Creativity and the Lack of an Element
Continuing our series creativity and the absence of an element in your chart and how this impacts your creativity. After covering chart imbalances in general, and the lack of Fire, we focus on the problems caused by the absence of Earth in the chart.
Absence of Earth Characteristics
- Difficulties in dealing with practical and mundane matters
- A feeling of not being grounded
- Inability to take responsibility
- Inability to follow through on tasks
- Tendency to be impractical
- Difficulties in being organized
- Disinterest in financial matters
Absence of Earth and Creativity
How this imbalance affects a person’s creativity?
In many ways, the lack of earth relates to the myth of the starving artist, a genius, an exceedingly creative person but incapable of tying his shoes or perform any other mundane task.
Generally, the absence of this element in the chart would reveal itself in day-to-day activities, such time as management and organization.
Of course, money problems could be expected – the whole relationship with finances would be a symptom of a lack of earth in the chart.
The necessary bridge between the creative process, and the business side of making art would probably conspicuously absent or undermined. The journey of becoming a businessperson – in the general sense and an artist would be fraught with difficulties.
Prioritizing problems and challenges would also come up with a lack of earth in a chart as well as the inability to reduce tasks into smaller doable parts.
The ability to approach goals and stay on track would be impaired as an artist with no earth in his chart would struggle with a lack of purpose, focus, and courage.
A lack of earth would also play into the artist’s life as an impediment to improve his/her attitude towards money, and develop greater confidence in his work and actions related to art. A lack of direction could result.
Materials Definition
In my previous series, I had equated Earth with materials and given the following definition for materials. Materials can be broadly defined as anything used by the artist as a medium to produce a work of art (stone, metal, glass, wood, clay, paper, paint, fabric, ink, yarn, etc…)
The question is what happens to the artist’s ability to use materials when there is an absence of earth in his chart?
Lack of Earth and Materials
My guess would be that the artist would exhibit the symptoms of one of the seven creativity sins – Gluttony , expressed in the form of retail therapy!
Always hankering after materials – a new paint color, a better tool, a new art gadget that promises miracles – in the hope they will help you get organized, more productive, accomplish your tasks.
Unfortunately, I believe this attitude has the opposite effect of its intended goal. This overcompensation caused by the lack of earth actually stunts the creativity and renders the artist less focused and organized. It’s likely to completely overwhelm him. The result is nothing gets created at all.
The artist lacking earth in their chart needs to walk a fine line between the necessity of focusing on the mundane aspects of his creativity and their work. Too much or too little focus on either side of the spectrum is not likely to be solution for a lack of earth. Nonetheless, to be successful, he will need to tether himself to those practical aspects if he wants to continue to develop his creativity over the long run.
Alcohol and drugs can often times be solution used by artist who lacks earth in their chart to escape the feelings of uneasiness with their bodies. Judy Garland, Richard Burton, Joan Crawford are all good examples.
Other artists go the opposite direction and become known for the earthiness of their work. Emile Zola, Mark Twain, Ingmar Bergman spring to mind. Nijinsky is as an example of the artist who used his body to its maximum potential.
What sort of problems the absence of earth has created in your life? What are the difficulties you have in expressing yourself through your art? Do you have a tendency to use the lack of materials as an excuse not to deal with the practical realities of your creativity? Share you experience.
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