Going with the flow – The Water blessing

Going with the flow – The Water blessing 

As I begin my first residency in Latvia, the first of four over the year, each dedicated to an alchemical element, I start off with working with the element of Water. Water cleanses and purifies, as we ourselves bathe and cleanse at the start of each day, so too do I begin this creative journey and honour the enlivening element of Water in the hopes of giving life to this new creative journey in ceramics.

The first of my residencies is at Laima Ceramics, a rural ceramics studio about an hour and a half just south of Riga. Finding myself in Riga at the start of this journey, the first port of call for many who visit this country, it seems to have been a divine act, one completely unplanned in relation to what I would discover. On a serendipitous walking tour around the city I had joined by chance, I discovered that the ancient city of Riga was once a moated city, surrounded by water. 

(Image credit: Wikipedia) 

Even the name Riga has been thought to have been derived from the Latin Rigare, which means to bless, to wet with water.  Walking around the city, our knowledgeable local guide pointed out that everywhere underfoot where waved patterns appeared on the walkway, was once where a river was, now cemented and cut off from flow. I was saddened by this somewhat stark and modern analogy of what we do to ourselves and to Nature daily. We cut ourselves off from this vital, creative life force, constricting ourselves and our natural tendencies of creativity, flow, and where life wants to go, by boxing ourselves into constricting narratives of where we think we should go, what we should do or who we should be. 

The phrase Be like water, to be flexible in both mind and body, came to mind. Which is why water and creativity are alike in so many ways.  it’s ubiquitous, keeps us alive, comes in many forms, has infinite expressions, from ice to vapour to steam, and its strength can alter and enliven landscape.

“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.”
― Margaret Atwood

And so on my last day in the city, I offered my blessings to Water, I took a short train ride to the Baltic Sea, to where all rivers flow to naturally, and gathered sand from the shore to bring back with me. I scattered it into this small constricted and concrete river with a blessing that she too might find her way back home to oneness, to the vast ocean, to she where wants to go. It was a small offering to life: harnesssing the power of Water to bless this time ahead, incanting the desire for the flow of creativity to come, that I was ready, with an intention to release into all emotions and be in flow, and let the river take me where she needs me.