Provenance Press's Guide to the Wiccan Year, The by Judy Ann Nock © 2007
Provenance Press an imprint of Adams Media (www.adamsmedia.com) ISBN
978-1-59869-125-2 252 pages Paperback $12.95 (U.S.) $15.95 (Canada)
Ms. Nock refers frequently to astronomical and astrological themes in this
book and, for that reason; this book suffers from a lack of illustrations.
It would be nice to see a sketch of the constellations she sends you
outdoors to see. Many of these constellations are less familiar to the
average reader so simply saying "Look south above the tree line" really
isn't
much of a guide or help.
As she explores each of the Sabbats she provides some mythology (which is
a
vital part of our religion, in my opinion), a guided meditation, some
recipes and a ritual format as well as astrological interpretations. None
of this is particularly in-depth, but this book is designed to be used by
all levels practitioners, so that is understandable.
Even after decades of observing the turning of the wheel of the year I
found
new inspiration within the covers of this book. I didn't find many new
facts, but I didn't really expect to. I was pleasantly impressed by the
author's style and her feel for the various festivals.
I reviewed an earlier book by Ms. Nock last year. It was a basic guide to
creating your own book of shadows. I didn't agree with everything she
said
then, but I did feel she did a good job presenting her information
clearly.
I felt that way about this book as well.
This book is easily usable by people of all experience levels (thus
fulfilling the author's stated desire), and that is rare occurrence in the
world of Pagan books today. It offers a fairly straightforward cycle of
rituals and the mythological cycles associated with it. The astrological
descriptions could benefit, as I noted earlier, from a few illustrations.
That is the only major complaint I can make about this book. There were a
few technical problems (like an occasional dropped word), but they were
very
few and far between.
I recommend this book without hesitation. It definitely is top of the
line.
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