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agballa creatives

agballa updates various musings (and an occasional prompt) on the intersections of creativity, wellness, ancestors, and maybe a little mama/auntiehood :)

A river flows through a lush forest at sunset.
Featured Post

agballa notes - issue 29 - a letter from the river bank

read time: ~7 min happy full moon aquarius, jupiter in leo cazimi, Reader! this past weekend, my family and I were invited to join my partner’s brother’s friends/chosen family on their annual camping trip. we said yes, and it was a beautiful, unexpected three days ā€œoff-the-grid.ā€ no reception, no phone, no tech. I believe hollywood grooms us to be afraid of moments like these, and I’m also not naive to the fact that could have been a dangerous situation, but we were in good company. we were...

A brown snail rests on a large, dark green leaf.

hey Reader! this mercury rx has been slapping me right around šŸ˜… hbu? lots has been going on behind-the-scenes, lots of ideas and movement and what we call in our house, action jaction!! all good things, really, and I feel incredibly blessed and grateful that the things I’ve been asking for are being shown in real time. and also, I’ve been rushing through things to check them off the list (iykyk). like, last week, I fired off this newsletter cuz it was on the list WITHOUT double checking,...

Sunlit living room with brown couch and lush plants

hey Reader, blessed new moon in cancer! what’s been coming up for you emotionally lately? how is it showing up in your work, home, and creative practice? feel free to reply if you’d like to share, or use this as a journal prompt. I’ve been thinking about ā€œself-careā€ vs. ā€œself-centered,ā€ and the deep connection between care, home, and belonging. water, memory, ancestors, emotion—these are the themes of this cycle. so here’s lesson three from my recent fallow period: our first home is...

Star trails arc across a purple night sky over mountains.

we hold a lot. all of us, even men, but especially those of us with multiple, marginalized identities & responsibilities, both inherited & chosen. during this most recent fallow period, too, I’ve been leaning all the way into the rabbit holes that pique my interest. that make my mind & senses light up. the two I’m down at the moment are astrology and herbalism, and how they go together. weaving the commonalities across indigenous systems & thought & time. and the deeper I get into astrology &...

Stubble in a harvested field under a clear blue sky

blessed full moon, friends & fam! I’m back from a fallow period. I think the last email I sent to you was in January o0 fallow ˈfalÉ™ŹŠadjective(of farmland) ploughed and harrowed but left for a period without being sown in order to restore its fertility or to avoid surplus production.(of a period of time) characterized by inaction; unproductive.(of a sow) not pregnant. nouna piece of fallow land. verbleave (land) fallow for a period. (credit: oxford languages via ecosia) this time, I’m not...

hi email beloveds!how are you doing amid the uprisings? my prayer for all of us is that you allow for the processing, the grief, the rage to come through and that you alchemize it into your creativity, your magic, your movement toward the world you desire to live in. I've been moving through my own, and have been using it as fuel for this work. cuz doing this work gives me energy, it renews the vigor in me to keep going. BUT it must be sustainable for me, someone who is easily wooed by lots...

creating in kapwa: a co-creation gathering for WOC creatives

blessed gregorian new year, folks. are we back from the void yet? if not, I definitely feel you. and also, I'm buzzingggg with this new energy. hbu? okay...onto today's issue :)...which isn't being sent on a wednesday cuz we have events on wednesday that I want you to know about! who's holding your vision? who's holding the vision you have for your self and the new/ancient world we're creating with you? sometimes the ones closest to us, the ones in our very inner circle, just don't get it....

winter reflection & reset 2025/26

blessed solstice, new moon, & holiday-season, kapwa-tao! wishing you all a nourishing, relaxing time, however you choose to spend this time. I've got an announcement today! winter reflection & reset will be LIVE. I wasn't going to cuz I for real want to curl up under my blanket and do my annual jigsaw puzzles :) and also, someone on the other side (idk who, maybe it's just me) kept nudging me to make this and put it out. so here I am, obedient to the orders of spirit/ancestors/whoever it is...

A latte with intricate foam art sits on a saucer.

hi hi! so, I fell off the writing wednesdays groove. I got distracted by all the other things that pull a business owner’s attention: social media content, finding clients, interviews & connection calls, ā€œnetworkingā€ aka meeting new people calls, podcast applications, planning for 2026 (only cuz it’s exciting and I love to plan, not cuz gregorian new year), and most of all, client work! and also tending to my almost 3yo, our 12yo, our home & family. and winter and tending to my mental health,...

in case you missed it or are new here, welcome! this email is the third in a series about the process of writing my first ebook! it's about finding creative flow more often. you can read the other installments here: part 1 and part 2 hey frendz and fam! it's a scorpio new moon today. are you feeling it, too? this week, as the sun has begin to set at 5pm, giving us complete darkness by 6pm, I've been feeling the need to sensory cocoon, as in wrap my self in blankets, cover my feet in soft...