si_hoss's review against another edition
Unfortunately, reading this as a physical book was not compatible with my brain. It's an important book and I would love to get a digital copy. Will keep this as a reference book
arachne_reads's review against another edition
3.0
I have a complicated relationship with Starhawk's writing. I am an atheist. I was a teenager when I was introduced to Neo-Paganism, and it was what led me to finally leave my mother's faith, and slowly become an atheist. This book might appear to be filled with crystal waving New Age woo-woo, but Starhawk makes some very real points about the psychology of resistance, and the role of ritual in forming a fairly complete and whole conception of the self within community. It's peppered with idealism, Goddess spirituality branch feminism, 12 step apologism, and a moderate to low dose of woo, but mixed in with it I do see valid approaches to ritual and practical community building around the concept of undermining hierarchy. Starhawk approaches magic and ritual as tools of psychology. That in itself is valuable.
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