2005 Wicca Almanac © 2005

2005 Wicca Almanac             © 2005   Llewellyn   ISBN 0-7387-0308-7    228 pages  paperback  $8.99 (U.S.)   $11.95 (Canada)

Each year Llewellyn produces a number of different date books and almanacs, aimed at various target audiences.  As with all of Llewellyn’s almanac series, the astrological and calendar information are only a part of the reason for buying it.  After all, a few keystrokes on the keyboard of your computer can give you all the astrological/cultural references you want for any day of the year.

It also contains articles on a wide variety of topics, by writers who are, at the very least competent in their fields – some are recognized authorities.  There are multiple viewpoints presented, from near-scholarly works to simple bits of fluff.  Another plus is the convenient size – being a paperback it is easy to toss in a purse, backpack, briefcase, etc.

Once again there are more than two dozen articles in sections ranging from “Lifestyles of the Witch and Famous” to the Wicca Wide Web, as well as “eye of Toad, Ear of Newt” (a consumer guide).  The range of topics is par for the course with this annual publication.  The authors are not all well-known, which is one of the things I really like about this publication.  One of the real strengths of this almanac is the diversity of topics.  You can never tell what you are likely to encounter until you open the cover.  This year you can find everything from teaching your children to how to handle divorce; from Pagan erotic to yoga; and from traveling the world to traveling the world-wide web.  You can pick and choose what to read and when to read it.

The Almanac section includes all the standards we have come to expect:  birthdays, ritual observances, festivals; as well as the moon sign and phase, and a color associated with it.

There are some news items included in the Almanac section, more to serve as breaks and page fillers than for their newsworthiness.

If you feel that Llewellyn is all about fluff, this annual probably won’t change your mind.  The topics are NOT heavy-duty articles.  They do, however, frequently make one stop and think about their own belief system.  If you want serious astrological data, you’ll need a different almanac, but for general usefulness it is hard to beat this particular annual publication.