Rating: 
Summary: Feminist politics
Review: I know every witch owns this book. I own this book. But I have to say that reading it left me feeling disenchanted. I have read many books by male wiccan authors and none of them have ever come close to the sexism that I encountered in this book. I am a woman, and i was offended. My boyfriend is pagan, I have more male pagan friends than female ones, (which I realize is unusual.) This book makes me sad because I, personally, have seen more men passionatly dedicated to the Goddess than women. This book, and ones like it, made a few of my pagan friends just not want to be pagan anymore. They said that they felt there was no room for them in Goddess religions. It's on my shelf, but it will never have a place in my heart.
Rating: 
Summary: starhawk
Review: this book contains a lot of information about the Dianic Tradition and a lot of good meditation techniques.
Rating: 
Summary: This book changed my life.
Review: What a blessing this book has been to me! About five years ago, when I consciously started down this path, I came across this book in a small store and could not put it down. This is truly one of the "classics" of Pagan literature, and although it is 20 years old it is more relevant than ever, and better than most of the "modern" introductory books. Starhawk's writing style is earthy and beautiful, and it's sure to spark your imagination. There are many great ideas for ritual and exploring your spiritual growth in the book, and one of the things I like most about Starhawk's writings is that she emphasizes the need for personal experience. She does not talk down to beginners, but rather offers a rich introduction to the Craft. Starhawk's books really seem to touch on the beauty and the mystery of the Craft, and the Spiral Dance is no exception. She also emphasizes the importance of the Craft as a *way of life*, not just a religion, something I feel is lacking in many of the books today.If you are interested in walking the Witch's path, are starving for spiritual sustenance beyond the pop-culture "witchcrap" books and have outgrown the need for the "Wicca 101" books which are long on rote forumla and short in depth, I highly recommend the Spiral Dance and Starhawk's other books. Even seasoned Witches will find things of value here. BTW, readers who don't like Starhawk's feminist views may find her notes and observations in the 20th anniversary edition of the book quite fascinating.
Rating:
Summary: As a beginner.....
Review: I found Starhawk's "The Spiral Dance" an excellent intro to Goddess worship and the feminist aspects of the craft. The book is also political hence the frequent use of the term "Goddess movement" throughout. Starhawk shows us how, in this 20th anniversary edition, feminism, Wicca and personal growth have been so intricately intwined over the past several decades. The book is also Starhawk's personal look back over her life as a Wiccan and her devotion, sense of pride and love for the craft really show through.
I disagree with some who feel the book is female oriented to the point of male bashing. Starhawk makes it clear from the beginning that the "Spiral Dance" is specifically about Goddess worship, but that both God and Goddess are worshipped in the craft. She reminds us of this frequently. She makes it clear that both the God and Goddess have their central place in Wicca. Each are even given a chapter. The book is a phenomenal intro because it starts out by explaining just what witchcraft is, the importance of Goddess worship, and contains beginner's exercises that may be used alone and/or within a coven. It shows one how to create sacred space, contains holiday readings and rituals, beginner's spells and magic and a discussion (with exercises) of energy raising and trance states, among other topics. Those more advanced in the craft who have developed their own rituals, spells, and holiday celebrations may find this book too elementary, but still may enjoy reading about how Wicca and feminism have been interlinked over the past few decades. From this aspect, I think the book is an essential part of the very recent history of the craft.
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: What a disappointment and waste of money. I'd
bought the book figuring I'd explore other ways
of magick, and this book came highly recommended.
Instead, I found it pontificating, verbose, and
in a style that made me feel like an old school-
marm(no, no reference to Hecate, for whom I have
the utmost reverence) was about to beat my fingers
with a ruler if I didn't do things exactly her way
or feel what I was "supposed" to feel. I don't
really think the Universe, Goddess, or God gives a
darn about performing a ritual precisely -- rather,
it's the intent behind it that counts. I'd send it
back, but it's not worth the time and the postage.
*sigh* After reading the late Scott Cunningham(may
he rest in peace beyond the Summerlands), Sybil Leek,
Crowley, Patricia Telesco, and others, this was a real
let down, in my opinion. If it's the book for you,
great. It's not for me.
Rating:
Summary: a grate feminism and wicca book
Review: i have been practicing Wicca for a year and a half, and I am very pleased I added this to my collection of wicca and religious books in general. I think this really helped me to understand more asspects of Wicca and even feminism. I say this is a must get for any women who wants to learn or study Wicca or just Feminism in general.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Exercises
Review: The exercises in this book are exceptional, very basic, and easy to do either on your own or in a group. That being said, the rest of this book gets rather questionable. Reading through it you get the impression that you can cut most of it out as Starhawk's own rather political point of view. Some of it is really good information on Faery Wicca, but most of it is just Starhawk and her groups throughout the years. I still recommend this book for its exercises and some of its content, but that I can only strongly recommend it for its exercises and lightly recommend it for some of its content keeps me from rating it more than 3 stars.
Rating:
Summary: A great work for advanced beginners
Review: Though this is quite an enjoyable read, not to mention an excellent reference for certain concepts and facts that many other books miss, this work is more geared towards the advanced beginner or intermediate student with significantly more than a rudimentary knowledge of the Craft. I make this important distinction because I was told early on in my own course of study that this was a beginner book to be read and understood before moving on, and I turned out to be very ill advised. To begin, her writing is a little more cerebral than most beginner/intermediate works on wicca--she begins this work with several chapters of beautifully written prose, a commentary on each given subject interwoven with vivid descriptions, mingled with history, mingled with folklore. The writing is exquisite and the imagery extraordinary-but most appreciated by an intermediate student who can understand her allusions-a student who knows enough to get the most out of her writing. I speak from experience when I say that trying to "get through" this book is hard for a beginner at worst, and unfulfilling at best. The first half of this book is, as I said, a collection of essays on the God, the Goddess, circle casting, ritual work, etc.-she discusses all of the basics, but in greater depth than most works. The second half of the book is a mixture of short spells for various purposes accompanied by brief intermitten instruction and commentary for these spells. Among her appendices are very helpful tables of correspondences. I find this a great work for someone looking to gain an understanding and inspiration of spell and ritual construction, which is truly an art. Many books just suggest that you "cast a spell" but not many deal with spellcraft, and Starhawk's writing structure serves as a great example. This is certainly worth reading. For those already serious and practicing the Craft, it will likely stimulate warm appreciation and bolster creativity.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a must-have classic!
Review: The reason I only gave it four stars is that I am not crazy about her writing style. But I do see the neccessity of reading what she writes. This book is an invaluable rescource for Witches and should be read by everyone who desires to walk the Wiccan path, or even those curious about the Wiccan religion!
Rating:
Summary: GREAT magickal theory-BAD historical scholarship
Review: I am 33 years old. I've been practicing the Craft and neo-paganism for 12 years with diviations from the path to study Buddhism, Pantheism & Athiesm. I own the first edition of this book. It was my first introduction to the Craft along with Drawing Down the Moon. At the time it was one of FEW books on the subject of Witchcraft and Goddess Religion. I have extremely fond memories of it. When I read it I couldn't put it down. It described so many of my feelings about religion and spirituality and it didn't talk down to me like so many of the books I read later like stuff from Llewellyn Publishing. It spoke to my heart as no other religion had. Also, I kept expecting the chapter on magic to tell me that it was a state of mind not a thing that you could actually do and have it work! I have kept my tattered copy through seven moves. It survived a purging of my Craft books when I had moved beyond 101 stuff and decided not to keep hauling a huge library around for other people. Now that I'm moving back to focus on the Craft again it was the first book I picked up, of course. And I was disappointed. Since I read it 12 years ago I have gotten a degree in History. It has become common knowlege that Margaret Murray's history is at best nice mythology. There is now a real debate going on about the Goddess utopia in ancient prehistory that is leaning HEAVILY towards the assertion that the concept is again, nice mythology. YET she still uses this bogus/controversial history as fact--in the main text! She did not rewrite the chapter on The God at all for the *newest edition*, and it needed it because most of her information comes from Murray. I have not read through the whole thing only the chapter on The God, and breifly at that, but I also have it on good authority from someone who has read it that she only glosses over trying to correct SOME of the poor history--i.e. 9 million witches burned during the Burning Times--NOT. I have read all the footnotes in the second edition and in them she completely made her Craft the dreaded "politically correct" with few corrections. As much as this book brings back good memories and gives me the warm fuzzies, like the sound of rain after a long hot day, the smell of spring, my favorite soft blanket (and for that my copy will always stay in my library) it is old fashioned and out of date. And it breaks my heart to say it, because Starhawk will always have a very well tended place in my heart. She gave me the greatest gift I've ever gotten--she set me on the path to spiritual and psychologial self-healing through magick and devotion that gave me the gift of me. I wish she'd break down and rewrite the Spiral Dance altogether. She goes into great detail that other 101 books don't dare to try. Her notions of how magick works and how the Other-realms function and interact with us is deep and thought provoking. She, from my understanding, is an LCSW (masters in social work) so she's well trained in sociolgy and the healing of the mind. What she writes is not psychobabble. If you want to heal your life, she has a great spiritual way for women and some men to start their journey. I just wish that she would redo so a new generation of Witches and Neo-pagans who know the historical facts, could have the chance to enjoy it for all its good points like I did 12 years ago. If you don't mind the eco-feminist spiritual focus she takes her other books are interesting journeys. I have very much enjoyed The Pagan Book of Living and Dying. I am a solitary so her books about the Craft are not geared for me. All of the exersizes need a HPs to lead a student/coven-memeber through the exersizes. And all the rituals require a coven. :o(
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