Author: Janine DeMartini Trade Paperback, 196 pages
Publisher: Publish America
Publication date: 2006
List: US$16.95
ISBN: 1424139511 Price & More Info: Click Here
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This is one person's account of her journey from an inquisitive pre-teen in
the '80s through experiences and questions; doubts and self-assurance; and
all the myriad events that make up the life-changing course many people go
through. It is not a great book. It is, however, an excellent book.
It is not a continuous story. It is told as a result of her mediations
prior to her initiation and needs to be understood in that context.
Since it is, in essence, autobiographical it offers insights into the
perceptions and actions of its author. And since it is being written
relatively close in time to the events being described, it brings a sense of
immediacy which is frequently lacking from other autobiographical writings.
Ms. DeMartini is not shy about sharing her ideas and perceptions. She is a
generation behind me in coming to Wicca, but still encountered many of the
same problems I met with - failure of people to follow through on promises;
expectations not being met; and many others.
She includes a section on a group she associated with which is definitely
not Wiccan (and she makes that quite clear). It was an important part of
her evolution, and thus deserves to be included.
Her journey, as she is well aware, is still on-going. She may be prompted
to write another book further down her path.
At the end of the book she includes a few rituals which she created for an
Open Circle group she founded. Some of the invocations and images are quite
compelling.
This book will definitely not be everyone's cup of tea. It is not a how-to
book. It does not contain a great deal of detail (she deliberately does not
name groups, traditions, and individuals with whom she does not agree). It
is, however, an excellent insight into how to follow the promptings of the
Gods. And it shows the value of meditation and journaling during one's
passage from Inquirer through Initiation and beyond.
Reviewed by Mike Gleason
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