Starhawk’s “Introduction” to The Spiral Dance makes a case for witchcraft as an ecological religion. She traces the history of witchcraft as a goddess-based religion, distinguishing the concept of witchcraft as the “old religion” from the popularized notions of occult witchcraft, which is often incorrectly believed to be a satanic cult responding to medieval Christianity. Although Starhawk advocates a “magic” of sorts, it is a magic to influence human minds in a conscious manner, not necessarily a calling of supernatural forces out of hiding to make magical changes in the non-supernatural world.
“The Spiral Dance linked Goddess spirituality with political activism decades ago” (7).
“One of the core principles of the theology presented here is that the earth is sacred. Believing that, I felt that action to preserve and protect the earth was called for” (18).
“The feminist movement has prompted the culture as a whole to reexamine questions of maleness and femaleness. For the definitions are no longer working. These are oppressive to women and confining men” (19).
“The renewal of the Goddess religion and other earth-based spiritual traditions will continue to grow over the next decade. As the community grows, our spirituality becomes more embedded in every aspect of our lives” (23).
What interesting fact or significant idea from this text would I choose to share with a relative or friend?
I would love to share the third quote as it really stood out to me. It relates a lot to how our society is today and how gender is looked upon. It is true in fact that the feminist movement had a big impact on our culture. I would like my family and friends to know this. I would like to talk to them about it. I would like to have them understand what Starhawk says. I would like it to inspire them to read her work.
What are the major points or themes of the /article/chapter?
One of the major points of this reading was about the future of our culture and society’s spirituality. I hadn’t ever considered the future of spirituality for myself or for women or for people of color. It also talks about witchcraft as somewhat of a religion, which was greatly interesting. It interested me because I didn’t realize just how false the stereotypes about witchcraft have been in education and in stories.
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