Greetings friends,
I hope this email finds you well. Welcome to the first issue of FLOW: Spiritual inspiration for creatives. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about seasons; about how life takes you through different seasons and it’s okay for things like your spiritual practice or creative practice to fluctuate (or even fall off a cliff 🙈) during some of these seasons. Being consistent doesn’t necessarily mean being the same all the time - it can instead be a pattern of regularity over time. I say all of this having entered a new season of my own life which, so far, has involved very little meditation, ritual, creative writing and other things that have featured heavily in my daily life for years. I got over the initial feelings of guilt by reminding myself of a few things:
every season isn’t supposed to be the same
sometimes when seasons change, we catch a cold 😅 in other words, it can take us some time to transition into our new normal
spirituality isn’t a thing we do, it’s about our everyday life. Living a spirit-led life comes in many forms and doesn’t always have to involve daily meditation or regular rituals
What season of life are you in or entering now? This month’s prompt might help you answer this.
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April’s Prompt: The Triple Goddess
Your monthly dose of inspiration is here! You can use this as a creative prompt to guide you in bringing a new piece of work into the world. But you can also use this as a prompt for your own personal growth and spirituality. Journal, reflect or meditate on the theme and see what it brings up for you. However you choose to engage with this month’s prompt, my wish for you is that it brings you insight and inspiration.
This symbol shows a waxing moon, full moon and waning moon, representing the concept of the triple goddess. The triple goddess is made up of three archetypes of the Divine Feminine; the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone.
The Maiden - the waxing moon - embodies youth, creativity, naivety, and the energy of initiation. She is similar to the Fool card in tarot. When we’re in our maiden energy, we’re moving fast, maybe too fast to ensure we’re making the right moves! Everything is exciting! Everyone is our friend! Try anything once! We’ll sleep when we’re dead!
The Mother - the full moon - embodies femininty, fertility, discernment, and the energy of nurturing. She is similar to the Empress card in tarot. When we’re in our mother energy, we have learned a lot and used these lessons to decide where to focus our energy. We’re incredibly protective of that energy, and of our loved ones. Home is our domain, and family - whether blood or chosen - is our focus. When it comes to work, we’ve carved out our lane and we’re sitting pretty in it. We know who we are, and we love ourselves fiercely so that love can overflow to others.
The Crone - the waning moon - embodies wisdom, endings, intuition, and the energy of transition. She is similar to the Death card in tarot. The Death card is often feared and misunderstood but it’s a positive card - it signifies a huge transition borne from the realisation and acceptance of what we have outgrown. When we’re in our crone energy, we’ve accumulated a huge amount of wisdom and experience which we can now share with others. We may be ready to transition to somewhere or something new, having gained all that we can from our current situation. It’s a time to let go but also a time to elevate.
Anyone of any gender identity can embody - or at the very least, learn from - the triple goddess archetypes. I have this symbol tattooed on my arm as a reminder to always reflect on which stage I’m in. I can’t, for example, expect to have everything figured out in an area of work where I’m still in my maiden stage. And when I find myself in the crone stage of something, I should think about sharing my knowledge with others. It’s a great reminder to be patient with myself and the process of life.
Have you read my book yet? Return to Source is a reexamining of history, an archive of African traditional wisdom, a celebration of Ancestral knowledge, and an invitation to practice wellness in a new way. If you have read it, please leave me a review on Amazon!
As I’ve transitioned into this new season, the soundtrack that’s supported me has been André 3000’s New Blue Sun - if you haven’t yet, I recommend you give it a listen.
Thank you for reading and see you next time.
Blessings,
Araba xx
In case you’re not familiar with my work, I’m Araba Ofori-Acquah, a Ghanaian-British healer, DJ, cultural curator and award-winning writer. I’m particularly interested in the preservation and reimagining of African tradition as a path to wellbeing and Black liberation. You can follow me on Instagram, meditate with me on Insight Timer, listen to my mixes on Mixcloud or listen to my show on Oroko Radio. If you’re interested in working together, email me ✌🏾