Innovation is something I struggle with in magic. Because on one hand, I have strong feelings about not trying to turn one's washing machine into a nuclear reactor. On the other, at some point everything was someone's UPG at one point. Where is that delicate line in the sand where you're being innovative in your own personal practice that stops just before you're invoking Oya and Yemaya in a closed circle because they're both orishas so they must work together well, right?
Sidebar: Gordon and I had an interesting discussion during his Shen visit. People are quick to be like, oh no you mustn't ever ever invoke Deity X from Y pantheon and Deity Z from A patheon! To me that's never made sense and I couldn't figure out why. I mean, yeah, they don't know each other and may find each other offensive but it's not like they've been to a million dinner parties together and had enough time to really work up a good hate-on for each other in all likelihood unless their customs run against each other's. Gordon pointed out that when you invite two deities from the same pantheon, they likely already have an established feud whereas deities from two different pantheons (besides again, offensive behavior but even that most people/deities are willing to put up with a certain amount if it's cross-cultural) haven't had time to really get into it with each other. It's the difference between a dinner party (two deities from two different cultures) and a family dinner (two deities from the same culture. Which is more likely to flip a table and start beating the crap out of each other? Family dinner, obv. I think it's why Erzulie and Aphrodite work pretty well together for me but Oshun and Yemaya, less so.
The easy solution here is, as always, do basic research. Is one deity a vegetarian and the other demands a blood sacrifice from an animal? Not the best dinner party combination ever. Feuding sisters? Don't put them in a locked room together because if they turn on you, you're toast, bro.
Believe it or not, what I found really inspiring for this post was the movie Being Elmo which is a documentary about Kevin Clash and how he started out as a kid in high school who was mocked for making puppets to becoming an Executive Producer, Director and Puppet Captain for Jim Henson. It's a pretty short film and as a maker of anything - magic, artistry, writing, etc. - it's incredibly exhilarating to watch.
The Hook
Because the hook brings you back/ I ain't tellin' you no lie/ The hook brings you back/ On that you can rely - Blues Traveler
Did you know that Miss Piggy's hook is that she has the personality of a leader of a biker gang in a girly girl body? Fozzy embodies Vaudeville and Elmo imbues Love. Each Muppet has a hook. In acting, you're taught that every line you say should have a motivation behind it, no matter how great or small. If you don't know what your hook is in your craft, in your career, in your art, in how you present yourself to the world, you're in trouble. Because if you don't know what you're trying to do, how will anyone else know what you're trying to do? If your statement to yourself and the universe is clear then it's much easier to accomplish, um, everything. It's okay if your hook changes, everyone needs to re-brand every now and then. Take some time and clarify to yourself what your hook is. Here's a hint, it should be about a sentence long. For example, my hook for La Sirene et Le Corbeau is "Every item offered by La Sirene et Le Corbeau is handcrafted in this old-world style setting from 100% local, sustainable sources. " My hook for my blog is "Radical Practicality" (coined by Gordon). My hook for my book is "Bringing glamour back to ritual". And so on.
Mentors
"And you're the DJ speaks to my insomnia/ And laughs at all I have to fear/ You always play the madmen poets/ Vinyl vision grungy bands/ You never know who's still awake/ You never know who understands and/ Are you out there, can you hear this?" - Dar Williams
Do you have mentors in life? If you don't, you're missing out. Kevin Clash definitely wouldn't have gotten anywhere any time soon if Jim Henson's workshop didn't focus on mentoring young kids with a passion. Kermit Love met with Clash when he was just eighteen and in high school and only working for a local Baltimore television show at the time. He answered his questions about what materials were used (fleece, which was revolutionary at the time) for the muppets and showed him The Jim Henson Stitch which gave puppets the appearance of being seamless, especially on television. Love got Clash the introduction to Henson himself. Love told Clash to say no to The Dark Crystal even though the scale of set building, artistry and puppetry had never been attempted before. Clash could only make so much doing TDC as it was a one time movie, he had two steady gigs on major network television and it would be foolish practically speaking, though painfully tempting on an artistic level to quit those jobs. Good mentors work to teach you new tech, push you to be your best you and reign you in as needed. If you find yourself starting to think that you know too much to need a mentor, that's exactly when you should get on ASAP. There's always a bigger fish than you, padawan. Always. If you're lucky enough to have one or more mentors in your life, be sure they know how appreciative you are to have them.
Mentoring
You and me and everyone/ Throwing fire at the sun/ Blood is a river, ties you to me/ Blood is a river, ties everyone - Heather Nova
Are you in a place where you've learned enough tricks (a la The Cat in the Hat -A lot of good tricks, I will show them to you/ your mother will not mind at all if I do) and fucked up situations? Have you been fired from your job and successfully gotten a new one? Ticked off the gods? Learned a daily practiced? Figured out where to get $800 shoes for $100? Opened your own business? Closed your own business? Learned how to put on make up correctly? Closed book deals? I doubt you pulled yourself entirely up by your own boot straps on that. You don't need to mindlessly pay it forward but you can pick a few special snowflakes to share this information with. Or, you know, blog about it. Sometimes your padawan will roll her eyes and be all, "Whatever! I do what I want!" and you'll know that she'll be getting into a bumper car head on collision but it's part of the learning experience! If it's dumb enough, feel free to do the I told you so dance. Look for special people with a lot of promise, cleverness and determination and give them a leg up.
Kindness
"Just keep following the heartlines on your hands/ Because I am." - Florence + the Machine
Sometimes it's nice just to do someone a solid. The universe notices. Liberty Mutual was smart enough to know what small kindnesses do for people and to make it into a PMS happy weep fest commercial. It makes you feel better and more capable in your own work to know that you are in a position to help. The ladies at the Farmer's Market I just finished were amazing. They fed me lemonaid, pasta, small bits of French feta cheese and house cured olives. They brought their iPads over to show me crafts to add to my repertoire. They gave me opportunities to teach spinning classes. They brought me jars for my new candle projects. They didn't know me. They just did this. It was awe inspiring and encouraged me to show the same kindness to others.