Around this time of year, when the promise of spring still seems like a forgotten dream, it’s easy to get stuck in our routines and just go through the motions of everyday life. Sometimes we forget that we are, by nature, creative beings brimming with magical potential, and as long as we’re here on this earth, there’s more to learn, explore, and create. While we wait for the season of renewal and new beginnings, it’s a great time to turn inwards, restore our sense of play, and invoke a sense of wonder at the natural world. It’s time to plant new seeds so that our creative manifestations can become fully realized in the near future.
Many of the Greek myths begin with an invocation of the Muse, as the ancient ones believed that creativity was a gift bestowed by the gods. To become inspired meant to have the “breath of the gods” flow through you, and all creative acts were regarded as sacred. In modern life, we can’t always sit around and wait for the Muse to show up (or not show up) — but we can create the right conditions and make time/space for it when it does come. Most importantly, we can place creativity on our high priority “to do” lists and honor it as a sacred, radical act.
Here are 5 ways to invoke more creativity in your life:
1. Follow What Moves You
Leading a fulfilling, creative life starts with intention and paying attention to the magic of the mundane. First, get curious about what moves, excites, and inspires you. Now, make a list of everything that comes to mind when you ask yourself this question. Have you always wanted to learn more about a particular subject? Or try a new art form? Or write a novel? Or take on a new hobby? Don’t censor yourself or brush something off as ridiculous, over-the-top, or out of reach. Get a little playful with it and remember there are no wrong answers here. Curiosity is the basis for all creative acts, since it’s founded in a desire to learn, know, inhabit, and express something new.
2. Working with Color Magic
Pay attention to the nuance of color in your everyday life. There’s a reason why children tend to ask “What’s your favorite color?” in sincere earnest, as if the answer to this question reveals something deep and true about the individual. And it’s actually a powerful question, one with an answer that can change according to our mood, place, and state of being.
Perhaps you find that you’re drawn to a particular color: Consider creating a simple watercolor sketch using various shades of that one single color, or go out in search of that color in nature, jotting down in a notebook where and how it shows up for you. Or incorporate that color in new ways in your home décor or fashion accessories, wearing the item with intention. Alternatively, you can try a writing exercise using color meditations: For one week, take 15 minutes everyday visualizing that color while journaling. What sensations, ideas, feelings, and memories come up during this time?
Associations with color vary according to the individual, culture, and magical tradition, however here’s a quick breakdown that I use for both color magic and candle magic: Purple and indigo represent wisdom and divine knowledge, and are often associated with the crown and third eye chakras; Blue represents communication, tranquility, peace, and is associated with the throat chakra and Ocean Goddess. Green represents fecundity, growth, money, and prosperity, and is associated with the heart chakra and the Goddess Tara or Great Mother Goddess. Pink represents self-love, confidence, forgiveness, compassion, and beauty, and is associated with the heart chakra and the Goddess Aphrodite. Yellow represents confidence, growth, emotions, and our appetites, and is associated with the solar plexus chakra. Orange represents success, creativity, instinct, drive, and happiness, and is often associated with the sacral chakra. Deep reds and earth-tones represent our feelings of security, stability, and safety, our anchor and tether to the earth and physical plane, and are often associated with the root chakra. You can use these colors with intention in your everyday life when you want to heal or balance a particular chakra (or energy center), as well as when working candle spells. If the latter, choose your candle color based on your individual intention/what you’d like the manifest, burning it until it’s completely out over the course of a day or week.
3. Breaking Through Creative Blocks and Imposter Syndrome
When I taught university, one of the biggest complaints from my students was how to combat the dreaded writer’s block, which I could, as a writer, certainly emphasize with. My advice was always: If you’re feeling stuck, one of the best things you can do is get up, move around, and change your immediate surroundings. The next thing to do is take the pressure off yourself. Instead of staring at a blank screen and idly waiting for the words to come or the skies to open up to reveal a Deus Ex Machina to save the day, change your medium (for a bit) and move away from your work space. Go outside, use the “Notes” function in your phone, and begin again as if you were writing to a best friend. Keep it casual, conversional. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling. Alternatively, you can record yourself speaking into your phone rather than writing or typing. Many folks get caught up in the undue pressure of the act of writing, knowing there will eventually be an audience for it, but if you give yourself permission to explore, experiment, and make mistakes, something else opens up. Something that transcends self-imposed boundaries and touches upon the magical.
When you’re ready, go back to your work space and transcribe what you’ve spoken or casually written out — and more times than not, the threads are right there waiting for you to piece together.
4. The Power of the Notebook
One of the biggest game changers in my life has been keeping a notebook with me wherever I go. I use it for simple things like basic to-do lists and daily reminders, but also to jot down overheard conversations, poems, mantras, spells, and the beginnings of stories. There’s something extremely freeing about writing with pen and paper (not to mention it’s a great break from technology) and the physical act of writing directly connects what’s in your brain to your arm, hand, and finally onto the page. Nearly every creative project I’ve ever worked on first made its debut in a humble notebook, starting with a simple word, line, or random musing.
5. Rewilding in Nature
There’s perhaps nothing better for the creative flow and finding inspiration than getting out in nature. Being surrounded by the sea or forest tends to shut off the unnecessary chatter of our minds and open space for novel ideas, creating new pathways for spontaneous thought. Leave your phone at home or at least turn it on “Do Not Disturb” and go for a meditative walk in nature, taking off your shoes when you can, and anchoring yourself in Mother Earth. Notice the sounds around you — the wind, the rustle of the trees, the chattering of birds — as part of a divine symphony of which you are an integral part. Notice the textures of the leaves, bark, or sand, each a tiny microcosm brimming with unseen life. If you can, bring a travel watercolor set or journal with you, find a comfy spot, and sketch, paint, or write out any observations that come to you during this time.
Remember, you don’t have to be a professional artist to invoke more creativity in your life. It’s our divine right and inherent gift, and there’s inspiration and magic all around us, just waiting to be discovered.
