Too much Feminism not enough Paganism - Rated 
Spiral dance is without doubt an influencial book towards Paganism and Feminine spirituality, however I found that the feminine aspects were far too heavy and took the attention away from the Pagan topics that were suposed to be covered in this book.
The book covers feminine spirituality and feminine aspects of modern Paganism and Goddess worship, thats not to say that it isn't one for the men here too, there is a lot of positive female takes on Paganism in this book that are benificial to both sexes/genders.
Basic aspects of Goddess worship are covered, it is clean cut and Starhawk has a wonderful way of writting, this book although does not cover the specifics of the faith and practice so much, it does however give a wonderful example of life inside the Pagan and Goddess worshipping communities. The problem is that Starhawk puts too much of herself into this book, or more specificaly too much of her causes, eco work and feminism, both good causes to go after but I didn't feel that they needed to be included in this book quite as much as they were.
If you are not a fan of feminism which follows ideas such as 'Pornography degrades women' then you are really not going to aprove of a lot of the events she talks about in this book. At one point she goes on to talk about male/female polarity, saying that she doesn't agree in diferentiating so much between 'Male' / 'Female' yet in a lot of her activities within feminism she does just that. This is a good book and it will benifit a lot of people, giving a bit more of an insight on the more feminine aspects of paganism and how feminism influenced this particular form of Paganism. It is an influencial book, but you really have to be awear of Starhawks point of view before jumping into this book or else you will be in for a hell of a dive into outdated feminism.
Witchcraft from a spiritual and community-based stance - Rated 
This is an excellent book. It is very condensed and Starhawk crams so much in. It is very coven based, but I didn't find this a problem, even as a confirmed solitary. Starhawk is a very visual person which fitted in with me very well. Most of her exercises are visually based. For a beginner I would recommend reading this book and another less concentrated one at the same time. I found that I sometimes had to take breaks from it for a day just to let my thoughts gel and settle. If you are a tentative beginner then some of the exercises in this book may feel rather like throwing yourself off a cliff. They are worth it though, despite having to screw your courage up into a ball before beginning them. On the subject of eco-feminism, I personally think this is as relevant now as it was when the book was written so I liked her tone of voice. 5 stars! - oh yes, this is a fab book!
Brilliant - Rated
This is an incredible book. It goes into far more depth than most books on the subject and beginners may find it a bit tricky to read. It is however, one of the best books I've ever read. It made me see the world in a different way.
Good for the beginner - Rated 
I think that this book will benifit someone who is just beginning to explore paganism and wicca. I found it informative and intresting as well as a nice break from the usual traditional approach to an earth based path. It does however contain alot of opinions rather than information and a lot of spells and invocations which I don't really think are nessesary. If you are looking for a book to expand on what you've learnt so far I wouldn't be that bothered with it but if your looking for one to start as a corner stone on which to build on I really would recommend it !
How does tripe like this deserve even a new edition? - Rated 
It's an amazing thing in this world when an author whose interest is more money and PR than valid research can spin a line that will make every Wiccan in the world bite. Starhawk's "The Spiral Dance" is nothing but a couple hundred pages of poor research, opinion, conjecture, politics, etc wrapped neatly in a little layer of Paganism. Starhawk has effectively buried the true history of Wicca, the truth of Wicca's differences from Witchcraft, and the truth about primal religion in an attempt to be self-worshipping and promote her exceedingly leftist gender-femenazi views. In fact, I'd daresay go so far as to lay blame to this single work of hers as the reason that the comically over-leftist Pagan community can't be taken seriously in the political arena. If you're looking for a good book on Wicca, go grab some Gardner or Sanders or someone who acknowledges them. If you're looking for a good book on Primal religion, go read Frazer's work or check out people like Caitlin Matthews. If you're looking for a book on Witchcraft, try Rhiannon Rhyall or one of her gang. If, however, you're looking for a book that uses poor logic, bad research, and thoughs from the heart rather than the head to spiritually justify a liberal, gender feminist, political activist lifestyle, then hang your hat here...you've found the perfect book to fit the blinders over your eyes.
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