The Reading Warehouse

Just in time for the Winter Solstice This is an enjoyable, easy-to-sing collection of twenty-nine original, alternative lyrics ... written with Neopagan sensibility ... set to many familiar holiday and folk tunes. Yuletide subjects range from celebrating the return of the sun at Winter Solstice, to stewardship of the Earth ... others honor the Elements, the Sabbats, the horned god and the Celtic triple-goddess. Most of the songs lend themselves equally to private singing on a nature walk, or a large ritual gathering. Kids will enjoy "The Blessed Bee", which teaches about taking responsibility for what we send out into the world, and a song about quail-shaped gingerbread cookies (a recipe is included ) Ms. Leslie, a writer of speculative fantasy based in the Celtic tradition, has herself been a devotee of Earth-based spirituality for more than two decades, and writes from the heart of her devotion, melding heartfelt lines with accurate scansion. No music to read, just uplifting lyrics, set to tunes generally well-known within the folk canon; each song entry provides the name and composer (or other source) to which it fits.