[FZX]⋙ Download The Fifth Sacred Thing Maya Greenwood Starhawk 9780553373806 Books

The Fifth Sacred Thing Maya Greenwood Starhawk 9780553373806 Books

Download As PDF : The Fifth Sacred Thing Maya Greenwood Starhawk 9780553373806 Books

The Fifth Sacred Thing Maya Greenwood Starhawk 9780553373806 Books

This was the first novel written by Starhawk; however, I strongly encourage you to FIRST real her prequel to this: Walking to Mercury. That book sets up the characters and story line for this. However, The Fifth Sacred Thing stands on its own if you have not or choose not to read the other. This book is amazing in that it was written over 20 years ago in 1993. At that time, it was viewed almost as a work of science fiction because of the outlandish premise that corporations would rule the world, genetic testing would evolve into human breeding, and water would become so scarce that wars would be fought over it. However, today, this novel is right at the point of totally becoming true.

I warn sensitive readers that in the second half of the book, the graphic details of how humans are treated at the hands of the corporate 1%ers is so awful that you will have trouble sleeping, not because it is so awful, but because it is so current and not just possible be already being done in our world right now. It would only take a little push by the super wealthy for our world to totally devolve into the story Starhawk presents here in The Fifth Sacred Thing.

You will have to read to see how it all ends, and how our current world may soon be. Then, dive right into her third novel - just published - The City of Refuge - where the same characters and story line continues.

But I can say, that even though I have finished reading The Fifth Sacred Thing, I still get nightmares, especially after hearing a news item....


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The Fifth Sacred Thing Maya Greenwood Starhawk 9780553373806 Books Reviews

This is a book I’ve read many times, and always return to when I need to be regrounded. Just as in the book the people of the Southlands need to hear Madrone’s stories of the North so they can begin to believe that change is possible and that there are other more just and inclusive ways to build a society, so too do we need to be reminded that our current path toward ruining the environment and continuing to enrich the 1% is not the only possibility. Starhawk’s books help us to envision the change so we can be the change.
This is one of my favorite stories of hope and redemption in a not too distant, and not too unbelievable post apocalyptic future. It's classic good against evil; good being a group people who've banded together in love and equity, and using various wiccan and pagan powers, have carved out a life that is gentle on the earth. Bad is a group of power hungary with guns and monopoly on drugs, especially drugs everyone has to take to stay alive. It's a long novel, that works for me, but maybe not everyone. Starhawk is an important neopagan and ecofeminist leader, so it's always good to read what she writes.
Have read this many times as well as the prequel WALKING TO MERCURY and the sequel CITY OF REFUGE. These are among the most important books ever written and especially timely for this day and age. Starhawk is a modern day prophet and her ideas for how we can live in harmony with the planet and each other are the best out there. Please read and recommend to all your friends who care about our future.
A local friend suggested I read "The Fifth Sacred Thing," so that some of us could form a book discussion group about the ideas and vision of this novel. Although it took me awhile to get into the characters, I quickly saw why my friend has read this book three times and counting. It's filled with permaculture principles, magick, natural healing, and the tension between totalitarian dystopia and a power-from-within ecotopia based upon respect, not control.

I found Starhawk's text incredibly prophetic, even when I thought it was written in 2005. My admiration tripled when I noticed a publication date of 1993! In 2013, as we face nuclear and toxic poisoning of the Pacific Ocean, a no longer hidden Police State, genetic manipulation, a transhumanist agenda, biological warfare, and increasingly intense weather events -both natural and human-aggravated -- the setting of this novel in 2048 feels rather optimistic.

Once I managed to get a handle on the characters, I found the book difficult to put down. As the narrative continued, I realized that the initial ambiguities and confusion about gender, age and physical markers, actually contribute to and underscore the tale. As readers, we quickly find ourselves overwhelmed in and by a post-collapse world, unsure exactly which collapse triggered which events, but gradually recognizing the effects of long-term trauma and difficult life. Things the 20th and early 21st centuries took for granted have not been available for at least a generation, and the ripple effects of such deprivations reach much further than minor or anticipated inconvenience.

At the same time, we find that some things in this future society function much more harmoniously than in our current one. In the absence of cars, trucks and planes, this culture has compensated for its isolation by cultivating the individual gifts of each member of the community -- art, music, healing, science, cooking, dreaming and psychic defense. Everyone gardens and participates in seasonal rituals, and the society bases itself around the premise that the Four Sacred Things (fire, water, air, earth) are so sacred that they cannot be privately owned. "May you never hunger; may you never thirst" is a phrase used in real-life pagan gatherings, but in "The Fifth Sacred Thing," this concept forms the basis of an entire political system! No one goes hungry, and no one goes without water.

As the plot rolls on, we see just how innovative and special this city's solutions are. Contrast via epic journeys to the Southlands shows us that -- despite the obvious challenges up North in 2048 -- things could be (and are) much worse elsewhere. The characters face horrific trials that force them to question not only their own morals and philosophies, but also the very essence of what it means to be human. Readers with rigid ideas about sexuality, self-defense, magick, religion, medicine, technology, and the occult will likely find themselves extremely challenged as they journey with the characters. Author Starhawk practices the Reclaiming Tradition, which combines one's spirituality with non-violent political activism. Throughout her novel, we witness the effectiveness of non-violent resistance, as well as its limitations. The characters' reactions and struggles force us to evaluate our own fixed ideals, hypocrisy, privilege and irresponsibility. We see on every level how each small action affects the whole of Creation, often in dramatic and unforeseen ways.

I particularly enjoyed all the manifested visualizations, herbal and energetic healing, as well as the key roles played by bees and crystals. Since I have personally made a decision to use magickal self-defense rather than violence should the SHTF, I enjoyed reading about various techniques -- many of which I recognized as real, not fiction. In the acknowledgments, Starhawk confirms how thoroughly she researched this book, including Native teachings, along with actual songs, chants, techniques and rituals.

If you've ever wondered, "What would I do if society collapsed on multiple levels at once? Does it need to be `every man for himself,' or can (must) we find ways to work together in community? Would we really be stronger together than apart? What does magick have to do with a fully functioning human, and how do I access multi-generational healing?" then "The Fifth Sacred Thing" deserves a place on your bookshelf. You will want to read it again and again, tracking your own growth as you face its challenges. If, on the other hand, you prefer to rest in the hazy halls of denial and wish to cling to the patriarchal status quo, then drop this book like a hot potato! You cannot engage "The Fifth Sacred Thing" and remain unchanged.
I am an old Hippie of sorts and also have Native American roots that make me lean toward a Nature Loving Path of Spirituality, So this book fits into much of what I understand of the real world. But the criticism I have on this book is it tries way too hard to incorporate all of the NEW AGE ever imagined, into one story - and a post-apocalypse adventure story at that,

A really fun book to read, hummm,,, for some people. BUT be aware it has a naivety that will make many readers put it down, to never return,

My recommendation? Put on your tie-dyed garb, drink a bit of sweet wine, perhaps indulge in some other mild recreational adult pleasure, and go back to 1960's thinking. It's us against the establishment again. Contradiction? All this is set in the future, after unknowns have dropped the bomb in California. I also read it as an exercise to show the classic culture clash that exists today, between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
This was the first novel written by Starhawk; however, I strongly encourage you to FIRST real her prequel to this Walking to Mercury. That book sets up the characters and story line for this. However, The Fifth Sacred Thing stands on its own if you have not or choose not to read the other. This book is amazing in that it was written over 20 years ago in 1993. At that time, it was viewed almost as a work of science fiction because of the outlandish premise that corporations would rule the world, genetic testing would evolve into human breeding, and water would become so scarce that wars would be fought over it. However, today, this novel is right at the point of totally becoming true.

I warn sensitive readers that in the second half of the book, the graphic details of how humans are treated at the hands of the corporate 1%ers is so awful that you will have trouble sleeping, not because it is so awful, but because it is so current and not just possible be already being done in our world right now. It would only take a little push by the super wealthy for our world to totally devolve into the story Starhawk presents here in The Fifth Sacred Thing.

You will have to read to see how it all ends, and how our current world may soon be. Then, dive right into her third novel - just published - The City of Refuge - where the same characters and story line continues.

But I can say, that even though I have finished reading The Fifth Sacred Thing, I still get nightmares, especially after hearing a news item....