Product Description

The influential masterwork that launched the American Goddess movement is even more popular and relevant than ever- a bestselling spiritual classic. This brilliant overview of the growth, supression, and modern-day reemergence of Wicca as a Goddess-worshipping religion has left an indelible mark on the feminist spiritual consciousness. In this beautiful 20th-anniversary edition, Starhawk now reveals the ways in which the practice of ritual and Goddess religion have, in the face of a changing world, developed over the last 20 years -- and the ways in which these changes have influenced and enhanced her original ideas. This important spiritual guidebook provides both the tools of ancient practice and the means to adapt them to our lives today -- for, according to Starhawk, 'a living tradition is not static or fixed; it changes and responds to changing needs and changing times.'

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #86967 in Books
• Published on: 1999-11-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review
'A very beautiful call for a worldly spirituality.' --New York Times Book Review

About the Author
Starhawk is a witch, peace activist, ecofeminist, and author of several books, including The Pagan Book of Living and Dying, The Fifth Sacred Thing, Walking and Truth or Dare. She teaches at several San Francisco Bay Area colleges, is the co-founder of the Bay Area Reclaiming Collective, and lectures all over the world.

Customer Reviews

The Goddess is alive and kicking
If you know anything about Wicca, you probably know that the way a lot of people begin on this religious path is by reading The Spiral Dance. Most seekers are told to read it - and for good reason. In this book, Starhawk recognizes the God and Goddess and gives a complete description of the way witches worship. It is my opinion that it is impossible to go away from this book unchanged. Even if you do not accept her teachings or the God and Goddess, you will find that you can never look at the seasonal changes and moon phases the same way again. This is because she does a wonderful job of showing the seeker the Wiccan world view. Starhawk's prose and poetry brings the spirits of nature to life and inspires the seeker to call out to them as well as the moon, the sun, the earth and everything in it as we reclaim our Father and Mother of pagan heritage.

Brilliant
This is an incredible book. It goes into far more depth than most books on the subject and beginners may find it a bit tricky to read. It is however, one of the best books I've ever read. It made me see the world in a different way.

Profoundly spiritual and enlightningly educational
This book is a must have. It not only contains higly effective magical insight but it looks into some of the over all views of male and female energy and the way the world views them. Adding this book to your library could most definatly change the way you look at societys roles of gender as well as how you work in a coven. This book was one of my first beginning books and I wouldn't have traded it for any of the other books I've read to date. The " Spiral Dance " helps explain some of the enigmas behind and in magick. Starhawk sets down a very realistic and tangable over-view of what magick is and how to attain it. There is much depth on the Gods and Goddesses relation to male and female energy and what each is a representation of as well as how it relates to each individual ( man or woman ) Reading this book will help you to understand how the masculine and feminine energys work in the world and lay some serious questions about how society catigorizes and stereo types us all. It most deffinatly will help change the way you view the patrearchial system. It also lays a good foundation for the spiral dance. What it is, how it's celebrated and how it relates to the world we live in on a daily basis. The spell craft, oil, insence, tinicturs, brews, candle magick and meditation formulas are a most deffinate must for any witches library. This book will lay a firm foundation for anyone who is new to the craft as well as help advance an intermeadit or just plain lend some new insight or ideas out to thoose who have practiced craft for years. Without this book I would not have come so far is so short of time. I concide myself to be an intermeadit witch but don't think I would have gotten there without Starhawks exqusit book. It layed a positive foundation for my craft work to grow, and my hat's off to the author for providing what I have found to be one of my most helpfull and freaquently used reference books. I truly love this book and I'm sure any true seeker of the craft will find it helpfull. May this book help many others on the quest for knowledge, as much as it has me. Merry meet, Merry part until we meet again. BLESSED BE!!!!!!!!!! Tobie Heideman