Therapeutic Wheel of the Year: Art Therapy & Journal Guide
Introduction
The wheel of the year represents the cyclical nature of seasons and their corresponding energies. This therapeutic guide combines ancient seasonal wisdom with modern healing practices through art therapy and reflective journaling. Each season offers unique opportunities for growth, release, and renewal.
How to Use This Guide:
Work with the natural rhythms of your location's seasons
Adapt exercises to your comfort level and available materials
Allow yourself to explore without judgment
Consider working with a therapist if processing difficult emotions
Samhain (October 31 - November 1)
Theme: Honoring the Past, Releasing What No Longer Serves
Energy Focus
This is a time of thinning veils between worlds, introspection, and honoring ancestors. Therapeutically, it's perfect for processing grief, releasing old patterns, and connecting with lineage wisdom.
Art Therapy Exercise: Ancestor Memory Collage
Materials: Old magazines, photos, fabric scraps, glue, large paper
Process: Create a collage representing positive ancestral qualities you've inherited or wish to cultivate. Include symbols, colors, and images that feel connected to your lineage's strength and wisdom.
Journal Prompts
What patterns from my family line do I want to continue? Which do I want to release?
How do I honor those who have passed while living my own authentic life?
What "deaths" (endings, transitions) am I currently experiencing, and how can I find meaning in them?
Write a letter to an ancestor, asking for guidance on a current challenge.
Ritual Integration
Create a small altar with photos, mementos, and natural items. Light a candle and spend time in gratitude for those who came before you.
Yule/Winter Solstice (December 20-23)
Theme: Inner Light, Hope in Darkness, Renewal
Energy Focus
The longest night and return of light symbolizes finding hope in difficult times, inner wisdom, and the promise of renewal. Therapeutically, this supports working with depression, finding inner resources, and cultivating hope.
Art Therapy Exercise: Light in Darkness Mandala
Materials: Black paper, metallic pens, white chalk, gold paint
Process: On black paper, create a mandala that represents your inner light. Start from the center and work outward, using bright colors and metallic accents to show how your light radiates even in dark times.
Journal Prompts
What inner lights have guided me through difficult times?
How do I nurture hope when circumstances feel overwhelming?
What new beginnings am I ready to birth in the coming year?
Describe a time when you found unexpected strength in darkness.
Ritual Integration
Meditate with candles in a darkened room, focusing on the flame as a symbol of your inner resilience and wisdom.
Imbolc (February 1-2)
Theme: First Stirrings, Creative Fire, Purification
Energy Focus
Early signs of spring represent new creative impulses, purification, and the stirring of inspiration. Therapeutically, this supports working with creativity blocks, setting intentions, and gentle activation.
Art Therapy Exercise: Seeds of Possibility Painting
Materials: Watercolors, brushes, paper, salt
Process: Paint your dreams and goals as seeds beneath soil. Use flowing watercolors to show underground growth, adding salt while wet to create texture. Layer earth tones with bright colors emerging upward.
Journal Prompts
What creative projects or dreams are stirring within me?
What needs to be cleared away to make space for new growth?
How do I tend to my inspirations like a gardener tends seedlings?
What would I create if I knew I couldn't fail?
Ritual Integration
Light white candles and clean/organize your creative space as an act of preparation for new projects.
Ostara/Spring Equinox (March 20-23)
Theme: Balance, New Growth, Fertility of Ideas
Energy Focus
Equal day and night represent balance, while new growth symbolizes fertility and potential. Therapeutically, this supports working with life balance, new beginnings, and personal growth.
Art Therapy Exercise: Growth Timeline Sculpture
Materials: Clay, natural materials (twigs, leaves, flowers)
Process: Create a sculptural timeline showing your personal growth journey. Use clay as a base and embed natural materials to represent different phases of your development.
Journal Prompts
Where do I need more balance in my life right now?
What aspects of myself are ready to bloom?
How has my personal growth surprised me in the past year?
What would balanced self-care look like in my daily life?
Ritual Integration
Plant actual seeds or care for indoor plants while setting intentions for personal growth areas.
Beltane (May 1)
Theme: Passion, Life Force, Creative Union
Energy Focus
Peak spring energy celebrates passion, creativity, and the union of opposing forces. Therapeutically, this supports exploring passion, integrating shadow aspects, and celebrating sexuality/sensuality.
Art Therapy Exercise: Passion Project Mixed Media
Materials: Canvas, acrylic paints, fabric, natural materials, glue
Process: Create a vibrant mixed-media piece representing what ignites your passion. Layer textures, bold colors, and symbolic elements that represent your life force and creative fire.
Journal Prompts
What makes me feel most alive and passionate?
How do I honor both my light and shadow aspects?
What creative collaborations or partnerships am I drawn to?
When do I feel most connected to my sensual, embodied self?
Ritual Integration
Dance to music that moves you, celebrating your body and life force energy.
Litha/Summer Solstice (June 20-23)
Theme: Peak Power, Abundance, Solar Energy
Energy Focus
The longest day represents peak personal power, abundance, and full manifestation. Therapeutically, this supports working with self-confidence, celebrating achievements, and claiming personal power.
Art Therapy Exercise: Personal Power Sun Wheel
Materials: Large circular canvas/paper, gold paint, yellow/orange pastels, mirrors
Process: Create a sun wheel with yourself at the center, radiating your gifts, achievements, and strengths outward. Include small mirror pieces to reflect light and represent self-recognition.
Journal Prompts
What personal powers and gifts am I ready to fully own?
How do I share my light without dimming it for others' comfort?
What abundance already exists in my life that I can celebrate?
Write about a time when you felt completely confident and empowered.
Ritual Integration
Spend time in sunlight, practicing gratitude for your strengths and celebrating your accomplishments.
Lughnasadh/Lammas (August 1)
Theme: First Harvest, Skill Mastery, Gratitude
Energy Focus
The first harvest celebrates skills developed, early fruits of labor, and gratitude for abundance. Therapeutically, this supports acknowledging progress, celebrating skills, and practicing gratitude.
Art Therapy Exercise: Skill Harvest Book
Materials: Blank journal, colored pens, photos, decorative materials
Process: Create a visual celebration of skills you've developed and progress you've made. Include "before and after" elements, certificates, photos, and artistic representations of your growth.
Journal Prompts
What skills have I developed that I can celebrate?
How has my hard work begun to bear fruit?
What am I most grateful for in my personal development journey?
What wisdom have I gained that I can share with others?
Ritual Integration
Prepare a meal using ingredients you've grown or selected mindfully, practicing gratitude for abundance.
Mabon/Autumn Equinox (September 20-23)
Theme: Second Harvest, Balance, Preparation
Energy Focus
The second harvest and return to balance represents maturity, wisdom gained, and preparation for introspection. Therapeutically, this supports integration of experiences, finding balance, and wise preparation.
Art Therapy Exercise: Wisdom Keeper Portrait
Materials: Self-portrait supplies (mirror, pencils, paints, or pastels)
Process: Create a self-portrait that shows yourself as a wisdom keeper. Include symbols of lessons learned, tools you've gathered, and the depth that comes from experience.
Journal Prompts
What wisdom have I harvested from this year's experiences?
How do I balance giving to others with caring for myself?
What do I need to gather (skills, resources, support) for the darker months ahead?
What life lessons am I finally ready to integrate fully?
Ritual Integration
Create a gratitude practice, writing thank-you notes to people who have supported your growth.
Working with the Complete Cycle
Monthly Check-ins
Each month, revisit the seasonal theme and notice how it relates to your current life circumstances. The wheel continues turning, and themes will resonate differently based on your personal seasons.
Integration Practices
Keep a year-long art journal documenting your seasonal creative work
Create a seasonal altar that changes with each celebration
Notice how natural seasonal changes mirror your internal rhythms
Share your seasonal art and insights with trusted friends or a therapy group
Therapeutic Benefits
Connects personal healing to natural rhythms
Provides structure for ongoing self-reflection
Integrates creative expression with emotional processing
Honors both light and shadow aspects of experience
Creates meaningful rituals for marking time and growth
Working with Resistance
If certain seasons or themes bring up difficult emotions, this is valuable therapeutic material. Consider working with a professional therapist to explore these reactions safely. The wheel of the year honors all aspects of human experience, including grief, anger, and fear alongside joy and celebration.
Remember that healing is cyclical, not linear. Like the seasons, we revisit themes and patterns with new understanding each time around the wheel.
About Irene Maropakis, LCAT
Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, EMDR Trained, Somatic Parts Work
I specialize in helping creative professionals and highly sensitive leaders transform their greatest sensitivity into their most powerful professional and personal assets. Through the integration of art therapy, EMDR, and somatic work, I guide creatives from overwhelm to empowerment, from surviving their sensitivity to thriving because of it.
Ready to begin? Your transformation starts with a single conversation.
