Creative Juices Arts

Your Natal Astrology Chart: The Map of Your Souls Purpose

by Chris Zydel, MA

What is it that allows you to wake up in the morning feeling energized and inspired?

The particulars are going to vary, but I think the majority of us feel most alive when we experience being aligned with some greater purpose. That purpose is often related to becoming more of who we are, to giving ourselves permission to freely and unselfconsciously use all of our natural gifts , and to having the willingness and the courage to continually grow, learn and stretch ourselves in order to live a truly authentic life.

We all know what it feels like when we are totally engaged in our lives, and how deeply satisfying it is when we experience being in the flow with all cylinders firing. But too frequently we lose our connection with that full on sense of "YES". And when we do find it again we often don't know how we got there or how to get it back when it's gone.

So we need a map. How often have you heard someone say " I wish I had gotten an instruction manual for my life." Well, the truth of it is that there is just such a thing. And that thing is called a natal astrological chart.

Your astrology chart is essentially a blueprint for how to achieve your soul's optimal growth in this life. Your natal chart paints a picture of your inner world that can help you understand your needs, desires and motivations more deeply. But it also answers the question of " Why are you here?" What are the specific tasks you need to undertake to fulfill your unique destiny, what lessons are you here to learn, what are the challenges that you need to embrace that will allow you to feel like your life has purpose and meaning?

Your natal chart is more than just your sun sign. It includes all the planets in our solar system, and each of these planets is a metaphor for a different "operating system" in your psyche. Understanding these systems and how they all work together is like having a "guidebook for your life " complete with detailed instructions about how to make the most positive use of your planetary energies and how to effectively deal with the challenges presented by your chart.

I have included a short description below of the individual planets and the psychological issues that each one addresses to give you some sense of the rich information that your natal chart can offer you.

The Sun gives you suggestions about how to maintain your greatest sense of vitality , sanity and joie de vivre and shows you where and how you need to shine in the world.

The Moon gives you clues about you what makes you happy and how to feed and nurture your deepest heart and soul.

The Ascendant gives you information about the best way to present yourself and the personality style that will give you the greatest ongoing sense of confidence and effectiveness.

Venus paints a picture of your natural soul mates, what you need to be fulfilled in love , and your gifts and talents in the realms of art and creativity.

Mars asks and answers this question: In what areas of your life do you need to develop more courage?

Jupiter gives you a good idea as to where you might be naturally lucky but also reveals where and how you sell yourself short, and in what areas of your life it is a good idea to take some outrageous risks.

Look to Saturn in your chart to see where you are being called upon to perform a great work thus developing a natural sense of authority.

Uranus shows you where you need to break any outmoded rules that are holding you back and in what way you need to follow your own individual path.

Neptune points you in the direction of how you connect most naturally with a sense of inspiration, intuition, and spirituality.

Where you find the planet Pluto is the place of your greatest wounding and the source of your greatest passion once the wound is healed.

And finally, the Nodes of the Moon give you a clear picture as to the nature of your evolutionary journey . The South Node of the Moon points out the deeply familiar patterns of your life that can feel frustrating and repetitive and ultimately like dead ends. The North Node of the moon directs you to the cutting edge path of growth that will put you on track with your life's purpose leading to a greater sense of fulfillment and aliveness.

So take some time to look at your own chart with some of these concepts in mind or treat yourself to an in depth reading with a competent astrologer.

Copyright © Chris Zydel 2007

ONE MAGIC QUESTION TO MOVE YOU THROUGH CREATIVE BLOCKS

Chris Zydel, MA

The creative process is a journey, and like any journey there are times when things are going smoothly and you are just humming along. And then there are the times when everything feels frustrating, blocked and in a tangle. The sticky times are never fun, but what makes them even worse is when you buy into a popular belief about creative congestion that sounds something like this. "If I were a real artist everything would always be effortless and I would never come up against any obstacles. So the fact that I'm struggling means that I am doing something wrong."

The truth is, creative blocks happen. Stopping, starting, frustration, ecstasy, agony, despair, triumph, agitation, pleasure, movement and monumental blockage are all part of the creative experience. Wrestling with your creativity demons is a great way to have high drama and intensity in your life without losing your integrity, your marriage, your reputation or your good credit rating. And it's what makes creativity so much fun! When you are painting or writing or playing music you are in relationship with a primal force, like a hurricane, that blows hot and cold, then whips you around and throws you out the window. And your job is to get your self up, climb back in over the ledge, and say, "OK, cool. Let's do that again!"

It's important, especially when you are stuck,to stay in the game, and to keep your butt in the chair. You never want to give up on your process when you hit one of these tight spots because what feels like a suffocating creative narrows is always a creative birth canal. And learning to work your way through the anxiety, boredom and the blankness of not knowing what to do next is always a great way to build your creative self confidence.

If you are feeling immobilized, it's very likely that you have lost contact with your  self and what is most important to you. When that happens you need to get back to the first rule of maintaining creative juiciness. Simply follow the energy. If you are stopped it is likely that you are caught up in your ideas about what is supposed to be happening. You are probably off in the fantasy future or hanging around in the long gone and quite dead past and are no longer in the dynamic, living present. When you are in your head fretting , preparing or planning you immediately lose connection to your endless supply of raw, creative power.

In some ways this should be the easiest task, because following the energy just means asking yourself the question, "What do I want to do NOW? What do I want to paint or write or dance NOW? In this very moment, what will allow me to feel the greatest sense of excitement and aliveness?" But we are trained to be suspicious of what we really want. If we want it, it must somehow be wrong. We must be serious artists and not waste time on frivolity and feeling good. If we are not suffering we must not truly be doing art. We get bogged down in trying to figure out what we should be doing, and looking for what will gain us the most approval, brownie points and pats on the back.We end up asking all the wrong questions, and then feel shut down and uninspired and wonder why we can't be more creative!

A creative standstill is never a catastrophe. Rather it is a priceless opportunity and invitation to wake up to the present moment and reconnect with your hearts desire. So don't be afraid to ask that one magic question that will open your creative floodgates again. What do you want to do NOW ?

Copyright © Chris Zydel 2007

CREATIVITY TIME BANDITS: Making Wise Choices for a Fulfilling Creative Life

by Chris Zydel, MA

In my work as a creativity coach I talk with many, many people who want to be more creative, either as a way to deepen their spiritual practice of self nurturing or who have a specific dream that they long to manifest, like writing a book or forming a rock band. But too often something gets in the way. And the major culprit, as they see it, is that they are too busy and don't have enough time.

When these folks tell me that they don't have time for creativity, they trot out the unassailable list of essentials that obviously need to come first as the reason that they can't have the creative expression that they so achingly desire. They point to things like the need to feed themselves and their families, to exercise, to pay their bills, to care for their children, or to go to work . But these honorable and necessary tasks are rarely the culprit in stealing the energy needed to fuel a passionate and creative life.

What stops the majority of people is usually not so straightforward and irrefutable. The real bad guys that suck the juice right out of our creativity are most likely to fall under the heading of non-essentials. We have all frittered away enormous amounts of time watching bad television, mindlessly surfing the internet and sport shopping. Engaging with your creative process ALWAYS wakes you up and even though our souls really do want that much genuine aliveness, it is also scary, so we will blithely waste our time and energy finding any number of ways of putting ourselves into a  stupor.

The second category of time stealer's comes under the heading of putting others needs ahead of our own. There are, of course, circumstances when that is necessary. But it is particularly insidious when we allow  our valuable and limited time to be swallowed up based on a false sense of duty or responsibility that exists only in our imagination.

For example, I offer creativity retreats at some of the most beautiful places in the world, and I needed an assistant for one that I was facilitating in New Mexico. I asked a friend of mine, another expressive arts therapist, to be my assistant, which meant she would pay the minimal expenses and help me set up and take down the studio. Other than that she would be free to participate fully in the rest of the workshop. She said that she would really like to take me up on my offer but a cousin who she had no relationship with and didn't even really like all that much was MAYBE going to be in town that week and MAYBE would like to go out to lunch with her . I just looked at her completely flabbergasted and said " In my career as a creativity coach I have heard some sorry excuses about why people won't let themselves have creativity in their lives, but you have just come up with the LAMEST excuse I think I have ever heard!" Luckily she was not only a good friend but also pretty self aware so we both cracked up laughing and she DID come on that retreat and had a fabulous time.

When you are choosing how to spend your precious life energy, ask yourself the question, " What really matters to me at the end of the day or at the end of my life? " One of my favorite barometers is the  deathbed test, which goes something like this. When you envision yourself in the last days, or hours or minutes of your life, are your final thoughts going to be something along the lines of , "Gee, I'm sure glad  that I reorganized my sock drawer for the 10th time, or that I played internet solitaire until I got carpal tunnel syndrome, or I will always fondly remember the time when I took that last load of clothes that I never wear anymore to the dry cleaners."

Or are you going to have a glowing memory of the risk you took in setting aside some time for yourself to paint or write or make music ? Will you be savoring the recollection of the exquisite excitement of putting color on paper, of watching your own words turning into an original story,the sweet pleasure of sitting at your piano or with your guitar, strumming away, playing well or badly and singing your fool head off, consumed with the joy of allowing your voice to be  heard out in the world ?

Copyright © Chris Zydel 2007