"Read-Spiral-Dance"
honoring a legacy of The Spiral Dance (1979), written by Starhawk

I intend to coin a simple descriptive term for those non-lineage covens spawned by Starhawk's excellent book, The Spiral Dance (1979), sometime after 1979 to mid-1980's. This term is not intended to be applied to any group that identifies itself with Reclaiming or the Reclaiming Tradition. This term is not intended to be applied to any attendee of Reclaiming Witch Camp. My use of this term is no way intended to imply something insulting. The term is "Reading-Spiral-Dance Tradition" and, yes, I admit it sounds a tad silly. If someone comes up with a better one, s/he is welcome to contact me.

In the late 1980's, I had read that some midwest covens were calling themselves "Starhawkian" in order to indicate they were using the rituals and theology of poetry as described in the book, The Spiral Dance. Starhawk, herself, never used the term, Starhawkian. Starhawk and others in her group went on to found the Reclaiming Tradition and Witch Camp.

It is my understanding that use of this descriptive term, Starhawkian, is perceived as somewhat demeaning or insulting to members of the Reclaiming Tradition.

I guarantee it is not my intention to insult anyone of the Reclaiming Tradition. The Reclaiming Tradition involves a great deal more than simply reading The Spiral Dance and subsequently starting up a coven, circle, or grove.

That's why I'm coining the term, "Read-Spiral-Dance Tradition." It's intended to describe folks who read The Spiral Dance and then founded their own cove, circle or grove using the book's rituals and theology. The "Read-Spiral-Dance Tradition" is intended to describe a coven that celebrated poetry, drumming, creativity, chanting, raising energy, and joy along with the magick of the seasons. All this is drawn from the book, The Spiral Dance.

I was in a coven for three years which largely based its practices on The Spiral Dance. It was known as Tapestry Coven, formed in 1981 and run by Galadriel, HPS, and Rowan, HP, in northwest Baltimore, MD. The core book we used was The Spiral Dance, although our HPS changed and added a lot of stuff to our practice.

As Reclaiming Collective was growing and developing on the west coast, Galadriel and Rowan were using The Spiral Dance to create their own Wiccan path on the east coast. Yet, the debt that Tapestry Coven owed Starhawk and her book was unmistakable.

Over the years, the Tapestry Tradition was described as "Faery-Elvish," "Faerie-Elvish," or "Faery-Elven" by Galadriel and Rowan. They loved and venerated the creativity encouraged in Starhawk's Spiral Dance. As they never attended Witch Camp, they never considered what they did as part of the Reclaiming Tradition. They both considered Wicca to be apolitical. The coven did not operate by consensus from 1981-87. I never heard of Tapestry Coven adapting any consensus model after that either.

I am quite certain there were others who drew extensively from Starhawk's The Spiral Dance, yet never considered themselves to be Reclaiming Tradition. It is for that type of Wiccan coven, circle or grove that I have coined the term: "Read-Spiral-Dance Tradition."

copyright 2011 Myth Woodling

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