Zone Rites and Tiny Jars
Dear Friend,
Since I have begun to pay attention to micro-seasons, I have discovered that there is infinite meaning in a single moment.
Exploring the contours of each ten-day period has made even the hardest experiences feel significant.
This week I am thinking about the careful, procedural work of a creative project, and how tiny samples can help to distill the essence of a project.
Serendipitously, this week the poet Phoenix Yemi shared her perspective on the Gwendolyn Brooks poem my dreams, my works, must wait till after hell in her newsletter.
I hold my honey and I store my bread
In little jars and cabinets of my will.
I label clearly, and each latch and lid
I bid, Be firm till I return from hell.
I am very hungry. I am incomplete.
And none can tell when I may dine again.
These small ‘jars and cabinets of my will’ feel like a protective zone rite. Pheonix Yemi writes:
Gwendolyn Brooks speaks from a pit of hunger, of hell, from a world that requires a woman, a creator, to store away her “dreams and works” for some later salvation. She teaches the discipline of survival, the slow work of storing the self away, of enduring the devil days with the hope that tenderness will not spoil in the dark.
This week, inspired by this poem, I have imagined myself storing parts of my self away in tiny jars, for a time when I feel safe to open them.
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Atmospheres uses tiny containers of zodiacal time to sift ideas, feelings, and observations.
Kening Zhu has created a new illustration for Atmospheres that captures this process beautifully – the careful sampling of a micro-moment, captured in a potion jar.
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Libra II is Zone Rites.
What happens within the zone can be wild, magical, and sacred, so long as it is protected by the power of a safe container.
Kening Zhu’s illustration captures the complexity of this atmosphere. Not only does it contain the three swords, which according to T. Susan Chang indicate a promise (the two parties and the promise they make) but it shows electrical fields around the heart – the zone of intensity that allows magic to flourish.
If you would like to transform your writing practice in the company of other creatives and magicians, join us for Atmospheres.
We will meet tomorrow at noon BST to write together and share our work within the wild and magical zone of Libra II.
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🍄 Fruit
Three of Swords
Cardinal air: Bonds, Promises, Endurance
This is the engine of storytelling – in any story, there is a winnowing of options, a set of choices that become a single choice. This is what makes the story resonate – we can feel the experience of the characters as they grapple with what we must, every day.
Libra II - Zone Rites
Cardinal air: zone rites, magic, intensity
What happens within the zone can be wild, magical, and sacred, so long as it is protected by the power of a safe container.
The Curious Draft
Cardinal air: curiosity, meandering, surprises.
The work exists because of you and your unique understanding of the world you are creating, so how could it ever disappear?
🦠 Spores
I am working on a 10-day trek in the company of other Labyrinth participants which is giving me the chance to create an intense zone, every day, to focus on my novel.
𓍊𓍊𓍊 Mycelium
Tarwater’s haunting 1998 track ‘The Watersample’ could be an anthem for this week
There's an infinite amount of stuff – plants, animals, minerals, junk – one could collect.
But our choice was very limited by two meters of ice on top of the beach
We had to chop ice with a hatchet to even get
A watersample.
If you want to read more about careful, procedural work as a catalyst to deep emotional conflict, I would recommend Brandon Taylor’s brilliant Real Life.
Pheonix Yemi’s newsletter A Worm Moon is one of the best things I get in my inbox – the perfect blend of poetry, art, and magic.
I wish you a week of curiosity, experiments, and surprises.
Love, LJ
this is microdosing ceremony, a 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.
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