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The Elements of Ritual: Air, Fire, Water & Earth in the Wiccan Circle Kindle Edition

by Deborah Lipp (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 138 ratings
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Many books may tell you how to cast a Wiccan circle, but none really bother to explain why. When you finish reading The Elements of Ritual, you'll know what each step of the circle-casting ceremony means, why it's there, and what it accomplishes. You'll learn several alternative approaches to each step, and you'll be empowered to write your own effective ceremonies using sound magical, theological, and pragmatic principles.

  • Advanced, sophisticated Witchcraft philosophy and practice
  • Delves further into the theology and theory of every phase of ritual, along with practical how-tos and how-not-tos, and much esoteric, hard-to-find information
  • Every step of ritual has at least two sample scripts, including an avant-garde example
  • Provides detailed instructions for writing your own ritual
  • Includes meditations on the deeper meanings of each phase of ritual
Previous page
  1. ISBN-13
    978-0738703015
  2. Sticky notes
    Not Enabled
  3. Publisher
    Llewellyn Publications
  4. Publication date
    April 8, 2003
  5. Language
    English
  6. File size
    2690 KB
  7. See all details
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From the Publisher

Deborah lipp, books by Deborah lipp, paganism, pagan books, magic, ritual, witchcraft
Deborah lipp, books by Deborah lipp, paganism, pagan books, magic, ritual, witchcraft

Air, Fire, Water & Earth in the Wiccan Circle

Many books may tell you how to cast a Wiccan circle, but none really bother to explain why. When you finish reading The Elements of Ritual, you'll know what each step of the circle-casting ceremony means, why it's there, and what it accomplishes. You'll learn several alternative approaches to each step, and you'll be empowered to write your own effective ceremonies using sound magical, theological, and pragmatic principles.

Deborah lipp, books by Deborah lipp, paganism, pagan books, magic, ritual, witchcraft Deborah lipp, books by Deborah lipp, paganism, pagan books, magic, ritual, witchcraft Bending the Binary, by Deborah Lipp
Magical Power for Beginners Tarot Interactions Bending the Binary
Customer Reviews
4.8 out of 5 stars
114
4.7 out of 5 stars
288
4.4 out of 5 stars
26
Price $16.50 $16.01 $17.08
Also by Deborah Lipp: What makes magic work? What can it do and what can't it do? This straightforward, easy-to-follow guide answers the most common questions about magical power. Move beyond reading "card by card" and learn to provide powerful readings with a nuanced, flowing narrative like that of a story or poem. Break magical polarity free from outmoded ideas of gender and heteronormativity while still celebrating polar energy.
llewellyn, llewellyn worldwide, llewellyn publishing, llewellyn books, new age, new age books

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Deborah Lipp has been teaching Wicca, magic, and the occult for over thirty years. She became a Witch and High Priestess in the 1980s as an initiate of the Gardnerian tradition of Wicca. She's been published in many Pagan publications, including newWitch, Llewellyn's Magical Almanac, PanGaia, and Green Egg, and she has lectured on Pagan and occult topics on three continents.

As an active member of the Pagan community, Deborah has appeared in various media discussing Wicca, including Coast to Coast AM radio, an A&E documentary (Ancient Mysteries: Witchcraft in America), television talk shows, and the New York Times.

Deborah is also a technology systems professional. She lives with her spouse, Melissa, and an assortment of cats in Jersey City, New Jersey. Deborah reads and teaches Tarot, solves and designs puzzles, watches old movies, hand-paints furniture, and dabbles in numerous handcrafts. Visit her at DeborahLipp.com.

Twitter: @DebLippAuthor

Instagram: DebLippAuthor

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00260GCJU
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Llewellyn Publications (April 8, 2003)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 8, 2003
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2690 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 138 ratings

About the author

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Deborah Lipp

Deborah Lipp

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Deborah Lipp's most recent books are Magical Power for Beginners and The Complete Book of Spells. Her earlier works include: Tarot Interactions, The Elements of Ritual, and The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book. One of these things is not like the other.

The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book is newly-released, fully updated, and includes pre-release information on No Time to Die!

Deborah has been teaching Wicca, magic, and the occult for over 30 years. She became a Witch and High Priestess in the 1980s, as an initiate of the Gardnerian tradition of Wicca. She’s been published in many Pagan publications, including newWitch, The Llewellyn Magical Almanac, Pangaia, and Green Egg, and has lectured on Pagan and occult topics on three continents.

As an active "out of the closet" member of the Pagan community, Deborah has appeared in various media discussing Wicca, including Coast-to-Coast radio, an A&E documentary (Ancient Mysteries: Witchcraft in America), television talk shows, and the New York Times.

As a pop culture writer, she's perhaps best known as the co-founder of Basket of Kisses, the premiere Mad Men blog. She is also a contributor to Mad Men Carousel by Matthew Zoller Seitz.

In "real life" Deborah is a Business Analyst. She lives with her spouse, Melissa, and an assortment of cats, in Jersey City, NJ, three blocks from a really great view of Freedom Tower. Deborah reads and teaches Tarot, solves and designs puzzles, watches old movies, hand-paints furniture, and dabbles in numerous handcrafts.

Follow Deborah on Twitter and Instagram: @DebLippAuthor

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
138 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Sarah Palmer
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful addition!
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
Verified Purchase
I am so excited to add this next to the first Elements Of Ritual.
Lipp has revised her work in a great effort to include modern methods and inclusivity.
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G. Plants
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent...everyone should have a copy!!!
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2008
Verified Purchase
What can I say...I LOVE this book. I've known how to do the "basics" for years, and now that I have read this book - I feel like I was missing something the whole time. Everyone always worries..."am I doing this right", that most of the time they don't get a chance to ask "why", or "what exactly is the purpose of this...". The Elements of Ritual gives us the chance to have those questions (and more) answered in a way that is easy to understand, and makes sense. It takes us through...step-by-step, each of the core parts that make up Wiccan ritual, and explains each one from the point of view of the 4 elements ( Air...why we do it; Water...what is the mythology behind it; Fire...what is the meaning of it; Earth...how we do it). It does an excellent job of dispelling some common "myths" associated with Wiccan ritual - such as the idea of "sacrifices". Did you know your ritual isn't really complete without one? (I can hear the collective GASP - "Wiccan's don't do sacrifices!" To which I answer..."but what is a sacrifice?") Truly I wish I had read this book a long time ago. If you are anything like me...just reading through the first couple of chapters will have you going, "Oh...I get it now!!!" Truly, I can't say enough good things about this book. Overall it is an invaluable tool for advancing one's practice. I highly recommend this book to everyone, not only to read...but also to be included as an essential book in one's resource library.
2 people found this helpful
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Jess C
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for Understanding Every Ritual Step
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2020
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This book breaks down every step of the typical Wiccan ritual and explains the reasoning behind each one. The author relates the classical elements (Air, Fire, Water, Earth) to the Witch's pyramid and explains how they tie into every ritual step. She does a great job of explaining the themes of ritual and making the steps logically consistent.

This is a wonderful book for beginners, but not a great first book, since the author assumes that you are already somewhat familiar with Wiccan beliefs and the ritual steps. This was exactly what I needed at my step on the path, since I've already read multiple beginner books and was starting to do my own rituals.
5 people found this helpful
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The Old Philosopher
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Wiccan Text Book
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2004
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I found this book educational and primarily targeted to those learning the Craft. As the cover suggests it focuses primarily on the "elementals," air, water, fire, and earth from a Wiccan perspective. Deborah explains clearly why things are done the way they are, providing understanding instead of merely giving recipes or how-to instructions. I would suggest this book for novices who are working with a coven or teacher. It will help the novice to understand why the teacher does things in a particular way and not some other way, what options might be chosen instead, and how that would change the ritual. It could provide a basis for discussion of the ritual design with the teacher. It's a good "text book" if you will for a teacher to assign to her or his students. For a more experienced reader it has a broad perspective and descriptions of other ways to do the same thing that you may not have thought about in a while.
She discusses the mythological difference between directions, elementals, and guardians. Why, for example, do many Wiccans limit directions to 4, leaving out up, down, center, spirit, in, out, forward, backward, or any others that some groups add? Deborah Lipp often gives more than one example of how you might do the same thing rather than just "do it this way." She explains why you might choose each version. In reviewing the book I found that she reminded me of several aspects of ritual that I had learned years ago but had not thought of recently and I enjoyed the review of principles.
In part "Elements of Ritual" is similar to a lot of other beginner books of which we have seen too many over the past few years. However, Deborah Lipp's offering is one of the best of those, and is aimed at more serious students than your run of the mill "teenage witch" book. Yes, those who are focused on one particular tradition will find things to disagree with, as you will with any book written by anyone but yourself, but that's where you have a talk with your teacher or priest/ess about how your practice differs from hers.
As another reviewer already said, the advanced student of the Craft might be more interested in reading Grey Cat's "Deepening Witchcraft," or some others targeted on a more advanced audience. For a beginner's textbook that includes why as well as what and gives alternatives, "Elements of Ritual" is pretty good.
25 people found this helpful
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Cretan Witch
5.0 out of 5 stars Practical and No Nonesense Guide - Finally
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2006
Verified Purchase
I happened upon this book by recommendation of a friend. All I can say is WOW. I was so tired of reading the anything goes pagan circle casting and so many authors clamoring about to say why everything under the sun was acceptable. It seems so many forget about foundation.

I now recommend this book to everyone who wants to learn how to cast a circle the wiccan format. NOT A PAGAN CIRCLE format. But a witch's circle. The author comes from a traditional background. There is so much in her writing that is of practical use. There is much that speaks and inspires here. There is much that is said yet unsaid. Plans within plans, so to speak.

The manner of presentation is refreshing and very useful. So much thought went into the preparation and presentation of this book.

I intend to use this for teaching purposes. I can't say enough good about this book and Deborah.

Thank you! Thank you! Your years of experience are of great use to those of us coming along.

Blessed Be Great Lady!
4 people found this helpful
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The_Deviant_Witch
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the read if you want to learn about elements.
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2019
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Very well written book! I read it in 3 days. It covers more of high magick rituals than anything else, but not in such a serious setting like how I would normally concider any high magick. The author goes over how to use each element in all kinds of ways, even more than only in a high magick manner. Adds meditations as well. This isnt a spell book. "Ritual" is more on theme for this book. (Of course, as in the title)

Worth the read. Even if you dont do high magick.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Luca Miccichè
5.0 out of 5 stars Capolavoro
Reviewed in Italy on October 11, 2019
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Un capolavoro. Davvero immancabile nella biblioteca di una strega
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PAULO EDUARDO SOUZA
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Reviewed in Brazil on August 31, 2016
Verified Purchase
In love with every single page!
All Wiccan basics very well explained in detail. An amazing view of Ritual.
Just finished ;)
2 people found this helpful
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Andrew Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Just what's needed
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2013
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My wife is a practising Wiccan so this was a perfect gift (along with the Hermes Statue and the other book Solitary Wicca for Life). She spends hours reading these, taking notes and things and leaves me to get on with watching the rugby or whatever. All round winning combination!
4 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in Italy on September 20, 2019
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Very good book about this matter
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Iwona
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2017
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verry good
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