Author: Ashleen O'Gaea Trade Paperback, 221 pages
Publisher: New Page Books
Publication date: 2004
List: US$14.99, C$22.50
ISBN: 1564147312 Price & More Info: Click Here
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I read Ashleen's first book (Raising Witches) years ago, and was impressed
by her common-sense approach to conveying information, so I was looking
forward to seeing this first half of her work on the Sabbats (the second
half, Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Beltane to Mabon is due out this
fall).
By dividing the year into two parts, as did our ancient Celtic ancestors,
Ashleen accomplishes several different things: she gives herself more space
to discuss each Sabbat; she restricts the space she can devote to each
Sabbat; she reinforces the ancient perception of the division of the year
into Winter and Summer; and she can make it easier to compare rituals,
symbolism, and activities among the Sabbats. Doing it this way also makes
it more convenient for the reader - at a bit more than 200 pages each book
is a more convenient size. If some of these accomplishments (especially the
first two) seem to be contradictory, that is simply an illustration of life
itself. No one ever claimed that life had to make sense.
Dedicating 40 to 50 pages to each Sabbat -- its lore, rituals, activities and
symbols, allows for an adequate development of a feeling for the Sabbat
while still leaving a thirst for more. It is that thirst which impels the
personal development of Witches and Wiccans. Too little information
frustrates and too much stifles individual creativity. Ashleen seems to
have found a happy medium in this book. While there are no startling
revelations, it is not a lot of rehashing of other authors. What you have
here is Ashleen's personal take on the topic. Whether you agree with her or
not, you have to respect her desire to share her own experiences and
knowledge, as well as her ability to convey that knowledge clearly.
She wants to plant ideas in your mind and allow them to grow within you. I
think she does this very well. Her suggested activities for each Sabbat are
fun (and that is, after all, an important connection to the gods) and easy
to do. They can involve all ages.
This is not the final word on Sabbats. As Ashleen says in the conclusion
"By this time next year, you and I both will be able to say more about the
Sabbats, and how we celebrate them, than we can right now." It is, however,
a good start. If the second book is as good as this, and I have no reason
to doubt that, they will form a good basis for learning about the
relationships among the Sabbats.
She includes suggestions for casting a circle (for the newbies among her
readers) and suggestions for conveying age-appropriate information to
children about the Sabbats, as well as a short list of correspondences in
the appendices. All of these, as she reminds us, are simply suggestions,
and need to be viewed through our own experiences.
Reviewed by Mike Gleason
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