#moon study

[the-fallen-souls]

Even in shadows the Moon doesn't forget what she is. Many appreciate her only when fully lit to our human eyes, but who appreciates her when she can't be seen?

Like a moonflower blooming under the evening stars, maybe I can bloom in the shadows too.

So when my thoughts are cast in darkness, may I remember that I'm still beautiful, even if I can't see it at the moment.

[ascendantevolution]

Learning to Surrender: Finding truth through moon work and Maiden, Mother, and Crone

Surrender has to be one of the hardest concepts to understand as a human being. When someone says that they surrendered, what I have finally come to understand is that they came to a place of deep trust in a process. 

It took me a long time to move beyond my surface-level understanding of surrender as a giving in or giving up. I am sure some people have experienced it that way, especially when they hit rock bottom. I myself have had that experience. It has been years since, and now I see I was in some ways forced into surrender. I resigned myself to it. The other option was death. As true as all that may be, surrender is much more complex than that very obvious version.

It doesn't have to be that hard. Surrender doesn't have to mean hitting the bottom. Unless, of course, you are stubborn as I am, refusing to go gently. Long hard-headed, I have finally learned that surrender can be gentle and very intentional. I choose this form of surrender now, every day.

My Moon study should also be called moon worship because it requires my undivided attention every day of every “moonth.” My study has truly opened up a world of magic for me. Every month, I follow the cycle of the moon, and in doing so, the Moon teaches me to follow my own cycles.

At the beginning of every month, I light candles, and I write intentions. My intentions are twofold. They are centered around the flaws and wounds that I am releasing as well as what I am calling to me. Throughout the month, I intentionally observe the progress and process of what I have released while intentionally working to manifest those things I've called to me. My worship is a form of taking responsibility for myself, for my actions, for my healing, and for my soul's growth.

So, what does this have to do with surrender? My study is in and of itself a surrendering everyday as I move through my processes. It is a surrendering to truth, being honest, and being clear, about me, for me.

However, there is another study I have undertaken with the Moon, and that is the study of the triple goddess. The triple goddess can be seen as a metaphor for our stages of life as well as the stages of any process we are going through. In all cycles there are beginnings, middles, and ends. To these we can assign the idea of the maiden, the mother, and the crone. By attaching personalities to abstract concepts, concepts which carry energy which is very real, we empower those concepts/energies to teach and guide us through our processes.

The Maiden teaches me to remember to remain light, curious, and to see my beauty and the beauty of life around me. She reminds me to smile and to dance, to buy flowers, and to daydream.

The Mother teaches me that I am always loved, that Life herself is supporting me in all of my growing and work, and that I have a responsibility to be those things for Gaia, humanity, in All creatures, big and small.

The Crone shows up big for me, especially as I am heading into my crone years of life. She has been the Maiden, and she has been the Mother. She has also done a lot of living, which includes loving and suffering, in her many years. She is heavy with experience, but she doesn't let it get her down. In fact, she teaches that incredible experience requires incredible responsibility to hold ourselves accountable for loving ourselves as well as others, and to do good for the ALL. Her experience teaches us that we are always taken care of, and so we can trust, which means that we can surrender.

Surrender requires a different kind of strength. In the way I am speaking of it here, it is a choice, and that comes from within. I must yield my ego, the illusion of control, service-to-self, and self-harm. When I yield, I tap into a strength beyond any I could have imagined. 

I have found that, when I surrender, I yield to the flow of life, which in the East is called the Tao. 

I love being in the flow. When I am in the flow, it feels like everything is right, and when I feel that way, Life responds with abundance. Flow allows surrender to abundant mindset, one that begins with a deep worthiness if that which comes into my life. The more I flow, the more I feel connected to Spirit and Gaia. I feel aligned to my Higher Self, and then all things are revealed to me as I need them: my life purpose, my mission, and my next steps on my path. None of it is possible without surrender.

If I make it sound easy, I will say that it's taken me 50 years to figure it out. The Crone speaks. However, it is possible to choose it for yourself at any age because your Higher Self is ancient and knows what you need, just as Spirit knows.

Trust is an act of love. Learning to love unconditionally begets love of the All, which imbues trust, which allows surrender, which reveals purpose, which begets more love in the creative process of embodying the purpose.

Love. Surrender. Live your purpose. Your Higher Self is calling you home.

Originally writing July 4, 2021.

Ⓒ S’Tara Merit, 2024.

[clowns0up-felix]

I LOVVVEEEE doing background studies for botw/totk (even though I hate drawing backgrounds, make it make sense??),,, and the last pic with link being teleported was insanely fun to draw!!! All of these are screenshot redraws btw,,, I might draw more

Im screaming I have so many small Zelda hcs but I can’t think of ways to put them all into interesting comics and drawing without getting overstimulated,,, I might do one very long post for them in the future? Idk

Speedpaint for the last piece :D

[animeglitch]

[academic-vampire]

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”

-Albert Camus ☕️🌙

[amberluvsbugs]

DCA related Aggie doodles

[tacxx]

Rahh!!! Trying different styles!!

(Too scared to tag the original creators)

[yellydany]

The Little Prince in the style of Mario Galaxy (Rosalina's storybook to be specific!)🪐🌙✨🦊 Fun experiment I've had in mind for a long time now

[kittkattys]

A couple of small anatomy studies I did using the boys over the last week :>

[crabsnpersimmons]

i'd love to celebrate my birthday with y'all! no pressure to say or do anything, just wanted to share and "invite" you all 🥰

[sugarmint-dreams]

the study of flowers ☪

-

my shop

[ascendantevolution]

Moon Study and Ego Sublimation (Copy)

Oftentimes, when we are taking a good, hard look at ourselves, we speak of looking into the mirror, recognizing that we need to change, often through other people mirroring for us what needs to change within ourselves.

When I decided to stopped drinking, I found that I became a mirror for the many alcoholics who are too fragile to accept the truth of their situation. As a result, they dismissed me as the one with the problem. I got rejected a lot, and my friend group dwindled. In light of this example, while I love the mirror, I also wanted to smash it because it hurt all around. The mirror is not always the kindest source of learning. That being said, the mirror acts as a powerful catalyst that pushes us into honest reflection.

For me, Moon study has become an added source of support and growth when working in conjunction with the mirror. It offers a path beyond an initial shock of awareness. Moon study is a gentler way to intentionally work on those parts of myself that most need attention. While I am talking about harnessing the power of Moon ritual, let's analyze what the Moon offers as a metaphor.

Being that the Moon comes out at night, the Moon is associated with darkness. There are no mirrors. Instead of looking outward, the darkness requires us to sit with ourselves quietly, observing with senses other than physical sight. Eventually, with enough practice, we begin to see inward, which takes great courage because it is there that wounds and shadows have been hiding out while we've been distracting ourselves with the dramas of life.

These are the parts of ourselves that have been rejected by our community and by ourselves. These are the parts of ourselves that need attention, needing to be heard and honored. To hear and honor what needs healing in us. Discovering the source of our pain (the wound) means sitting with the pain, letting it pass through, and then embracing and integrating those parts of ourselves that have been dishonoured, shamed, or neglected. I have experienced this process many times now and can say that, as the pain welled up inside, working its way to the surface, it felt so overwhelming and threatening that I felt like I might literally die.

Why would anyone choose to put themselves through this?

My first thought after going through this process the first time was, “Wow, I survived it,” followed by a huge sigh of relief. That thought was immediately followed by the thing survivors build over time: feeling resilient. That amazing feeling empowered and motivated me to continue. I knew I was on the right path.

Integrating the lost pieces of ourselves leads to the feeling of growing wholeness, complete acceptance, and unconditional love for all that we are as humans. This process allows us to pull shame out by its roots and to use it as tinder to light the fires of creativity and motivation that will move us toward our life purposes.

To love yourself? To be so comfortable in your skin that other people's odd glances, judgmental comments, and ways of manipulation have no impact on you? Imagine attaining this kind of freedom.

Not only is it freedom, but it is what it means to be sovereign. To have complete sovereignty of ourselves in our lives without reference to anything or anyone else, to be guided by the Higher Self, to speak with authority, to be a champion, to change the world around us with unconditional love? We have a responsibility, not only to ourselves for our own peace and quality of life, but to those around us. People are suffering. Animals are suffering. Gaia is suffering. The state of our beings matters that much.

When Joseph Campbell outlined the hero's journey, he really didn't speak much to what happens to heroes that don’t make it through their journeys. Heroes do get stuck in the underworld. Some never get to finish their missions by slaying dragons and resurfacing to be the balm for their community. It is scary but true that heroes sometimes get lost in their journeys.

We are born with missions, but we are also given free will. We get to choose whether we show up as a coward hiding out in polarized dramas; whether we give in to the darkness that shows up to overtake us; or whether we emerge as heroes, beaten up and scarred, in our own stories and for those around us.

Our journey requires growth and resilience and overcoming increasingly large obstacles. Intentionally choosing most of our battles gives us an advantage in preparing for those battles that erupt out of seemingly nowhere. If we are practiced, skilled, and ready, we truly get to choose how we show up.

And, now I have made it back around to my point: Creating a spiritual course of study for ourselves empowers us on our journeys. I highly recommend Moon study as a part of any spiritual course.

Moon study creates a cyclical course of self-study through following and understanding the processes of the moon. New moon - new beginnings for goals. Waxing moon - growing intention and action around goals. Full moon - harvest of hard earned fruits. Waning moon - reflection and revision. Dark Moon - laying to rest what no longer serves, permanently.

It is a long but gentle process that demands patience and intention. By focusing on a particular wound or flaw or goal throughout the Moon's course, we gain amazing insights, gratitude, and empowerment. We are actively in the mix of learning and self-discovery, which adds to a growing appreciation of the self.

As I work through each Moon cycle, I gain an increasing understanding of the Moon's influence on me, literally. The Moon impacts life on this planet in an untold number of ways. Science says so (go research if you are in doubt).

I am gaining an ever-growing understanding that the Moon's pull on energies influences all energetic functioning affecting many aspects of my life. If it is doing the same for you and the guy down the street, then the moon is influencing all of us and how we impact each other. The more I study the moon and its energies, the more magical it feels to me because energies are pliable, and I can move with them, impact them, to a degree.

Opposed to "magic"? Please don't be. “Magic” as a word has come to be charged with negative meaning. What it signifies, however, is no different than a “Miracle.” Both point to a manifesting through prayer, which is just another way of moving with pliable energies, sending positive vibrations out into the Universe and then seeing evidence of them mixing with other energies, such as when a loved one is healed of an illness.

Through Moon cycles, my inner hero shows up, sword sheathed (most of the time) to talk business and wisdom. My inner hero grows and learns and trusts itself more than it ever has because she is actually beginning to do something no one else can truly do for her: believe in herself.

Belief in oneself on this level cannot be achieved with a bloated ego in tow. As we shed the pain and shame, the ego sublimates. When the ego sublimates, everyone - everything - wins.

Moon is showing me the way. With each cycle, I become transformed - a new version of me. I am set free yet again. I don't have to carry around heavy loads of guilt and shame anymore. If I choose it, I am always renewed, always growing, always transforming - by the light of the Moon.

I give thanks to Spirit, for my Higher Self, and for Moon and all of Her patient teaching.

Originally written in the Spring of 2021.

[ukegenius]

BLOOD WARNING ⚠️

I FINISHED IT WEREWOLF LADY AND HER VAMPIRE "LAB PARTNER"

fun progress shot

just wanted to show this rendering off have a nice day drink some water take ur meds eat a nice snack bye gold byee !!

[tagidearte]

His instructions were very clear. Yet there you are, hand on a now broken light switch.

Timelapse of the rendering process under read more. (a little study. This is the second time I paint Sun mid switch, I think it's just great)

Wahoo. Let's be real - if you're an adult, he tells you "don't turn off the lights", and you proceed to do just that to the point they break, I think he'd be more than happy to let Moon out for some enrichment. Some play time.

[farmerfent]

my coffee order is better than urs (it’s literally just an iced cinnamon latte)

[monstermonger]

A full moon shines, an omen of safe travels.