When I last completed a large creative project, AI wasn’t largely accessible. There were no AI tarot decks or AI generated tarot teachings floating around. I still have little to no interest using AI in my own creative endeavors (as discussed in depth here) but the fact that it exists at all still makes it feel like I’m in a new dimension.
When I last completed a large creative project, my mom was alive and healthy and I barely knew what ALS was. Now I am a changed person having gone through that immense grief and trauma and still trying to process it now and forever.
The freakin’ pandemic hadn’t happened last time I completed a large creative project. I could go on and on. Point is, the world was a different place. I was a different person. Where do I go from here?
Today I felt called to turn to my tarot cards. I’ll draw five, and use each one to articulate some type of guideline to help ease myself back into creative energy. Maybe they will be useful for you, as well? Who knows, let’s see where this goes!
deck: Pastel RWS
Get out of your head and into your feelings
I drew the Two of Swords reversed and this was the guideline that came to me immediately. For the imagery in the Waite-Smith deck, a person sits blindfolded, holding two swords. Behind them is a body of water. Swords represent the mental realm, water represents the emotional realm.
In this context, I see myself reflected in this person: overthinking what it means to be creative, making too damn big of a deal of things, getting stuck in my head. In order to move forward from here, I need to let the swords drop and explore the watery depths and find out what wants to emerge. Let the creative process be guided by instinct more than analyzation.
Share with those who care
Oh my, now I pulled the Two of Cups and this is delightful. It strikes a personal chord because as I mentioned earlier, Annie and I are connecting on a new project together. Very Two-of-Cupsy vibes.
Of course, the idea of sharing with those who care is not limited to collaborative art. Even when you are working on something yourself, it can be a huge morale booster to give peeks of your process to friends or colleagues you trust. This can help build confidence, hold you accountable, and even give you constructive criticism when needed.
I think this is especially relevant for easing back into creativity after a fallow period because it can feel really isolating. Having someone, anyone, who knows what you’re attempting and encourages you is a blessing.
Create from where you are now, not where you were
I drew the Eight of Cups and I feel it addresses the points I brought up at the start of the post. I’m not who I used to be. And that’s okay. I don’t need to be. I need to be true to who, and where, I am now.
I think there can be a tendency, especially if you’ve had a bit of acclaim and admiration for your previous creative works, to try to tap into the same well. Sometimes this works. Certain artists have a cohesive vibe that weaves throughout all their output.
But sometimes this doesn’t work. Sometimes your aesthetics change, or your point of view shifts, or you become interested in an entirely new modality. Or, you know, your life circumstances and the world around you go through seismic shifts. As they say: don’t look back, you aren’t going that way.
The ideal circumstances are a myth
Here I have the Empress reversed and an interesting sychronicity occurs. Earlier today I was revisiting older blog posts I’d written about creativity and came across this one from eleven years ago (!). To sum it up, the post is called ‘Creating When You Feel Like Crap’ and at that time, I drew the Empress to represent what hinders my creativity. I wrote:
“At first glance, it didn’t seem to add up. The lush, comfortable Empress as a hinderance? But then it clicked – of course. I am hindered by waiting for Empress-like conditions before I do my creative work. I’m waiting until all of the circumstances line up & everything feels magically conducive. I’ve fallen into the trap of thinking I can’t be creative unless I have the ideal circumstances.”
Babes, you’re still falling into that trap eleven years later so you had to draw this card again to remind yourself. Life is chaos. Would it be ideal to have a vast swathe of uninterrupted time to focus only on creative pursuits? Would it be wonderful to have no other demands placed upon you? Would it be great if your house was clean and you had no pending errands before you sit down to create? Sure! But is that realistic? For most of us, no.
Don’t wait for the ideal circumstances. Just do something, even something small, now.
Notice the ways you’re already creating
This is particularly relevant to me as one of the new projects I’m heading into is a BIG ONE. One which will likely take years to complete. I have to remind myself there’s value in the small things too. And I have to remind myself that although I feel I’ve been fallow, I actually have already been creative in small ways.
The card that inspired this is the Five of Cups. Y’know, the person looking at the knocked over cups, not seeing the standing cups that remain. It can be easy to see all that we haven’t done yet. The many hours of work and play and re-work and edits and blank slates that lay between us and a finished project.
But I think that really, emerging into creativity is more about existing in a certain way. Sure, completing things is awesome and that’s a fine goal. But that doesn’t have to be your goal today. Your goal today can just be to express yourself in an interesting way, even if that way has nothing to do with your typical form of art.
As in: I’m a writer, a tarot practitioner and a deck creator. Those are where most of my bigger projects align. But I also like exploring other forms of creativity. Those can feed me for my ‘main’ projects but they are also just fun on their own merit.
So, lately I’ve been cross stitching. It’s a small thing, but I enjoy it. I’ve also, at the ripe old age of almost 40, had an interest in putting together fun outfits lately. Neither of these are directly related to my “main” modes of creativity, but they are joyful and valuable to me.
cross stitch WIP + outfit for a music fest
As you re-emerge into bigger creative acts, don’t overlook the seemingly small and subtle ways you are creative each and every day.
I had no plan for how these guidelines would take shape when I sat down to write this. I just turned to my cards and let it flow, and I have to say: it was pretty much just what I needed to hear. Tarot strikes again.
Thanks for being here, and wishing you all the freedom of expression in your own creative play 🤸