EQUINOX SPELLS - A creative writing workshop on self-mythology & alchemy

"September cuts in like deus ex machina, a solution I hadn’t thought of: to simply continue."

The equinox as a point of reflection to find balance again, to alchemise our contradictions, to transmute what needs to be changed. To let go of what is no longer working and to re-focus on the things that are.

“I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.", wrote Joan Didion in her landmark essay Why I Write. Doris Lessing used personal memories, dreams, and fragments of experience to form a conscious narrative to find authenticity in her autobiography Under My Skin.

How to write the self? Who emerges on the page? What are the narratives of your life right now? Self-mythology can help us understand the stories we tell ourselves, to look at them and re-write them in our favour: to become who we truly desire to be. As psychologist Carl Jung said, it is important to ask yourself: "What myth am I living?"

This equinox we sit down for two hours to explore the concept of self-mythology, how it can help us to see ourselves more clearly and step into the next season with balance, clarity and conviction.

Through readings, creative writing prompts, visualisation and journaling exercises, we'll use that self-knowledge to alchemise ourselves into the versions we wish to be.

[THIS WORKSHOP WILL BE RECORDED IF YOU CANNOT MAKE IT ON THE DAY]

September 23rd, 7-9 PM (British Summer Time)

This writing workshop is for you if:

• you’ve not been writing that much all year and really want to get out of your slump

• you really want to reflect on some things that happened

• you keep repeating the same things and want to change

• you desire clarity

• you feel exhausted and need a moment to gather yourself

• you want to be inspired

• you like a witchy vibe

• you seek a creative community

• you want some concrete steps and goals for the rest of this year

• you’re curious what could happen if you try

About your instructor:

Sophia Hembeck is a writer, visual artist & cultural critic. She has published three books: Things I Have Noticed, 2020, Things I Have Loved, 2023 & Things That Are Different Now, 2025 which comprise lyrical essays as well as artwork that she specifically created for the books. Her work has appeared in off-chance, The Localist, Koralle Magazin,  Missy Magazin, Almost Magazin & Culture Vulture.

She’s a fierce advocate for literary essays and teaches essay writing classes for writers of all levels.