Eight Sabbats for Witches (Hardcover)

by Janet Farrar (Author), Stewart Farrar (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Presents the detailed and dramatic rituals for each of the eight Sabbats - the seasonal ceremonies and festivals intimately linked with the waxing and waning rhythms of the natural year. Using their Book of Shadows (the witch's inherited handbook) as their starting point, practicing witches Janet and Stewart have added mythological and folkloric material, much of it personally gathered. To complete the picture, they also give in full detail the rituals for Casting and Banishing the Magic Circle, and the often misunderstood Great Rite of male-female polarity. They include moving rituals for Wiccaning (the witches' equivalent of Christening), Handfasting (the witch wedding), and Requiem (funeral).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Phoenix Publishing (WA); Revised edition (May 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0919345263
• ISBN-13: 978-0919345263
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #272,522 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most important book a Witch can have (besides their BOS), September 10, 1999

By A Customer

Quite simply, this is the best book on the eight sabbats available for purchase today. Their scholarship is deep, their spiritual sense insightful, and their wording is quite powerful. Along with the added bonus of rites for birth, marriage, and death, as well as casting and banishing rituals for the circle, this book is fantastic! If you can only buy ONE Witchcraft book this year, make it this one!!!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Wiccan Work, September 8, 2003

By	"yrenie" (New York,NY) - See all my reviews

This book was one of the earliest books on the Wiccan religion. It is full of great historical details and excellent explanations of the Sabbaths. I admire the Farrar's lineage tradition and am glad that it has been recorded for all time as an important part of Wiccan history. My copy was published in 1985 and still maintains its proud place on my bookshelf. Don't look for a quick fix spellbook here. This is about the myth of the God and Goddess and their 'dance' through the Wheel of the Year seasonal holy days. A very special book. Highly recommended!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good starting place..., March 1, 1999

By A Customer

After reading this book, I felt that while it was an excellent place to start looking at Wicca, it is also heavily influenced by traditional Wicca like Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions. If you follow a different path this may be a downside for you.

However, new wiccans starting to read witchcraft materials would appreciate this book for its breakdown of the reasons behind the seasons, and older wiccans such as myself enjoy the rituals laid out as examples for our own ritual design. A well-balanced book.