The Book of Shadows by Lady Sheba
by: Lady Sheba

ISBN 0-87542-075-3
192 pages, 5-3/16x8

Price $9.95

Llewellyn has released a classic work by Lady Sheba in honor of her 80th birthday this year.  A pioneer in bringing the Craft to America, this book is considered by many to be the first true book of shadows ever published in the states.

Truly classic and "old school" in the sense that it is heavily Gardnerian/British Traditional based, some of the work in its pages is lovely to read, with prose-like rituals that conquer up a feeling of old magic and deeply-rooted energies of the Earth.  It does play heavily into the "cloak and dagger" aspects of Craft, boasting "secret" initiation rites and a necessity of knowing the 162 Laws of the Craft (enough of that whole Wiccan Rede being the "extent of the law," it seems).  The word "ardane" is used with the same frequency as "the" or "and," it seems.

The rituals themselves are lovely and melodic, although I never found the Watchtowers to be particular "dread," unless they swing into action against a foe of the Light.  I was disturbed that in one ritual, an ancient chant is given in Latin with no translation provided.  For myself, I love Latin and the words roll off my tongue with a familiar comfort that defies my own experience, but even so, I like to know what I'm saying, what I'm invoking and what I', EKO EKO'ing into my space.  I was also a bit squeamish around the first level initiation when the "Dread Lords of Outer Space" are invoked.  They are not the entities I tend to work with and I had trouble erasing the Marvin the Martian image from my third eye.

As is common with the Gardnerian tradition, there is much kissing and scourging going on (that thin line between love and hate, don'tcha know), with one ritual in particular calling for 40 scourges.  I'm not sure there's even anything that feels good that I want to do forty times in a ritual, much less getting whacked 40 times.  That's why I'm eclectic and not Gardnerian, I suppose. 

Other than much kissing and hitting, the rituals are well written and enjoyable.  I also quite liked the appendices at the end of the book, including the original Charge of the Goddess and other wonderful writings.

I give it:

4 pentacles out of 5
(the hitting, the kissing
the cloak and dagger stuff
cost it a couple)

Review by Katrina Rasbold