From time immemorial, artists and poets, prophets, and shamans have drawn strength and inspiration from walking the earth. In The Earth Path, bestselling author Starhawk takes the reader on a journey into the heart of the natural world, showing how we can have a more intimate connection with the world that surrounds us.
Institutionalized religions have sacred texts -- messages written in holy books that are the inspiration for their beliefs and rituals. But the sacred texts for Wicca, like other ancient native or indigenous traditions, are written in nature -- in the magic circle of the elements: air, fire, water, and earth. With The Earth Path, Starhawk, an activist, ecofeminist, and leader in the women's spirituality movement, places you in the center of that magical circle. As you become attuned to the rhythms of the earth, your thinking will shift from focusing on isolated objects to marveling at the multitude of interconnecting patterns and relationships in nature. These patterns and connections can hold the key to your own spiritual renewal and restore your sense of responsibility for preserving this world that nurtures and sustains us.
Filled with awareness exercises, inspiring meditations, and magical rituals, The Earth Path not only teaches the reader to respect the ecology of our natural world, but shows how to spiritually connect with and channel the powers inherent in nature.
A thoughtful spiritual exploration of our relationship to the EarthMarch 14, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Reading this book was eye-opening. I've already been starting to manifest a greener lifestyle, but reading this book helped me recognize how much harm is being done to the Earth by consumer choices and corporations. It also showed me how I could make even more choices when it came to how I take care of the Earth.
What I really liked was how Starhawk used the elements to explain and illustrate her concepts. I found her suggestiosn for how to take care of the Earth really useful, as well as recognizing a need to step some of my efforts.
Overall an excellent book and much needed.
A MUST READ!October 28, 2007 This book is absolutely fantastic, period. I started a Starhawk collection of books after having read this one. She teaches us what it really means to be a Witch in this new millennium. She shows us how being a Witch isn't just a belief system, it's a social and political responsibility. She reminds us that we are the Guardians of the Balance, but you have to read it in her own words yourself. This book is hope for the future: a genuine awareness-raiser. Starhawk shows us the importance and beauty of our Goddess. I have learned so many things from this book, and so will you.
A useful bookJune 19, 2006 9 out of 11 found this review helpful
In The Earth Path, Starhawk discusses the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water and ways that we can connect with each in order to work towards healing the environmental damage we've done to the Earth in the past. The book is mainly concerned with returning to amore natural state of living, i.e. growing own food.
This is a very "Starhawk" book. There is a lot of good advice as well as inpiring and emotive writing, hidden amongst a dearth of tangents on anything from the latest protest to seedballs as a microcosm of the Earth. Starhawk is infamous for her political rants and for the most part, I don't mind them. Occasionally in this book though they took away from the advice she was trying to give about permaculture.
My other complaint is that she'd be explaining how you would go about desiging or building a particular drainage system or the like and yet never fully explain why. Once or twice she just lanched into "Here's how to do this," with no explanation as to the purpose of it. The implication was that you already knew why.
Other than that, I enjoyed each of the explorations on the elements. I liked how she applied the elemental energies to practical everday things we could see in effect in our areas and all the practical exercises to connect with each element were simply enough for a relative beginner but a more advanced practitioner could still find beenfit from them. I particularly liked how she talked about how you could work with each element to better the environment, for example the chapter on fire talked about cnserving household energy usage.
I also found the book to be motivating to get out there and do something. I think the practical sugestions is what helped there. Instead of just saying "The envornment is realy important so we should heal it," and stopping there, Starhawk then goes on to say exactly how you can make small steps toward doing just that. It was also good that she tied in the knowledge of and respect for naturein with the spirituality of Paganism. She made a very good point that although most Pagans reer nature, most don't know terribly uchaout it.
This is basically a good book with some minor irritants. I don;t think it'll go down a a classic but it is usful and a great jumping off point or Pagans wanting to explore a more environmentally friendly way of living.
Rating: ***1/2 (3.5 stars out of 5)
Earth Path-straight to my personal situationJanuary 18, 2006 5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I bought this the day before I moved and maybe that's why I find it so meaningful. I've been in a situation of rootless-ness and upheaval and Starhawk seemed to help me see why this is so unsettling to me. It has helped me understand the path I'm on and where I need to go. Environment, a home, knowing the land around us have great spiritual significance for many of us. Read this and follow with a shot of Thoreau.
Caroline Tully reviewAugust 27, 2005 19 out of 19 found this review helpful
If you are looking for something to read that will change your life you cannot go past Starhawk's latest book "The Earth Path" which is her best so far. Whereas her previous book "Webs of Power" was about explaining the international global justice movement and what it is fighting for, in this new book Starhawk focuses on the local intimate landscape and gets down and dirty with permaculture. Permaculture is a holistic method of horticulture, agriculture and landscape design, originally invented in Australia by Bill Mollison, which seeks to establish a kind of perpetual, self-sustaining `wild' bounty. Why is this important for Witches? Starhawk wants to emphasise how so much of modern magick is abstracted into intellectual concepts, nature is idealised, romanticised and despite our claims to "worship" nature, most urban Witches are really not particularly familiar with just what "nature" actually is. Starhawk urges us to dispense with tokenism regarding Witchcraft concepts such as the four elements and the Goddess and God, and instead become cognisant of the real elements - real tangible fire, water, air and earth, real sky, real plants, real land. How does water actually work in your environment? What are its cycles, what is its source? What is the relationship of fire to you, to your environment? How does fire behave out in nature compared to on a candle wick? Starhawk has an enthralling story-telling ability which makes this book really interesting, plus to help us to observe and participate in grounded reality she provides eighty exersises, meditations and rituals. Personally, I'm a huge fan of seeking truth in nature even if what we find there may not always be pleasant or good for our egos. I believe that nature is both the source and goal of Witchcraft and that we owe it to ourselves to rend the veil of illusion and stare boldly at the Goddess Earth in all her incomprehensible glory as Starhawk advocates. This book is a boon for beginners and jaded old-timers as well. Highly recommended.
