Watching the Summer Skies Summer is a great time to get outside, go camping, and watch the stars come out. This is something I like to do at least once a summer, and more than that if I can manage it. This year, my interest in stargazing has a new dimension: I have been studying astrology, and am now watching stellar bodies with renewed interest. In the interests of getting serious about learning the ropes of astrology, I decided to make some bullet journal spreads as a reference to help me study. Natal Chart and Astrological Reference One of the things that most new astrology students do is to study…

Wreathing the Wheel: June – Summer Solstice and Project Planning The month of June contains my favorite of all the quarter days: the summer solstice. This day is high noon for the year, a time when transformative, fiery powers are at their peak, warming the earth and helping plants grow to their fullest. Litha is about action, so this month I’ve decided to get serious about planning some of my personal projects. While there are many different types of projects, I’ll be using the example of this column as our template. Here’s a basic, five-step road-map that can be used for both cyclical and linear projects, from the start of…

Book ReviewCelestial WatercolorLearn to Paint the Zodiac Constellations and Seasonal Night SkiesWritten by Elise Mahan with D.R. McElroy128 ppThe Quarto Group “Celestial Watercolor: Learn to Paint the Zodiac Constellations and Seasonal Night Skies” is a book that does dual duty. On one hand, it’s as a beautifully illustrated and produced full-color coffee table-style book which is immensely enjoyable to flip through whether you read it or not. On the other, it’s a genuinely useful guide through the world of classic watercolor technique, with watercolor illustrations of the phases of the moon, astrological signs, and the seasonal night skies as examples. These examples come paired with corresponding texts that delve into…

Beltane, the Maypole, Interweaving For May, I’d like to talk about Beltane and the processing of weaving. If you’re familiar with the Celtic holiday of Beltane, then you already know that this holiday is often celebrated with a decoration that serves as ritual, dance, entertainment, and more: the Maypole. While the exact symbolism of the Maypole is disputed, it is generally considered to be a magical appeal for fertility, power, and transformative forces coming together. In the Tarot, this process may be symbolized by the Lovers in the Major Arcana, or the Four of Wands in the Minor Arcana: different forces coming together in a celebratory act to create something…

Book Review The Seasonal Soul A Mystic’s Guide to Inner Transformation Written by Lauren Aletta Illustrated by Teagan Svyny Chronicle Books 303 pp. “The Seasonal Soul: A Mystic’s Guide to Inner Transformation” comes to us from the author and illustrator behind the lovely Lumina Tarot, and it’s just what you’d expect if you’re familiar with that Tarot. It is a lushly illustrated book which explores the themes of winter, spring, summer, and fall through a collage of visualizations, meditations, self-care rituals, and musings. The book’s structure is simple and its goals are clearly laid out: to use awareness and observation of the seasons as a template for personal growth, and…

Wreathing the Wheel: Mistakes, Messes, and Accidents This month, I’d like to take a little departure from talking about the specifics of bullet journaling to talk about a related topic that I am very passionate about: making mistakes. As an artist who works a lot with pen and ink, I’m familiar with the unforgiving nature of the medium. It’s very easy to make a small stray pen mark simply by dropping the pen, or (the horror!) even a long mark when my cat decides that she really wants to play with my pen too, or something jostles my drawing surface. From a mistake that lasts a millisecond, hours of work…

Book Review Hand Lettering A to Z Workbook by Abbey Sy 191 pp. Rockport “Hand Lettering A to Z Workbook” is a very accessible workbook aimed at beginners in hand-lettering who want to start with a good foundation and traditional letter form styles. The first few pages are spent on exploring the basics of typography, hand-lettering, and layout; there is not a lot of detail on any one topic here, but there’s no fat, either. The prose is very direct and to-the-point, and Abbey Sy includes recommendations for specific tools and methods.  Sy offers a good variety of styles for the beginner, from simple handwriting and serif letter forms to…