ll find that just below this post.

Journal your insights.

Under, around or beside your circles, continue to write down what thoughts, emotions or memories come through. You might reflect on what these colors are showing you about the past, or what your body is trying to say.

Are there memories rising up?

Are emotions that never had space before rising to the surface?

Let your words be a space for release. You don’t have to understand it all, you just have to witness it.

Download the Color Guide

After you’ve colored your nine circles and spent a moment reflecting on what they brought up for you, you can download my Color Guide to Shedding Emotional Weight with the Full Moon in Scorpio.

It’s a simple PDF that describes what each color might represent in terms of unprocessed or untended emotions. This is a creative and intuitive step to the ritual. It’s not meant to say that’s exactly what the colors you used means. It’s meant to help you explore your inner world. So don’t take it as fact. Use it to notice the thoughts and feelings that rise to the surface when you read my explanations for each color.

Do you agree with what the color corresponds to, or do you have a different experience of that color?

What does this extra layer of color meaning add to your understanding of yourself and your past?

I encourage you to read the color guide after you’ve listened to your own intuition. This guide is meant to support your reflection, not replace it. Think of it as a way to go deeper and to explore what your body might be saying through the language of color.

Sometimes just reading someone else’s ideas about the emotional qualities of a color can stir something awake in your memory or help you see a part of yourself more clearly.

Here’s the link to download the PDF:

Download Color Guide Here

Close gently.

When you’re ready to end the ritual, thank your body for carrying you through all it has.

Thank the moon for her light. Thank yourself for being brave enough to feel. You might close with a movement, a stretch, a sip of tea, or a walk under the moonlight.

Working With This Deep Healing To Grow Your Business

The doors to a new 14 day Activation are open, “Grow Your Business with the Moon and Your Art Journal” and it’s only $14 CAD! 

In this 14-Day Activation, much like we do with the full moon in Scorpio, we dive deep into your emotional and energy bodies to tend to what needs tending to so you can invite more success and wealth into your business.

If you are an artist, healer or witch and you want to grow and expand your business but you know that means growing and expanding you first, this 14-Day Activation is for you. 

Starting on the Gemini new moon on May 26, 2025 and working with the energy of the waxing moon phases, you will spend 20 sacred minutes every morning creating simple art magic in your journal to align with nature, invite your younger inner parts to communicate with you and teach them how to feel safe enough to trust your soul to lead you forward.

With the moon as your teacher and your art journal as your magic wand, we’re going to tend to your emotional and energetic bodies so you can hold onto success and wealth.

Then in the evening, you will listen to brain rewiring recordings that clear, release and neutralize memories for you so you no longer need to carry them in your body, in your self-sabotaging habits or in your business.

In these magical 14 days, your inner witch AND your inner artist will become fast friends and together, they will lovingly tend to the parts of you that have been procrastinating, giving up or feeling blocked for so long. It’s time to become the version of you that can hold it all.

LEARN MORE HERE

The Moon This Week

Now let’s look at a more detailed summary of the moon’s energy this week, giving you an overview of what to expect as the moon moves through different signs and phases. If you want to watch my videos and reels where I talk about how to work with the moon in your art journal every day and share with you the journal pages I create in my own art journal, be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok. You can also sign up here, to get reminders in your inbox of the moon’s energy for the upcoming week and how you can work with it in your art journal to practice folk magic, do your deep inner work or, if you’re a highly sensitive entrepreneur like me, grow and expand your business. 

Monday

The week kicks off with the full moon in Scorpio on Monday. I wrote all about it above so read it again and do the ritual for shedding emotional weight in your art journal. Your emotional and energetic bodies are going to feel so much lighter afterwards.

In your art journal, perform the art ritual for shedding emotional weight with the Scorpio full moon.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, the moon moves into the sign of Sagittarius. 

Have you ever woken up, taken a deep breath, and felt an invigorating zest for life? I get that feeling when I go camping and I step outside with my morning coffee. Well, today might just be one of those invigorating days, because the moon has entered the expansive sign of Sagittarius. Imagine the moon donning an archer’s bow ready to launch you into new adventures and horizons.

Sagittarius carries the expansive and benevolent energy of its ruling planet, Jupiter. This gives us a dose of optimism, humor, and a deep hunger for knowledge. Sagittarius doesn’t just want us to learn; it nudges us to experience — to dive head-first into the world, tasting its various flavors, and emerging wiser and more enriched.

It’s like being given a passport to travel emotional and spiritual terrains that you’ve hesitated to explore before. Being a fire sign, Sagittarius sparks our passion. It’s a sign that wears its heart on its sleeve, laughing a little louder and dreaming a bit bigger. But, true to its adventurous spirit, Sagittarius can sometimes get lost in all the possibilities, trying to chase every horizon, every dream.

In the spirit of Sagittarius, let’s delve into the world of possibilities in your art journal.

Draw, paint, or collage various ‘Paths of Possibilities’ in your art journal. Imagine each path as a different adventure or experience you want to undertake. It could be as grand as running your own farm or as simple as learning a new skill. Let your imagination roam free, and remember, the goal isn’t to commit to every path but to explore possibilities.

What kind of possibilities do you want to see open up in your life?

In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that represents a door of possibility.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, the moon is still glowing with the energy of the full moon, even though it’s technically just past full. It’s in the sign of Sagittarius and sharing a happy, supportive relationship with Mars in Leo.

Both of these signs are fire signs, so the moon is reflecting back to us an energy that is bold, enthusiastic, inspired, and full of movement. Fire is the element of spirit, action, courage, and creativity. Fire helps you say, “This is who I am, and I’m ready to go after what matters to me.”

When the moon is reflecting this kind of fire, it’s like a spiritual boost to your inner flame. It encourages you to believe in yourself, to take action on what lights you up, and to reconnect with the joy and playfulness that sometimes gets buried under stress, the state of the world, pressure or perfectionism.

As a highly sensitive entrepreneur, this might feel like a beautiful moment of momentum after a time of deep emotional work that you did with the Scorpio moon. Fire energy helps shake off heaviness and helps you say yes to the things that call to your soul. This moon is gently encouraging you to move forward but not from a place of hustle. Instead it invites you to move from a place of knowing. You might feel more brave or inspired than usual. You might notice a burst of clarity around your next steps or a renewed sense of motivation to share your work, promote your offerings, or take a creative risk. It’s also a reminder that you don’t have to be small or hidden to be safe. You can be fully yourself and still be held by the universe.

In your art journal, create a page around this prompt: What lights my fire?

Use colors, symbols, or shapes that feel bright, bold, and full of life. Let yourself be playful and expressive. Imagine this page as a place to honor the spirit of fire within you. It’s the part of you that dreams big, moves with purpose, and dares to shine. 

In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that represents all the relationships and circumstances that helps your inner fire burn strong and bright.

Thursday

On Thursday, the moon is in a tense relationship with the planet Saturn then moves into the sign of Capricorn.

As the moon is having this tense relationship with Saturn, that planet is sitting right at the very end of Pisces, almost ready to step into Aries next week. This feels significant. It’s like the moon is crossing a threshold and hinting at the threshold Saturn is about to cross and it’s like the moon is having one last check-in with Saturn before the planet of discipline, boundaries, and responsibility shifts signs.

Saturn in Pisces has been about emotional and spiritual boundaries, about sorting through dreams and limits, and it asks: what have you learned about holding space for your emotions while also staying steady on your path? And as the moon moves into Capricorn, which is Saturn’s own sign, it’s like the moon is saying, okay, let’s get serious now. Let’s get focused. Let’s take what we’ve learned and turn it into something practical.

As an entrepreneur, you can use this moment as an invitation to grow up a little in your business and not in a harsh way, but in a way that helps you take your dreams seriously. Maybe you’ve been floating in the dream space, and now you’re being asked to bring something into form. Maybe there’s a bit of tension between your emotions and your responsibilities. That’s okay. The tense relationship the moon is having with Saturn can feel like a reality check, but it’s also an opportunity to step into a new kind of maturity and structure that actually supports your sensitivity, not fights against it.

Ask yourself: What part of me is ready to grow up?

What kind of structure or support do I need to grow and expand right now?

Where will discipline help me achieve my dreams?

Use images, words, or symbols that help you explore the kind of structure or support your creative work or business needs right now. Let this be a space where you hold both your dreams and your discipline. 

In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that represents the kind of discipline that will help you follow your dreams.

Friday

On Friday, the disseminating moon is in the sign of Capricorn.

Capricorn is an earth sign, which emphasizes stability, responsibility, and practicality and highlights such qualities as presence, persistence, and a strong connection to the physical and natural world.

The Crone archetype, which I like to think of as embodied by the wise old woman, and Hecate, the goddess of magic, crossroads, and deep intuition, both reflect Capricorn’s spiritual depth. These figures represent wisdom that comes with experience, the ability to navigate transitions and endings, and the power to transform and rebirth. The moon in Capricorn activates these archetypes, urging us to embrace the wisdom of letting go, the importance of life’s cycles, and the value of introspection and inner guidance.

The moon in Capricorn teaches us about the cycle of life while acknowledging that endings are a natural and necessary part of growth and transformation. It encourages you to respect the process of aging, to honor the wisdom that comes with experience, and to understand the power of your own inner guidance as you navigate the complexities of life.

It’s a time to set realistic goals, to plan for the future with a clear and practical mind, and to honor the wisdom you’ve gained through your life’s challenges and transitions. The energy of Capricorn invites you to build a solid foundation, to respect the limits of the physical world, and to work patiently and persistently towards your goals.

Engaging in practices in your art that connect you to the earth, such as painting leaves, gardens, or crystals, can help you tap into Capricorn’s grounding energy. You can also reflect on your life’s journey and acknowledge the lessons you’ve learned.

In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that represents a plan for your future you hope comes true.

Saturday

On Saturday, let’s work with the disseminating moon phase.

The disseminating moon phase, occurring just after the full moon, is a good time for reflection, gratitude, and sharing. The moon is slowly diminishing in light which symbolizes a time of release and sharing of the insights and revelations you received during the full moon. It’s a time when the energy shifts from receiving to giving, emphasizing the importance of gratitude, giving back, and offering thanks to your spiritual allies, deities, or the elements of nature that have supported you through the lunar cycle.

The disseminating moon invites you to feel and express gratitude for the growth, challenges, and transformations you’ve experienced. It’s a period for recognizing the blessings and lessons each lunar cycle brings into your life and acknowledging the role of the unseen forces that guide and support you.

This phase encourages you to give back as an act of gratitude. By offering thanks to your spirit allies, deities, or the elements in nature that have supported you, you acknowledge their support and guidance. These offerings can be symbolic gestures, such as leaving a small gift in nature, lighting a candle, dedicating an art ritual or meditation in their honor, or simply expressing your heartfelt thanks through prayer or intention in your art journal. The act of giving back in gratitude strengthens your spiritual connection and creates a reciprocal flow of energy.

By focusing on gratitude and giving offerings of thanks, you not only honor the support you’ve received but also contribute to the cycle of giving and receiving that sustains life. It’s a time to share the wisdom and insights you’ve gained and to prepare yourself for the next phase of your spiritual journey with a heart full of gratitude.

In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that represents something or someone you want to express gratitude for.

Sunday

On Sunday, the moon moves through Aquarius and is joining Pluto, the planet of deep change and inner power, and then it continues to connect with Saturn at the final degree of Pisces, Neptune at the very beginning of Aries, and later in the day, Venus in Aries as well.

What really stands out to me is how the moon is activating that sacred, tender part of the zodiac again which is that space where the zodiac wheel ends and begins. It’s a space we’ve been talking about a lot in the last few weeks. It’s where Pisces dissolves and Aries initiates, and when the moon reflects this kind of energy back to us, it’s like an invitation to take stock of what’s ending in your life and what’s just beginning.

Emotionally and spiritually, this is a day to notice your own thresholds. The moon is showing you where something may be wrapping up in the Pisces part of your birth chart. Maybe you are experiencing the end of an old dream, a spiritual cycle, a way you once cared for others, or an identity you’ve outgrown. And it’s also helping you feel into what’s starting to stir in the Aries part of your chart. Maybe a new desire, a new direction, or a new part of your identity is ready to lead. With Pluto involved, the changes might feel big, emotional, or even a little scary. But with Saturn and Venus in the mix too, there’s support, guidance, and even love woven into this shift.

If you’re a highly sensitive entrepreneur, this is a moment to pause and honor how much you’ve grown. Maybe you’re quietly releasing a version of your business that no longer fits. Maybe you’re feeling the call to show up in a new way that feels more true to who you are now. This energy encourages you to take your power back, especially in the spaces where you’ve been shaped by old stories or self-doubt. It’s also a great day to ask yourself what structures and support systems you need to carry a new vision forward. You’ll want to do that gently, intentionally, and in a way that honors your nervous system, of course.

Ask yourself: What ending am I ready to release, and what beginning is quietly calling to me now?

We’ve done something similar before but we’re going to do it again because it deepens things for us so create two side-by-side spaces on your page, one for what’s being completed, and one for what you sense is just beginning. You might collage, paint, or write symbols of what you’re saying goodbye to, and then symbols of what you’re choosing to welcome. Let the moon help you feel the sacredness of this in-between space. There’s power in both honoring what’s gone and opening to what’s next.

In your art journal, draw, paint or collage an image that represents honoring what’s ending or leaving in your life these days and what opening up or what you see is coming next.

with love,

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