Seasons of a Magical Life by H. Byron Ballard

A Pagan Path of Living Celebrations, Festivals, and Rituals for the Wheel of the Year For all those who are inspired to reconnect with the seasons, whether they live in the country, the city, or anyplace in between, Seasons of a Magical Life serves as a guide to earth-based spirituality and ritual living. Seasons of a Magical Life looks at the Wheel of the Year and its basis in agriculture as a starting point for a deepening spirituality. Folklorist H. Byron Ballard offers a set of backstories to ease the reader into a time between the preindustrial era and the modern one, into a place where the fast-moving stress of contemporary life can be affected by a better connection not only to the natural world but also to the elegant expression of the year through seasonal festivals and celebrations. The chapters are broken into the four seasons and feature simple skills that accompany each marker in the year. The author provides advice on spiritual and physical immersion into the seasons that applies to readers from all areas: rural, urban, and suburban. This is also a deeply practical book that includes insights into food, fiber arts, sewing, household crafts, farming and gardening, and health.