|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
Review
-- -- New York Times Book Review
Book Description
On every full moon, rituals such as the one described above take place on hill, on beaches, in open fields, and in ordinary houses. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully Done,
By Elizabeth (Kennesaw, Georgia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Spiral Dance The - 20th Anniversary (Paperback)
My favorite part of this book happens to be the end-notes that Starhawk wrote for the 10th and now the 20th edition of the original. I was very impressed with how she wrote about her spiritual journey--she wasn't afraid to revise what she had written twenty years ago. For example, if one was to read the book and not the endnotes, you would get the impression that she only focuses on the Goddess and women. In her endnotes she discusses the need for the God and the inclusion of men in ritual.For the rest of the book, I would highly recommend this to a "newby" as opposed to other "Wicca 101" books that are so popular now. She seems to focus more on explaining diety, the need for ritual etc. instead of making sure the student has the tool, the color, the stone, etc. for a specific spell. Much in here forces the student to think for her/himself as opposed to quoting eight words of the Rede and telling students to memorize it. I also would stress (yet again) for the student to read the endnotes along with the original text.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Essential Reading, With Flaws,
By
This review is from: Spiral Dance The - 20th Anniversary (Paperback)
If you're new to Paanism or Wicthcraft as a religion, this book will set you on your proper course. Starhawk does what few other Pagan and Wiccan authors manage: She makes the religion of the Great Goddess come alive. Her writing sparkles, and her passion for her subject is infectious. While many chapters of this book are devoted to philosophy and mythology, just as many are devoted to practical ritual and spiritual practice. This is where Starhawk shines. Her ritual format is brief, stripped down to its essentials; she removes the focus from tools like athames and chalices and puts it where it belongs - on people. She teaches the basics of the Pentagram, of invoking the Goddess and Goddess, self-purification, raising energy, and divination - showing, every step of the way, how these spiritual techniques complement our scientific culture rather than contradict it. The book, in my opinion, is worth the price of purchase just for the beautiful invocations to the Goddess and God that it contains. While much Pagan poetry is wooden and stilted, that of Starhawk and her Reclaiming collective trips lightly off the tongue, and can bring you to tears of joy just by repeating it softly to yourself. Outside of these nuggets, the book has some deep flaws. The original edition described a yin-yang creation cosmology, dividing the world into Male and Female essences; in this updated edition, she spends footnote after distracting footnote revising this hetero-myth so as not to exclude the GLBT community. It's a noble goal, but she just should have rewritten this section. Libertarians, moderate liberals and conservatives will sour on her left-liberal politics, not to mention how tightly she intertwines her politics with her religion. You'd think, reading this book, that "being Pagan" requires a Nader/LaDuke bumper sticker and a subscription to Mother Jones. Fortunately, the Pagan community is much more diverse. Finally, much of the information about past "Goddess/matriarchical societies" and about the "Burning Times" is wrong. Using outdated sources like Margaret Murray, Starhawk attempts to build a mythology of oppression for guilt-ridden, middle-class white people... Despites its drawbacks, SPIRAL DANCE is important, and ought to be on your shelf.
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE book for any beginner interested in Earth Based Spirituality,
By MagicMan (Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Spiral Dance The - 20th Anniversary (Paperback)
I unerringly refer anyone I meet who has an interest in Wicca, Paganism or any form of Earth Based Spirituality to read this book first. While some of the historical interpretations and views on Eastern spirituality have been softened or modified over the many years since the first publication, this remains a fundamental classic. Too many books out there fail to include this as a source, because it really hailed the beginning of the Goddess Spirituality movement in the US, and I've read so many variations of exercises from Spiral Dance in other books, that it should absolutely be credited more often.A solid, practical and easy-to-read intro that should be the first on anyone's list if they are new to these branches of spirituality and a classic on the bookshelf of almost every veteran practitioner. Always a good buy.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Gender Studies
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology
- Books > Nonfiction > Women's Studies
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Wicca
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Witchcraft
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Goddesses
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Occult
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
|
