Knit Pause with the Moon - Episode 7 - The Creative Power of the Dark
Solène Le Roux
Welcome to this episode of Knit Pause with the Moon. I’m Solène, you’re host and together today we will share a moment of creative pause around the theme of the creative power of the dark. I will start by sharing some reflections around this season, this new moon and how to work with this theme in your creative life and then we will do a guided meditation together to help you ground, relax and slow down and connect to the creative power of the dark in your knitting pauses!
A few words about the season and this New Moon
I always like to start with a few words about the season that we are in and the energy of this specific new moon, but the theme is pretty universal and you can listen to this at any time if that speaks to you.
I’m recording this on the June 2021 for the new moon in Gemini, which is a solar eclipse. It’s the end of Spring, flowers have bloomed, birds are nesting, all the animals that were born early Spring are now growing, learning how to take care of themselves, slowly transitioning into summer, trees are growing fruits, hoping for enough sun and water for them to grow well.
This new moon / eclipse is in the astrological sign of Gemini. Gemini is an air sign, archetype of communication, learning, mastering skills. But because it’s an eclipse, it’s not our usual Gemini new moon, it’s a moment to go dark. The sun, moon and earth are aligned, so the light of the sun is obstructed by the moon (will be visible in northern parts of the world). So there’s a duality between this season that invites us to go out into the world, to share with others, and this eclipse that invites us to retreat and figure out some things for ourselves.
3 creative invitations
GO DARK AND RETREAT New moon always moment of pause of the moon cycle, when the moon is dark, no light reflected back to us. Moment to rest and plant new seeds for the rest of the moon cycle. This eclipse is inviting us to go even deeper into the pause. To take some time off. To retreat from things that might stress us out, from information overwhelm. Do you need to take a week just for yourself? To not schedule anything with friends? To stop going on social media for a few days? Sometimes we need to cleanse a few things, habits… that don’t worlk for us anymore, to pause them for a while so we can then come back and learn to do them more differently. It can allow us to find the creativity in it again (ex social media, pausing from it gives you an opportunity to reflect on what it brings you, what values it has for you, what do you miss when you’re off social media : talking with friends? Seeing inspiring projects? Posting your knits and getting feedbacks and appreciation from otherS ? Whatever it is it can allow you to come back later with this new knowledge, to renew your creativity when you’re on social media. And works with any activity! Maybe you need to even stop knitting for a few days and do something else instead.
LEARN TO DO NOTHING When we knit, we’re not actually doing nothing. But we are doing something so slow that it opposes the injunction of extreme productivity that comes from the capitalist world we live in. And yet sometimes we still want to be productive in our knitting, want to get results, we start a project and dream of it being finished, we put deadlines on ourselves. Myself story as a designer releasing patterns every month, realised that’s not what I’m supposed to do, not why I knit, no what inspires others. So I stopped. I allowed myself to stay in the dark for a minute, to not have projects planned sometimes. To let them come more organically. So what does it mean for you to connect to unproductivness? Is it about learning to enjoy the process a little more? Is it about letting go of a few projects and deadlines that stress you out?
CONNECT TO THE SOURCE OF YOUR CREATIVE POWER A lot of creation happens first in the dark. From our dreams at night, to artist's studios, there's something powerful about darkness. And to me that's the energy of the new moon. It's a moment to pause, to listen to your dreams and to connect to your intuition. Connecting to the source of your creative power for yourself first. Not for what your value is to others, not for what you can make and produce but from the inside. Who are you as an artist? Where does your creative expression come from? What do you want to say, what feelings do you put into your knits? Connecting to that deep knowledge that you are already creative inside, you don’t need to learn new things to become more creative, you don’t need outside validation, it’s already here. And that is the source to your power, and you can connect to it when you’re knitting, when you’re pausing, so you can then infuse that feeling of creativity, that creative voice and power that is unique to you in everything that you do. Creative different than inventive, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to be creative, you just have to be yourself, and do what makes you feel like you.
Meditation to connect to the creative power of the dark
After entering a space of meditation by reconnecting to your breath, body, and to your emotions, take a moment to ground, and feel the connection to the earth.
Feel yourself slowing down to the rhythm of the earth. And feel also your connection to the moon and the sun, coming into alignment in the sky offering us a place of darkness where more stars are visible. Offering us a new light. A new perspective. What new perspective do you need in your creative life? What can this new light of the eclipse illuminate?
Take a moment to enjoy this power of the dark, to feel how this deep pause nourishes you and connect to your spark of inspiration which is only visible when you stay in the darkness of this space of pause.
When you’re ready to come back, you can take some deep breaths, and let your breaths slowly bring you back to your body.
Useful links
Join the Home Summer Retreat, a virtual retreats with a small group of knitters from all over the world to stay inspired and creative all summer long.