are you living in a Creative Hell?

What does a medieval poem about Hell have to do with your creative work?

More than you’d expect.

Last year, I visited the Museo Casa di Dante in Florence, the house where Dante Alighieri was born. I expected to learn about literature, history, and maybe some interesting facts about Florence in the 1300s, which I did.

What I didn’t expect was how much The Divine Comedy would echo what we go through in our own creative journeys.

In the first part of the poem, Inferno, Dante describes Hell as a place of fire and torment and a layered spiral of disconnection. Nine circles. Each one represents a different way humans drift from integrity: through fear, addiction, self-abandonment, denial, or betrayal.

Our focus here is not on punishment.
Let’s frame it as a disconnection from your creative self.

And that’s what makes this metaphor so useful. Most creative blocks don’t start with a lack of talent or inspiration. They start with disconnection.

Not doing nothing, but doing the wrong things.
Creating from fear, overthinking, performing, avoiding, or pushing past yourself instead of listening is the actual “creative hell” every creative person faces at least once in their life.

When I looked at Dante’s nine circles through this lens, I saw nine ways creatives tend to misuse their energy… often without realizing it.

Use this to recognize the patterns, so you can stop draining your potential and start returning to yourself.

Here’s the breakdown:

1. Limbo

Dante’s POV: People who lived without harming, but also without real purpose or faith. They’re not tortured, but they’re stuck. Nothing moves.
Creative POV: You have ideas, but don’t act on them. You wait. You convince yourself you’re “thinking it through,” but nothing actually begins.

What it costs: Momentum. Confidence. A sense of progress.
Ask instead: What small step would move me forward today, even if it’s not perfect?

2. Lust

Dante’s POV: People who were ruled by desire. They couldn’t control their impulses.
Creative POV: You chase attention. You shape your work for performance, not meaning. You crave the hit of being seen. Ouch.

What it costs: Depth. Fulfillment. Personal connection to the work.
Ask instead: Am I doing this to be seen, or because it’s real to me?

3. Gluttony

Dante’s POV: People who overindulged in food and pleasure. Now they lie helpless in mud and cold rain. Dramatic, I know.
Creative POV: You’re always taking in more content, courses and inspiration, but you’re not creating. You’re full of ideas (usually other people’s), but never act.

What it costs: Clarity. Self-trust. Your voice.
Ask instead: What would I make if I stopped absorbing and started acting on what I already know?

4. Greed

Dante’s POV: People who were obsessed with money: either hoarding it or wasting it. Their punishment is to push weights in meaningless circles.
Creative POV: You stockpile ideas. You plan as a non-stop process, but almost never finish or share. You’re afraid it won’t be good enough. Wait, is that… you?

What it costs: Growth. Feedback. Your own evolution.
Ask instead: What am I really protecting myself from by not releasing this?

5. Wrath

Dante’s POV: The openly angry fight each other on the surface of a swamp. The silently angry drown beneath it.
Creative POV: You create from resentment. From rejection. From a need to prove something. You work hard, but it’s rooted in tension, not connection.

What it costs: Joy. Clarity. Sustainable momentum.
Ask instead: What would I want to say if I weren’t trying to prove anything?

6. Heresy

Dante’s POV: People who denied spiritual truths or refused to believe in something bigger than themselves.
Creative POV: You abandon your voice to fit in. You copy trends. You edit your originality for safety or approval.

What it costs: Integrity. Honesty. Long-term alignment.
Ask instead: Where have I stopped trusting what actually feels true to me?

7. Violence

Dante’s POV: People who harmed others, themselves, or the natural order.
Creative POV: You turn your process into punishment. You overwork. You shame yourself. You forget that creating is meant to be a relationship, not a grind.

What it costs: Vitality. Joy. Your bond with your own gift.
Ask instead: Am I creating from pressure or connection?

8. Fraud

Dante’s POV: People who lied, manipulated, or deceived others. Each type of fraud has a specific punishment.
Creative POV: You perform a role. You build a version of yourself that looks good but feels flat. You disconnect from your authentic voice.

What it costs: Emotional honesty. Fulfillment. Creative flow.
Ask instead: What part of me am I hiding behind the brand?

9. Treachery

Dante’s POV: The deepest circle. Reserved for betrayal of the people or causes one was closest to. Here, traitors are frozen in ice.
Creative POV: You abandon your creative work. You walk away, not out of laziness, but because it feels safer than risking disappointment or failure.

What it costs: Your connection to purpose. A sense of aliveness.
Ask instead: What would it feel like to return without shame?

These are just patterns.

I know you’re probably overthinking them right now, thinking:
“Wait... how long have I been creating my personal hell?”

That’s okay.
We’ve all been through it. And we’re all vulnerable to slipping back in when we’re tired, overwhelmed, or disconnected from ourselves.

You don’t need to fix everything at once. Notice where you are. Name it.
Then ask a better question and open the door back to yourself.

You’re not late. Or lost, or broken.
You might just be spiralling away from yourself.

And the way back is always closer than you think.

Thanks for reading,

Yoli

→ ENDLESS-ID is finally reopening soon. Hop on now and be the first to know when doors open.