Customer Reviews

Ancient Ways: Reclaiming Pagan Traditions

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are pagan and you enjoy things like cooking and making things at holidays, this collection of craft ideas will probably appeal to you a great deal. This book contains a wealth of such ideas, more or less strung together at random. (It's supposedly organized by Sabbat, but I'd take that with a grain of salt.)

If you are looking for valuable history or theology, look elsewhere. Just as one might buy Buckland's blue book for the reference materials or Starhawk for the beautiful incantations and ritual poetry, one would buy this one for the creativity it inspires.

"Ancient Ways" was the first Pauline/Dan Campanelli book I came across, when I was searching for something a little more in depth about the sabbats and other major destinations on the wheel of the year.

Starting with Imbolc and taking the reader on a delightful walk through the seasons and sabbats straight through to Yule, the Campanellis have put together a reading experience that almost comes through as a meditation.

I sat down with this book a while before Lammas thinking that I would skim the rest of the book, leaving it for a later reading, and just focus on the section about Lammas. Instead, I sat down and read it cover to cover, enjoying every section, and leaving the book with a feeling like I'd just undergone a guided meditation on the wheel of the year.

This book is a valuable resource for all of us who have learned only the basics and the typical rituals associated with the wheel of the year and the major Sabbats, and wonderful for anyone looking for new ideas to make their sabbats fresh again. It belongs on any Pagan Bookshelf.

While Llwellyn has been publishing a set of books, one for each Sabbat, this book is the best source for lore, crafts, recipes, magic, and ritual for the Sabbats.

Poetic and full of wonderful artwork, this book doesn't treat pagan holidays as a childish game. The folklore is wonderful and accurate, the crafts are relevant to the season, and the magic and ritual is simple and powerful.

This should be in all pagan libraries.

ANCIENT WAYS is about reclaiming Pagan Traditions for celebrating the Sabats and Esbats associated with the `Wheel of the Year'. Everything from making cornbread dollies and cross-stitch samplers to painting Easter eggs and making a Yule log is associated with an old tradition.

Did you ever wonder why you might go `a wassiling among the leaves so green' in the middle of winter or why we talk about "Peace on Earth near the Winter Solstice? What are the symbolic meanings of various animals according to American Indians? Why do we decorate with holly, ivy, and mistletoe in midwinter and use pine cones for ornaments on our holiday trees.

Pauline Camanelli explaions why all those holiday traditions you love are yours, no matter which faith you subscribe to. Some of the so-called "major" religions have merely claimed celebratory customs that belong to the past.

Many books will cover the topic of the Sabbats and what is traditional in celebrating them. But few books actually go into detail on specific crafts and recipes that can be done at the time of each Sabbat. For those lacking in funds or resourcefulness, this gives them an opportunity to start their own traditions using the crafts, recipes, and decorating ideas contained within. One problem, however...I felt that perhaps when discussing the various crafts they should perhaps offset them from the rest of the page so that one could see where they mentioned one. I've spent many an hour searching through pages trying to find the paragraph (and they all look the same) that begins the recipe for pumpkin bread, or straw weaving. All in all, a very good book to have on your shelf if you plan to celebrate the Sabbats in style.

Granted, this book does have lots of good yearly Pagan holiday information and craft ideas and recipes, but I don't like the style of it. The book has no sections, headings, formatting or any other way to quickly reference or distinguish anything. It is not a calendar nor has correspondences, it's mostly history and background, which is great if not for the lousy presentation style: it is written in a rambling narrative style (think: long novel) that takes forever read through and is frusterating to muddle through when you know what you want but can't find it. There are no dates listed for the holidays, so either you have to already know them or find another way to know what day each chapter is talking about. Also, the craft ideas seem to be geared towards those who live in the country and have lots of time and/or ready access to many of the supplies us city-dwellers don't. Just be warned of these things if you order it. I ordered it sight unseen and am now searching for another Pagan 'Wheel of the Year' book (not the one by these same authors - it has the same problems) to take the place of 'Ancient Ways'.

This was one of the first books to catch my eyes when I first found the Pagan path many years ago. It is obvious that the book was written by someone who deeply loves the traditions of Paganism and wished to share that with the rest of us. I recommend this book, but not for the casual reader or for "newbies" because of its rambling style. The book does lack some specifics of dates when the Sabbats occur. This is certainly a book for someone who already has a basis of knowledge in Pagan traditions.

The corn bread recipe in the Lammas chapter is most excellant.

I have to agree with the other reviewers that this book is a bit rambly, but that is part of its charm. It has a very conversational voice, and you can tell the author feels deeply about the subject matter. Still, if you are trying to learn about the traditional holidays, you should not use this as your only text. Try it in conjunction with other books: The Wiccan Cookbook, The Wheel of the Year, Celtic Folklore Cooking and any of a dozen more will give you an organized look at the seasons and traditions. Good luck on your path!

This book is a joy to read. Right away you can tell that this book was put together with love. It provides all kinds of information about and what you can do on each of the sabbats. My only problem with the book was the organization. It is difficult, even with ear marking pages, where to find something you previoulsy read and want to look over again. Other than that, it's a delightful book and I'm glad I own it. Blessed Be.

Not your average "cookbook" or "course work" style of writing. While a bit meandering and in need of an index, Ancient Ways is a refreshing addition to the exponentially growing corpus of pagan/neo-pagan literature. Many people of all religions fall into the "Sunday morning Christian" rut of experiencing spirituality only on holy days. The Campanelli's give plenty of ideas for weaving pagan beliefs and magic into the days between the official "holy" ones.