Review: "Seasons of Magic" by Laurel Reinhardt
Wiccan/Pagan Youth Literature Book Review
Dec 28, 2008
Reinhardt has written an absolute gem of a book for Pagan pre-teens. Her book "Seasons of Magic: A Girl's Journey" is about a twelve year old named Erin who spends a year learning about Wicca from Evangeline, and Elder in the Wiccan community. Her quest to learn more about Wicca all starts at school during the holiday season when her classmates are celebrating Christmas and Chanukah. As she listens to her friends talk about their faiths, she realizes that she does not understand why the return of the sun is sacred to Wiccans and other Pagans. After speaking with her parents, she decides to visit Evangeline and makes a commitment to study the entire Wheel of the Year with her, starting with Imbolc. In exchange for the training, Evangeline requires her to promise to give something up, to make a sacrifice, at each holiday.
The Wheel of the Year
At Imbolc Erin is challenged to learn to mediate for ten minutes each day, and begins to notice the return of the light. At Ostara, she cleans up trash at a local park. Erin gets over her fear of dancing in front of others at Beltain. At Midsummer she helps Evangeline with her gardening. At Lammas she celebrates the raspberry harvest, and learns that even harvest is hard work. At Mabon she invites all her family and friends to celebrate the harvest together. At Samhain Erin learns a very difficult lesson about the loss of a friend, but also learns that death is not the end. And at Yule she hosts a Winter Solstice party and invites her friends to celebrate the darkest night of the year with her. Throughout the story she is challenged by a boy who is the school bully, but as she studies the holidays, she changes how she thinks about him and how she treats him and confronts him which in turn creates positive change in the life of this boy.
For Both Boys and Girls
This work of Pagan youth fiction is a great way to introduce the meanings and lessons of the Wheel of the Year to both boys and girls, despite the subtitle. Don't let that fool you, this book may have a girl as the main character, but it's just as good to read to boys as it is to girls. As this book focuses on the eight Pagan or Wiccan holidays, it will be useful for any Pagan who follows this cycle of holidays. The story does not go into Gods or Goddesses, just the holidays and what is going on in nature at that time of the year and how that is symbolic to our own life and personal growth. No particular pantheon or mythology is used either. This makes the book useful to Pagans of any tradition, given that you celebrate the solar cycle of holidays.
Creating Your Own Rituals
In "Seasons of Magic" the rituals are very simple with a few poems read, and candles lit. The story does not go into details about casting the circle, calling directions or quarters, or other aspects of ritual. It's probably better that this story omits these details, to keep things simple and generic so that it can be appealing to a greater number of Pagan Parents. At the end of the story there is a workbook with advice for kids on creating their own simple celebrations, questions to discuss or journal about for each holiday, a suggested reading list, and a glossary of Pagan words. With the guidance of a parent, this book is an excellent resource for an aspiring young Pagan or Wiccan.
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