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Starhawk

Starhawk Biography

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“The practice of magic also demands the development of what is called the magical will. Will is very much akin to what Victorian schoolmasters called "character": honesty, self-discipline, commitment, and conviction. Those who would practice magic must be scrupulously honest in their personal lives. In one sense, magic works on the principle that "it is so because I say it is so." A bag of herbs acquires the power to heal because I say it does. For my word to take on such force, I must be deeply and completely convinced that it is identified with truth as I know it. If I habitually lie to my lovers, steal from my boss, pilfer from supermarkets, or simply renege on my promises, I cannot have that conviction. Unless I have enough personal power to keep commitments in my daily life, I will be unable to wield magical power. To work magic, I need a basic belief in my ability to do things and cause things to happen. That belief is generated and sustained by my daily actions. If I say I will finish a report by Thursday and I do so, I have strengthened my knowledge that I am a person who can do what I say I will do. If I let the report go until a week from next Monday, I have undermined that belief. If course, life is full of mistakes and miscalculations. But to a person who practices honesty and keeps commitments, "As I will, so mote it be" is not just a pretty phrase; it is a statement of fact.”

MagicInspirational AttitudeMagical Will
Book:The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess
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“We hope for a harvest, we pray for rain, but nothing is certain. We say that the harvest will only be abundant if the crops are shared, that the rains will not come unless water is conserved and shared and respected. We believe we can continue to live and thrive only if we care for one another. This is the age of the Reaper, when we inherit five thousand years of postponed results, the fruits of our callousness toward the earth and toward other human beings. But at last we have come to understand that we are part of the earth, part of the air, the fire, and the water, as we are part of one another.”

CareEarthBelongingSharing
Book:The Fifth Sacred Thing
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“On every full moon, rituals ... take place on hilltops, beaches, in open fields and in ordinary houses. Writers, teachers, nurses, computer programmers, artists, lawyers, poets, plumbers, and auto mechanics -- women and men from many backgrounds come together to celebrate the mysteries of the Triple Goddess of the Dance of Life. The religion they practice is called Witchcraft.”

MenTogetherArtistHousePracticeTeacherMysteryFieldsPoetMoonComputerOrdinaryMen And WomenLawyerBackgroundsCelebrateBeachRitualNurseGoddessMechanicWitchcraftPaganismProgrammersFull MoonPlumberComputer ProgrammersOpen FieldsWiccanAuto Mechanic
Book:Spiral Dance: Slipcase
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“Sexual integrity means honestly recognizing our own impulses and desires and honoring them, whether or not we choose to act on them. If we value integrity, we must also value diversity in sexual expression and orientation, recognizing that there is no one truth, or one way, that fits everyone.Sexuality is sacred because through it we make a connection with another self - but it is misused and perverted when it becomes an arena of power-over, a means of treating another - or oneself - as an object.”

IfsWayMeanSelfDesireValuesObjectsExpressionFitIntegrityDiversityConnectionsSacredOneselfSexualityHonestlyOne WayImpulseRecognizingArenaOrientationMisused
Book:Dreaming the Dark
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“It is not easy to be a Witch, a bender, a shaper, one of the Wise; nor is it safe, comfortable, laid back, mellow, uplifting, or a guarantee of Peace of mind. It requires openness, vulnerability, courage and work. It gives no answers, only tasks to be done and questions to consider....It functions in those deeper ways of knowing which our culture has denied and for which we hunger.”

WayGivingMindDoneCultureEasyAnswersKnowingWiseSafeComfortableTasksFunctionHungerDeeperUpliftingVulnerabilityGuaranteesPeace Of MindWorking ItOpennessWitchDeniedMellowLaid Back
Author:Starhawk
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“Another world is possible!' ... Another world is also necessary, for this one is unjust, unsustainable, and unsafe. It's up to us to envision, fight for, and create that world, a world of freedom, real justice, balance, and shared abundance, a world woven in a new design.”

WorldRealFightingHopeJusticeDesignBalanceAbundanceUnjustRebirthWovenAnother WorldUnsafe
Book:Exploring the Pagan Path: Wisdom from the Elders
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“Patriarchy values the hard over the soft; the tough over the tender; punishment, vengeance, and vindictiveness over compassion, negotiation, and reconciliation. The 'hard' qualities are linked to power, success, and masculinity - and exalted. The 'soft' qualities are identified with weakness, powerlessness, and femininity - and denigrated.”

HardValuesQualityCompassionWeaknessToughPunishmentPatriarchyLinkedMasculinityNegotiationFemininityVengeanceReconciliationExaltedPowerlessnessVindictiveness
Author:Starhawk
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“From a magical point of view, the term 'nonviolence' doesn't work well. Every beginning Witch learns that you can't cast a spell for what you don't want - that the deep aspects of our minds are unclear on the concept of 'no.' If you tell your dog, 'Rover, I can't take you for a walk,' Rover hears 'Walk!' and runs for the door. If we say 'nonviolence,' we are still thinking in terms of violence.”

IfsThinkingWantMindWellsStillsI CanRunningTermWalksViewsViolenceDoorsDogConceptsAspectCastsPoint Of ViewWitchSpellsNonviolenceUnclear
Author:Starhawk
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“Wisdom and knowledge can best be understood together. Knowledge is learning, the power of the mind to understand and describe the universe. Wisdom is knowing how to apply knowledge and how not to apply it. Knowledge is knowing what to say; wisdom is knowing whether or not to say it. Knowledge gives answers; wisdom asks questions. Knowledge can be taught, wisdom grows from experience.”

GivingMindTogetherUniverseAsksGrowsAnswersKnowingTaughtUnderstoodPower Of The MindKnowledge And Wisdom
Book:Spiral Dance: Slipcase
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“Our physical senses and our embodied brains allow us to perceive only a small fraction of reality. We cannot see microbes or untraviolet light, for example. We can hear only a small range of sounds. When we try to describe the otherworld of energies and spirits, we are limited not only by our bodily constraints but by the expectations, assumptions, and language patterns ingrained in us by the culture we were raised in.”

TryingRealityLightSpiritCultureEnergyLanguageSoundBrainExampleExpectationsRaisedPatternsSensesRangePerceiveAssumptionConstraintsPaganismFractionsMicrobes
Author:Starhawk
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“The Goddess is the Encircler, the Ground of Being; the God is That-Which-Is-Brought-Forth, her mirror image, her other pole. She is the earth; He is the grain. She is the all encompassing sky; He is the sun, her fireball. She is the Wheel; He is the traveler. He is the sacrifice of life to death that life may go on. She is the Mother and Destroyer; He is all that is born and is destroyed.”

MayEarthMotherBornSunSacrificeSkyGoes OnMirrorsDestroyedWheelsGoddessGrainTravelerPaganismDestroyersMirror Image
Author:Starhawk
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