Tap Into Your Creative Cycle

Creativity can seem to have a life of its own, maybe that’s why many artists refer to their source of inspiration as their muse or daemon – this entity or person with their own preferences & moods.

A lot of our lives operate within cycles & I’ve found it useful to apply the same view to creativity – if anything, it helps me understand how to best work with my creative rhythms, find peace when I need to surrender & double down on it when inspiration strikes, because I know it’ll be transient.

Our Cycles

Life works in cycles, from our own birth, growth, death & decay, to a project’s initiation, planning, execution & closing. The pattern is often broken into 4 phases, similar to the above model, which we can witness in myriad dimensions in & around us.

Here’s an example with the female hormonal cycle. Recent research has confirmed that our monthly cycle, which is influenced by the moon phases, affects our creativity, energy, mood & worldview. The 4 phases are:

Follicular phase / Waxing moon
The week after our period ends

Our brain feels fresh & open to novelty. We’re vision-casting, setting intentions for the future, & clarifying our vision. It feels good to spend time journaling, recording our ideas + feelings, & organizing what we want to accomplish in the coming weeks.

Ovulation phase / Full moon
Mid-cycle for 3–5 days

We become more talkative, extraverted & collaborative with others. We want to share our ideas with the world, seek out other like-minded people & generally initiate action – we make things happen & feel very social during this phase. This is when we’re most magnetic & our manifestation power is strong if we cast a clear vision the week before.

Luteal phase / Waning moon
About 10–12 days before our period begins

This is where we make things happen. We’ve set a course of action & we can now fully immerse ourselves in it. Whether it’s a book, a new offer, or any other kind of project, we’re happily accomplishing the activities + goals we outlined during your follicular phase & it feels very fulfilling + rewarding! We complete + polish every detail so that we can launch our project.

Menstrual phase / New moon
The days when we're on our period

This is the time to slow down, close our work, reflect on what we’ve made happen over the last month, & practice gratitude + appreciation for what we’ve accomplished. This is a quieter process & we may need more sleep as we review how things went & integrate the lessons. Soon, our energy will rise again & we’ll want to engage more with the world, but not yet.

This cycle is mirrored in many big & small everyday events – from the daily cycle of days + nights, to the transits of the moon in a month, to our spiritual + emotional evolution over the course of a full year, & some longer astrological cycles too. We initiate, create, produce & reflect constantly. Sometimes our various cycles are more in sync with one another while at other times, they’re contradictory & our projects don’t flow as easily.

While it’s wise to accept that which we cannot change (where we are in our menstrual cycle or astrologically), we can plan around these events. But when we still need to meet deadlines despite a not-so-ideal timing, we can put the following practices in place to align with + enhance our creativity.

Sparking Your Creativity

Expand Your Mind

Fill your creative bank with artist dates. Try new things, visit new places, explore what makes you curious. Meet new + different people, get into thought-provoking conversations, be open-minded.

Leverage Your Subconscious

Let your subconscious make connections (while taking a shower, driving, cleaning). Start habits that facilitate creative work, use rituals to help you drop into a flow state, draw the tarot.

Mindfulness

Clear your creative channel & let inspiration flow through you.

Plan For It

Find the sweet spot of logical left-brain vs creative right-brain activities. Hire out activities that take you out of balance & out of your creative flow. Allocate dedicated time for creative pursuits but commit to a deadline.

Play

Brainstorm silly ideas, create a mindmap of sticky notes on your wall, think big + be audacious. Don’t be afraid to fall flat on your face, to stumble & “fail” – it’s all material & you gained valuable experience in the process.

Community

Surround yourself with other innovators & world-shakers. They’ll support you in your moments of doubt & spark new ideas / connections for you.

Creativity can be intentionally cultivated, like love. It’s a spiritual practice of listening & then bringing the ideas to life. This is how we’re guided & how we find deep joy + contribution in life ✨

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Now I want to know:

How do you tap into + nourish your creativity?
Let me know in the comments below!

Marie xo