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hrusewif's review
1.0
Not too far off the 2016 Almanac, honestly; follows the exact format down to the letter and contains all of the same content. The holiday introductions are just as predominantly irrelevant.
Linda Raedisch and her crappy recipes and even worse pre-recipe blurbs have replaced Blake Octavian Blair as the object of my loathing this round; gems include quotes like "No humans were harmed in the development of this recipe. But they might have been. I have heard that the original Aztec posole, a stew of parched corn, chilies, and meat, was originally made with human meat—the flesh of prisoners of war—and consumed in a ritual context",, "Flanzana: that’s 'flan' plus 'manzana'. Manzana is Spanish for 'apple'. Flan is Spanish for 'flan', a sweet pudding you bake in the oven", and "No, I haven’t made [Nordic Hot Dogs] into a casserole: one has to draw the line somewhere!".
Suzanne Ress is a close second because doesn't know that Bede is full of shit- or that Aidan Kelly was the first person who called Midsummer "Litha" in the 70's. She also has a chip on her shoulder about Christianity ("The Litha, or Summer Solstice, festival is ancient and has been handed down to us from pagan times, passing surprisingly unscathed through male-dominated, single-god religions and the Middle Ages")... Because she's Pagan, so of course she does. But wait! It doesn't stop there! She has some incredibly wild takes about John the Baptist- including thinking he "represents the Horned God, or Odin" because "the birth of John is celebrated six months before the birth of Jesus". Because Paganism needed more ignorant, ahistorical Zeitgeist nonsense, I guess?
Michael Furie never got the memo that Bede and the Grimm Brothers made up Eostre, apparently, despite this being common knowledge for well over a decade now. You'd think he'd've heard, but oh no. He's still convinced that her lack of lore and attestations is simply her being "steeped in mystery", and not a result of her being completely fake. But hey, at least he didn't pull a Blake Octavian Blair and completely make up some myth about her. And he's not alone, in any case; our reigning champion Linda Raedisch apparently never got the memo that "the goddess Dana" is not only properly named Danu- but also that she likewise never existed, either.
Kristoffer Hughes would have us believe that only the secular world falls prey to that dirty, evil thing called materialism- and that us (Neo)Pagans are somehow more enlightened than that; I've never laughed harder than I did reading him say "As the secular world bows beneath the mighty hand of materialism and the blatant commercialism of the holiday season, others are taking a different view—I am talking to you"; methinks the dude needs a massive wakeup call if he thinks Paganism isn't disgustingly materialistic just like the rest of society.
Then again the dude did call Iolo Morganwg (real name: Edward Williams)- forger extraordinaire and all around complete fraud- “legendary”... I'd say I'd expect better of a Welshman but frankly I’d expect nothing less from someone affiliated with the ADO and OBOD. And don’t be fooled by the “Mount Haemus Scholar” in his bio... It makes him sound more special than he is, but it’s just more OBOD nonsense. He’s not a real scholar in any capacity. He’s just another Druidic mess and it shows in his writing here.
Stacy Porter thinks her Yoga and her positive vibes adjacent nonsense (and I quote: "In my yoga practice, I was taught that our fears aren’t real because love is the only truth") is somehow relevant to Mabon. Lords know why. But... That's a thing.
This Almanac may not have been as bad as the 2015 - 2016 one, but honestly it wasn't much better, either. If you have the chance, don't bother; at this point I legitimately feel sorry for those that take these Almanacs seriously.
Linda Raedisch and her crappy recipes and even worse pre-recipe blurbs have replaced Blake Octavian Blair as the object of my loathing this round; gems include quotes like "No humans were harmed in the development of this recipe. But they might have been. I have heard that the original Aztec posole, a stew of parched corn, chilies, and meat, was originally made with human meat—the flesh of prisoners of war—and consumed in a ritual context",, "Flanzana: that’s 'flan' plus 'manzana'. Manzana is Spanish for 'apple'. Flan is Spanish for 'flan', a sweet pudding you bake in the oven", and "No, I haven’t made [Nordic Hot Dogs] into a casserole: one has to draw the line somewhere!".
Suzanne Ress is a close second because doesn't know that Bede is full of shit- or that Aidan Kelly was the first person who called Midsummer "Litha" in the 70's. She also has a chip on her shoulder about Christianity ("The Litha, or Summer Solstice, festival is ancient and has been handed down to us from pagan times, passing surprisingly unscathed through male-dominated, single-god religions and the Middle Ages")... Because she's Pagan, so of course she does. But wait! It doesn't stop there! She has some incredibly wild takes about John the Baptist- including thinking he "represents the Horned God, or Odin" because "the birth of John is celebrated six months before the birth of Jesus". Because Paganism needed more ignorant, ahistorical Zeitgeist nonsense, I guess?
Michael Furie never got the memo that Bede and the Grimm Brothers made up Eostre, apparently, despite this being common knowledge for well over a decade now. You'd think he'd've heard, but oh no. He's still convinced that her lack of lore and attestations is simply her being "steeped in mystery", and not a result of her being completely fake. But hey, at least he didn't pull a Blake Octavian Blair and completely make up some myth about her. And he's not alone, in any case; our reigning champion Linda Raedisch apparently never got the memo that "the goddess Dana" is not only properly named Danu- but also that she likewise never existed, either.
Kristoffer Hughes would have us believe that only the secular world falls prey to that dirty, evil thing called materialism- and that us (Neo)Pagans are somehow more enlightened than that; I've never laughed harder than I did reading him say "As the secular world bows beneath the mighty hand of materialism and the blatant commercialism of the holiday season, others are taking a different view—I am talking to you"; methinks the dude needs a massive wakeup call if he thinks Paganism isn't disgustingly materialistic just like the rest of society.
Then again the dude did call Iolo Morganwg (real name: Edward Williams)- forger extraordinaire and all around complete fraud- “legendary”... I'd say I'd expect better of a Welshman but frankly I’d expect nothing less from someone affiliated with the ADO and OBOD. And don’t be fooled by the “Mount Haemus Scholar” in his bio... It makes him sound more special than he is, but it’s just more OBOD nonsense. He’s not a real scholar in any capacity. He’s just another Druidic mess and it shows in his writing here.
Stacy Porter thinks her Yoga and her positive vibes adjacent nonsense (and I quote: "In my yoga practice, I was taught that our fears aren’t real because love is the only truth") is somehow relevant to Mabon. Lords know why. But... That's a thing.
This Almanac may not have been as bad as the 2015 - 2016 one, but honestly it wasn't much better, either. If you have the chance, don't bother; at this point I legitimately feel sorry for those that take these Almanacs seriously.
cherylkaye1's review
3.0
Weird mix of not enough detail, and too much detail. Didn't really find it helpful. :(
cuppa_curiositea's review
5.0
I worked through this book chapter-by-chapter and celebrated my first year of sabbats along with it. This almanac was essential to my personal and spiritual education, and I enjoyed this collection so much that I'm considering collecting Llewellyn's sabbat-specific books over the course of this next year to take my celebrations and understanding even deeper! I was really impressed with the depth and diversity of each section, and it offers a great balance of traditional and modern information.
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