Light Returning- Winter Solstice 2024
Solstice Traditions, Writing Updates, Candle-lighting, Upcoming Course, & so much more!
Welcome the light returning! On Saturday, December 21, Solstice occurs around the globe! We in the Northern Hemisphere will now watch the light grow longer each day, while our friends in the Southern Hemisphere will watch the light become less each day. Regardless of where you live, Solstice is a day of transition, a day to offer gratitude that no matter what, the sun and the moon and the planets continue to spin exactly as they have for more time than we know. Keep reading – I have wonderful news and ideas to share!
My Winter Solstice Tradition
On Winter Solstice night, my friends and I begin our evening in darkness, except for one small candle and some incense burning. We sit in meditation for a few minutes, offering prayers of gratitude and supplication. As the evening goes on, we eat and drink and laugh and sing and play seasonal music we love. We particularly cherish Paul Winter Consort's work. For years the group’s solstice performances were held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. Listen to a retrospective here: https://solsticeconcert.com/winter-solstice/
Most important, we light more and more candles throughout the evening, and we light my Core Sound crab pot Christmas tree until the house is ablaze in light. Click below to read the amazing story about how these trees made from crab pots came to be:
https://crabpottrees.com/about/
My offerings of gratitude include my gratitude for my connection to YOU! Please know how honored I am that you read my work, take my courses, listen to my podcast, and connect with me in so many ways. You are the gift!
I’m so happy to connect with you and I’m grateful that you subscribe to this newsletter! If you missed my last newsletter, you can read it here.
You Are The Gift- December 2024
My NEW Published Work!
I AM SOOOOO excited to have my work included in County Lines: A Literary Journal again! Three new poems - "Sacred Geometry: A Trilogy of Connection" and my creative non-fiction piece "Sunday Fatback" are my offerings among the works by many other talented North Carolina writers. While you can get this book on Amazon, I beg you to order it through your local independent bookstores. I'm sure Pomegranate Books would be happy to order it for you and ship it to you! I’m always grateful when you read my work!
Candle-lighting on my Deb Bowen, Author Facebook Page
We’re lighting candles on Sunday evenings as we approach Winter Solstice. We began on Sunday, November 24, lighting one candle. On Sunday, December 1, we lighted two candles. On Sunday, December 8, light three. On Sunday, December 15, light four, and on Sunday, December 22 light five. Join us! It doesn’t matter what kind or color candle or how long you let them burn!
Upcoming Course in the New Year
Unlocking the Mysteries of Tarot, my introductory Tarot course that teaches you how to begin reading Tarot, begins Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Registration deadline is Friday, January 3 at 6 PM Eastern time. Enrollment is limited, and both the afternoon and evening sections will fill, so register soon! Click here for details: https://debbowen.com/product-category/new-category/
A note about my perspective on Tarot: Tarot is so much more than a divination method. Its history reaches back so far that we don’t know its origins. Tarot has been used to relay messages between royal courts, to hide legends and teachings in plain sight, and to offer us metaphors and archetypes for our personal life lessons and journeys. My deep respect for Tarot crosses many boundaries, but my deepest gratitude is the way in which world beliefs, mythologies, cultures, and history join together in the images and meanings of the keys to guide our paths today. I so hope you’ll begin your Tarot journey to yourself in this course.
Deep Gratitude
A huge thank you to the many of you enrolled in my The Fool’s Calling: Your Personal Myths and Archetypes in Arcane Symbols course! I am overwhelmed by the kind responses I have received about the material and I am so glad you are enjoying the course. Some of you who missed the enrollment deadline have asked when I will reopen enrollment. I’m not sure. The last registered cohort will complete the 38-week course in August, so I’ll make a decision as that time approaches.
Click on the links below to read my most recent works in Salvation South:
“A Tale of Two Hauntings”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/a-tale-of-two-hauntings-essay-deb-bowen/
“Let No One Turn You Around”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/let-no-one-turn-you-around-joan-baez-essay-deb-bowen/
“Sunday Fatback”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/sunday-fatback-essay-deb-bowen/
“The Coyote’s Journey”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/the-coyotes-journey-nature-essay-deb-bowen/
“Takin’ Up a Poundin’”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/takin-up-a-poundin-christmas-story-deb-bowen/
“Tidal Wave Terror”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/ground-truth-from-the-climate-reckoning-janisse-ray/
“Where I’m From: Seven Decades in Seven Scenes”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/where-im-from-seven-decades-in-seven-scenes-deb-bowen-poem/
“Mending Nets”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/mending-nets-north-carolina-barrier-island/?mc_cid=c4bb217ffc&mc_eid=fae2a9a622
“A Talisman for Poseidon”
https://www.salvationsouth.com/a-talisman-from-poseidon-hurricane-donna-1960/
Podcast
Deb’s Facebook Pages
Another way you and I can connect is through my Facebook pages. I’d be honored if you’d follow my pages. They are a great way to see up-to-the-minute news! I so hope you’ll LIKE and FOLLOW and feel free to comment and share posts!
Deb Bowen, Author
PsychicTeachers
Please note: I will never send friend requests or offer services through Facebook comments on any of my Facebook pages. If you have any questions regarding our communications, please contact me through my email. deb.bowen.crone@gmail.com
Just One More Thing Before You Go
“I won’t be idle with despair… for light the darkness most fears…” - Jewel
Thank you!
Oh my! How cute are those crab pot trees!? I love that idea! ❤️ Thanks for sharing and happy solstice!
Love your work, Deb. Thank you for guiding up through solstice and celebrating the welcome return to light. I live in Canada and we only get 8 hours of sunlight at this time of year. In recent years, ritualizing solstice has helped me accept and even embrace in darkness. Thanks for your wonderful teachings. Blessed be. Christine