A few months ago I was looking through a catalog of books for sale and The Green Wiccan Year
by Silja caught my eye. With very little to go on except that the images looks delightful and the concept was intriguing, I wrote to the publisher and asked for a review copy. I am very glad I did! This spiral-bound hardback book is a charming combination of diary and spellbook and would be fun to use as a kind of Book of Shadows (a witch's record of spells, rituals, and magickal notes).
Subtitled: Celebrations, Rituals, Herbal Magic, Kitchen Witchery, The Green Wiccan Year has sections for each calendar month with details about pagan festivals and appropriate spells as well as space to write daily notes in. (Actually, I wish there were more space to write in.) It isn't tied to any specific year's dates, so could be used at any time and there are pockets to keep loose papers safe, which I imagine would be useful for tucking additional notes into. If you used it for a full year, there wouldn’t be any room for future years, so that is a drawback. Then again, you could use it as the basis for making your own BoS going forward, with a binder and tabbed section. Your version would likely lack the delightful illustrations, however.
For each key date (Yule, Mabon, etc.) Silja provides a brief explanation of the symbols and rituals associated with the festival. There are spells and meditations for each day as well as room to record your experiences and add notes and reminders. There are even green household tips and witchery wisdom for the kitchen and garden to help you connect with the environment.
I really liked this item a lot. It is charming, fun to read, and would make a lovely gift for a newcomer to the Craft, or someone who just wants to get a bit more organized about her daily activities.
~review by Lisa Mc Sherry
Author: Silja
Cico Books, 2008
pp. 144. $19.95
