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Wheel of the Year: Living the Magical Life (Llewellyn's Practical Magick Series) by Pauline Campanelli, Dan Campanelli (Illustrator) |
Reviewer: AmazonBombShell
The one that changes your faith August 16, 2003
Pauline and Dan Campanelli have laid out and illustrated in WHEEL OF THE YEAR the activities and festivals, spells and charms, stories and lore that make up their own way of celebrating the seasons every day in and around their home in rural New Jersey. The book is organized by months, beginning in Decemeber and continuing through November, highlighting not only the Sabbats and full moon celebrations, but day to day activities, etc, that are appropriate to the time of year. For example: the DECEMBER section includes the symbolism and magical uses of holly and ivy, and how and why to make a bayberry candle charm; JANUARY has much information about crafts to do and magical ways to do them while you're spending so much of your time inside; FEBRUARY is full of ways to develop psychic abilities and includes a ritual for Valentine's Day that helps open your heart chakra; JULY talks about ways to collect and magically use seashore items, and how and when to harvest and use certain magical herbs. And lest you think these categories too narrow, the above are just small examples from chapters literally packed with interesting things to learn and do.
It may sound as though the Campanelli's perspective is rather limited, since they're writing only about their own celebrations, but they do SO MUCH that it's almost impossible NOT to find something in each chapter that you can use. You may wonder how a city witch could use this book written by country witches, but I'm a suburban/city witch myself (though not by choice) and I use it frequently. You may also wonder how you can use certain seasonal ideas if you live in a place where "traditional" seasons just don't happen. Rest assured, however: I live in Southern California -- where Dry and Hot and Somewhat Dry and Cool are the only seasons -- but I can absolutely use this book seasonally.
This is the book that inspired me not just to believe Wiccan and act Wiccan
and talk Wiccan, but to DO Wicca every day. I can't use everything in here,
but what I can't actually do I use as a starter for seasonal meditations, or
just as lovely escape reading about the kind of magical country life I dream
of living. (The book is quite well written.) Whatever your limitations, unless
you are a thoroughly modernized city witch with little need for connection
with nature or "the old ways" (how many witches like that do you
know?), you will almost certainly enjoy and use this book.
