The Creative Fire by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Notes from a course on the cycles of creativity -
La chispa (the spark). Deep in the core of the psyche there's a tiny ember that can be fanned back into a blaze with the very smallest breath blown on it.
El duende (the unwounded double). This is the part of us that is pure, complete and whole, and that life's damage never reached. Estés describes it as a twin self that runs alongside the self that got hurt, disappointed or worn down. It doesn't need to be healed or rebuilt because it was never broken. The creative work is to recognise it and let it back into the room.
How the two connect: la chispa is the fire and el duende is the one tending it. When creativity feels dead, the spark hasn't gone out. You've just lost contact with the part of you that knows how to breathe on it.
Questions to reflect on:
When do you feel most like your unwounded self?
What's the smallest breath you could give the ember this week? Think one page or one photo, not a whole project.
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