7 Spells for One Yes: Ritual Affirmations for Getting the Work Out of the Studio and Into the World

Am I a witch? I don’t know. But I am the intuitive daughter of a psychiatrist matriarch and behavioral scientist/minister. I am connected to spirit, and spirit wanted me to share this with you.

The soil under our feet is in a tectonic shift, and that has brought loss of income, fear and uncertainty—a perfect recipe for doubt. For many dancers, the making comes easy. It’s all the labor that goes into getting the work out of the “studio” and to the people that triggers our insecurity and overwhelm. It makes sense, because the business, a.k.a. capitalism of art, lives outside the body. It’s not something we’re trained to integrate into our practice, so it often feels disconnected and disconnecting. 

The past two years have been a struggle through grief. My DEI consulting practice, which I was so proud of, withered under the new administration, and with it so did my self-esteem. To be honest, I cracked. I felt broken. A failure. I kept wishing I could go to ground—crawl into a dark, warm hole surrounded by earth, and go to seed. These aren’t the kinds of things your friends or family want to hear. It scares them. 

It was in the open-air hot springs of Ojo Caliente, New Mexico, surrounded by the red rocks, that I buried myself and let the water hold me. I let myself have no plan, no practice, no idea of who I was or what I might become. I gave it all to the Earth. I waited in the darkness like that for months until a tiny sliver of light appeared and curiosity returned. That’s when my emergence began. It started small: caring about things again, finding ways to be of value to the people I love, pursuing what aligned with my joy and my values. Every time I acted from joy, generosity, and authenticity, the crack widened effortlessly—until light poured out of me.

I knew I wanted to make art, but I was struggling with the “why.” I needed something that could hold me and ground me in the purpose and values of my creative practice, so I would have the fortitude, courage and spirit to move my work/my light into the world. 

So, I made this: 7 spells to ground your creative practice; 7 rituals to transform the transactional into the sacred. 

These spells are practical energetic technologies for personal and creative self-determination. They work to metabolize the vibrations of capitalism through embodiment, affirmation, and ritual. They help energetically tie the creative labor of distribution back to the core “why” of your work: why you make, why it matters, and why you keep going. They offer an intentional self-directed path to reconnect creative labor with the spirit that drives it.

Each spell includes:

1. Purpose (why and when to use it)
2. The Spell (spoken words)
3. Action Options (simple physical or symbolic actions to anchor the intention)
4. Closing (how to seal the work)

Use these spells for grounding, clarity, and/or momentum. They are designed for you to use whenever and wherever you need them. You can work one ritual/day over the course of a week for intense energy recalibration. You can focus on one spell/week for deeper work. Or select randomly as needed to match your energy. It’s not so much a prescription as it is a flexible structured devotion to the temple of your creative practice. 

1. Opening Invocation

Purpose: Self-recognition, stepping into sacred creative space.

Use: Beginning any creative session (rehearsal, writing, performance prep, etc.).

The Spell

I call myself into the circle.

I light the candle of my own name.

I step into the room I have built with my hands, with my joy, with my persistence.

I feel myself. 

I release the ache of producing work that burns so bright, in a world that hesitates to hold it.

I name the truth: I am an artist. 

I am a maker of the margins.

The margins are my holy ground.

Action Options

1. Speak your name aloud three times.
2. Sweep your hands from your feet over your head in an arc, drawing a boundary of light.
3. Light a candle or turn on a lamp to mark the space as creative.
4. Place your hand on your heart, take three steady breaths.

Closing

I close the circle but not the work. 

The spell is in motion. 

I am the spell. 

I am the one yes. 

I am the one who widens the crack in the wall.

2. The Spell of One Yes

Purpose: Calling in an anchoring opportunity.

Use: When seeking clarity or momentum for a new creative endeavor/project.

The Spell

I do not wait for permission.

I call in my anchor.

One yes. One show. One festival. One residency. One exhibition. One yes.

I plant it in the soil of my practice. I water it with action. 

I whisper to it: “Grow.”

Action Options

1. On a scrap of paper write down one clear “yes” you are calling in today/this week/month/year, as if it has already happened. This is your seed. Draw or imagine it in a pink bubble.
2. Cup your hands at your heart, holding the seed of the yes to come. With a soft gaze or closed eyes, focus on nourishing your seed into a sprout with the golden light of your creativity, then slowly extend your hands forward and imagine planting it on fertile ground.
3. In a small bowl “plant” your sprouted seed (the written intention). Sprinkle with a pinch of salt or sugar.
4. Focus on your “yes.” Speak it aloud or in your mind. Do this 3 times. Step forward one pace in your space as you say, “Grow.”
5. Place bowl in a sunny spot. Keep for 1–7 days, or until movement on your “yes” occurs.
   1. Salt: Return to the earth or dissolve in water and pour outside.
   2. Sugar: Dissolve in water and pour into soil, or stir into a drink and consume.

Closing

I close the circle but not the work. 

The spell is in motion. 

I am the spell. 

I am the one yes. 

I am the one who widens the crack in the wall.

3. Spell of Many Hands

Purpose: Calling in your council—physical and ancestral—giving them clarity about your work, and trusting them to carry your name, your story, your spark into other rooms.

Use: Before outreach, networking, or community building.

The Spell

I summon my circles. The living who walk beside me. The ancestors who stand behind me. The ones whose names I know, and the ones whose names are etched in my marrow.

The friend who shares the mic.

The comrade who’s carved a path before me.

The connector who extends the invitation,

the chosen family who reminds me I belong.

I do not walk alone.

I am held by a constellation of lived truths.

I am guided by those who carry many stories—and still make space for mine.

I do not walk alone. I am held by the living. I am guided by the dead.

I share my work so my people can carry it. I give them the words, the truth, the spark, so they can speak my name in rooms I have not entered yet.

I do not beg. I call. I build.

Action Options

1. Speak the names of 1–3 people or ancestors you are calling in to support your work today.
2. Stretch your arms out wide, palms up in a gentle semicircle, as if offering and receiving a hug at the same time, sweep your arms in drawing the love of your people into your heart. Do this 3 times. 
3. Pour a small glass of water and place it nearby to honor those who support you.
4. Send a short message to one person in your network, updating them on your current work.

Closing: 

I close the circle but not the work. 

The spell is in motion. 

I am the spell. 

I am the one yes. 

I am the one who widens the crack in the wall.

4. Spell of True Connection

Purpose: Centering relationship over transaction.

Use: Before meetings, pitches, or correspondence. 

The Spell:

I lead with my humanity, my curiosity, my reverence.

I seek alignment, not approval. Partnership not authority. 

I look for the spark. The flash of recognition between humans when values align. I receive it when it’s given. I offer it when it’s mine to give.

I speak from the heart of my practice. I share what has me in love with my work, so others can feel that love too.

I do not approach to persuade. I approach to relate. 

The connection is the magic. And the magic is enough.

Action Options

1. Place one hand on your heart, the other open and extended slightly forward, palm up. Draw a circle in the air, symbolizing a space of connection.
2. Call one ancestor or guide who embodies your deepest values of relationship. Then invite the partner you wish to collaborate with into the circle
3. Imagine the circle becoming a golden mirror of your shared values. Name one thing you love about your work that belongs in that mirror. Take a deep breath, seeing the golden mirror reflect you, your ancestor, and your collaborators—together in shared purpose.
4. Speak a word of gratitude or alignment into the circle, then sweep your arms in a wide embrace, pulling the golden mirror into your heart.

 Closing: 

I close the circle but not the work. 

The spell is in motion. 

I am the spell. 

I am the one yes. 

I am the one who widens the crack in the wall.

5. The Spell of Every Skill

Purpose: Claiming and using all your abilities to support your art.

Use: When feeling doubt about side work or multiple identities.

The Spell

I gather my tools. 

All of them.

The ones that make me money. 

The ones that buy me time. 

The ones that hold open space.

I use them in service of my art. 

I use them without shame. 

I use them without bending my values.

I use them without hesitation to fuel my fire.

Action Options

1. List aloud three skills you have—no matter how unrelated—that can sustain your art.
2. Mime gathering items and placing them into an invisible satchel or basket.
3. Place one small object representing a valued skill onto your work table.
4. Touch your fingertips to your forehead, lips, and heart, honoring your mind, voice, and spirit.

Closing

I close the circle but not the work. 

The spell is in motion. 

I am the spell. 

I am the one yes. 

I am the one who widens the crack in the wall.

6. The Spell of the Right Room

Purpose: Letting go of spaces that diminish you, and calling in spaces that honor you.

Use: Before performances, proposals, or festival applications.

The Spell

I release the rooms that cannot see me. 

I release the rooms that want easy, safe, small.

I call in the rooms that lean forward, that whisper, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Rooms that say, 

“Stay. Do more.”

I do not wonder if I am good enough. I am. 

I do not justify my art. It is.  

I seek those who need and want it.

Action Options

1. Say aloud, “I release what cannot see me. I call in what can hold me.”
2. Brush your hands down your arms and body as if sweeping away dust or residue.
3. Open a window or door briefly to invite in fresh air.
4. Visualize one space or person who fully welcomes your work, and step toward that vision.

Closing 

I close the circle but not the work.

The spell is in motion.

I am the spell. 

I am the one yes.

I am the one who widens the crack in the wall.

7. Spell of Ongoing Commitment

Purpose: Recommitting to the daily, sacred work of creation.

Use: Daily or weekly affirmation.

The Spell

I vow to keep showing up for my practice,

whether the world is watching or not.

I keep committing to my creative priority,

to that spirit that compels me to make.

I give my practice what it needs—

space, time, rest, tools, silence, company.

Even when there are no accolades or external validation,

I continue. 

This is the “what” I am best at.

It is the gift that is divinely mine.

I protect it.

I feed it.

I bless it.

Action Options

1. Draw a circle around you with your foot and state one thing you will give to your practice today.
2. Place both hands over your heart, gathering creativity and authenticity and throw it all around your work space. Imagine it spilling out the circle and filling the room.
3. Take a deep breath or sip water or tea as a gesture of nourishment.
4. Set a timer and do a short act of creation. Continue this way or begin a longer creative session. 

Closing

I close the circle but not the work.

The spell is in motion.

I am the spell.

I am the one yes.

I am the one who widens the crack in the wall.

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Beatrice L. Thomas (they/she) is a multidisciplinary artist, performer, playwright and facilitator whose practice bridges social justice, spectacle, and strategy. Under their alter ego Black Benatar, Beatrice creates immersive cabaret and performance works that center Black queer liberation and collective joy. As founder of Authentic Arts & Media, they design values-driven programs that help artists, cultural workers, and organizations align purpose, resources, and community impact. A Kennedy Center Fellow and longtime arts consultant, Beatrice has supported hundreds of artists in building sustainable creative lives through clarity, play, and care. Their workshops invite laughter, honesty, and rigor, translating big-picture dreams into concrete next steps without losing heart or humor. Authentic Arts & Media