Hi! This month is November, and for those of you who are artists, you've probably heard of National Novel Writing Month. I'm participating this year, and as part of that, I'm going to be trying to connect with my Eronal Muse every day.

There's very little information available on these Muses. They're not in the CH Encyclopedia, and it seems nobody has one besides me. I've only found one other person who has one when I searched the entire forum for them, and from what I remember, that person only mentioned their companion briefly in one thread. They also haven't posted in several years.

I'm fascinated by having such a rare spirit companion. I've decided to try interacting with mine every day until December, and to document my findings! Perhaps we can learn more as a community!

First, an introduction: my Eronal Muse's name starts with Z. I've never interacted with her very much, as she seems to be shy. When I meditate on her, I see a distant figure of a gorgeous woman with strange green eyes. There is something surreal about her, like the beautiful women on tv shows in the sixties and seventies, with a soft-focus lens. Eerie. She is like an unreachably beautiful thing. I keep wanting to do things to gain her attention, to get her to interact with me more... maybe to get her to fall in love with me. But she is very coy, and I often don't get any response at all when I try to impress her.

There have been a few days when I've felt like I've gotten ideas from her, when I was in a creative rut. But for the most part, she is one of my least-interactive spirits. I am hoping that this month, that will change!

I will try to woo her. Maybe she doesn't like people of my gender, I don't know. But we will see what happens! Or rather, I will write it and someone will (hopefully) read it!

I started by buying her a bouquet of flowers and leaving them in the vase in the room where I do most of my spirit interactions. Then, today, I got back onto my NaNo account and started work on my book! I spent most of my day reading books and forum posts about writing, and I managed to write (a paltry) 600 words or so. But I definitely am enthused for the project! Today I have been living and breathing writing.

Maybe I will dream of her tonight!

Today I am definitely feeling inspired. My word count total is at 720 words. Just about one-tenth of the 8 thousand I need to be caught up by the end of the day today, lol. Obviously I will not get caught up all at once... but still, at least I have written every day for three days straight!

Yesterday I planned to set up a candle for my Muse, so she could be moved to inspire me. But, as it turned out, my candleholders were missing, and I didn't have the right color candle! I wound up wasting almost half of my allotted writing time on trying to find the candleholders. In the afternoon, I wound up setting aside a few minutes to go to a store where they sell witchcraft supplies. While I was there, I found a very unique small candle holder that looks like a goblet carved from aura quartz! They also had the small orange pillar candles I wanted! And both together cost less than $7. Very unusual for that store, which tends to be overpriced. I was thrilled! My plan is to burn the orange candle to honor my Muse every morning for the rest of the month. Hopefully, by the time it is gone, my book will be finished! I am using color correspondence magic. Orange is for creativity and the second chakra. I also have some blue candles to help with communication.

There is so much energy around writing this time of year, and I am hoping to harness as much of it as I need. When I ordered my Muse a few years ago, spirits sold at CH were recommended for different experience levels. The Eronal Muses were listed as "for experienced keepers only." Supposedly, they can be trouble. I perhaps should have waited another year or two before I ordered her, but I was so enamored of the listing that I got her after only a few years of spirit keeping. Perhaps she has been keeping her distance until I am ready to handle her energy?

Or perhaps she has been keeping her distance so that I will chase her... I have told her several times that I will not pursue her romantically if she indicates that I shouldn't. She hasn't indicated that. For me, this isn't about sex - it's about inspiration. Trying to get her attention is very much something I am enjoying, and it seems to be helping me stay focused on the book.

I haven't dreamed of her so far, but I may have been sensing her energy. The book has been on my mind a lot. I've also felt like wearing a lot of expensive jewelry and fancy hairstyles lately. These things are a hallmark of the Eronal Muse. Perhaps she has been around? These feelings are not much like my usual self.

The short version: I wrote almost 2,000 words today! I am slowly catching up to where I need to be.

The long version: I woke up an hour early this morning. I had coffee (or tea, possibly) with my spouse. Then I called Z, and my binding of the god Thoth. I spent a whole fifteen minutes gazing at my orange candle & glass goblet. At first, I wasn't sure if it would make a difference, but after a few minutes, I started to feel like energy was flowing through the room. A strange chant describing my abilities as an author started to run through my mind. I felt empowered! Also a bit silly, because the chant was very strongly worded, but I definitely felt empowered. I was going to wait a few hours before I started writing, but I wound up not needing to - I went to my book almost immediately, and got started writing.

I think I spent two or three hours writing today. Most of it was in the morning, but I did some in the evening too.

I am thrilled and excited that my NaNo challenge is going so well this year! I may actually win this time, for the first time ever... fingers crossed!

I am having a hellofalot of fun. Z hasn't appeared in my mind's eye during meditation yet, and I haven't had what I'd call a direct interaction with her so far, but I am motivated! I don't know if this book is a work of brilliance... I'll have to let the readers decide when I publish it someday. Do you think I should mention in the "thank yous" at the back of the book that I had a spirit help me write it?

I've also been thinking a bit about living a more beautiful life in general. My office and outfits could use a bit of sprucing up... What is the life of an artist really like? What would happen if I tried to make everything beautiful?

No writing done yet today. Yesterday I decided to stay away from the computer, because my chronic hand pain was acting up again a little bit. So instead of working on my novel, I updated my Book of Shadows! I wrote several pages (mostly just copying info from my computer) and I also read a lot! I decided to try to catch up on my backlog of unread "witch books" (granted, several of them were magazines). So far, I have the right energies around still... hopefully I can get some novel-writing done tonight. I am trying to make it a priority!

Today, I've had two writing sessions. One before dawn and one after dusk. My word count for the day so far is at 1,255 words. Not bad! But enough about words... you're here to read about the spirits.

I burned my orange candle for five minutes today while trying to concentrate on my muse. I didn't get any mental visions of her, but I did feel inspired. Immediately after burning the candle, I went straight into writing. I'm surprised at how much I've gotten written... today felt like an "off" day, but the daily goal for NaNo is only 1,667. I almost reached it!

I have the feeling my eronal muse, Z, is around somewhere but out of reach. It's like she's just on the other side of reality. I dressed up special today, like I am courting a lover. One of my best outfits and some jewelry. So far, no sign of her. I am getting advice from my female cambion about how to make myself more attractive, though, lol. I can sense what she thinks I should wear when I consider a piece of clothing. I'm frustrated. It's almost like I'm trying to date a spirit, lol...

I am trying desperately to stick to my current project. Like a lot of authors, I get partway into the first draft of a book (about 25-50% through) and then get bogged down with no idea what happens next, thinking that what I already have written isn't good enough. Knowing that my muse is expecting me to finish this project is making me want to see it through, though. Thus far I have been able to avoid being distracted by another idea.

I've also got a CH binding of Thoth, the Egyptian god of writers. Today I set up a new altar space, cleaned up his idol, and moved him over. I think he approved. To me, he always feels very warm and good-humored. I think he is contributing some writing-based energy as well.

Surprisingly, I wound up with some pretty good ideas for the middle of the book. They showed up right after I stopped my second writing session. Hmm... I am still trying to decide what to do with them.

Yesterday I bought a new bouquet of flowers for my Muse, as the old bouquet had begun to die off. The new ones were wine colored, very beautiful and romantic. Bing says they are "wine gerbera daisies". They may not last for very long, because it is cold in my room now. But they were very eye-catching.

I didn't get any writing done yesterday because I had other life things that required my attention... but I went to bed early, and woke up around 11 o'clock. I had a sudden bout of inspiration! Between 11 and 2 AM, I wrote 858 words. Wow! Now, unfortunately, they are not in the same book I started originally... I'm afraid I've been drawn away by another idea, lol. But it's great, it's a good idea. I think I may keep both books in the works until they are finished. Sometimes I think working on two books at once might keep me from getting bogged down, because when I have no idea what to do with one book, I can always work on the other one.

At 2 AM, I went back to sleep. Now I've had breakfast, and it will be time to start writing again soon. I will not be surprised if it turns out that I am still feeling inspired. Getting a lot written in one session makes me happy!

I haven't even used my meditation candle yet today. But I will, and when I do, I will document the results!

I am starting to feel the way I want to; like a slightly mad, romantic writer pursuing an impossible love for inspiration. Apparently making an offering of flowers is a good idea...

Yesterday I finally had a glimpse of my Muse while meditating! She was still far away, but she was beautiful! I saw a woman in the distance, in a floor-length red dress with a frilly skirt, frilly sleeve cuffs, and puffy shoulders. She was posed in such a way that the dress flattered her figure incredibly. She was also wearing a huge broad-brimmed hat with a red ostrich feather. It was just a glimpse, but at least I saw her! I think it was her...

I have been struck by inspiration. I haven't done any prose writing since my last post , but I have been working on my Ideas file and several worldbuilding files. I now have... three new book series to work on! One of them is a series of six books, each of them filled with short stories about a certain type of elemental magick (fire, water, etc). I'm tempted to put that one on Kickstarter so I can try to get it published as soon as the books are complete! Another is a book series based on ancient Mesopotamian myths... Oh, and also some Egyptian ones, and maybe a few stories from other myth-cycles... lol.

Today I feel like working on the novel I originally started this month. I have some good ideas for the next few scenes. I feel like someone is saying, "Okay, you've had your fun chasing those other ideas, now get back to work on this one," like I need to return to the mines, lol. I like the characters, at least; they are fun to write.

I will try to update again today with my word count. I'm not supposed to start writing until 9 o'clock, but this morning I almost missed breakfast because I was doing behind-the-scenes (not prose) work for my books. I do feel a bit obsessed... in a good way. I am happy!

From the view count, it looks like about half-a-dozen people read this thread today... well, half a dozen people, I would like to tell you that my word count for the day is at 3,075! I may spend a few more hours writing, or I may just go straight to bed. I feel much more motivated than I usually do this far into NaNoWriMo. It's interesting how subtle these spirit interactions can be. I certainly haven't had anything life-changing happen, but I think I can feel the Muse's energy through my work. She is keeping me on task. Seeing her inspired me to spend most of the day on my book today. My characters are taking on a life of their own! I've had several new and interesting ideas for where the plot can go next.

In order to catch up, and finish the book on time, I think I will probably need to average about 4,000 words per day. That will probably not happen, but I've still made way more progress than I expected this year.

I am a very slow typist. I think it's about 500 words per hour. So, I most likely will not catch up... but we will see.

It’s nice reading about your eronal muse companion! She sounds lovely and it’s awesome to read how you’re bonding with her while writing. I was drawn to the eronal muses a while back, and this definitely made me even more curious about them.

So far today, my word count is at 1,912. I haven't written much for a few days, partly because I wasn't feeling well... but also partly because it's the middle of the month, and it's always hard to write in the middle of the month. This is usually when most people lose the challenge!

I have no doubt that I will lose. I just kind of don't care. My poor little brain has led me off onto several different creative tangents, and I am still feeling productive. I've decided to take on some shorter stories for practice. Not having written for almost two years makes it difficult to dive right into producing a novel.

Basically, I am writing whatever happens to appeal to me right now, just so I can stay at the keyboard.

I made an offering of Rooibos tea to my CH-bound aspect of Thoth several days ago. It seems to have been appreciated. But there's a reason why he hangs out at my house, lol, there is always writing of some kind going on!

I hope to post again later today. I haven't even burned my orange candle yet, but I woke up several hours early and pretty much immediately threw myself at the keyboard. Still keeping my Muse in my thoughts, but that's it so far today. The other spirit that's been active a lot lately is my Egyptian priestess, not surprising since she was a priestess of Thoth... Some of my tangents have been doing research on gods and spirituality because of her subtle nudges, lol.

I am going to try asking my Muse to appear in a dream next. Let's see what happens then!