Over the past couple of years I have read several of Ms. Telesco’s books. I have not always agreed with her perceptions or conclusions, but that is because she is an individual who is willing to share HERSELF with others. The thing I most enjoy about her writing is that ALL she is doing is providing a starting point for our own explorations, and she makes sure to remind the reader of that regularly. She does not attempt to come across as an expert. She shares her experiences, and those that have worked for others, and then encourages the reader to move beyond those experiences and find what works for them.

The only thing ancient in this book is the details on the cultures and civilizations which developed these spells. Otherwise, it is a book about American-style, disposable, video-game magick. The explanations are simplistic; the concept of sacrifice is and effort is downplayed to the point where it is easily forgotten. If something is inconvenient, then change it...WRONG! Sometimes you have to make the extra effort to show your dedication to the deity being asked for aid.

I struggled with this book, not because it was badly written (it wasn’t) nor because it wasn’t interesting (it was), but because of the contradictions.  I found many things to relish within its covers, and some things that took me back to my early days studying with the Sabaean Religious Order of Am’n.  The contradictions, however, kept distracting me.

This is another in the series of books published by this company, with the intent of providing information to the beginning student. It is not intended to be a "master reference work". Indeed, it admirably fulfills the goal which the author set for herself. That goal was to encourage the newcomer to begin exploring the possibilities within themselves. I had a few minor complaints about technicalities within the work. There were a couple of spelling errors which should have been caught by the  editors, and an omission which I felt should have been rectified (At one point it  is mentioned that "magickal hours" are not necessarily 60 minutes long,  and the method of determining the length of the "hours" is then explained. Thereafter there are references to "midnight" being an appropriate time for some workings, but no mention is made that this should be the  midpoint between sunset and sunrise, nor necessarily 12 o'clock by mundane reckoning.).

I just received a copy of this book (_Exploring Wicca_ by Lady Sabrina [New Page Books, ISBN 1-56414-481-X, 224 pages, $12.99]), and wanted to share my review with the members of this newsgroup.  Lady Sabrina (founder of Our Lady of Enchantment [a Wiccan seminary]) has been around for quite a bit and, although I have never read any of her other works, I have heard many things about her.

Every once in a while I receive a book for review and I have to wonder if the fates and/or gods are trying to send me a message. My family has been going through tough financial times this year - even tougher than normal. We are finally beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel, and have decided we need to begin the year 2002 on a more positive note. Not being sure what to do to celebrate the change in our fortunes, and how to encourage it to continue we were considering various possibilities when this book arrived in my mailbox.

This is the second book by Lady Sabrina that I have read and, in keeping with the philosophy of the publishers, it is an excellent book for beginners. Lady Sabrina has been teaching for quite some time, and it shows in the quality of her works. She makes things easy to understand, and lays out the basic concepts very well.

The subtitle of this book gave me some trouble as soon as I saw it (A Spellbook for Male Pagans), and I feel it would be better without it. It is NOT a spellbook, it is a book about spells, and those are very  different types of books.