The Earth Path: Grounding Your Spirit in the Rhythms of Nature
by StarhawkAVAILABILITY: Active Record (Readily Available)
Publication Date: October 2005
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Binding: Trade Paper; Trade Paper; Trade Paper
Topics: EARTH_RELIGIOUS ASPECTS; NATURE_RELIGIOUS ASPECTS
Description: Tap into the forces of Mother Nature!
The Earth Path' explores the core material of Starhawk's bestselling classic on Wicca, The Spiral Dance' from the perspective of 25 years of deepened practice of rooted earth-based spirituality.
From time immemorial, artists and poets, prophets, and shamans have drawn strength and inspiration from walking the earth. 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.
Review(s): "In difficult and dire times, Starhawk sustains our spirits with stories, humor, practical meditation, practices, and rituals. Integrity shines through on every page." - Matthew Fox, author of 'Creation Spirituality'
"Fans and followers of Starhawk, a founding member of the Reclaiming Tradition of Witchcraft, will welcome her latest offering. Well organized, each chapter contains reminiscences of personal and group experiences, exercises and suggestions for prayer and ritual. Many of her tenets apply not only to those interested in the practice of Wicca but to readers seeking a better understanding of the world around them: 'Once we have learned to hear, then we can begin to understand. And only after we understand do we begin to speak, to intervene.' Yet she astutely cautions: 'To change a drum rhythm in a group of drummers, you first have to match it and join with it. But when you are within a system, part of the whole, that system is also changing you. It is difficult to maintain your own rhythm and not simply become part of what you are trying to change.' Starhawk presents an array of exercises and practices for sharpening observation and listening skills. She engages readers' spirits and minds through her illustrative storytelling, offering ways to communicate more fully with the world and suggesting ways to act." - Publisher's Weekly