Questions & Activities for The Muses

1.  Close your eyes and picture a spot from your childhood that was very special to you.  Recall it in as vivid detail as you can.  What feelings do you remember having in that special place?

My garden.  It was a wonderful haven away from "every day life" for me and things that bothered me.  I would often go there when I needed some solace and connect to Nature, letting go of whatever bothered me while I worked.  While I may have been sore, tired, and very sunned after a day spent there I was always at peace!

2.  Remember what kinds of activities you enjoyed as a child.  Were there types of art that especially called to you?  Do you still practice them?

I loved to read and learn, and still do.  However I find that as an adult I seem to have "less time" for such pursuits due to a need to do other things for whatever reason.  I used to draw, doodle, and sketch a lot more when I was younger, and as I grew older I would also write a lot.  I found that I wrote most often when I was upset and angry and therefore as I've moved away from those situations I do so less now.

3.  Get some fingerpaint or crayons.  Spend some time playing, remembering what it was like to create as a child.

This is definitely something I want to try to do as I have a plethora of crayons.

4.  Take a stack of old magazines.  Go through them quickly, looking for colorful pages.  Tear them out.  Then, tear shapes out of the pages.  Lay the shapes onto a fresh piece of paper and arrange them to satisfy you.  Paste them down, or just start over and make another.

I have always loved making collages and this is something I plan on revisiting again soon!

5.  Put on some music and sing, or at least hum, along to it.  If you feel inhibited, ask yourself why.  What inner messages do you give yourself about your singing abilities?

I don't mind singing when I'm alone but I have some stigmas about doing so where anyone can hear me.  When I was a child I wanted to sing and would often hum little tunes to myself but as I expressed a desire to write music and sing I was shot down by my mother which caused me to give up entirely on it.

6.  Remember a piece of art you started to create but didn't finish.  Why didn't you finish it?  Where is it now?  What happened to make you stop?

I have what I refer to as "artistic ADD".  I like to have a lot of projects going on because I find it difficult to sit and do a single piece of art depending on what it is.  With things like knit and crochet which take a lot of time to make I find myself taking frequent and long breaks, whereas with painting, drawing, or writing I do not.

7.  Make a list of words you associate with the word "artist".  Circle all the negative words.  Do you see a pattern to your attitudes?  What is it?

Messy, haphazard, absent-minded, creative, expressive, distinct, different, disorganized, creative chaos, out of the box, unique.  The pattern I notice is that the "negatives" seem to reflect a lack of order, as though to be artistic to me means you do things willy nilly rather than with any particular technique.  However as an artist I tend to be rather traditional & out of the box at the same time.  I try to keep to the "way" things are meant to be done, while expressing myself in a new/different way through the medium (eg using strange colors or subject matter.)

8.  Make a list of artists you admire.  What is it about them that draws you?  In what ways do you want to be like them?

Salvador Dali - I love his surreal expression.

Picasso - Really expressed himself well out of the box.

Ansel Adams - I love his capturing of Nature via black and white photography.

Krystal Hobeck - She and I have similar style and I appreciate her "rogue" designs and methods.

Lauren Toney - I think she's a great photographer and love her unique take on things!

9.  Think of an artist or performer you don't like.  Make a list of words describing him or her.  Look at that list and imagine those words being applied to you.  How do you feel?  Why do you feel these qualities are frightening?

Jay-Z:  I can't think of any specific words so much as I just don't consider him (or most modern rappers and musicians) to be musicians.  They don't play instruments and may not even write the songs they sing so to me they don't have a real connection to their work other than their name.  I also think that art in any form should be something you can personally connect to as the creator, it's not just something you do - it's something you are...

10.  If you could create only one work of art before you died, what would it be?  What's stopping you from creating that artwork now?

That is a large and lofty question.  I think perhaps making a tapestry using crochet, knit, and cross stitch/needlepoint/embroidery could be really neat.  But I don't have any particular subject matter I feel called to make in that manner...requires further thought or at least inspiration...might be something I look into doing now...

More Thoughts on the Muses...

This post is a little late in coming, but better late than never!

I'm finally finishing up the reading for The Muses (I am SO behind!!!) and just read through the symbols of the Muses.  I can agree with the individual representations of them, but was pleasantly surprised to see a general representation for them altogether - the fountain - and it's definitely something I will want to look into getting for my personal altar space.  IN fact, I believe that making and keeping an altar to Them at all times with a fountain and examples of artistic renditions of the individual symbols in my "art space" would be a very good idea.

As I read the suggestions on invoking The Muses I was heart warmed to think of the proliferation of devotion to them through the use of making things for the home life yourself.  It very much is something that I myself really want to do and think is something we as people should reclaim.  There is a certain pride and joy to be in making something yourself, particularly something that is useful.  Or even at least supporting your local artists and small businesses by purchasing handmade objects.  I think that though industrialization has allowed for things to be more economically available and in greater quantity it has also caused the artist to be lost from the art - which is sad.

With the weather turning much nicer outside I think now is also a great time to explore a connection with The Muses in Their most original form and is something I will take advantage of.  Being pregnant and having no car has me cooped up in the house almost all of the time and lately the lack of exposure to anything but four walls has had me depressed and dour.  However I believe that in being able to honor my art and connect with divinity and Nature outside will do me a great deal of good.  So I plan to do some (as much as possible and as often as possible) of my creative work outside in the yard...perhaps even take up sketching again!

Musing on the Muses

I must say my first thoughts when I read the hymn to the Muses was laughter, for in my preliminary post I mentioned the influence of my Muse being like a madness at times as it interrupts life sometimes and what I have planned.  I frequently refer to my Muse rather than the Muses as a whole but it was interesting to see that even in  other references Their number is not static.  To me, as an artist, this does make sense.  For to be inspired easily means many things and that is Their function, and even when divided into nine many things overlap.  There are several of the Muses devoted to writing in different forms, but most artistic pursuits are varied in the way they are expressed.

It's also interesting to note that the Muses primarily deal with writing, singing, and dancing - but there is far more to art than just those things.  As there is music, painting, and many others.  So then that makes me wonder how those things fit in with the Muses if they are nine.  Then there is the reference to the Muses as three, which I found very interesting and more applicable to what we generally think of Them as today - an inspiratory force.

I learned that Apollo is considered the god of inspiration, and while I was aware of His role as a creative force and His involvement (along with a handful of other deities) with the arts I didn't know He held any sway over them.  For me I have always considered the Muses as nine and not so much servants but set aside from the rest of the pantheon - like the nymphs and "lesser" gods.

Understanding etymology I still found it interesting that we have so many words today that reference the Muses without us really being aware of it.

Lastly, I thought the original function of the Muses - to act through nature and wild places to inspire, rather than to create something new and unique as is thought of today - very interesting.  I myself often find things I wish to create in another form, or feel inspired to do something.  As the saying goes, "There are no new ideas."  And I agree, it's just reviving them a little bit, sometimes mish-mashing many together...

Goddess Week 3-4: The Muses

Some initial thoughts on these goddesses...

I've always been drawn to Them and appreciated Them.  When I was but a girl I had a serious fascination for Greek (and sometimes Roman) mythology and always loved learning about many of the "non-Olympians" and demi-gods/"lesser" gods (not to imply that they are less powerful but they rule over more specific areas or are the children of "larger" deities, or merely not worshiped "across the board").

No Muse in particular spoke to me, though I always loved the Muse of Dance, History, and Astronomy.  A number of them deal with poetry in various form be is song, lyric, or love, but as a writer I felt all of their presences in some form here or there.

I'm seriously hoping that in working with them I'll get some more of my inspiration back - but more importantly motivation to use said inspiration.  Many times as an artist I will get ridiculously inspired - to the point of madness almost - where I interrupt my routines/schedule because I must put whatever to paper, or whatever medium it is.  To be honest it can be very trying because I will literally drop everything to start yet another project, but I think the key to this is moderation.  I just don't want to shunt my creativity!

Questions & Activities for Amaterasu

1.  Imagine your life as a house.  What room in the house - in other words, what aspect of your life - seems messy and disordered?  Has it been this way long?  What have you done to bring order to it?

Honestly, right now the "whole house" seems a mess.  It's not beyond repair or overbearing, but there seems to be "general clutter" in regards to many aspect of my life as I try to get them straightened out.  It seems that daily maintenance (getting something done in these areas little bit by bit every day) sort of helps, but really I'd love to "power clean" - even though I know that wouldn't help in the long run!

2.  Examine your actual home.  Which rooms are messy, which ones are clean?  What feelings and activities do you associate with the different rooms?  Does your house indicate areas in your life that are not in balance?

Right now the "messiest" area is my work area - eg the desk.  It's cleaner than it has been but I've had several days of "I don't feel like maintaining squat!" lately which has caused a general halt on anything productive!  The rest of the apartment is fairly orderly, mostly from me getting the basics straight and maintaining.  The other part of the apartment that gets piled up is another work area - the coffee table - which often gets piled over with projects.

3.  Make a list of words you associate with "order".  What does this list tell you about yourself and your attitudes?

Hera
cleanliness/tidiness
organization
schedule/ing
tradition
home/office
necessary
right


Order is something that "ought" to be part of one's life for successful ventures.

4.  Examine your schedule.  Are there areas of stress in terms of your use of time?  Are there 
ways you can relieve this stress?

I feel "behind" a lot in terms of my schedule when it comes to projects.  I know part of this stems from lack of good time management and unrealistic expectations.  I do a lot of artwork that just take a lot of hours in which to make progress, so expecting to finish it in less time than it really needs is ridiculous.  I also seem to inundate myself with "stuff" to do even when I really don't have to!  I need to learn to prioritize my time and resources better, to say "no" when something is too much and to understand what I really do have time for.

5.  Describe your perfect home.  Compare it to your real home.  What is the difference?  Can you make your home more graceful and comfortable by  incorporating some ideas from your perfect home?

It's clean and orderly.  I have an art room/area where I can store my business things and keep them there so they don't litter the house.  I have a healing room solely dedicated to that for similar reasons.  My bedroom is a peaceful sanctuary.  Decor / color changes from room to room but suits the purpose of the room - the bathroom is full of bright colors to help energize and awaken, the bedroom & living room are in more muted tones, the kitchen in red/black/gray/chrome/white.  In my perfect home I have space for everything and furniture.  There is an office area in the living room space and bookshelves.  We also have closets!


Where I live now there is virtually no space and it feels "cramped" having everything in in such a small area.  Things seem cluttered when they're really not and stuff seems to pile up even quicker!  It makes cleansing daily a necessary practice.

6.  Describe your perfect day.  Compare it to a real day in your life.  What is the difference?  How can you make your daily life more resemble your ideal?

I wake up early and get everything on all of my routines for home & work done.  I accomplish all of my tasks and have plenty of "down time".


In real life I struggle to stay motivated a lot of the time and can get wrapped up in just doing my routine or just doing my "to do" for the day.


I'm not sure what to do about the motivation as it's always been an issue.  But proper management of time and setting moderation/limits up would make a difference.

7.  Make a list of people who have annoyed you recently.  Taking them one at a time, try to see the situation you encountered from their point of view.  Are there things you are doing that make your life less easy with them?

Heather, Skylar, Lori, Angelo, Ryan, Krystal.


I need to learn to let go more of "small things".  Accept other people's opinions as just that and nothing more and release personal attachment to how they may make me feel.

8.  Select someone who makes you feel agitated, to whom you response with fear or anxiety.  Make a list of their character traits.  Imagine yourself acting out those traits.  What keeps you from being like them?  Are there unexpressed parts of yourself that they allow themselves to embody?

Lori:  flaky, inconsiderate, shallow, forgetful, undisciplined.


I am forgetful but try to not be so in regards to my dealings with other people.  Otherwise I was raised with a sense of structure and therefore value discipline.  I consider myself to be a "deeper" person and have the ability to see beyond face value with both situations and people, I scrutinize and observe a lot so don't think flaky or shallowness are in my personality at all.  I always try to be considerate of others because I've had people disregard my own feelings so much, I don't want to be like them.

9.  Do you have any self-destructive habits, habits that do not bring you closer to the life you desire?  How can you begin to eliminate these habits?

My anger can still get the better of me.  Mostly as an initial reaction, but some people repeatedly rub me the wrong way and it's hard to just "let go" when I know they've done it before and will do it again.  Doing Reiki, my chakra meditations, and the ECF often I believe help, just have to DO those things.

10.  When you dream, what villains appear?  What qualities do these villains share?  How can you begin to accept that their energy is part of you?


My ex.  He's always chasing or stalking me when he's appeared.  I know that I needlessly think about him more than I need to.  I feel I just need time for him no longer to be an issue.  I did do a release ceremony tonight to help, as well as doing Reiki and ECF often.

Amaterasu - My Thoughts

Working with this goddess has been interesting.  During the two weeks that we had with Her I didn't ever really feel connected to Her, but I did appreciate Her symbolism in dealing with Clarity.  I had a few moments in which I asked Her for Her help and felt that I received it in various ways but they were nothing earth shatteringly profound.  I almost felt that Her influence in my life was muted, as if veiled.

Not being a "mirror" person I felt disconnect with Her on this point.  I associate mirrors with vanity and that isn't something positive to me.  While Her myth does touch on the vanity that is typically associated of deities in general it is is not overpowering.

Goddess Week 1-2: Amaterasu

Amaterasu isn't completely new to me, I knew She was the Japanese goddess of the sun, but I did learn some interesting things about Her during the reading.  For one I was not familiar with the Shinto concept of there not being "good" and "evil", but rather of an action being appropriate for a given time and situation.  This is definitely something I can trine with personally as it fits more into my cosmology of our understanding the actions of deities.  On a grand scale the motivations and allowances may not always seem right or fair, but we do not have all the answers or details concerning the entirety of any situation we may find ourselves within.

The use of the mirror as a meditative tool to see into the soul is also something that is very interesting to me.  While I do not feel equipped to erect an altar to Her (as I rarely use mirrors and do not have one small enough to put on an altar), perhaps honoring Her by making one would be a great way to connect to Her.