Ecofeminist Utopia: Standing the Test of Time

books:


	• The Fifth Sacred Thing Starhawk Bantam, 1994 - 496 pages average customer review:based on 80 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Fifth Sacred Thing

In "The Fifth Sacred Thing" enormously popular Pagan author, Starhawk explores two possible futures. San Francisco is an oasis of spirituality, peace, and ecology, where poverty and hatred are non-existent. Southern California , by contrast is a nightmare society, with an oppression state religion where women are sold as property, children are bred for sex, and residents must steal water to survive. When these two cultures clash, the non-violent northerners must decide how to defend without compromising their values or integrity.

The basis of the novel is non-violent activism teamed with Pagan practice. Starhawk co-founded the Reclaiming Collective and in many ways the novel is a reflection of life if concepts were applied. It is both a story of political exploration as it is an innovative novel that explores love, magick, and the interconnectedness of all beings. The characters face real problems and the concepts of non-violence and magickal practice are challenged.

Moving, philosophical, and intriguing, "The Fifth Sacred Thing" is a story of triumph and hope. Starhawk weaves together rich characters and anarchist-ecofeminist ideology into a unique Pagan fantasy. It is a novel that challenges the dominant paradigm and urges us to evaluate what we hold sacred. Although sometimes unrealistic; Starhawk successfully creates a novel addressing important issues and inspires a vision of community, spirituality, and sustainability.

courtesy of Copper-Moon.com

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Ecofeminist Utopia: Standing the Test of Time

I read Starhawk's first novel when it was first published (~1993), but had occasion to reread it for current research on the evolution of ecofeminist utopian literature since _Herland_ (Charlotte Perkins Gilman). _The Fifth Sacred Thing_ speaks most clearly to those who live in California, particularly those who live in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is depicted with fine detail in the text. This is, indeed, a utopian society in which the very finest social qualities of character must rise above short-sighted psychological tendencies of human beings. Starhawk insists that we question what we are capable of, how difficult it can be to do the right thing (i.e., what is best for the community rather than what is best for the individual), and to look within ourselves to understand our own strengths and weaknesses. Nevertheless, there is no question what she believes we must all do: Live in right-relationship to Earth/Nature, treat aspects of Nature with full respect and appreciation. The fifth sacred thing is "spirit" and it is this dimension of human beings that Starhawk believes we need to nurture and develop if the future of the Earth is to be healthy and in harmony. Most of the almost 500-page book is a page-turner in which the protagonists are in danger from others and, in some cases, from within. It is fascinating to read this and _Herland_, books which serve as bookends to 20th century ecofeminist utopian thought.

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Not Free SF Reader

An author famous for her neopagan non-fiction work, has come up with a
science fiction novel. A fairly mundane effort, with the interest being
the different approach. A group in San Francisco resist a dictatorial,
technological society and try and do so non-violently, rather than
through war, secret agents or other methods. They try to maintain their
neopagan sort of outlook, unsurprisingly.

Other than that, pretty generic adventure structure, these guys are
obviously Good, almost unbelievably so at times, and the other guys are
Bad, no question.

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