Monday 4th February 2019 ~ Imbolc & New Moon in Aquarius

This week’s writing practice has drawn on the seasonal shift into Imbolc and the power of the waxing moon to plant seeds for future growth.

Imbolc ~ Celtic fire festival of Brigid, goddess of poetry, smithcraft and healing; time for purification, cleansing and renewal as the days lighten and lengthen, awakening and moving out from the darkness of winter; time for purging, ploughing & planting. Planting seeds of hope and new life that will grow with the waxing light. Making manifestations from the dreamworld into material existence…

Aquarian New Moon ~ ‘Weaving a collective vision for humanity. Pouring the waters of our own unique self into the ocean of creativity’ (Astro Moon Diary, 2019). Affirmation root verb: I know…

These combining energies have called me into the dreamworld to vision through journalling and free-writing, and to manifest through affirmation.

The effect on my writing practice has been a loosening, a letting go of forms and structures, of completion, of self-judgement. Journalling through free-writing has given me the space and time to flow with my subconscious, strengthening the connection I have with dreamworld and allowing my soul to wander through the uncreated forms of future possibility. And with this loosening, a simultaneous clarifying. Writing and verbalising clear affirmations for manifestation has deepened my intuition into the power of words to change my world.

Ernst Bloch (1885-1977) described the Utopian Function of literature as, in part, ‘anticipatory illumination’ of that which is ‘not-yet-conscious’ (1988). Bloch was interested in the hazy region of consciousness that he called the ‘not-yet-conscious’, as opposed to Freud’s unconscious. This not-yet-conscious is the realm of future possibility. Bloch suggests that if we can access this nebulous realm, it is possible to illuminate its darkness and to anticipate what it may contain.

Since it effectively contains all possibilities, this is the realm in which we hope and dream, plan and anticipate what currently remains unfulfilled. It is the source of endless possibilities, and will never be exhausted by the closure of completion. This is because, to enter into material reality, the contents of the not-yet-conscious must be concretised by coming into contact with the real physical conditions and limitations of this world.

That’s what gives form to the formless. This means our visions will always be somewhat different from the way we anticipated them, and there’ll always be more material for future dreaming/creation to play with. Those possibilities that are total fantasy remain abstract and unattainable – wishful thinking. But those that have the potential to be achieved in the reality of this world are the essence of what is really utopian in the not-yet-conscious.

So I’ve been playing with this aspect of utopian poetics in my writing practice this week. Journalling, dreaming, free-writing and seeing where the not-yet-conscious takes me, what visions I might manifest for new life to grow into future directions.

I’ve written a list of affirmations – these are the visions I’ve chosen to manifest. I’m using the word ‘affirmations’ rather than ‘intentions’ – because an affirmation affirms the truth of something, whereas an intention sets a goal, but doesn’t necessarily confirm its outcome. Affirmations are written in the present tense, usually beginning with the root words ‘I am’, to affirm the truth of the stated qualities as present in one’s life and reality.

Each new moon has its own root verb, however, so these can also be used to create new moon manifestations with added potency. The root verb for the Aquarian New Moon is ‘I know’.

Every morning and evening I speak my affirmations aloud three times at my altar, because manifestation is about raising my vibration to a higher frequency for a more positive outcome. Words spoken become a vibration in the physical world. This vibration will shape and inhabit my body, mind and spirit, the ways I perceive the world, and the realities that exist within my resonant field. Raising my vibration with verbalisation becomes a positive practice for spellcasting, as well as a reminder that ‘the words you speak become the house you live in’ (Hafiz).

So, I encourage you to write freely, journal, wander in the dreamworld of the not-yet-conscious and see what is there for you to manifest into this reality. Write clear affirmations that bring you into alignment with your highest potential, so that you become part of the weaving of a collective vision for humanity. And verbalise your affirmations daily to shift your own vibration.

• In addition to my dreaming and affirmations, these are the seeds I’m sowing this Imbolc:
• Preparing for the publication of my new book of experimental utopian poetics, Atha, with Knives Forks & Spoons Press
• Preparing the text for four pieces of work coming out in journals and anthologies this spring: Writing Utopia Now in the Utopian Acts Special Issue of Studies in Arts and Humanities Journal; two dub-ritual poems in the Original Plus Dub anthology from Hesterglock Press; ‘radical doula’, a poem in the forthcoming Rise Up & Repeal anthology from Sad Press; an interview with writer Sophie Collins coming up in Northern Review.
• Sending out invitations for a new anthology of utopian poetics I’m co-editing with Sarer Scotthorne at Hesterglock Press
• My free-writing dreaming has given me new seeds to sow, too. I’ve started creating a Patreon page, and I’m developing a new writing course to share, Writing the Wheel of the Year. These are at the early stages of development and I’ll keep you posted with my progress.

This Imbolc & Waxing Moon, Dream Big!