Seasons of Moon and Flame

February 24, 2020
Dulsky (The Holy Wild), a spellwork teacher and witch, evocatively combines myth, introspection, and ritual to create a yearlong plan for “rewilding,” or connecting with the Earth’s energy, based on the archetype of the “Sacred Hag.” Dulsky sets up a neopagan framework that invites readers to “fall in love with the liminal.” Each of the four sections correspond to a different season and appearance of the hag—the garden hag, desert hag, sea hag, and mountain hag—and are followed by Dulsky’s reflections, a related story, and practices based around the waxing, full, and waning moons. For instance, the autumnal sea hag teaches about “feeling into the wild ache of not knowing, of sitting in the mist without deciding too quickly which direction is the right one.” Imaginative writing prompts, as when Dulsky invites readers to imagine themselves as a living ghost, step far beyond the usual spiritual journaling fodder. While readers new to Dulsky might find her freewheeling style hard to penetrate, witches interested in in-depth rituals will love this.