This article is an excerpt from a past monthly letter. If you enjoy this kind of grounding support, sign up to receive the monthly coaching package: it includes an article like this one, journaling prompts, creative practices, spiritual rituals and supportive tools to help you navigate your rebellious path as an artist or creative entrepreneur.

The other day, I was mixing paint in search of that perfect green... somewhere between a dark sage and a rich emerald: a magical and lush Northern forest shade of green. I spent way longer than I’d like to admit trying to reproduce it without ever really getting close to it. It was never quite right. Too yellow, not blue enough… Until I got to the most boring brown by trying to warm it up with a bit of red. This little incident reminded me how we can easily dilute our true colours as artists, creative minds and unconventional humans, when our creative vision gets tinted by the demands, shoulds and distractions of the outside world... or the impossible standards we hold for ourselves.

As we step into Virgo season, we’ll be asked to examine this reality, realign with our truest vision and take a closer look at what’s standing in our way. How can we stay grounded and root even deeper in our unique essence as artists, creators and changemakers? Whatever your answer may be, I encourage you to also stay curious about Virgo’s vulnerabilities: self criticism, perfectionism and overgiving. However you choose to stay committed to your mission, there will be bumps along the way— and that’s okay. You can only stay committed to your long term vision when you allow yourself space to trip. I also know how much you believe in the change you’re here to make— but it cannot be done at the detriment of your own wellbeing. You can only support others fully when you choose to be of service to yourself first.

Staying anchored in our mission and feeling at home in our creative work is a multilayered and cyclical process. We’ll be challenged over and over again to choose ourselves first (over the demands, shoulds and distractions of the outside world, or the impossible standards of our inner critic). We’ll come to this crossroad again— facing the ‘safe’ paved road everyone else seems to have chosen, and this other one… the one that pulls you in uncontrollably, relentlessly calls out your name, inexplicably feels like home. Yet, no one else has chosen to walk on it— from where you stand, it looks dark, gloomy and lonely… “What if I get lost?” Dear creative mind, what if you finally get to find yourself?

You may have waved goodbye to a life that wasn’t meant for you and gathered every ounce of courage to live more authentically— this a decision you will actually need to make again and again. First comes the courage to walk on your path, and then comes the dedication to continue doing so, day after day.

Fully honouring who we are will also inevitably bring out where we contrast with others. That’s where our truth gets to exist, that’s where our beauty lies. And that’s also when we may start to water it down by bringing ourselves back in the grey zone, blending in with the social norms and shrinking ourselves to fit into tiny boxes. We add a little too much white, a little too much black, a little bit of every colour… and we end up swimming in a hue that feels nothing like us. Trying to please everyone and blending a drop of every colour usually creates the same boring result: a muddy brown. Painfully neutral. A perfect background for another colour to pop and take the centre stage in your own painting.

Being true to ourselves, stepping into our fullest potential as a creator and choosing to walk on our rebellious path does not mean living on the polar opposite of everyone else. It means living anchored in what feels true to you and where you feel at home on the spectrum of everything.

How can you stay true to the version of yourself, here and now? How can you own the boldest hues of your truest colours?

Explore

Journal prompts to own your true colours

Be gentle with yourself as you unravel these stories. Take breaks, find ways to self-soothe and allow yourself to explore only what serves you (all while knowing that sometimes we may feel the most resistance towards the most important thing we need to investigate).

If I were a colour, which one would it be?
Where have I desaturated or oversaturated my true colours?
Where am I not being of service to myself?
In what ways is my creative work already enough?
How can I be kinder to myself and let go of the red editor’s pen?
What beauty can I choose to see in the messiness of this process?
Where am I diluting my essence and my art to keep the peace or please others?
In what ways have I lost sight of my vision? How can I take one tiny step back on my truest path this month?
What if the person that needs me most is myself right now?

CARE

Draw yourself or use the body outline below, and define the boundaries between you and your mind, people, things and beliefs.

What healthy boundaries do you need to set to express your feelings?
What would you love to say yes to?
How can you protect what brings you joy or peace?
What limits do you need to define to be more of yourself? What would you like to say no to?