Customer Reviews

Candlemas: Feast of Flames (Holiday Series)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Llewellyn publishes a series of books on the eight sabbats of the Pagan year. The books in the series vary quite a bit in quality. This one, devoted to Imbolc ("Candlemas" being the Christianized name) and written by Wiccan priestesses Amber K and Azrael Arynn K, is the best one in the series to date.

What sets this book apart is the substance of its content. There is very little padding here. February festivals from various cultures are reviewed, and the information given is well researched and accurate. Many of the customs and folkways described cry out for adoption into one's own seasonal routine.

There is an enormous amount of material of the Celtic goddess Brigid (pronounced Bree-id), later identified with a 5th-century Irish saint, a rough contemprorary of St. Patrick. After reading the material collected here, the goddess comes alive as something much more than a symbol of smithcraft, poetry, and healing. She emerges as a powerful personality, central to the land, its people, and their identity.

The cross-quarter days are all associated with divination magick, and this book offers some fine, original suggestions suited to the season. I particularly appreciated the instructions for scrying with fire. This is such a primal magickal operation, accessible to human beings thousands of generations before the first tarot card saw the light of day.

The ritual suggestions (for solitaries, families, and groups) are thorough and carefully thought out, and will carry significant personal meaning when performed. There is, naturally, a section on candle-making and candle magick, which gets into the details of traditional methods and materials, not often encountered in other books. The table of correspondences for candle magick also displays the authors' characteristic attention to detail and thoroughness.

The book winds down with a fascinating selection of recipes appropriate to the ancient and medieval Irish roots of the Imbolc festival. The practice in other books in this series has been to feature mostly "fun" recipes that somehow carry out the theme of the holiday, in color, decoration, or sometimes just name. There's a place for this, but it was a delight to open this book and find something more-an attempt to make some kind of connection with the original people for whom this festival was an important milestone in the passage through winter.

In fact, that seems to be what this whole book is about from cover to cover, a vigorous and lively attempt to forge a link-to the extent that it's possible for us-with Brigid and her people at this, her most sacred time of the year.

I've been interested in the goddess Brigid for a long time, and jumped out of my chair when I heard this book existed. I was even more ecstatic when it didn't disappoint me. I was afraid the book would be a skim-over-the-surface effort, touching only briefly on Brigid and then continuing on to subjects having nothing to do with her. Basically, I was afraid the book would try too hard to be eclectic.

Fortunately, the two Ladies K did a wonderful job with their subject. They briefly mentioned other holidays celebrated in other cultures at the same time, and then settled down quite comfortably to talk in-depth about Brigid in her several forms: as an ancient goddess, as a faery of the Sidhe, and as a human saint. I was especially impressed with the section on St. Brigid. Most pagan authors, when writing about Brigid, simply frown angrily at the end of the goddess's myth and rant, "And then the Christians stole her and made her into a saint!" Lol. Here, St. Brigid gets respect. There is an impressive collection of St. Brigid wonder tales, several of which were completely new to me. The authors even see a silver lining in the replacement of the goddess by the saint--by recasting Brigid as a human woman, the Irish may have felt closer to her, since she was more like an old friend than a distant deity.

Then the authors get into practical suggestions: rituals, crafts, and recipes. They include rituals for one, for a family, and for a coven. There is a thick chapter on making your own candles. And the recipes, which I didn't get to try yet since I got the book the day before Imbolc, look yummalicious! And for the authenticity police, there is a note by each recipe saying whether it's ancient, post-Crusades, or post-Columbus.

Overall, a warm and approachable guide to the Imbolc Sabbat, by two authors who seem like really great people. I have tons of ideas for next year now.

Although disappointed that Llewellyn has chosen to name the books in this series mostly by their Christianized names rather than their pagan names (Imbolc), I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The introductory information seemed a stretch but the rituals are really outstanding. I was tremendously inspired by their sabbat and Brigit celebrations. It made me rethink my entire festival. They clearly know how to craft a ritual. Recommended!

A very well done book that taught me a lot of information about an obscure Sabbat holiday. Never having celebrated the Christianized Candlemas, my celebration of Imbolc this year was far more inspirational and meaningful with this book as a guideline. Kudos.

This book is an excellent resource for those wishing to celebrate Brigit and the first hint of Spring at Imbolc.It was extensively researched, lovingly compiled, and obviously sent out with a blessing. An excellent book, one of the most useful and complete in the Llewellyn Sabbats series.

As to the previous reviewer's complaint about using ancient methods for lighting fires, I just used a magnifying glass to start a fire in 30 seconds, and I can use flint and steel to light one in 10 seconds (look in a Boy Scout handbook for instructions, then practice). As for the candles-on-the headdress--there's nothing to prevent you from using candles, but I'm sure the authors were aware of the possibility of being sued by someone if they recommended such a potentially dangerous practice. To denigrate a book based on minor points like this is like saying the Mona Lisa is a bad painting because the background is not exciting.

Enjoy the gift of this book as it was given. Blessed Be.

Of all the titles in this series, this one was my favorite by far. These authors included a wide variety of fun and creative activities for Imbolc. They included several rituals, for single, small groups, and large groups. I wish they would write a book for each of the sabbats since their ideas and insights really brought this celebration to life for us. If you have read any of the other series titles and were disapointed by the weak content, give this one a try. I think it was really good.

My wife and I are trying to raise our children in the pagan tradition, and part of that is celebrating the various traditional holidays. This book gives a fantastic overview of Candlemas, which I knew next to nothing about. It has a helpful rundown of the various traditional ways to celebrate, recipes (some of which are out of this world), decorations for the house, and insight into the origins of the holiday. Basically, everything you need to know about Candlemas.

Very informative and well written (as usual from Amber and Azrael!) This is one of the books from the series covering the Wheel of the Year quarter and cross quarter holidays. I like them all, but this is probably my favorite...but then, I am partial to Brigid. Highly recommended!

This book will stir you as the days just start to get longer. Another full of rites, lore, and let's not forget all the recipes! Another recommended for your personal library.

I really loved this book. It had a really large amount of historical knowledge pertaining mostly to the goddess Brigid both as a goddess and as a saint. I loved the recipes. Alot of them are based on irish cuisine and I Think that the writer's made an honest attempt to make alot of the recipes using foods that would have been used thousands of years ago. Alot of the foods are au naturel of course which means they are good for you. I also enjoyed alot of the craft and divination and ritual ideas. I also liked the fact that the author's gave alot of tips on how to celebrate this great holiday with your family like if you have kid's and such. This was a valuble purhase with a high volume of information that I haven't read in any other book pertaining to the sabats. I highly recomend this book to any person who is wiccan/pagan that would like to bring more meaning and value into the celebration of the holidays and I also reccomend it to anyone who likes to study religion and history. Wonderful book. If I lost it I would buy it again.