Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Book Review: The Wiccan Year by Judy Ann Nock

If you have ever seen The Wiccan Year by Judy Ann Nock sitting on the bookshelf in the New Age section of your local bookstore then I would suggest that you take it home with you. It's a short, fun, and easy read. It contained a lot of new information that was simplified in a way that any reader would be able to comprehend the new found knowledge.

Basically, the book is comprised of the Wheel of the Year and is thoroughly investigated in each chapter. Each Sabbat (Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Midsummer, Lughnasadh, Mabon, Samhain, and Yule) of the Wheel of the Year has its own chapter. The very last chapter consists of the Esbats, the New and Full Moons. Each chapter is then further divided into subunits about the Sabbat. These units are composed of historical information, celestial events, meditation, ritual, astrological influence, and practical craft.

My favorite part while reading this book was the information on the celestial events and the astrological influences. Not only did the author talk about the constellations and their positioning in the skies, but about the myths and legends behind the constellations. I thought that was particularly interesting and now I even catch myself being able to pick out constellations that I never knew about before reading this book.

The rituals, meditations, and practical crafts that are contained within this book can be done in groups or as a solitary practitioner. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the term "practical crafts", this section for each Sabbat contains recipes and arts and crafts that are fun for all ages. I've done a few of the recipes and they are fantastic and very magickal!

This book is a nice introduction to the Wheel of the Year. It's easy and fun to read and very hard to put down.

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