Ancient Ways: Reclaimiing the Pagan Tradition

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.

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" 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.

you'll still need to get more books but this one shows you charms and spells and crafts you can use along with sabbat ritual yes it's a bit hard to read at first but it doesn't take away from the awesome work

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.