Dear Reader,

While weather is unpredictable in all its forms, the solstice provides us an everlasting promise. That if we walk through the darkest night, we will emerge on the other side to more light.

The solstice may fall at different hours on the day, but it never fails to occur. The light never fails to return. This promise brings me great hope as the sun begins its descent in the four o’clock hour.

I am one to go to bed early and wake in the morning’s darkness, I’ve befriended the early nothingness. But the evening light being lost before dinner has a much greater effect on my mood, my mind, and my motivation. I welcome this return to light with great enthusiasm.

The Earth turns slowly and makes us wait, gaining one minute at a time. Nothing rushed about this transition. We must be patient in its gaze.

Yesterday I wrote my annual solstice letter for everyone who has signed up for PROMPTS and today I will bring fifty-two letters to the post office to be sent all over the world. I hand wrote every address and stamped them with my return address stamp that I can’t decide if I like or not. I reviewed my year, forgot a few things, remembered more than I thought I could, and laid my heart bare. It feels like a perfect start to this year-long experiment in attention and correspondence. (If you sign up before January 1 you get one too)

I finished teaching Offline Practice yesterday and it was one of my favorite classes I have ever taught. The material was rich, the students were brilliant, and the possibility of what we can do without social media filled the zoom room.

It reminded me how hungry we are—for slower systems, for shared language, for ways of working that don’t require constant visibility.

It has me thinking about the deliberate act of time. The solstice reminds me that growth doesn’t announce itself. It doesn’t knock. It happens quietly, incrementally, almost invisibly. A minute of light here. A habit softened there. A new way of working that doesn’t ask us to fracture ourselves in order to survive.

This is the moment in the year when I want fewer tabs open, fewer decisions to make alone, fewer reasons to rush. I want tools that feel steady. I want systems that don’t demand performance. I want to build what comes next with care.

As many of you know, every year around the solstice I bundle a series of classes from the year, alongside some of my classics, to bring you the Solstice Super Sale. It is my true intention that these classes bring you into your own light, that they give you the knowledge and strength to keep doing the work you do, the work we need for this world. It includes five classes from this year and three past classes as well as a series of bonus Notion templates all for $99.

Classes, guides, and containers designed for slow building, deep attention, and creative work that doesn’t rely on the algorithm to stay alive. Something to do over this holiday break that brings calm and delight.

It’s available through this solstice window for the next 48 hours, a brief moment to gather what you’ll need as the light starts its long return. No urgency beyond the season itself. Just an invitation.

I’ll be finishing up my Somatics and Poetry Independent Study for my MFA program and once I am finished with that I will take an actual break. Something I can rarely afford to do - financially or spiritually. While Flexible Office will carry on I will take a break from Creative Advising, but my books are open for January and I’d love to see you in a session.

I’m existing in this solstice season without big intentions or declarations. Mostly I’m trying to let things be quieter than usual. To finish what needs finishing. To rest where rest is possible. To trust that not everything has to be solved before the light returns.

I’ll be moving a little slower over the next couple of weeks, but the work continues—on its own timeline, at its own pace. I hope you find a few minutes of extra light where you can.

Pagan Ritual Song Course: Survey of pagan song and how to make new ones w/ Danica Boyce of Fair Folk Podcast. Starts January 11. 10% off CODYVILLE

Last minute gift? Give them a Sample of a refreshed space in their home. Soothing spaces calms the heart and mind. Bonus for you: no wrapping needed.

Join Embers Journaling & Winter Care Club, a twice-weekly 30-minute virtual gathering to add warmth, reflection, and sharing this January 5 - 29th.

Hedge Tender newsletter has home herbalism, recipes, magic, and seasonal practices to light our way. Read Issue 12, Winter Solstice, altars for the Sun, and honey magic here.

What's really motivating you? Read this free Substack post to help ground you. 

Want to book a classified ad for January? Click here

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→ Pre-Order The Practice of Attention and get The Attention Audit Workbook and No Signal email course January 1-7 as pre-order bonuses!
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