Starhawk
first read "The Fifth Sacred Thing" shortly after it was first published, in, I read it several times, then packed it away, A few weeks ago, it was again published in Kindle format, and I bought it again and read it again.
I am so glad I did, This is a magical An epic tale of freedom and slavery, love and war, and the potential futures of humankind tells of a twenty first century California clan caught between two clashing worlds, one based on tolerance, the other on repression.
Declaration of the Four Sacred Things
The earth is a living, conscious being, In company with cultures of many different times and places, we name these things as sacred: air, fire, water, and earth.
Whether we see them as the breath, energy, blood, and body of the Mother, or as the blessed gifts of a Creator, or as symbols of the interconnected systems that sustain life, we know that nothing can live without them.
To call these things sacred is to say that they have a value beyond their usefulness for human ends, that they themselves became the standards by which our acts, our economics, our laws, and our purposes must be judged.
no one has the right to appropriate them or profit from them at the expense of others, Any government that fails to protect them forfeits its legitimacy,
All people, all living things, are part of the earth life, and so are sacred, No one of us stands higher or lower than any other, Only justice can assure balance: only ecological balance can sustain freedom, Only in freedom can that fifth sacred thing we call spirit flourish in its full diversity,
To honor the sacred is to create conditions in which nourishment, sustenance, habitat, knowledge, freedom, and beauty can thrive.
To honor the sacred is to make love possible,
To this we dedicate our curiosity, our will, our courage, our silences, and our voices, To this we dedicate our lives,
Praise for The Fifth Sacred Thing
This is wisdom wrapped in drama, Tom Hayden, California state senator
Starhawk makes the jump to fiction quite smoothly with this memorable first novel.
Locus
Totally captivating, a vision of the paradigm shift that is essential for our very survival as a species on this planet, Elinor Gadon, author of The Once and Future Goddess
This strong debut fits well against feminist futuristic, utopic, and dystopic works by the likes of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Ursula LeGuin, and Margaret Atwood.
Library Journal This was the first novel written by Starhawk however, I strongly encourage you to FIRST real her prequel to this: Walking to Mercury.
That book sets up the characters and story line for this, However, The Fifth Sacred Thing stands on its own if you have not or choose not Well done!! A book that took me on a journey that felt both like a wild adventure and the portents of what is yet to come.
Beautifully moving, heartbreaking, thought provoking, but mostly hope inspiring, Again I say, well done! This book changed my life when I wasand I read it about once a year.
Finally splurged at
got it in hard back, Came in excellent condition and I'm so very happy, And want to read the rest Over the last few years I've reread this book time and time again and always find it as deeply moving and inspiring as the first time I read it.
Periodically, I buy this book for friends and when I do, I come back to this page and read the reviews.
The reason this book is This is a very human story, and it becomes relevant as time passes, Ive read it several times, and I always end up giving away the book to someone who would love it.
So I finally put a copy on my Kindle so I can have one in hand after giving away the next one.
A local friend suggested I read "The Fifth Sacred Thing," so that some of us could form a book discussion group about the ideas and vision of this novel.
Although it took me awhile to get into the characters, I quickly saw why my friend has read this book three times and
I am so glad I did, This is a magical An epic tale of freedom and slavery, love and war, and the potential futures of humankind tells of a twenty first century California clan caught between two clashing worlds, one based on tolerance, the other on repression.
Declaration of the Four Sacred Things
The earth is a living, conscious being, In company with cultures of many different times and places, we name these things as sacred: air, fire, water, and earth.
Whether we see them as the breath, energy, blood, and body of the Mother, or as the blessed gifts of a Creator, or as symbols of the interconnected systems that sustain life, we know that nothing can live without them.
To call these things sacred is to say that they have a value beyond their usefulness for human ends, that they themselves became the standards by which our acts, our economics, our laws, and our purposes must be judged.
no one has the right to appropriate them or profit from them at the expense of others, Any government that fails to protect them forfeits its legitimacy,
All people, all living things, are part of the earth life, and so are sacred, No one of us stands higher or lower than any other, Only justice can assure balance: only ecological balance can sustain freedom, Only in freedom can that fifth sacred thing we call spirit flourish in its full diversity,
To honor the sacred is to create conditions in which nourishment, sustenance, habitat, knowledge, freedom, and beauty can thrive.
To honor the sacred is to make love possible,
To this we dedicate our curiosity, our will, our courage, our silences, and our voices, To this we dedicate our lives,
Praise for The Fifth Sacred Thing
This is wisdom wrapped in drama, Tom Hayden, California state senator
Starhawk makes the jump to fiction quite smoothly with this memorable first novel.
Locus
Totally captivating, a vision of the paradigm shift that is essential for our very survival as a species on this planet, Elinor Gadon, author of The Once and Future Goddess
This strong debut fits well against feminist futuristic, utopic, and dystopic works by the likes of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Ursula LeGuin, and Margaret Atwood.
Library Journal This was the first novel written by Starhawk however, I strongly encourage you to FIRST real her prequel to this: Walking to Mercury.
That book sets up the characters and story line for this, However, The Fifth Sacred Thing stands on its own if you have not or choose not Well done!! A book that took me on a journey that felt both like a wild adventure and the portents of what is yet to come.
Beautifully moving, heartbreaking, thought provoking, but mostly hope inspiring, Again I say, well done! This book changed my life when I wasand I read it about once a year.
Finally splurged at
got it in hard back, Came in excellent condition and I'm so very happy, And want to read the rest Over the last few years I've reread this book time and time again and always find it as deeply moving and inspiring as the first time I read it.
Periodically, I buy this book for friends and when I do, I come back to this page and read the reviews.
The reason this book is This is a very human story, and it becomes relevant as time passes, Ive read it several times, and I always end up giving away the book to someone who would love it.
So I finally put a copy on my Kindle so I can have one in hand after giving away the next one.
A local friend suggested I read "The Fifth Sacred Thing," so that some of us could form a book discussion group about the ideas and vision of this novel.
Although it took me awhile to get into the characters, I quickly saw why my friend has read this book three times and
Starhawk is one of the most respected voices in modern Goddess religion and earth based spirituality.
She is the author or coauthor of twelve books, including the classics The Spiral Dance and The Fifth Sacred Thing.
Her latest is The Empowerment Manual: A Guide for Collaborative Groups, forthcoming in November, .