Invocations + Unknown Pleasures
Dear Friend,
I have been thinking deeply this week about invocation.
I am working on my seasonal theory of storytelling, and I am currently focusing on section two of twelve: Invocation.
Invocation is my way of describing what other story models call the catalyst or the call to adventure. I think these ideas are helpful, but they don’t quite capture the nuance of what happens at this stage of a story.
Invocation, in witchcraft, is the act of inviting in an entity, deity, or spirit. More than that, it is about allowing yourself to be possessed by that entity. In this week of communing with ancestors and spirits, it feels fitting to think about invocation.
Why invocation and not catalyst? A catalyst feels like something arbitrary, from outside, while an invocation feels like something called forth by the characters.
I see this section as being about something arising from the deepest desires of the characters, whether they own these desires or not.
Unknown Pleasures – The Seven of Cups
I also revisited the tarot card the Seven of Cups to think about what it means to invoke the unknown and to accept what arrives, even if it is not what we would consciously choose.
The Seven of Cups is associated with fantasy, illusion, and overwhelm, as well as with abundance and opportunities. It all depends on how you look.
The card is full of beautiful and frightening choices, all available to the figure looking at the cups.
There are so many options available here, and when you are faced with such a choice, it is possible that in choosing one alternative, you might lose out on something much better. Decision fatigue can lead to either fantasy or overwhelm. The equation is something like this:
Fantasy: if I do x, y, z, I will make this happen.
Overwhelm: If I don't do x, y, z, I will fail to make this happen.
Different gifts might offer you different outcomes, but this is where your discernment comes in. You don't need to keep a gift that isn't working for you. And you don't have to make all of your choices at once. Being open to multiple possibilities might mean taking a risk, but it also means expanding your capacity for pleasure. For living itself.
Unknown Pleasures
I would like to offer you seven unknown pleasures this week. You will know which ones are right for you. Do you need jewels or a wreath? A snake or a rose?
One of my favourite folklorists and DJs, Zakia Sewell, has a new BBC show, Dream Time, just in time for a gorgeous Halloween episode.
LitHub’s spooky, eerie, and uncanny books for Halloween have given me lots of ideas for Christmas presents (to myself).
I have been working to Claire Milbraith’s ambient Halloween playlist all week.
Amelia Hruby, podcast queen, has blessed us with Pleasure Reading, a podcast offering very fun reading recommendations. This week’s episode is my fave so far: 13 Creature Features for the Girlies.
Public Domain Review has shared a gallery of Halloween postcards from 1900-1920. This one is extremely messed up.
Mary Lanham always has thoughtful takes on the practical and magical aspects of writing, and this month, on her podcast, she explores a phrase that’s been haunting her: ‘your characters are your ancestors’.
The incomparable Sacred Bones Records have curated Season of the Witch, a ‘spooky seasonal playlist for your Halloween listening pleasure’.
🜁🜃🜂🜄
🍄 Fruit (things that are ready to share)
A Samhain visualization
I have recorded an audio meditation to help you to get in touch with the underworld of your writing.
If we think about compost, the underworld, fixed water, layers of sediment, minerals and history, water blending with the earth, we can start to think about the hidden parts of our writing.
Toxic Friendships, Gothic Horror, and Writing About Mental Illness with B.K. Harbeke
I released a new episode of the ceremony podcast for Halloween in conversation with the writer B. K. Harbeke. We talked about Gothic horror, writing about mental illness, and being your own publicist as an introvert writer.
One Halloween night, six friends decide to take a moonlit walk through the woods.
Only five come back.
🦠 Spores (tiny ideas)
I’m thinking about the idea of slow practice, soft practice, and intentional practice. I have signed up to Cody Cook-Parrott’s Landscapes co-working space. They are a wonderful guide and I am excited to see how my work develops in the space.
This week I re-read Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber. It made me think about the enduring power of fairy tale adaptations, and the hold that these tales have over the cultural imagination. It is a secret wish of mine to attempt something similar to this collection one day.
𓍊𓍊𓍊 Mycelium (relational networks)
This week, I took part into two thoughtful and magical events where I read from The Museum of Atheism.
Yesterday, I took part in an event for students at Warwick University along with my Calamari Archive colleague Yuxin Zhao (The Moons). The event was called ‘Why did we open death’s box?’ and we were in conversation with Jodie Kim on the topic of ‘using experimental writing as a way of communing with those who are present and those who are departed’.
Thank you to everyone who came to Dreams + Transmissions with Liz Worth, Zahra Jazmina, and Noémie Cansier on Tuesday.
I wish you a week of unknown pleasures.
Love, Laura
🐚 this is microdosing ceremony, a weekly-ish letter from my artist’s cocoon to yours.
🌺 find out more about rituals and writing on the ceremony podcast.
🐇 explore creative rabbit holes on my website.