Autumn Joy!

I come alive in autumn! The oppressive southern summer heat and humidity are gone, sunlight dances on golden and rust leaves, and the squirrels are flitting all around the yard, storing acorns and pecans for the winter.
I was blessed to spend last Sunday walking the beach with my sister and a friend as sandpipers skittered before us on the strand, pelicans soared above us and - miracles! - three pods of dolphin played in the surf beside us! What a gift to watch their joyous migration.
This afternoon I'm honored to bless a friend's new art studio, and then we drum around a fire in celebration of her new adventure and in communion with each other and Mother Earth. What a blessed time to be alive!
While I try so hard to treasure these electric autumn days, to be in the moment, I also live in anticipation - Samhain is coming! For my 23rd year, I read Tarot at a local Halloween event for two weekends, while my amazing Granny Jean (age 83) reads palms. Having this time with her year after year is more of a gift than words can express.
So, everyone take a moment to relish this blessed weather, and give thanks for this blessed moment.
Be blessed,
Deb

The Pilgrimage Begins

On this, the first day of my 59th year, I promise to update this blog more frequently.

My friend Susan and I go to England and Scotland next May on a pilgrimage to sacred sites of our faith. While we've actually been planning for a while, today marks a deep spiritual shift for me in preparation for this journey. It is time to prepare spiritually, physically and emotionally for this dream come true for me.

We often hear "life is a journey," and of course I know that. However, I often get so caught up in the minutia of my day, in fear that I am/am not doing all I'm "supposed" to be doing, in the mundane, that I forget I know about the journey.

For years now I have read my Tarot cards on my birthday. Today's reading was exceptional! There was such validation that I'm on the right path (High Priestess), that I have good intuitive skills (The Hanged Man and The Star), and that so much abundance is coming my way (Ace of Cups). The Seven of Cups told me that my angels watch over me and that dreams do come true. There also were cautions for me to take better care of myself (Queen of Pentacles reversed, the Two of Pentacles, reversed), to let go of fear (Four of Swords). Perhaps most important, the 10th card was The Lovers, a reminder that I need to find balance and love within myself.

The photo is of a candled quartz - a gift from my friend Joel. She (wise old Crone stone she is) stands almost seven inches high!

Not bad lessons for a 59th birthday, I think.

Be blessed,

Deb

August Corn Moon and Spinning Plates

I could write for days about how busy I am - if I only had time to write! So, in the few minutes of solitude afforded me on this Corn Moon eve, I'll skip the pity party and move on to something I think is important.
Each year as hurricane season ramps up, I spend some time in reflection about what material things are really important to me. The list has changed some since those years of evacuating my home at the beach when a storm approached - it's gotten shorter. Some things stay on it, however: the Bowen family Bible, my first edition of To Kill A Mockingbird, an angel wing shell my grandmother left me, and a few other things. This is the time of year I take stock of what really matters to me, and most of those things aren't things: they're relationships and the comfort I find in sharing my beliefs and values with the people in my life.
What matters to me are the people in my life - my two-legged, four-legged, winged, swimming, crawling and standing people in my life. One of the most important standing people in my life is the Sycamore tree that shades my patio. She has already begun dropping leaves, and as I gather them for compost, I offer gratitude to her for the shade she gave this summer, and ask her to be strong as a storm may approach.
For that's what this Corn Moon is about - gratitude as we move into the harvest season.
Be blessed,
Deb

July's Full Blessing Moon

Tomorrow's full moon is the blessing moon, according to my calendar. It is a time to count my blessings, and to offer blessings to others.
We all know that gratitude is a state of grace for which we all strive (at least I'm sure the folks who read this blog do). I also know that I don't spend nearly enough of my day in gratitude. I complain about the heat and humidity and a thousand other vexing things every day. If I spent the same amount of time being grateful...... you get the picure. So tomorrow night, as I bathe myself and my stones in Grandmother Moon's blessed light, I will spend time in gratitude.
Years ago, I was at a retreat where I saw a nun bless a parish priest. She held his head in her hands and kissed him on both cheeks. I remember thinking, "I bet the Church won't really let her do that - priests are higher up the ladder and who is this lowly nun to do this?" I don't have a clue whether or not my thoughts were accurate according to Catholic dogma, but I do know I learned a valuable lesson that day.
I learned that we ALL can offer blessings to everyone, and those blessings are honored by Spirit. So, bless someone today.
Blessings from me to you!
deb

New Tarot Blog Created!

Greetings All!
I have created a new blog just for my Tarot Meditations: www.debbowentarotblog.blogspot.com. I felt the need to separate my Tarot meditations from my other musings, so that the Tarot meditations were all in order and not interrupted by other ideas I'd like to share. Please become a "follower" on the new blog, if it's of interest to you! In the meantime, I'd appreciate you staying with this one as I write my views on much to come!
blessings,
deb

Winter Solstice: Blessed Light Returning!

This really is a wonder-filled time of year! So many faiths celebrate holidays of light and joy, and the light is a gift that we all can share. Channukah last week with the menorah and latkes and challah with good friends. "Light one candle for hope the light never dies ...." sing Peter, Paul and Mary. December New Moon was an incredible evening of solidifying my intensions for this year, as my friends and I let go of the chaos of the Sagittarius energy surrounding us. Yule comes Monday, with the Sun King returning and Paul Winter Consort music soaring to the rafters at St. John the Divine Cathedral on WHQR. Christmas, and the promise made so long ago by the Prince of Peace. New Year's Eve is a Blue Moon - what a gift to be able to celebrate the full Light of the Goddess twice in one month. Then, Raven and Joshua's wedding to begin the New Year!

As I think about Yule and Christmas, and the symbol of returning Light, I am reminded that, at the time of year when the days are the shortest, we could have an awareness that each day lengthens, and the Light returns ever so slowly. The birth of the Light is a sure promise each year. I wish for you the awareness of the Light in your life!

One of the ways Light has come into my life this season is a new Christmas tree. The Core Sound fishermen have created a tree made from crab pots. I bought one on Ocracoke in November, and have it sitting on top of a lobster pot given to me years ago by a friend from Maine. I realized how our history impacts our perception recently. A friend looked at the tree and thought it was made from fencing. I look at the same tree and see years of crabbing on Wrightsville Beach!

So, dear friends, I wish you Light, and laughter, and joy and abundance at the Light returns!
Peace,
deb

Ocracoke Gratitude

Thank you, Creator, for the blessings of this week; there have been so many. One of them has been the opportunity to watch the weather change, sometimes in a matter of minutes. Thanksgiving day really was filled with blessings -a two-hour barefoot walk in warm sand on the beach, an amazing sunset shared with a flock of mallards on the banks of the Sound, good food and great music. Of course, gratitude for the light playing on the Sound, slick cam most of the day, after rain on Wednesday night. I forget how crystal clear the sky here can be, with a million stars shining like zircons. I said goodnight to the sky and the water in waxing moon brightness.

Awoke in the middle of the night to the house rattling off its foundation as wind whipped through the thicket next door. In early morning sparkling light, whitecaps frothed the Sound as giant clouds scuttled. I went to the beach, and I was the only person as far as I could see! Too cold and windy to stay, but I'd promised I'd see Mother Ocean every day. As I write this, clouds are rolling in from the north, the wind has laid down, the whitecaps are gone, and the Sound is steel gray again. My usual breakfast mallard companions were absent this morning, but have returned this afternoon.

I wonder what it takes to earn your living in such a changing, tempermental world? The real, old Ocracokers are indeed a hardy lot.