About this event
Fertile Darkness: Creative Writing in the Womb of Winter 🌑
A Winter Online Workshop Series guided by Jeska Onderwater
This winter, you are warmly invited to enter the fertile darkness:
a space of stillness, mystery and possibility.
A space where we soften into the unknown,
listen beneath the surface,
and allow something new to take root in the depths of our being.
'Fertile Darkness' is a three-part creative writing series exploring the generative power of stillness, the wisdom of the unseen, and the creative potential that lives within the unknown.
We often associate creativity with light, inspiration and bringing something into being. But what if creativity also lives in the dark? In the spaces of uncertainty, in the moments of stillness, in the tender places where something is forming, dissolving or waiting to be known?
The dark of winter reminds us that not all growth is visible. It is a season that invites us to slow down, turn inward and surrender to what cannot yet be seen. Beneath the frozen ground, life is quietly gathering. In the darkness, seeds are dreaming. In the silence, something is forming. There is a quiet intelligence in this hidden world, where beginnings and endings, presence and absence, grief and possibility are allowed to coexist
Together, we will explore writing as a way of listening to these subtle movements within ourselves. Through contemplative practices, intuitive writing, movement and storytelling, we will create space for the voices, images and stories that emerge when we allow ourselves to descend beneath the familiar.
Rather than searching for answers or forcing inspiration, we will practise meeting the unknown with curiosity. Trusting that darkness is not an absence of life, but a fertile ground from which new worlds can emerge.
Each session stands on its own, yet together they form a journey into the depths of our creativity:
Entering the Dark 🌑
Sunday 27 December | 16:00–18:00 CET
Crossing the threshold into winter's inner landscape. What becomes possible when we stop reaching for the light and allow ourselves to be held by the dark? In this first session, we will welcome the dark as a place of rest and listening. Together, we will explore the fertile ground of the unknown and open a space for what is waiting to be written. Bring a favourite poem or text to share.
Listening Beneath the Surface 🌊
Sunday 3 January | 16:00–18:00 CET
Descending from the mind into the body, allowing the wisdom beneath our conscious thoughts to find its way into words. Through intuitive movement, dance and breath, we will soften into the deeper currents of our being. What stories, sensations and images are moving beneath the surface? We will let the body become our guide and writing become a way of following its whispers.
Giving Birth to the Unseen 🌱
Sunday 10 January | 16:00–18:00 CET
Descending into the quiet depths of the unknown, making space for what lives beneath the surface. Through meditation and storytelling, we will explore the mysteries of creation and becoming, allowing stories to inspire and open pathways into our own intuitive writing. We will listen to what lives in the darkness: the whispers, the mysteries and the beauty, whether it wishes to remain unseen or perhaps, in its own time, be brought into the light.
Exchange:
– €40 per individual session
– or €111 for the full series
Sessions will be held in English via Zoom. You will receive all details by e-mail one day before each session.
Sessions will not be recorded, to honour the privacy of all participants and encourage the magic of active participation.
If you wish to join the series but cannot currently afford the full fee, please contact me about payment plans via jeska.onderwater@gmail.com.
Come as you are. Bring a notebook, a pen, and a willingness to wander into the unknown.
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