Bkwyrm reviews The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Goddess: 20th Anniversary Edition [Amazon, Bookshop, Abebooks, Local Library] by Starhawk in the Bkwyrm’s Occult Book Reviews archive.

A classic. The original is hard to find, most new Wiccans have the updated version. People say that this book is responsible for more covens forming than any other work to date, and I believe it. Starhawk explains the why, where, how, and everything else of Wicca from the perspective of her Reclaiming tradition. Of course, the tradition is not much of a tradition, but unlike a lot of other Wiccan authors, she accepts that Wicca is a relatively new religion. Her research is also pretty shaky at certain points, and some of her comments are not exactly male-friendly. Contains guidelines for rituals, including some very elaborate poetry for casting a circle. This is one of those books that you should probably read, even if it’s just to get a perspective on modern Wicca.