A slow, creative practice for marking the year as it unfolds
(This is a guide, not a checklist. Cards can be skipped, lingered with, or returned to.)
When I shared the beginnings of Art Cards for the Turning Year, I did so very deliberately before the year had even begun.
Partly because I wanted to give myself time to ease into it.
And partly because saying something out loud is often the difference between an idea that drifts away and a practice that quietly takes root.
This post is me doing exactly that:
naming the shape of the year, not as a rulebook or a challenge, but as a landscape I intend to walk through — imperfectly, honestly, and in my own time.
Why I’m sharing the whole year
I’ve learned something important about myself over the years.
If I keep things vague, I drift.
If I over-plan, I freeze.
What helps is having a gentle structure — something solid enough to return to, but loose enough to live with.
This year-long set of art cards gives me that.
By sharing the full shape of the year here, I’m doing two things at once:
- giving anyone who’s interested time to look, prepare, or adapt it
- quietly committing myself to the practice by naming it publicly
Not to keep up.
Not to perform it.
But to return to it.
What this plan is (and what it isn’t)
This is not a schedule.
It’s not a checklist.
And it’s definitely not something to complete perfectly.
The year is marked by:
- seasonal turning points
- new and full moons
- traditional calendar days
- natural pauses
- and one personal marker, placed where it matters most to me
Some weeks will get a card.
Some weeks will stretch into two.
Some moments will pass unmarked.
That’s not failure — that’s how time actually works.
Why cards, not a journal
I’ve tried many times to keep journals and planners.
I’ve made beautiful calendars.
I’ve bought notebooks with the best intentions.
I’ve collected washi tape, stamps, stencils, pens — all waiting for the “right” moment.
What I’m learning is that I don’t need better tools.
I need a smaller container.
A single card is enough to return to.
Enough to notice.
Enough to use what I already have.
Enough to practice rather than prepare.
How I’m intending to use this year map
The table below shows the shape of the year as I see it right now.
I’ll be moving through it slowly, usually making:
- one small card a week
- sometimes less
- occasionally more
Each card might include:
- a few words
- a mark or image
- a thought about the season or moment I’m in
I’ll share some of these cards as I go, not as finished pieces, but as part of a lived practice.
For me, this post is a marker in itself — a way of saying:
This matters to me enough to show up for it.
An invitation (not an expectation)
If you’re reading this and thinking:
- I’d like more rhythm in my year
- I want reflection without pressure
- I struggle to keep up with journals too
- I want my creative practice to feel useful and grounding
You’re very welcome to join in.
But there’s no start date you have to hit.
No materials you need to buy.
No right way for your cards to look.
You can:
- start in March
- only mark the seasons
- work in a notebook instead of cards
- or simply read along
This is an invitation, not a programme.
A quiet promise to myself
Sharing this plan is also a way of keeping myself gently accountable.
Not accountable to productivity.
Not accountable to an audience.
But accountable to the intention of:
- noticing the year as I live it
- using what I already have
- letting my art practice support my life, rather than sit beside it
If I make fewer cards than I intend, I’ll still return.
If I miss weeks, I’ll begin again.
If all I do is mark a moment with a pencil line, that will count.
That, too, is part of the turning year.
What comes next
I’ll be sharing my first card on New Year’s Eve — a threshold card, rather than a resolution.
It feels important to begin there:
in the pause,
in the space between,
before anything needs to be named or decided.
For now, this post is simply a marker.
A way of saying:
This is the year I want to live with a little more attention.
The full year map follows below — take what you need, leave the rest, and begin wherever you are.
🌑 JANUARY — BEGINNING IN STILLNESS
| Date | Card Name | Theme / Intention | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan | Year Threshold | Beginning gently | No resolutions |
| 3 Jan (FM) | Wolf Moon | Endurance, instinct | Community |
| 18 Jan (NM) | Deep Winter | Rest before intention | Stillness |
| Mid Jan | Quiet Seeds | Invisible beginnings | Trust what’s unseen |
| Late Jan | Midwinter Thaw | Subtle change | Patience |
❄️ FEBRUARY — FIRST LIGHT
| Date | Card Name | Theme / Intention | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Feb (FM) | Snow Moon | Clarity, simplicity | Strip back |
| 1–2 Feb | Imbolc | First light | Small sparks |
| 2 Feb | Candlemas | Protecting light | Care & warmth |
| 17 Feb (NM) | Preparing Ground | Clearing space | Ready, not rushed |
🌱 MARCH — STIRRING & BALANCE
| Date | Card Name | Theme / Intention | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Mar (FM) | Worm / Hunger Moon | Emergence | Naming needs |
| 19 Mar (NM) | Early Growth | Gentle momentum | Don’t push |
| 20 Mar | Spring Equinox | Balance | Equal light |
| 25 Mar | Lady Day | Practical beginnings | Commitments |
🌼 APRIL — EXPANSION
| Date | Card Name | Theme / Intention | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Apr (FM) | Pink Moon | Renewal | Softness |
| 17 Apr (NM) | Expanding Reach | Stretch outward | Explore |
| Late Apr | Spring Momentum | Growth without force | Energy check |
| 30 Apr | May Eve | Threshold | Standing on the edge |
🌿 MAY — CONNECTION & BLOOM
| Date | Card Name | Theme / Intention | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 May | Beltane | Vitality, connection | Life force |
| 1 May (FM) | Flower Moon | Abundance | Pleasure |
| 16 May (NM) | Commitment | Choosing what to grow | Focus |
☀️ JUNE — FULL LIGHT
| Date | Card Name | Theme / Intention | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Jun (NM) | Sustaining Energy | Pacing | Avoid burnout |
| 21 Jun | Summer Solstice | Full presence | Peak light |
| 24 Jun | St John’s Day | Community | Shared warmth |
| 30 Jun (FM) | Strawberry Moon | Sweetness | Savour |
🔥 JULY — FULLNESS & PAUSE
| Date | Card Name | Theme / Intention | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Jul (NM) | Adjusting Course | Refinement | Small edits |
| Late Jul | High Summer Lull | Rest within fullness | Permission |
| 28 Jul | Personal Marker – “This Moment” | Gratitude & reflection | 50th birthday |
| 29 Jul (FM) | Buck Moon | Strength | Effort |
🌾 AUGUST — FIRST HARVEST
| Date | Card Name | Theme / Intention | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Aug | Lammas / Lughnasadh | First harvest | Acknowledge effort |
| 12 Aug (NM) | Gratitude in Action | Use what’s grown | Practical thanks |
| 28 Aug (FM) | Sturgeon Moon | Sustenance | What feeds you |
🍎 SEPTEMBER — GATHERING & BALANCE
| Date | Card Name | Theme / Intention | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep (NM) | Simplifying | Less, but better | Declutter |
| 26 Sep (FM) | Harvest Moon | Gathering in | Completion |
| 22 Sep | Autumn Equinox | Balance & thanks | Shift |
| 29 Sep | Michaelmas | Boundaries | Responsibility |
🍂 OCTOBER — TURNING INWARD
| Date | Card Name | Theme / Intention | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Oct (NM) | Turning Inward | Withdrawal | Inner work |
| 26 Oct (FM) | Hunter’s Moon | Focus | Provision |
| Late Oct | Deep Autumn Descent | Slowing down | Letting fall |
| 31 Oct | All Hallows’ Eve | Threshold | Thin veil |
🌑 NOVEMBER — ENDINGS & MEMORY
| Date | Card Name | Theme / Intention | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov | Samhain | Endings, transformation | Death as cycle |
| 2 Nov | All Souls’ Day | Remembering | Continuity |
| 9 Nov (NM) | Restoring Energy | Repair | Mend |
| 24 Nov (FM) | Beaver Moon | Preparation | Shelter |
❄️ DECEMBER — RETURN TO STILLNESS
| Date | Card Name | Theme / Intention | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Dec (NM) | Closing the Year | Completion | Let go |
| Early Dec | Long Nights Moon | Endurance | Holding steady |
| Mid–Late Dec | Advent / Waiting | Anticipation | No urgency |
| 21 Dec | Winter Solstice / Yule | Stillness | Turning back |
| 24 Dec (Night) | Modraniht | Ancestral care | Being held |
| 24 Dec (FM) | Cold Moon | What endured | Witness |
| 31 Dec | Year’s End Reflection | Release | Closing |
Ena Green Designs 