Art Cards for the Turning Year
The first full moon of the year is often called the Wolf Moon.
It arrives in the depth of winter, when nights are long and energy is low — a time when survival has always depended on instinct, cooperation, and shared strength. Historically, this was the point in the year when wolves were heard closer to human settlements. Not as symbols of fear, but as reminders of hunger, endurance, and the importance of the pack.
That felt like the right place to pause and make a card.
The card
For this card, I worked in layers.
I began by collaging pieces of interesting paper I already had to form a full moon, then added colour with pens. Over the top of this, I drew and coloured an adult and child wolf on tracing paper, cut them out, and fixed them onto the moon so they sit together against that circular ground.
At the top of the card, written in gold pen:
Full Moon · Wolf Moon
And at the bottom:
Endurance · Instinct · Community
I wanted the image to hold both strength and care — not the myth of the lone wolf, but the reality that survival is collective, and that we endure best together.
What’s written on the back
Each card in this practice includes a short intention and a practical response — something that allows the reflection to move beyond the page.
On the back of the Wolf Moon card, it reads:
Wolf Moon
Intention:
To honour endurance, instinct, and community.
Practice:
Notice where support is needed.
Make a small donation or offer help.
Remember survival is collective.
Who sustains me, and who can I sustain in return?
A practical response
Earlier today, while doing my regular food shopping, I picked up a few extra items for the food bank.
Nothing grand or performative — just a quiet, practical response to what this card was asking for. Winter is harder for some than others, and this point in the year feels like the right moment to turn attention outward, even in a small way.
I’m noticing that the full moon cards, in particular, seem to invite this kind of outward gesture — reflection that doesn’t stay contained on the page.
Looking up
I also always try to take time to step outside when the moon is full.
It’s a habit I’ve carried with me since childhood, and one I still return to now. Seeing the moon — especially when it’s full — fills me with a sense of awe that’s hard to put into words. Not in a dramatic way, just a steady reminder of scale, time, and continuity.
The moon doesn’t ask anything of me.
It’s simply there, doing what it has always done.
This evening, I’ll go and look up again.
A side quest emerging
As often happens with this practice, the card has opened up a side quest.
While working on the Wolf Moon, I found myself thinking again about Beira — an old winter figure from Scottish folklore, sometimes called the Cailleach. She is often described as the keeper of winter: weathered and ancient, associated with storms, stone, endurance, and the long work of holding the land through the hardest months.
She doesn’t appear on the Wolf Moon card itself, but she feels very present in the background — a seasonal presence rather than a character. The Wolf Moon sits firmly in her time of the year, when survival depends on restraint, shared resources, and knowing how to endure rather than grow.
This isn’t the first time a piece of work has led me into a slower, more material exploration. I’ve made art dolls before — including my Blodeuwedd doll, which grew out of a similar need to work through story, season, and symbolism with my hands rather than on the page. (I’ll link to that post here.)
At the moment, Beira is just an idea — but one that’s asking for a different kind of making. I plan to begin a new art doll as a quiet side project, exploring her through weight, texture, cloth, and form. It isn’t part of the card set, but something growing alongside it.
I’m learning that the cards don’t just mark time — they open doors.
Moving on
This card feels complete now.
It’s done its work:
- it’s been made
- it’s prompted an action
- it’s shifted how I moved through the day
The next card will turn inward again — a New Moon / Deep Winter card — but for now, the Wolf Moon stands as a reminder that endurance isn’t about toughness.
It’s about connection.
We endure together.
Ena Green Designs 