Spiral Nature

Review: Written in Wine, by Bibliotheca Alexandria

Mike Gleason — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:21:44 +0000

Written In Wine: A Devotional Anthology For Dionysos, by Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Neos Alexandrina, 9781434836731, 220 pp., 2007

This work, a collection of thought by modern worshippers of Dionysos, includes essays, poetry, rituals and fiction as well as personal accounts of experiences. There are over 50 contributions by more than 30 writers.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina exists as a non-profit organization dedicated to re-establishing the worship of Hellenistic and Kemetic gods. Every book purchased, and there will a series of them forthcoming, furthers that goal. If you are willing to put your money to a good cause, this is one well worth supporting. Neos Alexandrian, the publisher, is helping to re-establish the Library of Alexandria, one book at a time.

This collection starts off with a short story…a piece of fiction. Or is it fiction? Might it have been a privileged channelling of Dionysos’ thoughts following the horrors of Hurricane Katrina’s damage to a city where his revels were a vital part of daily life? It doesn’t matter which it is. It is an appropriate way to open this book.

The editors made a conscious decision not to impose standardization in style, spelling, etc., which may send the reader into a moment of head-scratching when unfamiliar terms are encountered. But Dionysos does that every day.

The articles, which comprise almost half of the book, range from light-hearted to scholarly; from intensely personal to detached retelling of history. In other words, they reflect the various ways devotees of Dionysos experience his presence in their lives.

The poetry consists of translations of the Orphic Hymns on the one hand all the way through to modern forms.

If this is a representative sampling of the quality of work which is in the offing, all I can say is that I look forward to upcoming volumes. My only fear is that there won’t be enough support generated to continue this enterprise. Therefore I strongly recommend that you add this book to your “must buy” list, even if you are not particularly interested in Dionysos. The only way we can be assured of volumes dedicated to other deities is by offering our support to this effort.

Copyright © 2000-2009 the author and SpiralNature.com.
For the original source of the content please see SpiralNature.com. Also check out our sister site, the occult blog Plutonica.net.

Review: Written in Wine, by Bibliotheca Alexandria

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Review: Fire Child, by Maxine Sanders

Mike Gleason — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:00:52 +0000

Fire Child: The Life & Magic of Maxine Sanders ‘Witch Queen’, by Maxine Sanders
Mandrake, 9781869928780, 309 pp., 2008

I have been waiting for this book to be written for years, if not decades. As I have said in previous reviews, we need more autobiographies (as well as biographies) concerning those people who helped to bring our religion out of the broom closet. We already had Gerald Gardner: Witch and King of the Witches: The World of Alex Sanders as well as several books relating the life and works of George Pickingill, Doreen Valiente, Sybil Leek, and more modern practitioners such as Fiona Horne. The Internet has made it easy to find out about individuals’ actions. Their motivations, however, may not be so easily determined.

One of the things I enjoyed about this book was Maxine’s lack of pretension. Far too many Elders in the Craft had, seemingly, flawless introductions to our religion, and smooth sailing throughout their careers. Not so with Maxine. She honestly recounts the bumps in the road and reveals the hidden warts. It may give hope to the next generation of witches to realize that snafus and bad decisions can be overcome with minimal bad effect in the long run.

Reading the accounts of the early days of public Craft brought back memories. Not that I was involved – I wasn’t. She and Alex were in England and I was just beginning my studies in Michigan and Illinois. Still, I knew of some of the individuals involved – Gardnerians, American Alexandrians, and the Process Church of the Final Judgment, among others. The constant sensational “news” stories, the blurring lines between Witchcraft, magic and the occult all had to be dealt with on a regular basis. It was refreshing to hear that the Elders at the time had to deal with the same day-to-day realities.

On a totally mundane level, I was disappointed with the quality of the editing. There were numerous sentence fragments which made to work appear disjointed. Allowances must be made, I am sure, since Maxine is not a professional writer. I say that with all love and sincerity since I have been an Alexandrian initiate for more than three decades. I am grateful for her sharing of her memories and, while reading, felt as if I were sitting down and having a pleasant chat over an afternoon cup of tea.

I am sure that this book will appeal to the many Alexandrian initiates. I hope it appeals equally to those who simply want to know about how the Craft was seen and practiced in the days before the explosion of Craft “traditions” and the easy availability of information via the Internet.

There are lessons to be learned from Maxine’s writing, some so simple that they are often forgotten in training since “everyone knows” them, and some much more profound. Even more important, in my opinion, is her admonition that the best way to become a teacher is the experience with the heights (the exhilaration of a successful ritual) and the depths (when Murphy’s Law looks like the writings of a hopeless optimist) of magical workings.

Copyright © 2000-2009 the author and SpiralNature.com.
For the original source of the content please see SpiralNature.com. Also check out our sister site, the occult blog Plutonica.net.

Review: Fire Child, by Maxine Sanders

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New esoteric book club on Plutonica.net

Webmaster — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Plutonica.net, our sister site is an esoteric blog dealing with philosophy, spirituality, magick and occulture. It’s launching an esoteric book club starting Monday, February 1st.

What’s this?

From the book club’s About page:

The Plutonica.net Esoteric Book Club isn’t just another general occult forum. It’s a space dedicated to esoteric and occult literature and what people do with it.

It tackles the same themes our blog is focused on: philosophy, spirituality, magick and occulture, with a little biography and occult lit tossed in for good measure.

As stated in the blog, the real focus will be on engaging in what we’re reading, as we’re reading it. Sharing thoughts, asking questions, hopefully going deeper into material together than we might have the opportunity otherwise, alone.

First pick

The first pick is Quantum Psychology: How Brain Software Programs You and Your World, by Robert Anton Wilson.

The official start is February 1st, but the forums are open and ready for use now.

How it will work

We’ll gather suggestions a month or so beforehand in Recommendations, vote on what we’d like to tackle next, then start the process over again.

If you already have a Plutonica.net username and password you can log in using the same ID for the forums. If not, registration is very simple.

How you participate

You can dig out your already dog-eared copy and comment as you re-read it, or purchase it from your local occult shop, local independent bookstore, from or from Amazon.com, etc.

Read along, do the exercises, ask questions, comment on others, share insights and discuss the material.

Copyright © 2000-2009 the author and SpiralNature.com.
For the original source of the content please see SpiralNature.com. Also check out our sister site, the occult blog Plutonica.net.

New esoteric book club on Plutonica.net

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Review: Abraxas, Issue One, Autumn Equionx 2009

Review: Abraxas, Issue One, Autumn Equionx 2009

Psyche — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:00:30 +0000

Abraxas, Issue One, Autumn Equinox 2009, edited by Robert Ansell and Christina Oakley Harrington
Fulgur, 128 pp., 2009

Abraxas isn’t just “An International Journal of Esoteric Studies”, this first issue is also an art book. At 290mm x 232mm it’s a large quarto, beautifully bound, and printed on high quality paper, including a handtipped sheet. Richly coloured paintings are beautifully reproduced, along with many lovely illustrations in monochrome. And then there’s the text.

This first issue focuses largely on witchcraft, and while I can’t detail every essay that appears, I would like to highlight several that I felt stood out in this already exceptional collection.

Stephen Grasso’s piece “Skip Witches, Hop Toads”, illuminates the difference between magickians and witches in a way that is raw and present.

Witchcraft is an old animism felt in the heart. It is non-verbal and cannot be described in language without its substance getting lost in translation. It can only be alluded to and suggested. The lens of science will never observe an undine or dryad, but these terms are a convenient and poetic way of describing a very real congress that takes place between human consciousness and the manifest mysteries of nature, when you approach the latter in the mode of a witch.¹

It almost makes me wish I were a witch. (Almost.)

An essay on flying ointments by Sarah Penicka-Smith, “Caveat Anonyter!”, discusses their origin and possible components using various historical sources. She also remarks on their rejection by practitioners of modern witchcraft and Druidry, along with other (unspecified) “illegal drugs” in favour of trance states achieved by other, often unspecified means.

Phil Hine’s informative and sympathetic account of the many (fabricated) adventures of Tuesday Lobsang Rampa and his more earthly counterpart Cyril Henry Hoskin is a fascinating read in “The Third Eye”. An alleged Tibetan Buddhist, Hoskin turned out to be an Englishman who’d never left the country of his birth. Many readers were genuinely inspired by his works, despite their dubious veracity and this is what Hine would have use take from his stories. It seems the best possible outcome.

Also included are the paintings and lithographs of Francesco Parisi are lovely, and his interview with Robert Ansell discuss Parisi’s influences, including Austin Osman Spare. As well as a previously unpublished poem by Aleister Crowley, “BABALON”.

It is expensive, yes, but gorgeous and decadent and worth it. As stated on Fulgur’s website:

We might not be hand-numbering these, but then, we won’t be reprinting them either. There are less than you think…

If this is the future of occult journals, then it is in very capable hands. Pick it up while you can.

Previously published on Plutonica.net as “Review of Abraxas, No. I“.

Copyright © 2000-2009 the author and SpiralNature.com.
For the original source of the content please see SpiralNature.com. Also check out our sister site, the occult blog Plutonica.net.

Review: Abraxas, Issue One, Autumn Equionx 2009

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Review: The Morning of the Magicians, by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier

Gesigewigu's — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:16:09 +0000

The Morning of the Magicians: Secret Societies, Conspiracies, and Vanished Civilizations, by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier
Destiny Books, 9781594772313, 414 pp, 1960, 2009

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to get out of this book when I picked it up, and must say the introduction already had me very concerned when the authors said “so as not to weigh down the book too much, we have avoided a multiplicity of references, footnotes, and bibliographies.” It should be pointed out that a “multiplicity” of bibliographies means not including any bibliography, multiplicity of references and footnotes refers to a sparse inclusion that information was taken from somewhere, but rarely stated where.

In general a lack of sources has me a bit worried about a book, but this book really supported that worry, for it wasn’t common knowledge, or acceptable stories, but it was wildly “out there” stories as fact, with no backing. Pauwels and Bergier felt that science was too constraining, and that people should open themselves up to the reality of other possibilities. A notion I can agree with, but a quick look at a list of their “not unreasonable hypotheses” will show where my issue arose; medieval alchemists producing atomic bombs and atomic fusion, the Nazi movement inspired by memory/dreams of Atlantis, the Earth is hollow and we live on the inside, the Moon, Mars and Jupiter and the stars are made of ice, and three Moons have crashed into Earth producing great evolutionary jumps and de-evolutionary lapses, like “Gypsies, Negroes and Jews.”

While I am interested in entertaining far-out theories as part of an intellectual exercise and exploring reasoning, Pauwels and Bergiers put their ideas forth as fact, all while suggesting the reader challenge and investigate it themselves. Yet the authors leave out any of their personal reasoning, be it an internal process, or something they learnt. While I do not believe the Moon is made of ice, I could entertain the idea for a time, if someone gave me a reason to do so, but for no apparent reason than “We don’t know science and we don’t trust scientists” Pauwels and Bergiers toss out a wide variety of theories, that they don’t consider irrational or bizarre.

In the intro, I felt like the authors want to suggest some ideas just off-centre from what we accept and believe, to shake up and challenge the unconscious belief structures of our culture, but instead they put forth ideas so far away from current thought, that I feel they can’t possibly challenge our ways of thoughts. If you’re looking for a book filled with secret societies, bizarre cosmology and physics, and bad science and history, you’ve found it. If you’re looking for something worth reading, I suggest moving on.

Copyright © 2000-2009 the author and SpiralNature.com.
For the original source of the content please see SpiralNature.com. Also check out our sister site, the occult blog Plutonica.net.

Review: The Morning of the Magicians, by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier

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Salutation to the Heroes: November 11th or 12th

boudiccaandarta — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:28:44 +0000

The Feast of the Einheriar or the Festival of the Einherjar is also known by other names including the Festival of Odhinn, the Feast of Fallen Warriors, Heroes’ Day, the Salutation to the Heroes and Old November Day. Marking the day of the full onset of winter, this festival was Christianized and transformed into St. Martin’s Day (Martinmas), a catholic saint who was given many of Odhinn’s original attributes. Originally this day was sacred to both Odhinn and Cernunnos (who has many similarities to the Wanderer Odhinn).

This festival is a special ritual to honour Freyja (the Queen of the Valkyries) and Odhinn (who welcomes all warriors). The hosts of Odhinn’s hall were called the Einherjar, the warriors who fell in battle and earned their place in Valhalla in Odhinn’s army. Valhalla is the Norse “heaven” (the Norse did not have the Christian ideas of “heaven” and “hell”) for brave male and female warriors. The Einherjar are the 432,000 spiritual warriors who guard the gods (in Ireland, this is the day of the Lunantishees, the spirits that guard the holy blackthorn trees).

The Festival of the Einheriar was where several families gathered together, each bringing food and drink for a potluck feast; a “sacrificial” feast of cookies or cakes in animal and human shapes. The day prior to the ritual, games and feasting would be held.
This holiday is now our present-day Veterans Day, a time to honor all fallen warriors and heroes, not only those who have fallen in battle (firefighters, police officers, etc.).

The Ritual

This is a very simple and short ritual that can be enacted by either one person or divvied up for a whole group. Please feel free to adapt it for fit you own needs.

Supplies

Altar in or facing the North, Candle of Remembrance and Sacrifice, plate of cookies in the shapes of animals and people (Animal Crackers would work nicely), the Roll of Honor (a list of names of Fallen Heroes to be honored with this rite), and tankard(s) of drink (mead, ale, water, juice or some other beverage).

Alternate supplies and decorations: one candle to be held by each ritual attendee, incense and incense burner, pentacle, dagger/sword, elemental candles, cauldron, and autumnal items such as apples, gourds, grains, maize, nuts, leaves, flowers, and any remaining Hallowmas decorations.

Opening the Ceremony

Either cast Circle or create Sacred Space in the manner of your own tradition before the Statement of Intent.

Say:

The Festival of Odhinn, on this Hero’s Day,
I/We honor the fallen warriors, those who passed away.
They reside now with Freyja, Odhinn and with Hel,
And tonight I/ we honor them, and I/we wish them well.”

Elemental Quarter Calls: At the North call the goddess Idhunn:

“To the North I/we call the maiden Idhunn,
Guardian of the apples bright and golden;
Grant in Valhalla to the slain heroes
Both green forests and flowered meadows.”

At the East call the goddess Freyja:

“To the East I/we call the Queen of the Valkyries;
Freyja, Leader of the Wind Riders.
Grant in Valhalla to the slain heroes
Both spring fields and gentle breezes.”

At the South call the god Thor:

“To the South I/we call the Red-Bearded Thor,
Protector of the people and God of War.
Grant in Valhalla to the slain heroes
Both feasts of plenty and sunny days.”

At the West call the god Odhinn:

“To the West I/we call All-Father Odhinn,
Keeper of the Cauldron of Inspiration.
Grant in Valhalla to the slain heroes
Rebirth through the Cauldron and warm pools.”

The Candle of Remembrance

On the altar, light the Candle of Remembrance and say:

“I/We light a flame of remembrance
The magickal flame that burns in our hearts.
May it reach those who came before,
Soul to soul, we are never apart.”

The Offering (Symbolic Sacrifice)

The plate of cookies is placed upon the altar before saying:

“There are names we know and names now lost,
But we salute them with both drink and feast.”

The Roll of Honor

Now is the time for the reading of the Roll of Honor. At this time any who wish to make toasts with their tankards to fallen family members may do so before releasing the gods and the circle.

Elemental Quarter Releases

Go to the West and release the god Odhinn:

“At the West I/we release the All-Father Odhinn,
Keeper of the Cauldron of Inspiration.
Thank You for joining this Salutation rite,
Guide me/us on my/our path of light.”

Go to the South and release the god Thor:

“At the South I/we release the Red-Bearded Thor,
Protector of the people and God of War.
Thank You for joining my/our Salutation rite,
Guide me/us on my/our path of light.”

Go to the East and release the goddess Freyja:

“At the East I/we release the Queen of the Valkyries;
Freyja, Leader of the Wind Riders.
Thank You for joining my/our Salutation rite,
Guide me/us on my/our path of light.”

Go to the North and release the goddess Idhunn:

“At the North I/we release the maiden Idhunn,
Guardian of the apples golden;
Thank You for joining my/our Salutation rite,
Guide me/us on my/our path of light.”

Closing of the Ceremony

Close the Circle in the manner of your tradition unless you created Sacred Space which will simply dissipate over rime.

After the Ceremony:

Place the cookies outside as an offering along with some of the liquid as a libation to the spirits; those of nature as well as those that you honored with this ritual. If possible, allow the candle to burn out but if need be, burn the candle daily until gone.

About the author

Rev. Merrie Hutchins (Boudicca Andarta) lives in Northern Michigan and has been a practicing Witch that follows the Wiccan Rede for the past 23 years. Called to service by the goddess Artio; besides dedicating herself to serving the needs of the human community, she tends to Artemis’ deer and cares for abused and neglected cats and dogs. She has received training through the Fellowship of Isis and founded the Iseum of the Emerald Flame dedicated to Artio the Bear, Diana of the Grove and Artemis Limnatis.

Sources:

Exploring the Northern Tradition by Galina Krasskova
Moon Magick by DJ Conway
Norse Magic by DJ Conway
Pagan Book of Days by Nigel Pennick
Rites of Odin by Ed Fitch

Copyright © 2000-2009 the author and SpiralNature.com.
For the original source of the content please see SpiralNature.com. Also check out our sister site, the occult blog Plutonica.net.

Salutation to the Heroes: November 11th or 12th

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Review: Witchcraft Medicine, by Claudia Muller-Ebeling, Christian Ratsch and Wolf-Dieter Storl

Mike Gleason — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:00:46 +0000

Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plantsby, Claudia Muller-Ebeling, Christian Ratsch and Wolf-Dieter Storl
Inner Traditions, 0892819715, 240 pp. (incl. appendix, bibliography and index), 1998, 2003

What image comes to mind when you read the phrase “Witchcraft Medicine”? Do you see a crone bent over a cauldron, muttering under her breath? Do you imagine a dark peasant hovel in the Middle Ages? Me, too! The subtitle of this volume, translated from a German edition of 1998, helps to clear away some of the misconceptions before the cover is even opened however. “Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants” lets the reader know that the topic will range far beyond narrow preconceptions.

The book is profusely illustrated with old woodcuts, drawings and full-colour photographs. Quotations from numerous sources, ancient , medieval, and modern appear frequently in sidebars. There are charts listing various plants and their associations with planets, deities, and symbolism. It is not an herbal, although it contains a lot of information on plants. Nor is it a book of folk beliefs, although many of them appear within its covers. It is, however, a compendium of information which could be welcomed into the libraries of many individuals and groups interested in the healing arts.

The first five sections of the book were written by Wolf-Dieter Storl, a cultural anthropologist and ethnobotanist. They run the gamut from the view of primitive peoples regarding their relationship to the world to the view of “modern” peoples of what primitives believed, which are often very different things.

Although the author of the first few chapters, Wolf-Dieter Storl, appears to be knowledgeable on the subject of herbalism and healing, he fails to show the e same level of expertise in other areas. On page 22, for example, appears the statement “The black god of the Underworld, whom the Celts knew as Samhain, enters into his reign.” I thought that particular fable has been laid to rest years ago. Samhain was the season, not the deity.

Mr. Storl sees the use of “Witchcraft Medicine” as divorced from any theological context. He sees it as a holistic approach to life. He distances it from using drugs for recreational “trips,” and from its use in amulets and as poisons.

There are large sections (shaded in grey) devoted to major herbs in use for their holistic approach to healing. Within these sections are contained large amounts of folk legend and knowledge concerning the herbs.

There are minor editing glitches in this book some of which may be the result of errors in translation (verb/noun agreement, for instance) and a few which are simple typographical errors (dropped spacings, etc.), but they in no way detract from the value of the work.

While I may not agree with everything contained in the sections dealing with the beliefs and actions of witches by these authors, their herbal information is quite valuable. Their background on the suppression of “natural drugs” in favour of those whose manufacture can be controlled by corporations is also quite insightful.

The next section, written by Christian Ratsch, an anthropologist and ethnopharma-cologist, is devoted specifically to the herbs and plants associated with witches and their goddesses.

The following section was written by Claudia Muller-Ebeling, a historian and anthropologist, and is devoted to the images of witches throughout history. It isn’t necessarily pleasant reading, but it is informative.

The final section is again written by Christian Ratsch and covers those drugs used by witches and shamans over the years (and misused today for the purpose of recreational “tripping”). There are some rather scathing comments about the prohibitions of various drugs, and well as a few comments which could very well open a few eyes.

Review: Witchcraft Medicine, by Claudia Muller-Ebeling, Christian Ratsch and Wolf-Dieter Storl

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Review: The Return of the Dead, by Claude Lecouteux

Psyche — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:00:00 +0000

The Return of the Dead: Ghosts, Ancestors, and the Transparent Veil of the Pagan Mind, by Claude Lecouteux, translated by Jon E Graham, afterward by Regis Boyer
Inner Traditions, 9781594773181, 273 pp. (incl. notes and index), 1996, 2009

A former professor of medieval literature and civilization at the Sorbonne, this is Claude Lecouteux’s second book to be translated into English, the first being Witches, Werewolves, and Fairies: Shapeshifters and Astral Doubles in the Middle Ages, published in 2003 also by Inner Traditions.

The Return of the Dead is a scholarly survey of pre-Christian beliefs, focusing in particular on legends of revenants in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore.

The balance between Pagan and Christian interpretation of the legends is described thusly:

“Writing the history of ghosts and revenants in the Middle Ages implies a continuous back and forth between these two elements – folk tradition and Christian tradition – and between the two cultures that have been blended to make the revenant a reality. The interpretatio christiana overlies all the writing and muddies the trail. It is therefore necessary to get past it and not allow it to take any further advantage of us.”

He argues that the “belief in revenants and ghosts possess two roots: the fear of the departed and the stupefaction caused by any abnormal death”, and suggests that the dead were often more feared than revered.

Revenants were taken to be a very real phenomena, and their physical existence was as grotesque as it was cumbersome. They were larger than in life, sometimes giant-sized, heavy, and had the ability to pass through dirt as if it were air.

Lecouteux depicts funerary customs and methods for ceasing the activity of vengeful or spiteful dead, as well as the role of the Christian church, the effects on the fertility of the land, and various legends featuring revenants are discussed at length.

The Return of the Dead describes a fascinating history of the beliefs and practices of pre-Christian Germanic and Scandinavian cultures, and highly recommended to those interested in thanatology.

Review: The Return of the Dead, by Claude Lecouteux

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Review: Stewart Farrar, by Elizabeth Guerra

Mike Gleason — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:12:29 +0000

Stewart Farrar: Writer On A Broomstick, The Biography of Stewart Farrar, by Elizabeth Guerra
RJ Stewart Books, 9780979140273, 227 pp., 2008

I have, over the past several years, bemoaned the fact that there has been a steady erosion of knowledge about the inner thoughts and attitudes of those people most influential in the Pagan movement in the earlier days of the twentieth century. Many of them have entered the Summerland and left us no records. Others are known only by their public writings.

Ms. Guerra has undertaken the gargantuan task of chronicling the life of a very influential, very well respected, and yet very private man. She is owed a large debt of gratitude for doing so.

This is not a biography of Stewart Farrar – Witch. It is a biography of Stewart Farrar – The Complete Man. Too often, in today’s world, a personal life is divided into segments – childhood (which unless remarkable in and of itself is generally passed over quickly), personal (where all the “juicy” bits are), and professional – as though there are impenetrable barriers between each of these. In fact, they flow into one another and affect each other. To know the individual you must know about all of these phases.

This book is a carefully crafted (if you will pardon the word play) telling of the entire life of a journalist, and man, who contributed much to the world of Wicca. It is not a pretty story. Stewart had his shortcomings, as do we all. No attempt is made to hide or disguise them.

None of us live our lives in isolation. We exist in relation to others, so this is also a story of those who Stewart loved and who loved him. This is not an idealized story. Stewart is shown, warts and all.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I received this book. I have reviewed many books from smaller publishers and have come to expect many minor problems in their productions. Such problems were largely non-existent with this book.

Ms. Guerra faced a daunting task in trying to make Stewart’s life story accessible in anything less than a massive tome. He was many things and entire books could be devoted to his work as a journalist, a free-lance writer, and an extremely influential Witch and Priest. Yet she has managed to distill all of that into an extremely readable book whose size is not at all intimidating.

There are many individuals in the Craft today who found their way “home” because of the work of Stewart. Even more have been inspired by his writings to create their own rituals and poetry. For those people and for future generations of Crafters, this book is a must-read.

The remembrances and unpublished writings at the end of the book are an added bonus in my opinion. They show the effect Stewart had on a generation (or more) of practitioners and can inspire another generation (or more) to come. They show that although he took his calling seriously, he still remembered how to have fun along the way – something we can all stand to be reminded of once in a while.

This book is well-written and a fitting tribute to an extraordinary gentleman in all his many undertakings. I strongly recommend it.

Review: Stewart Farrar, by Elizabeth Guerra

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Review: Autumn Equinox, by Ellen Dugan

Mike Gleason — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:00:03 +0000

Autumn Equinox: The Enchantment of Mabon, by Ellen Dugan
Llewellyn Worldwide, 0738706248, 208 pp., 2005

This wonderful book is easy to read and appreciate. Ms. Dugan has arranged things in an easy to use format and has included spells, charms, and rituals throughout. Most importantly, to my way of thinking, a large amount of this book is not Pagan-specific. It is family-friendly, so it is applicable whether used for your coven-mates or your more conventionally oriented “mundane” family members.

She gives ideas for decorations (many of them easy enough to make that children can help), as well as the background on the deities associated with the season. She gives suggestions for gardening, as well as uses for fruits and grains in the celebrations.

Dugan includes almost twenty pages of delicious recipes that will have family and guests enjoying your meals and talking about them long after the table is cleared.

The book concludes with with lists (and details) of deities, stones, and plants associated with the season.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and it will definitely be well-used over the years. There are other books out there with a lot of the same data, but this one was real pleasure to read. It may not be the best book on the topic, but it definitely in the top five or six.

Review: Autumn Equinox, by Ellen Dugan

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