REDISCOVERING THE MUSE:

Finding Our Personal Sources of Inspiration

copyright 1989 by Tracy Marks
published in Women of Power magazine, winter 1989-90
continued from muses1.htm
Who are the nine Muses? Calliope, "she of the beautiful voice," is
considered to be head of the Muses, associated with the full moon. She is
known for heroic poetry and literature, as well as eloquence in writing and
speech. Erato, "awakener of desire," plays the lyre, and is the Muse of
romantic and erotic poetry and of mime - nonverbal communication. Clio,
"the giver of fame," rules history, and can be considered today to be the
source of inspiration for public and professional success.
Euterpe, "giver of joy," plays the flute, and is the Muse of lyric poetry
and music. Terpsichore, "she who enjoys dancing,"inspires all dance and
creative movement. Polyhymnia, "she of the many hymns," is known for
sacred songs, sacred poetry and storytelling. Of all the Muses, she is
most attuned to women's quest for transcendent experience.
Urania, "the heavenly" is the Muse of astronomy, which in ancient times
encompassed astrology, and the various arts, sciences and religious
practices related to metaphysics, divination and psychology. Melpomene,
"the singer", acknowledges and respects the dark side of life, which she
honors through her rulership of elegies and tragedies; she knows the
opening of the heart we experience when we willingly penetrate the depths
of sadness. Finally, Thalia, "the festive," originally bucolic in nature,
rules comedy, and awakens the spirit of playfulness, humor and celebration.
The advent of patriarchy did not fare well for the Muses, who lost power
when their numerous functions were divided and compartmentalized into nine
realms. Rather than goddesses in their own right, they were more frequently
portrayed as ladies-in-waiting to Apollo.
Yet according to Robert Graves, "Apollo, though the God of Poetry and
the leader of the Muses, did not, however, claim to inspire poems: the
inspiration was still held to come to the poet from the Muse or Muses." (3)
Greek mythology still attests to the awe-inspiring power the Muses had upon
the gods, as well as humankind. When they sang, everything stood still,
transfixed by their melodious voices. At such times, their winged horse
Pegasus struck the mountain with his hooves, fountains sprang forth, and
Mt. Helicon rose even higher toward heaven.
Hesiod claimed that the Muses initiated him as a poet, and gave him a
spray of laurel. "They are all of one mind, their hearts are set upon song,
and their spirit is free from care," he wrote of the Muses. " He (she) is
happy whom the Muses love. For though man (woman) has sorrow and
grief in his soul, when the Muses sing, at once he forgets his dark thoughts
and remembers not his troubles. Such is the holy gift of the Muses." (4)

Living atop Mt. Helicon in Boetia, the Muses only rarely descended to
earth. Nevertheless, they were lovers and protectors of earth, particularly
of earth's waters. As goddesses of fountains and springs, they remain the
patrons of numerous springs and sanctuaries throughout Greece, such as
Aganippe, Hippocrene and Castalia, all reputed to provide creative
inspiration to those who drink their waters. The Muses were also associated
with milk and honey, with their sacred animal, the swan, and with the
willow and laurel trees.
Greek myths portray the Muses as singing, dancing and playing their lyres
and flutes at weddings, banquets and funerals. Their first song was at the
victory celebration of the Olympians over the Titans, the birth of the new
order. When the Maenads dismembered Orpheus, the Muses collected his limbs
and buried him at the foot of Olympus, where nightingales would forever sing.

The Muses discover Orpheus Drowned

Several stories tell of the ill fate of those who dared to compete with
the Muses. The nine daughters of King Pierus of Macedonia were changed into
magpies when they unsuccessfully challenged the Muses in poetry; the Muses
then took their names. The Sirens lost their wings when they lost a singing
contest with the Muses.
In art, the original Muse or White Goddess is portrayed as a beautiful,
slender woman with red lips, blue eyes and long blonde hair, who transforms
herself into various animals. Greek art represents the nine Muses as young
women wearing long flowing robes, and bearing musical instruments. Some are
smiling; others have grave or reflective expressions.
The Muses were not virgin goddesses; the presence of Erato, and their
association with ecstasy attest to their sensuality. Calliope, loved by
Apollo, bore his son Linus, inventor of melody and rhythm. When Linus
unwisely challenged his father to a singing contest, Apollo killed him.
Calliope later married Oeagrus, with whom she bore Orpheus.
Melpomene, who lay with the river god Achelous, gave birth to the Sirens.
Because Clio reproached Aphrodite for her passion for Adonis, Aphrodite
punished Clio by rousing in her an overpowering desire for King Pierus, who
then fathered her son Hyacinthus. Patriarchal Greek mythology mentions the
sons of the Muses, but not their daughters.

Although the Muses are most often remembered for inspiring poets and
musicians, they are also known for sparking the genius and inventiveness of
scientists, and for guiding politicians. They accompanied kings and queens,
inspiring them with eloquence and imparting to them the gift of gentleness,
which enabled them to settle quarrels and maintain peace.
DISCOVERING AND NAMING OUR MUSES
"If men have always named the sacred out of their experience what would
happen if women dared to do the naming?" Elizabeth Dodson Gray asked,
in Women of Power. "Instead of distancing ourselves and withdrawing
from reality to find sacredness, we go toward that reality, toward bodies,
toward nature,.toward transitory moments in relationships...And wherever
we look, we find that which nourishes us and deepens us."(5)
Contacting our Muses is a first step. One means of doing so is to identify
twenty or thirty peak experiences of our lives - times in which we have
felt most at peace, most empowered, most joyful, most creative and/or most
alive. Are these times of attunement to the earth, of loving connection, of
sexual fulfillment, of mastery or success, of insight, meditation or group
communion? Can we identify the kinds of experience which in the past have
most inspired us, and have enabled us to contact life-affirming energies
inside and outside us?
For my "Find Your Passion: Make it Happen!," and "Journal Writing for
Personal Growth" workshops and in my "Becoming Your Own Heroine"
women's empowerment programs, I use numerous exercises to help women
discover, re-experience and categorize the kinds of experiences (past,
present and future possibility) which help them regain contact with their
sources of inspiration and meaning. First, we must know what these are;
second, we must understand the attitudes, choices and actions which
contribute to them; third, we must choose to create more of these kinds
of experiences, rather than succumb to the familiar patterns of attitudes,
behaviors and relationships which are comfortable but lead us away rather
than toward our Muse energy.
Some of our most fulfilling memories may be of moments - moments of
insight, communion, inner peace, appreciation, or competence. Others may
be long-range satisfactions, such as the self-esteem which results from
working toward a master's degree, or the growth in our relational abilities
through commitment to a long-term partnership. Sometimes we are active
and accomplishing; other times, we are simply being and appreciating, or
mutually participating in a meaningful interaction.
Understanding the nature of our peak experiences may help us to create
more of them. Having a system of categories or labels can enable us to
access more of our memories, and also to under- stand the kinds of
circumstances which most fulfill us. For most people, the most common
categories include:
BODY: appearance, pleasure, sexuality, sports/physical activity
RELATIONSHIPS: love, friendship, family, children, co-workers,
mentors/counselors, students, animals

GROUPS: social groups, professional organizations, growthoriented/therapy groups, service groups, community groups
SUCCESS: work achievement, experiences of competence/mastery
world: politics, service
PERSONAL LIFE: home, neighborhood, daily experiences
LEISURE: travel, nature/outdoors, play, entertainment
THE ARTS: creative expression, artistic/literary appreciation
LEARNING: formal education, insight, study, reading
INNER DEVELOPMENT: insight, psychological growth, psychotherapy,
meditation, prayer, spiritual experience
Once we have identified and categorized our peak experiences, the next
step is to select a name for facets of the Muse/ goddess which each
represents. Naming is important, enabling us to inwardly access each Muse
as a goddess figure in whose presence we can live. A useful tool in the
naming process is a baby naming book, which lists thousands of names and
their derivations. Matching the energy of our experience with a name that
expresses that energy for us will help us to utilize that name in the
future as a means of invoking that Muse into our lives.
Naming my Muses began for me a lengthy period of awakening and
transformation. The catalyst was an evening in my first "Becoming Your Own
Heroine" group, when the women each presented to the group a goddess or
spiritual heroine who was particularly meaningful to them. To those who did
not know who to choose, I suggested naming for themselves their own
personal goddess energy, and creating their own rudimentary history or
mythology. The several women who chose to name and create their own
representations of the goddess shared creative work which moved us all.
After choosing as my own presentation the nine Muses of Greek mythology,
I decided to reassess my own sources of inspiration, and to rediscover and
name my personal Muses. Later, I traced their history in my life.
Who are the Muses that awaken my life energy? Tia is my personal
Mnemosyne, the mother of my Muses; their father was Philemon (phile
=love). Istara, her eldest daughter, the Muse of creative writing, and
now creative expression in all forms, was my greatest source of joy as
a child and adolescent. Shantih, the Muse of the Ocean was also present
early in my Florida childhood, as was Shoshannah, my Muse of wisdom.
Shoshannah has fueled my lifelong quest for understanding and insight,
and has expressed herself at times interpersonally, through the meeting
of minds; I also call her Keldri when she is joined with Istara in the
creation of psychological and spiritual articles and books.
Desiree was my primary Muse during my 20s - my Muse of lovemaking,
of the joining of hearts and bodies. Early in my 30s, she began to lose
significance as Willow appeared, who has for nearly a decade now been
my primary Muse. Willow is heart-to-heart communion, the tender, empathic
and loving connection between persons able to connect on a soul level
and honor each other's essential being.
Tammany has also become an important Muse for me in recent years
- so significant that I have even named her nine ladies-in-waiting.
Tammany rules the appreciation of beauty and the arts. Her ladies-in-

waiting, whom I also honor, are Timothea (film/video), Allesandra (live

theater), Larissa (literature), Elysia (music), Alyssa (classical dance),
Kelsey (modern dance,acrobatics), Katya (sculpture), Elena (the visual
arts) and Mirra (costumes, physical beauty).
Katrie, my Muse of group inspiration, is present whenever I participate in
or lead a group in which members are closely bonded and sharing personally,
or are united in a meaningful task. Kirra rules play and laughter, and
appears in moments of joy and delight, when we let go of our roles and
controls and express the spontaneous exhilaration of our inner child.
Finally, Natasha, my youngest Muse, rules body aliveness and dance, and
is introducing me finally to the experiences of self-fulfillment and
self-transcendence which accompany surrender to my own bodily rhythms.
My Muses also have relatives whom frequently join their gatherings.
Their aunts Bethany (inner peace), Tori (empower- ment) and Analise
(inspirational service to others) are often present. Shantih of the ocean
frequently is accompanied by Maia, the nature Muse, and Tara, Muse of
travel; Willow is often associated with Eleni, who is present in the open,
substantial and caring interactions of longterm friendships.
For me, a result of naming my own Muses has been increasing my capacity to
invoke them daily into my life and to create circumstances in which many of
them are present simultaneously. I also find myself more able to let go of
attachments to some of the Muses who are not accessible for varying periods
of time, while trusting that others are nearby, and still others are yet to
appear. I have not experienced Desiree for many months, and for years I
lost Istara. But having nine Muses rather than one enables me to let go of
an identity forged around one particular kind of satisfaction, and to know
that when one Muse turns away for a time, others may be accessible. I need
only to invite their energy, to look for them, to listen, to encourage their
presence, and to trust.

INVITATION TO THE MUSES

Most of us develop internal thermostats when we are young, set to a
certain temperature of happiness or unhappiness. However much we suffer,
we nevertheless prefer to keep our thermostat on a familiar temperature,
rather than experience for any length of time inner peace, joy or passion.
We may find fleeting moments of contact with our Muses more tolerable than
living in close harmony with their voices. The familiar, however unsatisfying
it may be, does not expose us to the terror of the unknown, of separating
from our past, of contacting and living within the quiet but awesome power
of sacred experience.
Many of us, having lost touch with the dreams and fantasies of our
childhood, or the most pleasurable experiences of our past, despair at the
lack of meaning in our lives. Such internal messages as "it's impossible,"
"I don't have the time and money," and "I'm not good enough" have kept us

from pursuing and from remembering our deepest dreams. Wanting what
we dare not believe we can have is painful, and becoming large enough to
move through our fears is difficult, so we stop wanting and then question the
emptiness of our lives. Or we focus unduly on our suffering, our problems,
and deprivations, and blind ourselves to the potential joys within us and
around us.
Inspiration does not merely happen; we block it with our own negative
attitudes, inner messages and self-sabotaging behaviors. In order to
recover our inspiration or passion, we must choose to create the inner and
outer conditions which awaken and fuel our life energy. We must want to
experience greater aliveness; we must care enough to make choices which
enliven us; we must dare to create the changes in our lives which will
enable us to hear and live in close contact with our sources of inspiration.
"I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life," said Georgia
O'Keefe, "and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I
wanted to do." (6) When we choose to attune ourselves to our deepest
inspiration and to hear our Muses, our desire for life, real life, becomes
greater than our fear of change.
Reconnecting with our life source is possible. Our Muses live -- in their
own unique, personal forms within everyone of us. They may lie buried in
our past; they may appear when we open our inner or outer eyes to the
present moment; they may awaken when we embrace our visions of the
future and dare to dream.
We can experience our Muses, we can learn to listen to their melodies, and
to the sacred silence from which their songs are born. We can, as we
discover them, uncover and recover our lost and latent selves, and begin to
live again.
--------

WORKSHEET - DISCOVERING THE MUSE:

YOUR PEAK EXPERIENCES
Considering all areas of your life, past and present, record here keywords for
at least twenty of your peak experiences or experiences of greatest fulfillment.
These may be moments or phases of your life related to inner peace, success,
love, passion etc. You may want to consider all of the following:

Sources of Inspiration
self-development
body
love
children
organizations
work

and Fulfillment
creative expression
sexuality
friendship
home
groups
work relationships

arts appreciation
sports
family
daily life
politics
success/mastery

craftsmanship
hobbies and play
spirituality

education/learning
entertainment
insight

service
nature
travel

Your Peak Experiences

year category experience
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
ADD AS MANY AS YOU WISH!

continue muses7.htm

Afterwards, consider:
1) What kinds of experiences fulfill you? How would you categorize your
primary sources of inspiration, meaning/fulfillment?
2) How might you NAME the personal Muses associated with these
experiences in your life?
3) What is your life history in regard to your peak experiences? At what
times in your life were you most fulfilled? How have your sources of
fulfillment changed?
4) What sources of meaning/satisfaction have been missing from your
life? What areas of life have you yet to explore?
5) To what extent are you creating fulfilling experiences now? What
sources of fulfillment are present? Which ones are noticeably missing
from your life?
6) How do you want to create greater fulfillment now? What kinds of
experiences (and which of your Muses) do you wish to invite life now?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 1989 (from Women of Power)

Tracy Marks, M.A. is an Arlington, Mass. psychotherapist, group leader,
astrologer and writer. She is author of eight books, (including Your Secret
Self and Astrology of Self-Discovery) and a book-in-process entitled The
Path of the Heroine. Currently, Tracy's greatest enthusiasm is her
"Becoming Your Own Heroine" women's program, as well as her groups in
journal writing and dreamwork. Information regarding her books, counseling
and teaching may be obtained by writing her at (new address updated
2012) 22 Drake road, apt. G, Arlington, MA 02476