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In the Service of Life: A Wiccan Perspective on Death
Explains the Wiccan rituals surrounding death, including spiritual concerns, the importance of death in the Circle of Life, providing assistance to the dying, and moving on.
- GenresWicca
210 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2003
44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 13, 2012
First of all, this book DOES do exactly what it says on the cover. It’s a Wiccan Perspective. This is fine, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Basically, the author covers a variety of reactions to death, and how a Wiccan should approach these from the point of view of their faith. There’s some introductory pages about what this means as well, rather oddly assuming the reader to be unfamiliar with Wiccan basics, but that’s fine – as an overview.
The problem for me is that the book is extremely shallow. It comes across as very ‘American-New-Agey’, dealing with death as an entirely positive transfer of energy, and how those remaining should be acting during times of bereavement. Unfortunately, this comes across as mostly touchy-feely – there is no actual hard or practice advice about dealing with what would be a traumatic period, for those dying and those left behind. Even the ‘logistical’ overview is basic – and inappropriate to any non-American audience. The author is highly subjective, seeming more concerned to show their knowledge of famous Wiccan authors.
As a pagan priest who administers to those at times of loss, I would not recommend this book at all. Starhawk’s ‘Pagan Book of Living & Dying’ seems to be the only title on this at the moment, taking an adult look at the unpleasant, difficult realities – and dealing with them in a truly deep, respectful and honourable manner within the pagan faith as a whole.
Basically, the author covers a variety of reactions to death, and how a Wiccan should approach these from the point of view of their faith. There’s some introductory pages about what this means as well, rather oddly assuming the reader to be unfamiliar with Wiccan basics, but that’s fine – as an overview.
The problem for me is that the book is extremely shallow. It comes across as very ‘American-New-Agey’, dealing with death as an entirely positive transfer of energy, and how those remaining should be acting during times of bereavement. Unfortunately, this comes across as mostly touchy-feely – there is no actual hard or practice advice about dealing with what would be a traumatic period, for those dying and those left behind. Even the ‘logistical’ overview is basic – and inappropriate to any non-American audience. The author is highly subjective, seeming more concerned to show their knowledge of famous Wiccan authors.
As a pagan priest who administers to those at times of loss, I would not recommend this book at all. Starhawk’s ‘Pagan Book of Living & Dying’ seems to be the only title on this at the moment, taking an adult look at the unpleasant, difficult realities – and dealing with them in a truly deep, respectful and honourable manner within the pagan faith as a whole.
November 5, 2024
i love learning new perspectives and this one def helped me learn to cope with death and with what to expect out of it .
October 22, 2015
I started reading this book when my good friend died earlier this year. I was looking for something that would help his lovely wife and kids (also my good friends) come to terms with his sudden death, especially in the wake of his wife asking me, "Why did the Goddess take him from me so soon?"
In general, I found this a good read. It details things from a lighter Wiccan perspective. The author philosophizes at length about the role of death in life, and how the two are sides of the same coin, and expresses some particularly Wiccan beliefs about the Afterlife. More importantly, it offers a wealth of practical suggestions, such as a checklist for dealing with the business end of the aftermath. There's a lot of bureaucracy involved when someone dies, and the last thing a loved one wants to do is deal with it, and wrapping your head around it can seem impossibly daunting, so this list of things to do is exceptionally helpful.
Other readers have criticized the book for being almost too light. They're not wrong; in some places it seems almost dismissively blithe, without giving the potency of grief its due. Also, it's very idiosyncratic to the author's individual eclectic tradition, making some broad assumptions about what it is to be Wiccan or Pagan; and while I suppose I must allow that this is probably inevitable in any Wiccan book that addresses theology, I found it distracting. Equally distracting was the way in which the author insisted upon referring to her loved ones by cutesy nicknames, such as "the Explorer" for her son, when I think "my son" would have been sufficient if the author didn't want to give his name.
So, there were some things I would have liked to see presented in a different way. But all in all, not a bad read, and as a companion volume to the deeper, but much less practical, "Pagan Book of Living and Dying" published by Starhawk and the Reclaiming Community (which is equally idiosyncratic to the Reclaiming tradition,) I think it could potentially help a lot of grieving Wiccans at a vulnerable time. Certainly I think O'Gaea is to be commended for taking this subject on without help or guidance, and I wish there were more books that addressed this subject out there.
In general, I found this a good read. It details things from a lighter Wiccan perspective. The author philosophizes at length about the role of death in life, and how the two are sides of the same coin, and expresses some particularly Wiccan beliefs about the Afterlife. More importantly, it offers a wealth of practical suggestions, such as a checklist for dealing with the business end of the aftermath. There's a lot of bureaucracy involved when someone dies, and the last thing a loved one wants to do is deal with it, and wrapping your head around it can seem impossibly daunting, so this list of things to do is exceptionally helpful.
Other readers have criticized the book for being almost too light. They're not wrong; in some places it seems almost dismissively blithe, without giving the potency of grief its due. Also, it's very idiosyncratic to the author's individual eclectic tradition, making some broad assumptions about what it is to be Wiccan or Pagan; and while I suppose I must allow that this is probably inevitable in any Wiccan book that addresses theology, I found it distracting. Equally distracting was the way in which the author insisted upon referring to her loved ones by cutesy nicknames, such as "the Explorer" for her son, when I think "my son" would have been sufficient if the author didn't want to give his name.
So, there were some things I would have liked to see presented in a different way. But all in all, not a bad read, and as a companion volume to the deeper, but much less practical, "Pagan Book of Living and Dying" published by Starhawk and the Reclaiming Community (which is equally idiosyncratic to the Reclaiming tradition,) I think it could potentially help a lot of grieving Wiccans at a vulnerable time. Certainly I think O'Gaea is to be commended for taking this subject on without help or guidance, and I wish there were more books that addressed this subject out there.
looks-interesting-spirituality
November 7, 2011Found through review at Magickware's Book Reviews.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews