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A review by helenaliu
The Elements of Ritual: Air, Fire, Water & Earth in the Wiccan Circle by Deborah Lipp
2.0
This book came highly recommended to me as a model of how Wiccan books should be written. I was assured that it provides the why in addition to the more readily available how of ritual, and thus expected an intelligent and well-researched document that enlightened its readers to the origins of Wiccan ritual practices. While The Elements of Ritual did not meet my lofty expectations, the book redeemed itself for me with the inclusion of unique and breathtaking ritual styles.
Lipp establishes the tone of the book by providing a detailed, interpretative exploration to the four elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth. She further structures her chapters so that each aspect of the Circle Casting ritual of Wicca is examined from a practical (Earth), theological (Air), mythological (Water) and mystical (Fire) viewpoint. However, it does not always remain in this order. As Lipp continually reordered the sequence in which the four aspects (practical, theological, mythological and mystical aspects) were explored, the structure lacked consistency, giving the book a generally free-form, interpretative feel that renders it unsuitable for the reference guide she suggested for which it could be easily used. While some historical or cultural variations to the four elements are briefly mentioned, on the whole, it revolves around the four elements of Wiccan tradition and Lipp’s personal interpretations of them. After a short introduction, The Elements of Ritual delves into Circle Casting, from preliminary preparation through to its Closing.
The attempt to structure the book with corresponding elements is symptomatic of a broader inclination to conflate disparate traditions and systems of magic. Most memorably, Lipp jarringly equates the four precepts of the Golden Dawn, adapted by Wiccans and renamed The Witches’ Pyramid—To Know, To Will, To Dare and To Keep Silent—with each of the four elements, forcing congruence and correspondence when there is none. Lipp’s preference for doing this often meant the distinct traditions and systems she attempted to match were reduced to their lowest common denominators and as a consequence, acknowledgement and appreciation of them as unique practices in their own right were lost.
The Elements of Ritual is frequently praised for its exploration into the why aspects of Circle Casting, as Lipp emphasises is a predominant motivation in writing this book (see p. 1). Her attempts to provide the background on the steps of Circle Casting remained interpretive and intuitive, and having raised the “why” question so early on, the lack of explicit, background information became all the more evident. For me, Lipp fell just slightly short of achieving that ambitious, although important, goal.
Lipp establishes the tone of the book by providing a detailed, interpretative exploration to the four elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth. She further structures her chapters so that each aspect of the Circle Casting ritual of Wicca is examined from a practical (Earth), theological (Air), mythological (Water) and mystical (Fire) viewpoint. However, it does not always remain in this order. As Lipp continually reordered the sequence in which the four aspects (practical, theological, mythological and mystical aspects) were explored, the structure lacked consistency, giving the book a generally free-form, interpretative feel that renders it unsuitable for the reference guide she suggested for which it could be easily used. While some historical or cultural variations to the four elements are briefly mentioned, on the whole, it revolves around the four elements of Wiccan tradition and Lipp’s personal interpretations of them. After a short introduction, The Elements of Ritual delves into Circle Casting, from preliminary preparation through to its Closing.
The attempt to structure the book with corresponding elements is symptomatic of a broader inclination to conflate disparate traditions and systems of magic. Most memorably, Lipp jarringly equates the four precepts of the Golden Dawn, adapted by Wiccans and renamed The Witches’ Pyramid—To Know, To Will, To Dare and To Keep Silent—with each of the four elements, forcing congruence and correspondence when there is none. Lipp’s preference for doing this often meant the distinct traditions and systems she attempted to match were reduced to their lowest common denominators and as a consequence, acknowledgement and appreciation of them as unique practices in their own right were lost.
The Elements of Ritual is frequently praised for its exploration into the why aspects of Circle Casting, as Lipp emphasises is a predominant motivation in writing this book (see p. 1). Her attempts to provide the background on the steps of Circle Casting remained interpretive and intuitive, and having raised the “why” question so early on, the lack of explicit, background information became all the more evident. For me, Lipp fell just slightly short of achieving that ambitious, although important, goal.