Invoking the Muse

When I read my previous post I am amazed.  Amazed that 5 months ago the elements of my novel were already in place.  There was something really big missing though—the theme and the quest, because that only recently came to me.  Often in this space I write about creativity.  I am compelled to also speak of the Muse whenever I speak about creativity.  For me, the Muse is key.

The Muse will leave me for months at a time.  I wrote almost obsessively, working on this novel in the summer and early fall.  Then poof, the Muse was gone and with her, all my inspiration to write evaporated.  Just as mysteriously, she has returned and now I am writing again prolifically.

Is the Muse and Angel, Spirit, Ancestor, Goddess or a combination of all four?  I know of Angels, Spirits, the ancestors and goddesses and I believe the Muse is the Muse.  She is akin to the four but not one of them.  She stands alone, in mystery, a shadowy but generous figure.

I can use incense, candles, prayer, meditation—all of it to conjure her but she only comes when conditions are right.  What conditions does she require?  I wish I knew.  All I know is that through her I am writing.  Yolanda is coming alive and with her, her world is coming clearer; her world is coming into focus. There are entire days when I live in Yolanda’s world.  It is a magical place but it is also rife with great sadness and at times sheer terror.

Joseph Campbell’s teachings seeped into my brain—thank the Goddess!  Yolanda’s story is a fairly classical Hero’s Journey tale. All of her adventures and discoveries are not yet on the map but she and I understand her quest.

You can never strong arm the Muse to stay.  She comes and goes as she pleases like some sort of mythic butterfly.  I do hope to stay open and listen to her messages as they are still coming through.