Equinox blessings to you. As the seasons shift and we find ourselves in the waning phase of the moon, a gentle calmness is appearing in my days.
I’ve been tuning more into the moon cycle and observing the Yin and Yang energies within myself, so I’m interested in what the next two weeks will bring before the New Moon is upon us again!
I wanted to share a little except from Chapter two of my Botanical Mandalas book below with a seasonal nature mandala and also some new artwork inspired by the moon.
Wishing you all the best as we move into this new season.
Seasonal Mandala Blessings
Chapter two of my Botanical Mandalas book is all about Connecting with Nature and I thought it would be lovely to share a short excerpt with you as we welcome in a new season.
No matter what season you are in or which part of the world you live, nature is a constant source of inspiration and beauty. I would like to invite you to celebrate our connection with nature, the shift of seasons and honor the earth for all it offers us.
As the seasons change, I can see something so beautiful and melancholy about the shifts. Taking time to observe and notice the earth change into these restful months, helps us to also prepare to slow down, be calm and listen.
At the end of each season, take some time to recall your own precious time spent in nature, how you felt being outside and how your senses came alive. How your skin felt salty by the ocean, how you could smell the clear fragrant mountain air, see the colors of wild flowers in the countryside or even just taking the time to be barefoot in your own back garden.
The April showers to give vital energy to new Spring plants, the hotness of the sun on your skin during those summer months, the falling leaves and changing colors of fall and the silent months when animals go into hibernation and the world feels like it has a blanket of snow, keeping it safe and calm.
It is more important now more than ever to connect with the natural vibrations of the earth as more of our life is occupied with technology and busy schedules, gentle reminders are all we need to re-connect to how good nature makes us feel.
Lets continue to have our own conversations with nature and allow our creativity to flourish inspired by the beauty we find.
Full Moon Watercolor Meditations
Talking of natural rhythms. I have been tracking my creative energies during this current moon cycle and its been so interesting observing the yin and yang of each lunar phase so far!
I first started working and creating with the moon back in 2012 when I would create Full Moon Mandalas every month as an addition to my yearly Vision Boards – a way to keep on track and also create with the different energies. This ‘moon’ work is calling me again and this feels like it is something I would love to explore more fully for 2022!
A few days ago we had the Harvest Moon (Full Moon in Pisces) and I felt compelled to paint some more little moon images. If you saw my last couple of newsletters, you would have seen my watercolor mediations inspired by the moon!
Trying something a little more realistic, I was so happy to dive into observing the moon in more detail and capturing my own artist impression using only Paynes Grey watercolor. I used the wet-on-wet technique to lay down the color and then white ink for the craters. Creating the thin lines with a wooden stick!
I’ve also been playing with inks and watercolors to create some mini moons and I have a desire to create a deck of oracle/moon energy cards with them that I can use as part of my creative practice… more on that soon.
Reminder: Join for a week of FREE!
Did you sign up for A Year in Color yet? We begin tomorrow and you get a whole week of FREE!
A Year in Color is a year-long online retreat, AND from September 23- 30, you get to access mini-workshops for FREE to sample all of the teachers and be inspired. How fabulous is that?
Over the week, there will be 19 Free sessions with myself and other amazing creatives. Plus in January you will be granted another 7 sessions for FREE! Just for signing up here.
My free session is all about being inspired by nature to create your own color palettes.
Thank you for reading my blog and supporting my creative journey!
Lots of love
Louise xx
About my Book
Reconnecting ourselves back to nature is something I talk about in my book ‘Botanical Mandalas: Draw, Paint and Create Expressive Mandalas Inspired by Nature ‘, where I share my thoughts on the healing power of nature and how I have used that on my own journey with mandala creating. Find out more about my books and the book clubs here >>