Book Review

Walking with the Seasons:
The wonder of being in step with nature

by Alice Peck

Publisher: CICO Books

128 Pages

Release Date: February 13, 2024

 

 

 

 

Walking with the Seasons explores the habit of a ritualized daily walk as a way to stay in touch and build your relationship with nature throughout the year. The book is divided into four chapters corresponding to the four seasons, and each chapter deals with several different topics appropriate to that season, dedicating a couple of pages to each one. It’s a very well-designed book, with tons of full-color photos and graphics to illustrate the beauty of each season. There are also quotes about walking from various sources, and along the way, Peck explores the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits of a daily walk.

There are many topics covered in this book, all related to walking: forest bathing, walking with dogs, walking a labyrinth, setting a step count goal, walking at night vs. walking at day, star-gazing — and many more. It isn’t a Pagan or witchy book, and Peck mentions a Buddhist viewpoint more than any other spiritual viewpoint. It isn’t a book about Buddhist practice, but there are some Buddhist practices mentioned, and it is certainly related through Peck’s emphasis on meditation, awareness, and interconnection.

Throughout Walking with the Seasons there are many observations about the cycles of nature: the sun, moon, and stars; the movements of animals, especially birds; the effects of temperature, light, and noise upon the environment; and many other observations in this vein. The exact changes in any individual’s area are likely to be different from the author’s, but these observations are nice reminders of what to look for in your own area.

There are a few exercises discussed in the book, mostly designed around how you should go about your walk, how you might think about it, and how you experience it and use it to observe the natural world. But Peck mostly isn’t attempting to teach anything factual — she seems more interested in encouraging the reader to go out and experience the world for themselves. The book concludes with a surprisingly lengthy bibliography and index.

I picked up this book because I am already a fan of a daily walk — it’s a habit I revisit at different times — so I didn’t arrive at any ground-breaking epiphanies from this book, or learn anything that was new to me; it is a pleasant but undemanding book with a singular focus. Still, I think that Peck certainly succeeded in her apparent goal, because now I am feeling ready for a lovely walk outside — in any and every season! And if that’s a thought that interests you, too, then you might like Walking with the Seasons.

About the author:

Alice Peck is a writer and editor living in Brooklyn, New York. Drawn to finding the sacred in everyday things—especially nature—she is the author of The Green Cure, Be More Tree, and Around the World in 80 Spiritual Places, published by CICO. She is also the editor of many books about mind and spirit, psychology, consciousness, and meditation. Follow her on Instagram @BeMoreTree.

 

Walking with the Seasons on Amazon

 

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Author Bio:

Sarah McMenomy is a visionary artist, author, and witch. Pulling inspiration from trance states, dreams, auras, psychedelia, and the natural world, she weaves together themes of nature and the occult in her artwork and writing. She has created art and written for books, magazines, games, and more, as well as producing digital fine art prints and acrylic paintings. 
She is the creator of The Entanglement Tarot, a hex-shaped occult Tarot deck designed for spell-craft. 
She sometimes writes for Pagan Pages, and also publishes art on her Portfolio site and other work on her Tumblr. She is currently writing a book of natural ritual on her blog Natural Rites.