May 2023: Tarot spread for the new moon in Taurus

Plus some journaling questions, an astro-tarot forecast and an exploration of the the Sabian symbol for the new moon in Taurus

Tarot spread and astro-tarot forecast for the May 2023 new moon in Taurus

The May 2023 new moon falls in the sign of Taurus. The Taurus archetype is grounded and steadfast, calm and composed, firm and also somewhat stubborn. This is a sign that is practical and earthy, and is associated with material pleasures, desires, luxuriousness, and abundance.

Spiritually, the Taurus archetype teaches the principle of belonging through presence…our presence as sacred human beings…honouring the body temple…honouring the flow of life. This can be difficult given the society we live in, which praises the hustle over reverence and treats time as money rather than a finite resource that should be used wisely in the pursuit of the things that give us meaning.

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Substack for beginners: The what, why, and how

What is a substack newsletter and how to start your own substack publication

The social media landscape is evolving at a blistering pace — algorithms are constantly changing, new features are rolled out at a fast clip, you’re constantly bombarded with advertisements, promoted posts, and toxic rhetoric on apps like Twitter. As if that wasn’t enough, you now have to figure out NFTs and the metaverse, and this new thing called Substack that everyone seems to suddenly be talking about.

Take a deep breath, and let me tell you all about what Substack is and how you can use the platform.

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May 2023: Tarot spread for the full moon in Scorpio

Tarot spread and astro-tarot forecast for the May 2023 full moon + lunar eclipse in Scorpio

The May 2023 full moon falls in the sign of Scorpio. The Scorpio archetype is known for its intense power and its ability to transform, much like the butterfly emerging from its cocoon, ready to fly. The Scorpio archetype isn’t afraid of the birth-death-rebirth cycle, for it is only when parts of us die and are reborn that we can fully transform.

So perhaps it’s not surprising that spiritually, the Scorpio archetype teaches us to surrender – to align our human will with divine will. It can teach us that sometimes our human trials can reveal a need for deep healing. This is not always easy to live with or to understand, especially when the need for healing arises from trauma, and yet on the other side of working with and healing trauma there can be deep and valuable transformation.

This month, we also have a lunar eclipse that will be visible in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Antarctica.

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Book review: The Fire Ant’s Sting by Kamalini Natesan

From the back cover:

The road to perdition is paved with desires. An expat couple resort to illicit means to hoard wealth. A small-town author yearns for fame and laurels at the risk of alienating his family. A widowed woman is desperate to preserve her youthful looks and turn the clock back. An eager-to-please, do-gooder mother seeks respect and reciprocation of her efforts. The common thread weaving through these stories is a pulsating and addictive desire to attain what one craves for at any cost. In Fire-Ant’s Sting: Desire Diaries, Kamalini Natesan explores, through twelve varied characters, the different facets of desire—a primal human emotion—and how its pursuit blinds one to reason. Alternately wry and full of pathos, daring and evocative, this is a delectable diary of desires that will leave you asking for more.

Desire is one of the human emotions that is generally suppressed the most, and is yet the single-biggest driver of our actions. We are adept at suppressing desire, at painting it as “too much”, as taboo.

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Using mixed media art dolls in your journal

Plus a conversation on finding your art style

Using collage elements and mixed media art dolls in your art journal

Welcome to part 2 of this tutorial! I hope you’ve had a chance to watch and make your collage art dolls; if you haven’t, you’ll want to do that first. I’ll wait!

So, now that you have your cool little collage doll, it’s time to add her to an art journal page. Since this project was a way for me to connect back to my artist’s journey, I decided to use some of the elements I noticed in my very first art journal {see this post for the flip through of my first art journal}.

Watch the process: Using mixed media art dolls in your art journal

One of them is collage. I don’t use collage too often in my work, so I decided to use some of the painted papers I had pulled out while making the doll to see how I could incorporate those into my art journal.

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April 2023: Tarot spread for the new moon solar eclipse in Aries

Plus some journaling questions, an astro-tarot forecast and an exploration of the the Sabian symbol for the new moon + solar eclipse in Aries

Tarot spread for the April 2023 new moon and solar eclipse in Aries

The April 2023 new moon solar eclipse falls in the sign of Aries. The Aries archetype is known for its bold – often rash – action, for going where angels fear to tread. As the first sign of the zodiac, it represents the active core of our spiritual journey on earth, and teaches us to act in accordance with our ideals. The Aries archetype teaches us to be unafraid to march to our own drumbeat, to assert our willpower towards the attainment of our desires, and to embrace beginner’s mind and the innate trust and explosive power {conviction + action} that is needed to start something new.

Spiritually, the Aries archetype teaches us about action. And as most of us know, it’s easier to talk about the things we want to do than to put in the work and actually do the thing! Aries teaches us that courage is the key to unlocking the full potential of this spiritual principle. And that comes from connecting your head to your heart, focusing your will, and taking consistent action towards your dreams.

This month also marks the start of eclipse season, with a rare hybrid solar eclipse that will go from an annular eclipse to a total eclipse before going back to an annular eclipse in some parts of the world. The eclipse will be visible in Australia, the Pacific Ocean, East and South Asia, Antarctica, and the Indian Ocean.

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How to make a mixed media collage art doll

Create a whimsical paper art doll using collage scraps in your stash!

How to make paper art dolls using collage and mixed media techniques

You know those old art journals, back from when you were just starting on your art journey, that you keep hidden away in a dusty corner because looking through your initial attempts at painting feel cringe?

Pull those out. Flip through them. Feel the cringe. And then feel the satisfaction and pride of seeing how far you’ve progressed!

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April 2023: Tarot spread for the full moon in Libra

Plus some journaling questions, an astro-tarot forecast and an exploration of the Sabian symbol for the full moon in Libra

Tarot spread and astro-tarot forecast for the April 2023 full moon in Libra

The April 2023 full moon falls in the sign of Libra. The Libra archetype is closely associated with justice and maintaining balance in social interactions and within the self. They are the true diplomats among the zodiac archetypes, and focus on fair dealings in all their relationships.

Spiritually, the Libra archetype teaches the principle of intimate balance, of the ability to remain centered and true to yourself no matter what may be going on around you. This is a skill that can be particularly helpful for those of us who turn up our noses at societal expectations as we dance to the tune of our own drum beat. Being able to remain centered is also an important skill to have if you’re surrounded by toxic people – and in these times, even toxic politics! One of the easiest ways to remain centered is through the breath, and by being able to distinguish between the things that are in your control, and those that aren’t.

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How to use washi tape in your art journal

Pull out your favorite washi tapes and make an art journal page with me!

How to use washi tape in your art journal

If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you probably know that I almost always paint intuitively. It’s very rare for me to plan a page in advance. But, I also like to challenge myself, because that’s the best way to learn and grow!

So for this particular piece, which I did for an Instagram challenge called Seek, Gather, Create, I went in with a bit of planning. I knew some of the elements that I wanted — maps, a moon, some masking tape — based on the challenge prompts. But instead of putting it all together intuitively, I decided to come to the page with a broad idea of what I wanted to paint.

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