Sacred Spaces & Peeling Onions-September 2024

New Course on Sacred Spaces, The Fool's Calling Tarot Course, Writing Updates, & so much more!

Sep 30, 2024

I know I promised this newsletter to you last Friday, but then came Helene. I live in a place that meteorologists jokingly call the “mouth of Hurricane Alley,” meaning we get lots of hurricanes. I’ve been through some bad ones. This time my little island was spared, but so much of the south – including the North Carolina mountains – was not. Whole towns are just gone – gone. Major highways are impassible, bridges are washed out. Internet service has been disrupted for millions, not only because of the storm but also because of a service provider issue. Thus, the reason for my delayed newsletter. I implore you to hold those affected by the storm in light and do whatever you feel called to do to help.
Blessings, Deb

Below is the newsletter I intended to send out on Friday:

Do you, like me, exhale deeply on the Autumnal Equinox, grateful for the promise of cooler weather coming? Do you, like me, joyfully anticipate having time to go within, to celebrate the fallow time? Do you, like me, need a sacred space that is your own? Keep reading for some suggestions I have for you! Oh, and the importance of peeling onions….

On Saturday, September 21, in gratitude for fall’s arrival, I attended two joyous events. September 21 is International Day of Peace and I honored this day with my Grandmothers for Peace group as I have for many years. You don’t have to be a woman or a grandmother to join this amazing international organization.

My second wonderful activity on Saturday was walking the labyrinth at a local church. I’ve written about how important labyrinth walking is for me, and my walk this day made me cry in relief that I could just simply “Be” for a while. The labyrinth reminds me repeatedly how much I need to assess what I honestly value, what I truly have to offer the world, and how I might be a better steward of the energy and gifts I’ve been given in this lifetime. You can read more about walking a labyrinth here:

https://debbowen.substack.com/p/labyrinths-and-to-do-lists-may-2024

On Sunday, on the Autumnal Equinox, called Mabon in Celtic traditions, I spent a glorious afternoon at the beach with family and friends. Already the salt-tinged air felt rarified. I am beyond grateful!

Peeling Onions

While I’m excited and grateful for the changing season, I’m writing to you today to discuss onions. Remember high school biology, when you examined an onion cell through a microscope? Remember how the layers of cells kept going to infinity?

I’ve been peeling metaphoric onions, ring by ring, attempting to hone in on this question: what can I best share with you as we move into my favorite time of the year? The lesson I’m (re)learning as I cut deeper and deeper leads me to the true questions, and I have learned the answer is this: fallow time is vital.

Many years ago, a friend gave me a t-shirt that read “The irony is this: if you don’t go in, you can’t find out.” So, it’s time to go within, which means, for me, building a nest that includes creating sacred space; creating an altar as a focal point for my intentions, and engaging in meaningful rituals. I want to share those ideas with you so that together we can honor this fallow time.

I’m so happy to connect with you and I’m grateful that you have taken a course with me and subscribe to this newsletter! If you missed my last newsletter, you can read it here.

The Treasure of Words at the end of August

New Course!

How To Create Sacred Space, Altars and Rituals

https://debbowen.com/product/how-to-create-sacred-space-altars-and-rituals/

As a writer, I cherish and fiercely protect the sacred space in which I work. In this self-paced course, you'll learn how to use tools that guide your deeper connection to the Sacred. You’ll learn ways to create sacred space, gain ways to develop the structure of ritual, and ways to build altars that speak deeply to you throughout the year. Here are some of the highlights of what you'll learn in this information-packed course:

You'll come away from this course with a deeper appreciation for sacred space and the choices you make in creating it, as well as a framework for developing rituals and bringing altars into your life.
Develop a plan for creating a sacred space
Clarify definitions and setting intentions for your altars and rituals
Work with symbols from nature, world beliefs, deities, and your personal story
Explore the concept of transcendence
Work with the elements and compass directions
Create altars that work from your senses and intuition
Define ritual and discover them within your life
Develop a structure for ritual
Create rituals that speak to you and your intent

"How To Create Sacred Space, Altars, and Rituals" is delivered to your email inbox! You receive the handout as a PDF document, with the link to the course video embedded in the handout. You can take as much time as you'd like to view the video and read the handout.

On-Going Self-Paced Course!

It’s not too late to join! Thank you so much for the overwhelmingly positive feedback I’ve gotten from people enrolled in this course! I’m honored to know that the information touches you in many ways - it is a joy to write these weekly lessons for you. In every course I teach, I promise students only one thing: I, too, will learn something new. In writing the material for this course, I am indeed gaining new insights about Tarot, and most important, about myself. If you seek to understand yourself and the world around you in new ways from ancient esoteric knowledge, this course is for you!

The Fool's Calling:
Your Personal Myths and Archetypes in Arcane Symbols

A Self-Paced Tarot Course About YOU and Archetypes!
THIS is the in-depth, self-paced Tarot course you requested me to create!

It’s not too late to enroll! You can join this course anytime you like. The first lesson is sent to you on the Monday after you register. I hope YOU will join us on this quest! DEEP gratitude to the many of you who are already enrolled!

https://debbowen.com/product/the-fools-calling-your-personal-myths-and-archetypes-in-arcane-symbols/

For hundreds of years, Tarot symbols have been a gathering place for world beliefs, and a source through which we can discover common ground among us and within aspects of ourselves. Tarot offers an exploration of myths and legends, and of cultures and beliefs, that are as old as time and as modern as this moment. For many years, the symbols of Tarot have guided my travel to the world around me, and to myself. Tarot can guide you too on your journey to self.

Venture deeply with me into the myths, legends, beliefs, and cultures of Tarot in this exciting self-paced 38-week course! Tarot wisdom guides your path to your deepest self, while this esoteric knowledge hides in plain sight on the 78 keys of traditional Tarot.

NEW to Tarot? No problem! This course lays the foundation for a deep exploration of the knowledge that supports the meaning of Tarot. This course is not a course in divination or using intuitive skills, but rather grounds you in the underpinnings of the time-honored meanings of the keys.

Writing Update

I’m honored to have a piece I wrote published in PersimmonTree’s recent Forum section. My comment is the ninth one down in the Forum. You can read it here:
https://persimmontree.org/fall-2024/v-day-hope-and-fears-election/

Click on the links below to read my most recent works in Salvation South:

“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

Share Deb Bowen’s Substack