Issue No. 11: Ritual
For most Western cultures, Winter is a time for celebration. We get together with family and loved ones, cook special meals, and do a lot of shopping. We also take time for holiday rituals, like decorating our homes or Christmas trees, watching holiday movies, and gift-giving games like Secret Santa. But we don’t have to wait for the holidays to ritualize our lives.
Ritualization takes an ordinary but essential task, like your morning coffee or shower, and makes it ceremonial. As creators, we can use ritualization in the dark winter months to bring presence into the moments and processes that bring forth our creations.
As a writer, my time to create requires focus. With writer’s block being a common misfortune, I need an environment that fosters introspection, evokes calm contemplation, and stimulates creativity. I often play quiet background music or a comforting sitcom on low, and I set my Carnelian crystal and Empress tarot card in front of my notebook to draw their creative energies. And I handwrite everything first.
The physicality of writing on the page connects my mind and body and allows my thoughts to flow freely and become tangible. With a pen on paper, I can visualize the world I’m trying to create with my words. Working with my hands activates my creative muscles, and together, they push through the creative block to get something down. This is my creative ritual. Something small and insignificant to an outside observer but incredibly meaningful to me.
We ritualize the big moments in our lives: weddings, childbirth, and funerals. These things imprint on us lasting memories of when we were most present in our lives and not just floating through the mundane day-to-day routines. But life is short, and tomorrow is not promised. What if we could make a moment out of every day? What if we could ritualize something daily to stimulate our awareness, bring intention into these small, meaningful moments, and celebrate them in a way that makes the day-to-day special?
Keep this in mind when you start your morning routine, whatever it may be, and engage in the process. Be aware. Use your senses and make it a personal ceremony. Take a deep breath and set aside some time for intentional gratitude. When you accomplish something at work or achieve a goal, no matter how big or small, make it a moment. Be grateful and open your eyes to how life is lived in these moments.
Likewise, when you walk into your studio or sit down at your desk to create, notice how you are stepping into your body, connecting your mind with your hands, and pouring your dreams and visions into reality.
The long, dark winters in the Northwest can be a jaded and deadening time. The darkness can cause us to hibernate in seclusion and detach us from our lives—and our creativity.
But if we ritualize our work and make our daily process ceremonial, we can push through the darkness and see that our creativity is a gift—a gift that should be celebrated.
Your gift is sacred. Make it a ritual.
Winter Issue 11
This season’s issue tells the story of local Seattle creatives Jennifer Hui, Alison Stigora, and Ash Haglund. With editorial articles by Sharina Black and David Benedict, Ritual Theme article by Sharina Black, and Creative Partner Featured Articles on Assembly Seattle and by local creative coach Esther Loopstra.
10% of this issue’s Zine sales goes directly back to the Featured Creatives within. Thank you for your support of Seattle’s ever growing creative community.
