Candlemas: Feast of Flames

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.