How to Be A Muse
Lessons learned from "The Art of Seduction"
“Give your loving words religious import, bathe everything in rituals and myths going back to childhood. Bring all sorts of fantasies to life and create constant suspense. People are so hopelessly susceptible to myth, so make yourself the hero of a great drama. Make every detail of your life a grand aesthetic adventure.” —Robert Greene
The muse stands out in a crowd, she is the enigmatic woman, the person with a supernatural aura that begs to be uncovered, dissected, and understood. But she covers herself in veils, disguises, and paramount taboos, in order to be entirely unattainable. The muse takes an honorable distance in order to protect her inner sanctity. Some may define her as the “femme fatale” or the succubus, the enchantress or the outcast, the harlot or seasoned seductress.
I have studied “The Art of Seduction” by Robert Greene, a quite hefty collection of stories and instructions about the ways of a muse. He dives into historical and fictional femme fatales and the way that they work. My goal for this post is to capture the behavior and inner workings of a muse.
“Familiarity breeds contempt— there always must be ‘something’ others cannot altogether fathom which puzzles them, stirs them, and rivets their attention.” —Robert Greene
The artist’s job is to capture the likeness of a muse, so the muse must have something that makes them stand out. Whether it be their niche interests or odd and exotic appearance, muses stand outside of what is considered normal, they are something to be romanticized, and at times objectified.
Coveting a supernatural aura is what inspires artists to capture your likeness, wielding a yearning to peer into the world that lies inside of you. The masses want to know what makes you tick, what fuels your existence. You are a puzzle they wish to unfurl.
Muses are distinguished from everyone else and that’s why they inspire, they often stand out in a crowd. They can be talkative or socially removed, which makes them all the more dangerous. Muses have the capacity to break a heart with a mere glance, or the right sequence of words. This behavior is exactly what fuels the work made in their image. Oftentimes people aren’t fueled to create something in your honor if you are fully understood by them. That’s why your inner enigma must be cultivated, you must always hold yourself back, allowing small glimpses into your sanctity but just enough to leave others curious and confused. You may be a contradiction, with an ever-evolving personal appearance and aesthetic, to leave people curious as to what you will evolve into at that very moment.
“Float through life noncommittally and people will want to seize you and consume you. Keep your distance— let people identify with you without being able to touch you. They can only watch and dream.” —Robert Greene
Every great muse is a muse to many artists. That’s why you often see famous artists and celebrities dating the same people. They make for interesting subject matter, but they tire easily and rarely stay in one place for too long. Their presence is fleeting, and noticeably so, which drives an artist to feel the need to capture their likeness within the knick of time.
“You represent change, difference, a breakup of routines. Make your victims feel that without you, their lives are boring and their friends less interesting.” — Robert Greene
I like how in the “Art of Seduction” Robert Greene constantly calls the seductress’s current focus a “victim.” What often follows a muse is confusion, chaos, and heartbreak. This isn’t always the case, as some artists maintain the same muse forever. But that is almost a greater honor than being the muse of many, it shows you have such a unique substance as to adapt, evolve, and transcend your previous eras.
“Be your own hero, your own inspiration. Let that energy radiate from you, and watch how that attracts the right people and opportunities into your life.”
A muse is a living, breathing work of art. They romanticize their own life and make it a point to live their life cinematically, cultivating the right moments and experiences to make their essence inherently enchanting. While the artist has the ability to capture the ever-evolving changing landscape of inner ecosystems and outer inspirations, the muse focuses less on creating and more on embodying. They are a collage of various inspirations and are very deliberate with their choices. They have to have self-confidence, as people can clearly pick up on someone’s self-perception and self-esteem and will perceive them according to their own self-image.
“Being your own inspiration makes you attractive. It’s a secret power that draws in the people you want to impress, whether they’re clients you dream of, partners for your business, the ones you love, your romantic partner, friends, or anyone lucky enough to be around you. When you’re confident and enthusiastic about who you are and what you do, others can sense it too. It’s a magnetic force that draws people in.” —The Ambitious Woman
Some muses are blessed with inherent good looks, while others depend on their personality for their seductions. They often have crowds riveting around them and can find themselves in positions of leadership, but in other cases, a muse can be terribly isolated. This is the curse of beauty. Many muses are beautiful women, and there is a curse that accompanies beauty which not many people talk about. Women envy and belittle other beautiful women out of jealousy, and some angry and rejected men degrade and destroy women that do not desire them back or women that they can no longer possess. Despite that being a negative outcome of beauty, that goes to show a muse’s power. This requires an equal cultivation of withdrawal and social extroversion. The perfect muse manages to be endearing and intoxicating, mysterious and misunderstood. Bad press can be complimentary as it keeps you in the eyes of others, which is why it’s a tactic often employed by celebrities to keep themselves relevant. Do not stray from the emergence of conflict, allow it to build the taboo and explicit nature of your character. It will draw curious people in.
“Any social taboo, anything repressed and yearning for an outlet will suffice- make it felt in your recordings, your artwork, your books.” —Robert Greene
How you pose, stand, and walk is important. Demeanor is important, the way that you carry yourself. I work in a field that requires me to ensnare customers into purchasing what I am selling, which is an illusion. These are the physical and social habits I employ in order to seduce my customers.
Talk softly and seductively (Think Marilyn Monroe or Lana Del Rey)
Walk slow with your hips one foot in front of the other.
Look down at their lips and then up again into their eyes, to facilitate want and desire.
Have a signature perfume or fragrance.
Smile slowly and softly, perhaps a devilish smirk.
Soften your gaze.
Use an intellectual vocabulary, bringing substance to each phrase.
Be enigmatic and mysterious with what you choose to share about yourself.
Be unattainable and hard to get, it presents a challenge.
Know your worth, confidence is sexy. Insecurities will attract people who don’t know your worth and waste your time.
Act intrigued by them and them only, allow them to be the sole focus of your attention.
Have an occult and otherworldly air, poeticize your presence. Take after the artists and muses that inspire you, and take notes. Your life is your greatest masterpiece, and you are inherently a work of art. Cultivate yourself accordingly.
“The key is to make everything an aesthetic choice. Your ability to alleviate boredom by making life an art will make your company highly prized. Associate yourself with poetic images and objects, so when they think of you they begin to idealize you in their minds.” —Robert Greene
“You can always live out a role of your own creation, a role that fits your fantasy. Learn to play with your image, never taking it too seriously. Make the fantasy as radical and exotic as possible, and you will attract attention like a magnet.” —Robert Greene
I have a muse. And I am married to her. She is in EVERYTHING I write or take a picture of. She is very real. Thanks for the post and reminder for how much I have been blessed.
👏