We have reason to hope. The forces of destruction seem great, but against them we have our power to choose, our human will and imagination, our courage, our passion, our willingness to act and to love. And we are not, in truth, strangers to this world. We are part of the circle. — Starhawk
Since today is Halloween, I decided to quote a witch.
Starhawk (b. 1952) is one of the leading voices in the world of ecofeminist witchcraft; her 1979 book The Spiral Dance was a bestseller in its time (and also the first book I read on the subject). But today’s quote comes from her second book, Dreaming the Dark, where she explores the political implications of her spirituality. For Starhawk, witchcraft (also known as Wicca, or simply Goddess spirituality) is about so much more than folk magic or rituals aligned with the seasons or the phases of the moon. The way of the Goddess is a path that finds sacredness in nature, in the earth and the elements and the human body and all things. Which, seen from the perspective of mystical spirituality (including Christian mysticism), is surprisingly familiar. After all, mystics have repeatedly said things like “the divine presence is everywhere” (St. Benedict) or “find God in all things (St. Ignatius). Julian of Norwich offers this poetic declaration: “The fullness of joy is to behold God in all.”
Granted, followers of Wicca or other indigenous spiritualities are not likely to speak of the Divine as “God” — but even that has its mystical dimension. “God” is simply a word, and the reality it points to, mystically speaking, cannot be captured by any one word — or any concept.
Writing over 40 years ago, Starhawk’s call to hope in the face of “the forces of destruction” seem more relevant than ever. Contemplation has embedded within it a call to action: and our merely human gifts are, especially when united, more than enough to fight for love, hope, joy, and a more just and kind world. We are part of the circle: our efforts matter.
Halloween (in Gaelic, Samhain) marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of the dark winter months, so it was a time of remembering the ancestors and preparing for the austerities of the cold season to come. But even in the face of darkness and death, it represented hope. May we who are sobered by the challenges facing our world today never lose hope, and remember that hope, paired with our love, can truly change and heal the world.
Quotation source: Starhawk. Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex, and Politics (p. 14). Kindle Edition.