Dancing the Sacred Wheel review by Polly Lind

Dancing the Sacred Wheel: A Journey through the Southern Sabbats
By Frances Billinghurst
TDM Publications, 2012
300 Pages

There is a certain style of writing about the various topics of witchcraft and magic that I look for when reading books about, well, Witchcraft and Magic, which is difficult to pinpoint exactly but I can tell you that several of the books I have been reading lately have it. It is something to do with how they make you think about the topic at hand, and how they provide you with further things to think about, or as I like to call it food for thought. It is important for not just books but podcasts as well.. .. but I digress.

I am very pleased to say that Dancing the Sacred Wheel by Frances Billinghurst also has this quality that I enjoy in good pagan themed books. Which is most excellent as it can always be tricky to review a book of someone that you kinda know. I met Frances way back in 2003 at a Pagan festival here in New Zealand, and needless to say we got on like a house on fire, in the pavilion of judgement, and at the table of dissension. *coughs*. There is now a seat of sarcasm, but that is a different story from a different Festival.

Book Review Received from Don McLeod

I am delighted to share the following review from Don McLeod, the author of Real Tarot: A Modern Approach to an Ancient Art

Dancing the Sacred Wheel: A Journey through the Southern Sabbats
Reviewed by: Don McLeod (January 2013)

Ritual preparation has always been tricky for those in the Southern Hemisphere. Our seasonal observances vary so much from the other end of the globe. Even within our own country the differences in climate from one side of the country to the other are extreme. So, what’s the best way to celebrate the Wheel of the Year in Australia? This is the question that Frances Billinghurst has asked herself. The result is a wonderfully engaging book in which she shares her personal insights into the impact of the seasons on her local landscape. Throughout her book, Frances reminds us, “The more I relate to the land upon which I live and which surrounds me, the more I feel the pull to work in accordance with its own energies—not the energies of some distant land.”

 

Book Demand is Overwhelming

I am delighted to announce that Dancing the Sacred Wheel: A Journey through the Southern Sabbats was finally released in November 2012 and now has been received at the National Library in Canberra as well at the State Library here in South Australia.  This means that when searching the National Library's catalogue, all the necessary ordering details are made available.  As a result I have sold a number of copies to various libraries around Australia so far which is extremely exciting.

Since it's release, the book has been receiving wonderful feedback, including this book review who, despite the reviewer actually living in another country (New Zealand compared to me residing in Australia), she states that "this book will give you a new perspective with which to perceive the seasons in the reader’s own country".