Look to the Sky for Creative Inspiration

Can an eclipse unblock creativity?

Can an eclipse unblock creativity?

I hope you were able to see the eclipse last night. It was pretty cool, but then again I’ve been fascinated with celestial objects since I was a kid. The moon turning red was the stuff of books, movies, and legends.

Unfortunately, eclipses have gotten a bad rap throughout history. They are associated with something foreboding, signify danger or impending doom. Once of my favorite movies, Practical Magic, has the main character’s sister cry, “Blood on the moon!” It’s a prediction of the bad stuff that’s to come in the plot and to the characters. You would think that if an omen as big and bold as a blood moon would make someone forgo rash decision making, but characters in books and movies tend to make poor choices at times. In this case, their use of magic in an inappropriate way leads to some crazy stuff. They can’t escape the omen and the consequences of their actions. (If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it. I love this movie.)

I wondered as I caught glimpses of the eclipse is how many creative people will be inspired by the moon? (That is if there were able to see it. There was a time when I thought the clouds were going to block it from sight all night.) Is it really a foretell of some horrible happening that’s yet to come or perhaps a positive event that unblocks our creative drive?

The moon itself has a bunch of characteristics that are downright crazy, causing anything from lunacy and madness to changing good people into werewolves or calling the devil up to roam the earth. Yet, Sunday’s eclipse instead of covering the moon completely in shadow had the light of the sun to illuminate it. There was a range of colors, gold, orange, and red.

If anything, seeing such an event will inspire me to imagine some great stories about what might happen under a blood red moon. Maybe I’ll go the old standard and create a story of danger or twist those myths around and write a tale of great love.

Wait a second … Practical Magic has both danger and love. Could the moon have inspired this story?

I hope this past weekend's moon helped you create great stories in whatever creative format you like.

Photo from depositphotos.com