Monthly Meet the Muse

Living life as art: Inspiring creativity with the messengers of mystery
"In Greek mythology, all nine Muses are divine forces in the form of women that guide us in the making and remaking of the human spirit and the world. Each one calls us to a path of creativity and a commitment to live an authentic life."
- Angeles Arrien
In many ways, the muses represent a creative, erotic life force...that inspires and ignites. The nine sisters birth ideas through connection and with it the energies beyond the human realm and invite us into something new.
The muses referred to mysterious messengers of creativity that bridged heaven and Earth. Ancients called on the muses as sources of knowledge and imagination as they believed creation was something out of their individual control. It was often said Zeus brought the muses to life to help others forget the evils of the world.
We hear their influence with these sayings:
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"cloud nine"
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" nine lives"
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"a stich in time saves nine"
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"whole nine yards"
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"dressed to the nines"
The way that life moves through us also has deep associations with the number nine:
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nine months in the womb
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nine openings in the body
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nine planets
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nine orders of choirs in the nine circles of heaven in Christianity
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nine rings of hell
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nine cosmic levels in Aztec, Mayan, and Native American traditions
Author Angeles Arrien considers the muses versions of the healthy feminine as "being whole within themselves" and "being in the world but not of it." They provide inspiration for those who seek creativity and show us that a "life well lived is a work of art."
In this email-only offering you will receive a monthly communication around the first of the month designed to spark creativity including:
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Meditation
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Meet the Muse date ideas
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Music suggestions
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Creativity prompts
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Questions to consider
A Note on the word Muse:
“For too many centuries women have been being muses to artists. I wanted to be the muse, I wanted to be the wife of the artist, but I was really trying to avoid the final issue — that I had to do the job myself.” -Anais Nin
Without this mythical enchantment, our modern-day muses are often specific people in our lives who represent our inner beloved, anima and animus.
According to C.G. Jung, individuation involves the important step of meeting these internal anima and animus figures for finding our wholeness and defines the anima as “archetype of life itself.” Though for many women, there is a dual role of being the muse/anima figure as well as having a relationship to the animus. Jungian analyst Esther Harding says women who are more prone to being anima figures seem to have “a particular aptitude for reflecting the man’s anima.” However, living as an anima figure often means the personal ego remains unconscious and, in many ways, inhibits or slows the process of individuation. This additional step in individuation often goes unacknowledged until the anima figure woman consciously stops utilizing her inspirational, muse force as seduction or power over others and instead uses to inform her own creativity as eros.
For this reason, I don't identify as a muse, as it can perpetuate women as inspirational figures for others rather than for ourselves. I see the relationship to the feminine as an erotic evolution that fulfills itself when we come to ourselves as creative beings rather than inspiring creativity in others.

Monthly Muse Schedule:
July 1 :: Mnemosyne
(Mother of the Muses)
March ::
April :: Erato
May ::