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Title: Beltane: Springtime Rituals, Lore and Celebration by Raven Grimassi ISBN: 1-56718-283-6 Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. Pub. Date: 01 March, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.72 (18 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Good understanding of May Day lore
Comment: One of my associates described this book as something you can give to your friends and family who are not Wiccan or Pagan in order to help them understand non-Christian spirituality. Not only is this a nice compliment about the author, it also speaks true of the book's content. Therefore, this book is a gift to Pagan and Wiccan Communty at large. It's nice to have something like this Beltane book to be able to share openly.
The first chapter covers the history of May celebrations and how they migrated throughout continental Europe and into the British Isles. Here we learn how European pagan customs became what we now call "Beltane." The second chapter introduces the reader to the old spirits long associated with pre-Christian European paganism. These include Jack-in-the-Green, John Barleycorn, and the May King and Queen. The remaining chapters cover fairies and flower lore along with many other things that have long been associated with May Day.
While the publisher clearly marketed this book under the title "Beltane" to attract a Pagan and Wiccan readership, the book is not only about Beltane but also about Springtime customs and celebrations in general (just as the subtitle states). So you actually get MORE for your money than the title "Beltane" itself would lead one to think! Just about everything factual that one could say about Beltane specifically, is said in this book. So, there is no reason for anyone to feel cheated or robbed by the title of this book. Getting more information about the May Day season than just the limited availability of "Beltane" material is a bonus, not a slight.
The Beltane book is a good overview of May Day folk customs and folklore. It contains basic rituals, recipes, and spells, providing a good foundation upon which to create your own. Basics are the key to everything and are therefore never useless. For those who love to add to their knowledge on May Day practices and beliefs, this book will be a treasure because it provides the reader with a fuller understanding of the pagan elements that culminated in the celebration of Beltane. However, those readers who prefer a limited understanding of this season will probably find the Beltane book to be very disappointing.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Nice Work
Comment: With this book Grimassi has joined with other Llewellyn authors for a Llewellyn project. Llewellyn is producing a series on the eight sabbats of modern Wicca, each written by one of Llewellyn's top authors.
The Beltane book is a change of pace for Grimassi. It is written for a general audience and is presented in a lighter tone. It is a fun book with recipes, spells, and rituals that relate to the spring season. Also included is an abundance of folklore on flowers, fairies, and May Day characters such as Jack-in-the-Green. the Queen and King of May, the Hobby Horse, and the Mummers, among others. The book also contains instructions on making a May Pole centerpiece for a banquet table, along with other interesting craft projects related to celebrating May Day. As with all of Grimassi's writings this book is well researched and contains reliable information. Grimassi once again shines as a folklorist in this work.
Beltane contains many illustrations and images presented in woodcut-like etchings. This gives the book an older feel like many of the books published at the close of the 1800s. Beltane is a wonderful addition to any library.
Rating: 3
Summary: about the same as the rest of this lewellyn series
Comment: This series on sabbats are written in a way that seems that a child or a adult can pick it up. There is little personnal inclusion and overall the whole series makes out to be a sensationalized pagan history with out to much detail except a little background on the things that are commonly associated with the holidays. Not that I am complaining because the light reading and simple ideas that come with the books are just that and I didn't expect much more. I stress that these books are often very little expansion to what you can likely find in a book containing all of the sabbats.
The reason I gave this book a three is that a third of the book is about fairy lore. Though Grimassi does a fairly good job giving backgrounds on actual history, and in this book he goes into some quite length on the Maypole and Beltane fires; But he impresses me very little on discussing catagorical topics (such as fairy lore) as he only skims through the topic without laying much foundation and including little other then a few sensational details are often very common or worthless.
This book fits nicely among all the other childishly large books by lewellyn... I suppose it makes it easier to do the crafts... which in this book doesn't include much... Because I can't imagine someone needing help making a cone with taped on handles with a two page example to make a beltane basket.
The pictures in the whole series are black and white with out with very little detail. Remniscent of a childs coloring book, except in such a way that it would be difficult to use as a coloring book.
Since I do not have the book in front of me I wish I could give you more detail.
Overall, this book works well for its intent. As it offers a good place to start with the Wiccan/Pagan slant on the holidays. The bad thing is that the suggested crafts and practices and information are often overly simple, and there is much wasted space (as in this book with the section on fairy lore that doesn't really fit well with the book), and often the reading seems to be as if the auther cut and pasted details as he (in this case) found them rather then being an expert on the subject.
ANOTHER good thing is that the books in this series always seems to be available used... so for half of the retail price plus shipping... well it isn't 'that bad'
There is another series by a differant publisher that seems to be of the same nature that might worth comparing, so far I am only own this books from this series.
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Title: Midsummer: Magical Celebrations of the Summer Solstice by Anna Franklin ISBN: 0738700525 Publisher: Llewellyn Publications Pub. Date: March, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Lammas by Anna Franklin, Paul Mason ISBN: 0738700940 Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. Pub. Date: 01 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Candlemas: Feast of Flames by Amber K, Azrael Arynn K, Amber K, Azrael Arynn K ISBN: 0738700797 Publisher: Llewellyn Publications Pub. Date: December, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth by Dorothy Morrison, Kate Thomsson ISBN: 1567184960 Publisher: Llewellyn Publications Pub. Date: September, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Mabon: Celebrating the Autumn Equinox by Kristin Madden ISBN: 0738700908 Publisher: Llewellyn Publications Pub. Date: July, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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