Praise to the Moon: Magic & Myth of the Lunar Cycle [Paperback]

Elen Hawke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 2002

Along with the eight seasonal festivals, the lunar cycle is the heart of witchcraft and Wicca. This volume presents each moon phase, exploring its inherent qualities and relevant deities, with appropriate celebrations, rituals, invocations and magic. In addition there are spells, recipes, incenses, the Celtic Tree Calendar, the Indian Lunar Zodiac, and the impact of eclipses and the zodiac signs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elen Hawke is a practicing witch who lives in Oxford  with her husband and a house full of animals.  She also has two grown children.  Elen is a photographer and illustrator, and has been doing professional astrology for 27 years and tarot reading for 10.  She divides her time between healing and teaching witchcraft, meditation, and chakra work.  She is Wiccan initiate in the Gardnerian tradition, a Circlework graduate from the House of the Goddess, and a member of the Pagan Federation.

Elen is of Irish, Welsh, Anglo-Saxon, and Jewish ancestry.  She remembers having psychic experiences since youth, and feeling an intense connection to the natural world.  Her love for reading began early with her grandmother's books on natural history and Greek mythology.

Elen has traveled through and lived in many other lands, including Iran, Afghanistan, and Brittany.  She believes that this cultural exposure and appreciation made the transition to Paganism easier for her than many.  She describes her spirituality as "eclectic," having explored Spiritualism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Druidry as well as Wicca.  She has achieved both the Bardic and Ovate grades in the Druid path.

Elen runs the email discussion group witchcraft_uk on behalf of the Children of Artemis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (November 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738702781
• ISBN-13: 978-0738702780
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #720,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Moon Book Out There!, December 8, 2002

By 

"roxx33" (Boise, ID United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Praise to the Moon: Magic & Myth of the Lunar Cycle (Paperback)

A friend of mine was looking for a special book, and she said "why aren't there any good moon books out there, one that would tell me when to do stuff?" She wanted to know what phases of the moon were the most powerful, best for gardening, and maybe learn about some full moon rituals since she had always purified and cleansed her sacred items in the full moonlight. Most moon books available are tied in strongly with astrology, and this isn't the type of book either of us were looking for. When I stumbled onto Elen Hawke's Praise to the Moon, I knew our search was over. You can learn about the magic and myth of the lunar cycles, and it is exciting to expand my collection of works from this author, as her books In the Circle and The Sacred Round are excellent as well. Praise To The Moon is a must-have for anyone who appreciates the moon's power that is available to us.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars comrehensive book on the moon, November 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Praise to the Moon: Magic & Myth of the Lunar Cycle (Paperback)

A thorough and comprehensive approach to the role that the moon plays in modern paganism and occult practise. In this book, Elen Hawke goes way beyond the usual brief descriptions of waxing, full and waning, covering unusual events such as eclipses as well as the less commonly worked quarter phases. The author, who is also a very experienced astrologer includes chapters on the full moon through the signs of the zodiac, and how this may be utilized magically as well as the Indian lunar zodiac and how the moon's position within it may indicate personality traits. There is even a chapter on the celtic tree calendar which relates to the moons cycle. If you are drawn to the beuty, energy and symbolism of the moon and only have funds for one book, then you should seriously consider this one.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You couldn't ask for more than this!, May 13, 2003

By 

Mr. M. P. Duffy (Littlehampton, West Sussex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Praise to the Moon: Magic & Myth of the Lunar Cycle (Paperback)

Having enjoyed both of her previous books, I was really looking forward to reading Praise To The Moon, and again I wasn't disappointed. It's so refreshing to open a book and not find the same old material in different words.

This book delves deeper than the "waxing for growth, blah blah blah" mentality, and seriously explores the uses of the main phases as well as quarter phases, eclipses etc. The result is a much clearer perception of the lunar orb and her changing faces.

Elen has also included a consideration of some Goddesses whom could be considered of a lunar nature, and gone that step further to present some lunar Gods, thus allowing one to develop a sense of the masculine in the traditionally feminine luminary. Of course, many books have taken the feminist approach to reclaim the Sun for the Goddess, so it's nice to see this imbalance redressed.

There is also a chapter on the Indian lunar zodiac, which makes for interesting comparison with the western solar based zodiac. There is also material on the Ogham, gardening by the Moon and a lot more besides. It really is a fantastic resource of material with which one might explore the influence of the Moon, and in it's depth it is unrivalled. It's such a shame that there aren't more books out there that take a risk and go beyond the "how to cast a circle" stage and seriously explore some of the many parts that make up this diverse practice. My only question after reading this was whether or not we can expect a "Praise to the Sun"?!!