This is an art ritual to perform during the full moon, particularly a blue moon, to receive messages from Spirit.  I created it to offer a simple method of using common watercolors in a sacred way and to help visual thinkers communicate with their angels and/or spirit guides.  Scroll down for printable step-by-step instructions.

As a child, Once in a blue moon is a saying I never gave a lot of thought to. I knew it meant a rare occasion but I never was curious about what an actual blue moon was. Now I know a blue moon is when two full moons happen in the same calendar month. This weekend is the second blue moon of 2018. There haven’t been two blue moons in the same calendar year in a very long time and the next time it will happen won’t be until 2037. Being an infrequent celestial event makes this blue moon feel a little more magical to me. Personally, I think it makes it one of those times where the veil between the seen and unseen is a little thinner which makes it a great time to slow down and connect with Spirit.

In this particular art ritual, I wanted to use the element of water. In my imagination, when I think of the blue moon, I imagine a moon covered in gentle ripples of crystal water. I dream about what it would feel like to bathe in waters that sparkle and feel alive. I imagine those waters being a meeting place where my angels and spirit guides can join me and share their wisdom and insight. Yes, my imagination is a busy bee buzzing from one spiritual adventure to another. But this imagery gave me the perfect idea for the blue moon art ritual I wanted to perform and it centers around water.

Water is my favorite element. It’s one of the most important tools in my art studio. I use it to clean, dilute, blend and bless. In my rituals, I think of it as a conduit or a sacred container. I imagine I can whisper to it and it will carry my whispers in it’s molecules. I imagine I can sing to it and it will shape itself around my song. I imagine it is a secret messenger carrying my prayers to the realm of Spirit. To harness this power, I gathered a jar of water, my blue paints (I used acrylic inks but this art ritual would work just as well with watercolors), some watercolor paper, my brushes and my candle and I created a series of blue moon mandalas that I used to peer into and receive messages from my angels.

Before sharing the instructions in more detail, I want to remind you that when engaging in one of my art rituals, there are a few steps I perform before I sit down to do the writing, painting or creating part of my ritual. They include gathering my materials, clearing my mind and my physical space, inviting or calling in my spiritual helpers and setting boundaries or placing a circle of protection and blessing my tools and material. I outline these steps in more detail in my “Beginner’s Guide to Preparing for Art Rituals” which I send, along with other helpful goodies, when you subscribe to my Moon Sisters Art and Ritual Magazine.  If you would like the guide delivered to your inbox, you can subscribe to the magazine on my home page.

To support my emotions while I performed this art ritual, I used a placed a few drops of doTerra’s Myrrh essential oil in my difuser.  My doTerra oils are just as helpful to my Spirit and emotional well-being as they are to my physical health so I always include them in my art rituals. Myrrh is like a warm hug from Mother Earth. It’s a rich earthy scent that wraps the heart and helps me feel safe, nurtured, warm and grounded. If I’m already feeling airy and like my energy is more above my head then in my body, I like to use an earthy oil during my art rituals to keep me balanced as I attempt to peer into other realms.

Once my oils were going and I could breathe them in, I moved onto the first step in this art ritual which was to gather the materials. This is a simple art ritual. You don’t need a lot of supplies and it shouldn’t take over an hour to complete. This is what I gathered together and used:

• water
• acrylic inks in different blue tones (watercolors are also an option)
• candle
• paint palette
• watercolor brush
• 3 squares of watercolor paper (I cut mine to each be 8″ x 8″)
• compass
• pencil
• masking or painters tape
• writing journal or paper to write on
• white wax crayon (optional)

I started by drawing a circle with my compass on each of my squares. I then used my white wax crayon to trace around the circle. The wax prevents the water I will apply next from expanding past the edges of my circle. I want to keep the water contained within the circle I drew so this little trick helps. It’s not a necessary step but it can be helpful.

Next, I dipped my brush in the water and spread the water around the entire circle ensuring that the whole surface of the circle was wet. You’ll note here that I didn’t tape down my paper which was an oversight. Not taping down the paper causes it to bend and distort its shape when it is wet. You may want to tape down your squares before soaking the surface of your circle.

I then chose the blue paints I wanted to work with and added a tiny drop of each color to a well in my paint palette. I filled each well with water to create a very diluted color. This technique works best with very watery paint. I then dipped my wet paintbrush in one of the wells of blue paint.

I gently touched the wet circle with my wet paintbrush. Because the circle is so wet and the paint is diluted the paint instantly spreads and expands as soon as it touches the circle. I continued to dip my brush in different tones of blue paint and continued to create bursts of blue color within the circle I drew.

I repeated this process until I was happy with how my circle looked. Then I moved onto the next square of watercolor paper and once again repeated the process until all three circles were completed. This step was done with prayer and intention. In my mind, I was talking to my angels and spirit guides and telling them what I wanted to release this full moon and asking them to please come and speak to me in my art. I took my time and entered a relaxed meditative state as I watched the colors bleed and form shapes and images.

I was left with these three circles.

The last step in this art ritual was to grab my writing journal and sit down with each image. One at a time, I gazed into each circle and waited until I saw something familiar. I then wrote about what I saw. I saw whole stories in each circle. The first circle delivered a message about my health and directed me on some next steps to consider as I continue to heal. The second delivered a message about being of service. It reminded me that my art is as much in service of the Divine as my work as a professional intuitive is. I cried as the words “My art is my service” came to my mind.

The third circle was interesting. I saw Jesus in the clouds leading two young children and my body buried under a body of water and my spirit rising up from my body and becoming a butterfly flying out of a cocoon. Then I saw a woman standing over a man’s body as he was lying on a table, as you would do if you were receiving energy healing or Reiki. The woman was receiving a ray of light from Jesus and sending that ray of light to the man laying on the slate. The imagery felt like it was speaking of death and being reborn. I was confused by this last circle. The other two made me cry as they struck deep chords within me. This last one had me stumped. I couldn’t figure out what it was saying. Was a part of me dying? Was I in a process of metamorphosis? I wasn’t really getting anywhere until I realized it was Good Friday and Easter weekend. In my Catholic upbringing, Jesus dies and in three days rises again. I realized this circle was telling that story but was adding two elements. It was showing Mary praying over Jesus’ body when he died and actively sending it light. My angels then asked me to consider what I would have learned about myself that part of the story was shared with me as a child. If I had known what an important role Mary had in the resurrection, would I feel differently about being a woman? Why or why not? If Mary did have a bigger role than my childhood religion shared with me, why might people have chosen to leave that out? And lastly, the final question I heard was, “If there is something from your childhood you would like to resurrect, what would it be?” Wow! I need to sit with all this last circle gave me. It was far richer than I initially suspected it to be.

Below are the step-by-step instructions of this ritual in a format you can print for your convenience. If you do perform this ritual publicly or share photos of the ritual or perform the ritual with a group, please respect the work of this artist and creator by mentioning the source and/or providing a link back to this original post. Also, if you end up performing this ritual, I’d love to see what you completed. You can even post the finished piece on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #danasartrituals or email me at support@danadaponte.com and share with me how it went.

with love,

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A Discussion about Anxiety and the Way Spirit Helps Me Care for My Sensitive Nature

Most people who join my Moon Sister Art and Ceremony Circles are what I suspect to be sensitive souls. Sensitive people are proven to be neurologically wired differently than everyone else.  They are wired in ways that make them more physically and emotionally sensitive. These sensitivities affect their bodies, minds and their energy systems and more often than not, they aren’t even aware this is happening so the effects pile up over the years and wreak havoc on their physical, mental and emotional well-being. This happened to me.

I mismanaged my own sensitive nature because I wasn’t aware of how to take care of my unique needs, I downplayed my reactions, I belittled my own experience and I just wanted to be like everyone else around me. But I’m not like most people I know so expecting myself to be ‘normal’ only made my body break down.

One of the symptoms I experience as a sensitive person is anxiety. When my system is out of balance, my anxiety is especially difficult to manage. Severe anxiety can be such a debilitating condition. To me, it feels like it makes my world grow smaller and smaller because when my sensitivities are heightened even simple things can set me off like the sound of people talking or the strong scent of perfume.

Until I build my nervous system back up, I have to manage my sensitivities in my everyday life so I don’t throw my body into trauma. It’s caused me to learn how to plan ahead, ask for help, set firm boundaries and spend less time with people who are insensitive, lack compassion or tend to be annoyed with my sensitivities or judge me for them.

It’s also taught me that my connection to my angels and Spirit is a great resource for a highly sensitive person to have. A highly sensitive person absorbs more information from the environment than most people do. This isn’t great when you’re in a room with angry, tense people but it’s absolutely fantastic when you’re sitting in a nurturing forest or enjoying the sun next to a clear, blue river. The Spirit of the natural world and Mother Earth soothes my anxious nervous system every single time. As I’m healing my body, I’m spending more time letting my aura soak up the healing energy of the sun, the moon, the water and the earth.

Spirit also helps me care for my anxious nature by speaking clear instructions about what I should or should not do. This doesn’t happen often but when it does it’s a big giant happy confirmation that I really am never alone and there are benevolent forces conspiring in my favor. This happened for me just the other day. I was starting to feel lonely and since my emotions tend to escalate quickly, I knew I had to address how I was feeling before my emotions became too big for my body to manage properly. I prayed for help and heard the words, “Message this person”. (They shared the name but for privacy sake I’ll keep it generic.” 

The suggestion was odd to me as I had never made plans with this person before but it was of course perfect. I made plans with that person then heard the words, “Message this person.” (Again there was a specific name but I’m keeping it generic here). I listened and invited that person over also. All three of us ended up having a wonderful evening by the fire and it was more than what I needed and my cup spilled over with connection and magic. In my Intuitive Readings or Intuitive Therapy Sessions, I usually receive clear instructions from the angels or Spirit for other people but it’s a rare and welcome occasion when I hear clear instructions specifically for me.

Another way Spirit cares for my sensitive nature is by preparing me for what might happen. Often, my imagination is far too vivid and creative so it can easily run away on me and cause me all kinds of worry before I even know the facts. Currently, I’ve been feeling excited but anxious about my new Moon Sisters Art and Ceremony Circles that are starting in September, 2018. The doors for early bird registration are now open and I was starting to feel nervous. Who would be joining us? Would the group dynamics be as magical as they have in the past? Would we have as much fun as my groups have had in the past? Would we experience as much sharing and healing?

I sat with these questions and instead of letting my worried thoughts run away on me, I took out a few of my favorite tarot and oracle decks and asked Spirit to answer my questions. These are the cards that came up:

The circular card is from the Spirit de la Lune deck and it spoke of flow and movement. It reminded me to ‘surrender to the rhythms of my heart’ which is exactly how I feel when I lead my Moon Sister Circles.  I feel as if I’m living my passion and serving Spirit and others in exactly the way my soul wants me to.

The Our Lady of Sacred Waters card is from the Mother Mary Oracle and the first words I read were as follows:

I bring you the blessing of moving forward through emotionally letting go. I honour and support your emotional life, helping you tap into its potential healing power. Dive into the sacred waters of your being and I will greet you as you emerge renewed and ready for the next stage of your life journey.

I smiled when I read those words because they seem to sum up exactly what my Moon Sisters Art and Ceremony Circles are all about. I lead women to emotionally nurture themselves and when they do they create miracles for themselves. I’ve witnessed these courageous women embody more of who they really are and as a consequence, invite these AMAZING changes to happen in their lives – all because they are no longer emotionally depleted, they are better able to set boundaries and listen to their own inner compass and they finally feel worthy of more good things in their lives and of being treated in ways that are loving because they are learning to treat themselves with more gentle care.

The last card is from my Beginner’s Guide to Tarot deck and it speaks of seeking divine guidance and remaining positive about the dreams and goals we strive for.

The guidance I received after asking Spirit for help and using my tarot and oracle cards reminded me that I’m on the right path, the circles will bring together the right people as they always do and there is magic working with me behind the scenes. My worries have been soothed and my soul feels comforted as it always does when I invite Spirit and my angels to guide and support me.

If you suspect you’re a highly sensitive person too, don’t forget Spirit is ready and willing to help soothe your anxieties and you can access that support by:

• spending time in nature
• listening to the signs and messages Spirit sends your way
• and pulling a few tarot and/or oracle cards when you’re needing reassurance or guidance

with love,

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This art ritual was created to help you explore where your past conditioning stands in the way of listening to and trusting your own intuition and/or your parenting instincts. When done in it’s entirety, it requires a full moon cycle to complete but it can also be effective completed in one sitting with the intentions of personal growth.  Scroll down for the printable step-by-step instructions.

This week I asked my friend and parenting expert, Eliane Sainte-Marie, if I could create an art ritual around one of the chapters in her book Clean Parenting: The Peaceful Parent’s Handbook. The chapter I chose was titled Trusting Your Parenting Instincts and Your Inner Guidance. This topic is near and dear to my heart. I’ve navigated not only my parenting but also my life by listening to and trusting my intuition. I’ve even become a professional intuitive.  Trusting my intuition and tuning in and listening to Spirit, my body, my emotional needs and my parenting instincts has gifted me with some of the most valuable experiences in my life. It has never been the easy way but it has definitely been the most graceful and magical way.

For simplicity’s sake, I want to break this big topic into three separate ideas:

1. Listening to my Intuition
2. Listening to Spirit and
3. Listening to my Parenting Instincts

I believe all three of these areas are silenced in similar ways. I also believe when you start trusting yourself in one area, your ability to trust yourself in the other two areas becomes easier.

Listening to my Intuition

To me intuition feels like this calm steady voice inside. It is my inner compass. I like to imagine it is my personal soul or spirit speaking to me. It seems to me like my conscious mind can only grasp so much. It is a brilliant tool but it is limited in its capacity. My intuition, on the other hand, feels vast and limitless. It feels like it accesses a realm of knowledge and wisdom that is beyond my understanding. It’s not as loud or obvious as my conscious mind. I can hear my thoughts much more readily and clearly than I can hear my intuitive guidance. When my intuitive guidance does come in, it sounds like it’s coming from this distant space. It’s quieter, simpler and direct. It doesn’t argue or run around in circles like my thoughts. It simply makes a statement in my mind or gives me a sense of something in my body or uses my emotions to help me feel something.

Since my intuition is softer and not as obvious or as loud as everything else in my busy life, it is easier to miss but the more I trust what it has to say and the more I trust where it’s leading me, the more often I hear it.

Listening to Spirit

As I mentioned above, listening to my intuition is, to me, like listening to my soul or Spirit – that eternal part of me that existed before I was born into this life and will exist again after my body dies. Many people I meet desire to hear, see and feel Spirit but are uncertain how to do that. My angels explained to me that communicating with Spirit is not a gift some people have and others do not. They explained to me that we are all Spirit. As Wayne Dyer used to say, we are spiritual beings having a human experience not human beings having a spiritual experience. I am Spirit therefore I can see, hear and feel Spirit. Since our true nature is eternal Spirit of course we know how to feel, see and know Spirit and each and every one of us has always been and continues to always be communicating in the way of Spirit. We don’t have to learn how to do it. Instead our job is to pay attention and see how and when it is already happening.

I think the same thing I do to listen to my intuition is the same thing I do to listen to Spirit because in essence the wisdom is coming from the same place – the place of Spirit, mine or someone else’s.

Listening to my Parenting Instincts

When I became a mother, I became aware of this place inside me that just knew. In my case, my parenting instincts didn’t kick in right away. In the first year of my son’s life I was in constant crippling anxiety. It was one of the hardest years of my life. Once the anxiety settled down I could hear this voice inside that had a very strong sense of what my son needed and how I wanted to parent. I had strong emotional reactions when I followed advice that didn’t align with what my instincts were telling me to do. I was passionate about not repeating parenting methods that hurt me as a child and since I wasn’t knowledgeable about other ways and I didn’t like reading parenting books and it was back in a time when parenting coaches and help wasn’t as accessible, I chose to trust my instincts or that place inside that just knew how it wanted to parent my son. It was different than listening to my intuition and definitely different than listening to Spirit but it did feel like at times it was listening to a part of me that was trying to rewrite the past and at times listening to an ancient voice that carried wisdom from thousands of generations before me…a voice that came from times before there were homes with separate bedrooms or ten options of baby food.

In Eliane’s book, she gives a great description of what listening to your parenting instincts looks like. I’m attempting to compartmentalize these three different methods of listening to wisdom but the truth is sometimes it’s obvious what I’m listening to and sometimes it’s not. Either way I think the practice of continuing to pay attention and consider what voice is actually speaking to me is helpful. It helps me to know myself and it helps me to discern what is right for ME – not what is the right way but what is MY WAY to live life and parent. And as a parent, I believe the more I discover what my way is, the closer I come to parenting in a way that best aligns with and serves my child’s spirit. And that’s important to me. I can’t consciously be aware of what his spirit needs or wants. I can much more easily know what his emotional and physical needs and wants are but I know if I listen to my intuition and my parenting instincts I will naturally be listening to his Spirit’s needs also.

In Eliane’s chapter on parenting instincts she helps her reader distinguish between conditioning and instincts. I love her wisdom on this. She states, “Often times, I hear parents describe their feelings or reactions as instinctual when what they actually are are automatic (reactive) or stemming from conditioning. It’s important to understand this distinction so parents truly learn to parent from their instincts (or inner guidance) and don’t erroneously follow their conditioning’s guidance, mistaking it for their instincts.”

I designed this ritual to help you distinguish when conditioning, fear or the need to belong is making the decisions for you. The more aware you are of what interferes, the easier it will be to choose to ignore it and tune in instead to higher wisdom. If this is something that’s really important in your life at the moment, I would spend the time using a full moon cycle to complete this art ritual. Something beautiful happens when I complete one of my art rituals nice and slow and allow deeper and deeper layers of my subconscious mind to rise to the surface slowly over time but if completing it in one sitting is all you want right now, you will still gather a lot of insight from it.

If you are planning to complete this ritual over a full moon cycle, I would begin on the waxing crescent moon and I would complete it on the New Moon. Here is the full moon cycle method outlined:

Waxing Crescent Moon:

1. Download the accompanying PDF and answer the questions in your journal and create the paper roll self-portrait described below.
2. Wrap the ribbon around your self-portrait and place on your altar (or somewhere you will regularly notice her over the course of the moon cycle like on your dresser or nightstand).
3. Observe where and when in your life you silence your inner wisdom. Spend 5 minutes every evening looking at your bound self-portrait and jot down what you’ve observed about when you silence your inner voice.  Continue to do this until the Full Moon.

Full Moon:

1. Set a sacred space and follow steps to prepare yourself for ritual.
2. Unwrap the ribbon and place the ribbon inside the pouch of your paper roll self-portrait.
3. Write a letter to whoever you pray to and ask for help healing the parts within yourself you noticed stop you from trusting your intuition or parenting instincts.
4. Place the letter inside the pouch with your ribbon.
5. Add any objects or plant material that align with your intentions such as crystals, herbs or essential oils etc.
6. Place your paper roll self-portrait back on your altar.
7. Observe where and when in your life you listen to your inner wisdom. Spend 5 minutes every evening looking at your unbound self-portrait and jot down your small wins, celebrations and grateful feelings in regards to your intuition and your parenting instincts. Notice when you listened and take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate that. Continue to do this until the New Moon.

New Moon:

1. Set a sacred space and follow steps to prepare yourself for ritual.
2. On a separate piece of paper, write a declaration to yourself of how you promise to treat your intuition and/or parenting instincts from now on.
3. Roll up your vows and insert them into your paper roll self-portrait.
4. Keep your paper roll self-portrait on your altar for as long as you desire.

Before sharing the instructions in more detail, I want to remind you that when engaging in one of my art rituals, there are a few steps I perform before I sit down to do the writing, painting or creating part of my ritual. They include gathering my materials, clearing my mind and my physical space, inviting or calling in my spiritual helpers and setting boundaries or placing a circle of protection and blessing my tools and material. I outline these steps in more detail in my “Beginner’s Guide to Preparing for Art Rituals” which I send, along with other helpful goodies, when you subscribe to my Moon Sisters Art and Ritual Magazine.  If you would like the guide delivered to your inbox, you can subscribe to the magazine on my home page.

To support my emotions while I performed this art ritual, I used 5 drops of doTerra’s Patchouli essential oil.  My doTerra oils are just as helpful to my Spirit and emotional well-being as they are to my physical health so I always include them in my art rituals.

I chose Patchouli for this art ritual because one of the essential requirements for tuning in and listening to those calm wise voices within is not feeling anxious, worried or having a busy mind. Patchouli calms the mind and stills the heart and prepares the body for connecting with Spirit and/or inner wisdom.

Once my oils were going and I could breathe them in, I moved onto the first step in this art ritual which was to gather the materials. This is a very flexible art ritual. You can make tons of adjustments and use whatever you have on hand but you will definitely need two paper towel rolls. This is what I gathered together and used:

• 2 paper towel rolls
• white glue and hot glue
• decorative paper
• pieces of scrap fabric
• acrylic paints
• ribbon of a color light enough you can write on
• small positive and negative magnets (optional)

I saved one of my paper towel rolls to paint my self-portrait on. The second paper roll I used to create a small pouch. I cut about a quarter of the paper roll off and squished it down.

Next, I folded the sides of the paper roll down and glued the two sides together to create a bottom to the pouch.

I then cut another piece of cardboard off my paper roll. I cut this piece in a half circle shape to use as a decorative piece to add to the top of my other paper roll. I thought it could look like a crown or just be an extra piece to add visual interest to my paper roll self-portrait.

Next, I cut strips of decorative paper to create a skirt around my paper roll. I included strips of lace to glue to one side of each paper strip.

I then glued the strips of decorative paper to the base of my paper roll. The skirt also served to give the paper roll more stability so it was easier to stand up.

Next, I gave the top of the paper roll, the pouch and the half circle shape I cut out a couple coats of paint.

It was time to paint my self-portrait on my paper roll. Of course it doesn’t really look like me but that’s not important. What’s important is it represents to ME what it feels like when I listen to my inner wisdom. The end result doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be meaningful to YOU.

I finished my pouch by inserting a piece of decorative paper cut to create a flap that could close over the top of the pouch.

I added a magnet to the pouch so I could easily open and close it. These little magnets have been so much fun. I love the compartments, pockets and envelopes I can create in my art journal with these handy little things. I recommend adding them to your art and/or craft supplies.

I then took my journal and answered the questions in the accompanying PDF (scroll down to download). On the ribbon I wrote My voice is silenced when…. and completed that sentence and continued to write all the ways I notice I silence my intuition and my parenting instincts. Here are some of the sentences I wrote:

• My voice is silenced when I listen to people who don’t share my values.
• My voice is silenced when I care more about other people than I do my own heart.
• My voice is silenced when I stay stuck in fear.
• My voice is silenced when I care more about what other people think than I do to what I think.
• My voice is silenced when I care more about fitting in or being accepted.
• My voice is silenced when I place a higher value on a relationship with someone else than I do on my relationship with myself.

Next came the finishing touches. I cut out a bird and flowers image and glued it to my semicircle and cut two small notches at the top of my paper roll to insert the semicircle onto. The I glued the end of my ribbon to the waist of my paper roll self-portrait. To finish the waist off I cut a strip of decorative paper and glued it to the waist to hid the end of the ribbon and the end of all the skirt pieces. It looked like a belt. Then I glued the pouch onto the front of the paper belt. Lastly, I glued a heart onto the front of the shirt and wrote “My answer is here” to remind me the importance of looking within for my answers.

This is what my paper roll self-portrait looks like with my ribbon bound around it. 

I love the visual statement my paper roll self-portrait makes when it’s all bound like this. It’s not a pleasing sight but it is highly effective in communicating to me just what it feels like when I silence my own wisdom.

Below are the step-by-step instructions of this ritual in a format you can print for your convenience and a link to the PDF document that accompanies this ritual. If you do perform this ritual publicly or share photos of the ritual or perform the ritual with a group, please respect the work of this artist and creator by mentioning the source and/or providing a link back to this original post. Also, if you end up performing this ritual, I’d love to see what you completed. You can even post the finished piece on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #danasartrituals

Shed Your Conditioning & Trust Your Intuition PDF

Enjoy my friends.

with love,

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This art ritual is perfect for the family to do together. I created it as a way to celebrate family love and make wishes for family harmony and happiness but it can also easily be adapted for a couple.  Scroll down for the printable step-by-step instructions.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner but this weekend my mind wasn’t on romantic love. In a week, my eighteen year old son is leaving the nest for the first time and traveling for three months. I’m excited and so very happy for him but my momma heart is grieving and worrying. Instead of letting my emotions become overwhelming this week, I knew I needed to spend a day in prayer and ritual so I created this Love Quilt.

The idea originated from an article I read in the Somerset Studio magazine by Lina Arango Jakusik. She showcased these beautiful patchwork collages that I just feel in love with. I imagined her collages to be these great big fluffy quilts I could snuggle under which then reminded me of when my son was young and jumped into bed with us. I thought it would be fun to create a paper quilt and draw myself, my husband and my son lying cozy under it. I knew if I divided my paper quilt up in squares I could create a prayer or wish on each square then arrange all the squares together to create one cohesive blanket. Even though the cartoon drawings I created look nothing like us, I really love the end result and it looks super cute on my altar. I know it will bring me comfort in the next few months when I miss my son or start to worry about him.

Before sharing the instructions, I want to remind you that when engaging in one of my art rituals, there are a few steps I perform before I sit down to do the writing, painting or creating part of my ritual. They include gathering my materials, clearing my mind and my physical space, inviting or calling in my spiritual helpers and setting boundaries or placing a circle of protection and blessing my tools and material. I outline these steps in more detail in my “Beginner’s Guide to Preparing for Art Rituals” which I send, along with other helpful goodies, when you subscribe to my Moon Sisters Art and Ritual Magazine.  If you would like the guide delivered to your inbox, you can subscribe to the magazine on my home page.

To support my emotions while I performed this art ritual, I used 5 drops of doTerra’s Arborvitae essential oil. I LOVE my doTerra oils and use them everyday to support my body in healing from anxiety and from my mystery illness (which lately I suspect is SIBO but I am still waiting to be diagnosed). My oils are just as helpful to my Spirit and emotional well-being as they are to my physical health so I always include them in my art rituals.

I chose Arborvitae for this art ritual because when I’m scared or worried I sometimes think the answer is to try and control things. That never works. Arborvitae reminds me to surrender and trust Divine Love is flowing all around me. It reminds me to hand my worries over to God and Divine Mother and trust that Love is always working in my best interest and no matter what happens, I will be supported.

Once my oils were going and I could breathe them in, I moved onto the first step in this art ritual which was to gather the materials. This is a very flexible art ritual. You can make tons of adjustments and use whatever you have on hand. This is what I gathered together and used:

• canvas
• glue
• decorative paper
• pieces of scrap fabric
• watercolor pencils
• white cardstock paper
• old greeting cards
• small items I collected that remind me of my family
• images and words cut out from books and magazines

The next step was to choose a piece of decorative paper to use as a sheet on my pretend paper bed and cut out three pillows – one for each member of my family and glue all of it to my canvas.

Next, on white card stock paper, I drew three cartoon looking images of each member of my family. I drew these in pencil then colored them with my watercolor pencil crayons.

Instead of painting on clothes, I chose some decorative paper to cut and paste onto my card stock drawings. I chose patterns that reminded me of pajamas.

When I was done creating a cartoon image of each of us, I glued them to the canvas ensuring that the arms weren’t glued down yet.

I then glued down a piece of decorative paper to act as the base of my quilt.

Next, I cut out 9 squares of decorative paper. I measured to make sure the squares would fit on the purple base of my quilt.

Taking one square piece of paper at a time, I created a collage that represented a prayer for my family. In the photo below, the prayer I was making was for my son to be safe during his travels and to come home as happy as he has always been.

I repeated this process until every square had a prayer on it. The square with the long numbered pieces of paper sticking out of is a paper pocket I made to hold nine wishes in it. I asked my husband and son to write three wishes each and I wrote three wishes then tucked them into the pocket.

Before gluing the squares onto my paper quilt, I added a couple more strips of decorative paper to give my quilt more patterns and interest.

Then I arranged my squares onto my the canvas in a way that was pleasing to me.

Once all the squares were glued down, I added more details to tie it all together. Only after all the details were added did I finally glue down the arms.

Here’s the step-by-step instructions of this ritual in a format you can print for your convenience. If you do perform this ritual publicly or share photos of the ritual or perform the ritual with a group, please respect the work of this artist and creator by mentioning the source and/or providing a link back to this original post. Also, if you end up performing this ritual, I’d love to see what you completed. You can even post the finished piece on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #danasartrituals

Enjoy my friends.

with love,

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