Embrace chaos đ„
Hey peach,
Whatâs good? Are you enjoying the dregs of summer and prepping for cosy months ahead? If you ask me, thereâs nothing quite like the turning of a season.
I recently attended a talk on chaos magick at Treadwellâs Bookshop in London, and it got me thinking about how the same principles can be applied to the creative process. Allow me to explainâŠ
What the devil is âchaos magickâ?
Chaos is a magickal system with no system. In fact, much like punk music, it rejects all forms of definition or conformity (just how we like it, eh?).
You can deep dive it here, but essentially, chaos magick borrows from anything and everything to create personalised systems for each practitioner on the grounds that every system is subject to chaos, and no single system is a perfect fit for everyone. This is an âif it gets results, use itâ methodology.
As creative professionals, weâre bombarded with processes, ideologies, and workflows. Rather than being overwhelmed by the abundance or feeling pressured to conform to any specific system, why not adopt the chaos approach and choose no system at all?
Why not pick and choose the fragments and pieces that work for you, leave the rest, and build your own playbook for creative output? And why stop there?
Here are some more ways to apply a chaos magick approach to your creative processâŠ
9 ways to embrace chaos
1) Train yourself to notice random coincidences and opportunities and take them! Sometimes, a chance meeting or throwaway comment can lead to incredible creative ideas and opportunities, so donât waste them! Learn to notice them and let yourself go with it.
2) Go through the top âcreative systemsâ used by industry greats, pick and choose which bits resonate, and build your own Frankensteinâs monster approach that works for you and only you.
3) Snag a copy of Keri Smithâs Wreck This Journal and use it to warm your brain up before you start creative ideation. The messier you get, the better.
4) Spread your risk! This is a tip from chaos magician Mark Vincent. He recommends picking multiple outcomes that youâd happily settle for, then throwing your hat in the ring, knowing your chances of winning are higher because youâve increased the number of acceptable outcomes.
5) Treat yourself to a creative day out of the office, but donât plan anything. Go where the spirit moves you and see what happens â what copy did you see on your travels? Did you find any good books? Did you simply sit in a different place and write longhand?
6) Pull a random tarot card and write your morning pages based on an aspect of that cardâs meaning that appeals most to you (or, if youâre feeling wild, the LEAST interesting to you).
7) Flip a random magazine or newspaper open to any page, plonk your pencil down on any word and create a short story based on that word.
8) Design a sigil for your client project, distilling the outcome you want into a single symbol that you can doodle over your notes.
9) Meditate on the outcome youâd like for your creative work and imagine pulling your desire out of your mind and into reality. How might that process look, and are there any ideas that crop up that you might use to turn conscious thought into physical reality?
đ Harvest Moon â 7th September
Autumn prep · Abundance · Sharing the wealth
đ Mabon â 22nd September
Harvest · Autumn equinox · Gratitude
đź Freelance focus: intuition with The Moon
Who cut the lights?! When The Moon card pops up, itâs usually because youâve found yourself in a dark place with only the trickery of dim moonlight to guide your way. The solution? Intuition, honey!
The Moon card is an invitation to turn your attention inward and trust your gut to guide you, because things might not be what they seem. There are hidden truths to uncover.
From a writing perspective, this may be a sign not to let your imagination run away with you. If something feels too good to be true, it might be! If youâve been feeling stuck, confused, or even blocked by your own fears, this is a sign to tread lightly, avoid snap decisions, and take time to check in with yourself to tackle issues with compassion.
Other shit you might like
Iâm taking over this entire section to promote my upcoming occult music and arts zine project, earwyrm.
Itâs the biggest thing Iâve ever done, and I hope youâll subscribe to the newsletter on the landing page to follow along with the journey.
Thanks in advance; youâre a real one.
