#ARThags – Stephanie Moon celebrates Black Soul Magic

We are thrilled to present a new artist in our showcased indie artist series, #ARThags. Stephanie Moon is an earth and water soul who celebrates Black women and the esoteric through her artist’s eye and her deep connection with dreams. Look upon her work and be nourished…

What kind of art do you create?

Aside from bead working and other crafts, I love water color painting. I always have been drawn to psychedelic, dream world type of art as well as realistic art with a twist.

I also love taking edgy things and making them cute! I like to look at this as an alchemy of my natal chart, earth and water. Bringing to reality things that seem to only be able to exist in dreams. 

I was always the child drawing on the walls or drawing in my own books! I doodled a lot and took art classes in high school. I began to become self-conscious about my art work and stopped creating for long periods of time.

One of the greatest teachers that I ever had, James Welch, passed away in 2017. He pushed me to keep creating. One year, I made a piece for a PTA art contest in our state (Tennessee) and I did not make it to the next round. The next contest that we had, I did enter my art in the contest and to my surprise, it was chosen. I won second place in the state!

Choose 3-5 pieces you really like…

I’m including three pieces.

Black Mermaid

I created this work from a dream that I had years ago of a black, beautiful, mermaid appearing and speaking to me. She handed me four types of seashells and smiled at me. I know for a fact that she was a Goddess and that is why I created her in the likeness of the Mother Goddess symbol of Wicca.

Woman With Black Cat

I chose this painting because this was when I was first learning about witchcraft and the like. At the time, I really didn’t see many paintings or pictures of Black women who identified as witches or alternative women. There were a few, but not many. 

Woman High Priestess Tarot Card

This is the high priestess tarot card. I have been a tarot reader for nine years. This is my soul card.

I altered the original Rider Waite version by the late, great, Pamela Colman Smith a bit and added adrinka symbols from the Ashanti tribe of Ghana: Odo nyera fie kwan or “Love always finds its way home” and Osram ne nsoromma or ” The Moon and the Star” which symbolizes love, faithfulness, and harmony. Also, the balance between man and woman.

I added the ankh symbol from ancient Kemet (Egypt) which is also the symbol for masculine and feminine energy.

What do you aim to capture/reveal/explore in your art? Has this shifted over time?

I know that I am a little peculiar and off beat and in my art. I always aim to capture things in the way that I perceive them. 

Best piece of advice you’ve been given (or given yourself)?

Don’t create art to show off for others. Create it to feed your soul and nourish the child within. 

Where can people find out more about your art online?

You can follow me on Instagram : @piscesmoonsoulxo

Calling all artists with ARTHAG souls:

If you would like to be featured on Mookychick, please visit our #ARThags artist submissions page. You will be able to interview yourself (so we don’t put words in your mouth), depict your artwork and invite our community to find out more about your creative works.