Basically, I'm an atheist and thoroughgoing rationalist, but one that not only seeks to better understand spirituality but wishes I could find a way to express myself within it rationally. I thought a form of paganism might do, since it seeks to root spirituality within the earth, ie reality. So I bought this book, wanting to learn more about Neopaganism, since I had read this was the classic in the literature.
I'm afraid I found that there isn't much of a line between this kind of "spirituality" and the supernatural and just plain superstition. Invocations, herbal charms, spells? I found this was no more to my liking than mainstream Christianity.
And if was filled with its own myths, it's own distortions of reality and history. Nine million died in the persecution of witches? Reputable historians think no more than 100,000--and that's at the high end. Nor was it exclusively women--a majority condemned as witches were women, yes--but not anywhere near 80 percent. Yes, sexism and racism has had a horrible number of victims. But whether it's witch burnings or the Middle Passage of the Atlantic Slave Trade, we do no honor to those victims to so exaggerate the numbers we discredit their real suffering, and cause people who learn the truth to dismiss what they went through altogether. Similarly, I find Starhawk's claims for Modern Wicca having any continuity with a Pre-Christian past dubious.
Yet parts of The Spiral Dance called to my young self--as demonstrated by the number of lines I highlighted and pages I do-eared. The idea of the whole universe as what is sacred--and we're a part of it. Also, I've known many fine people who call themselves Pagan or Wiccan--including one of my closest friends. This book and the movement have had an influence. If only for that, to understand that phenomenon and its adherents better, this is a book worth reading.
