Danielle Dulsky has a way with words. Her ability to turn a phrase is one I highly admire and have found in only a few authors. Add to this that she is bringing forth wisdom we so dearly need in these times and I can’t put into words how much I enjoy reading her books. Seasons of Moon and Flame was no exception.
One of my absolute favorite things about Dulsky is that she embraces the liminal. She sees not only the beauty but the magic of the in-between and the grey areas of life. "The poison lies in the absolutes; in the immutable decisions; and in the stubborn refusal to admit that we do not know what good means, that maybe, just maybe, there is no solution that does not begin with the strange sanctuary of slowness, and that, importantly, slow living does not mean apathy. May we cease to equate our I-don’t-knows with our I-don’t-cares, and may we reframe what it means to be wild, empowered, and free."
She is cognizant of her privilege and takes the time to specifically include POC, the LGBTQIA+ community, and acknowledges native peoples whose land she lives on. She also acknowledges that the work has a "Celtic flavor" because she "has a Celtic flavor."
Another thing I love is that she talks about how no one owns these traditions and she is not trying to tell you how to do things, but offers her perspective and says to take what resonates and leave the rest. Every step of the way she gives suggestions but encourages you to tweak anything to make it fit your practice more. These are not spells and rituals for rote memorization, these are meant to be living breathing changing practices that waken magic.
You begin your journey through the year in the House of Initiation. Dulsky advises to work through the book in any way that feels right to you. The book is broken into four seasons and 13 moons so you could always go to the moon that you are currently in and start there, or you could start in the season you feel most called to, or simply open the book at random and see what you find.
Each moon has:
• An Opening Practice
• Wisdom imparted from the hag of that season
• A waxing moon ritual (A story combined with ritual)
• A full moon ritual (A story combined with ritual)
• A waning moon ritual (A story combined with ritual)
• A new moon ritual (A story combined with ritual)
• An equinox/solstice/cross-quarter day celebration (if relevant)
I, personally, had trouble figuring out which moon I was in just from the reading. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that we do not live by the moon but by the artificial Gregorian calendar. I took a bit of time to map out the 13 moons and had it figured out in no time though.
In the Appendix, Dulsky goes into the thoughts behind the stories a bit more and has some questions that would work well as journal prompts.
Just reading through this work was enlightening, I’m excited to take the time and work through the book over the course of the year.
~review by: Bailey Roe
Author: Danielle Dulsky
New World Library, 2020
pp. 355, $17.95
