Earth Spirit: Honoring the Wild
By: Irisanya Moon - Moon Books, $10.95
Description: Deeply rooted in environmentalism and activism, Honoring the Wild answers crucially pertinent questions while driving at lasting change.
From political demonstrations to personal calls, Irisanya Moon offers a collection of stories and lessons, as told by Reclaiming Witches from around the world, about the facts and fears, the confessions and collaborations within the Reclaiming tradition’s own timeline of activism.
Verdict: In short, Honoring the Wild inspires and informs creativity and purpose while reminding us of all that has come and of all that is left to do. May the wild be blessed and healed by this spell of intention and inspiration.
But, delving a little deeper, as one always should, Reclaiming originated in 1979 in the San Francisco Bay Area, blending the influences of Victor and Cora Anderson’s Feri Tradition of Witchcraft, Dianic Witchcraft as taught by Z. Budapest, and the feminist, anarchist, peace, and environmental movements.
As a whole, it is a modern witchcraft tradition, aiming to combine the Goddess movement with feminism and political activism (in the peace and anti-nuclear movements). Founded, as aforementioned, in 1979, in the context of the Reclaiming Collective (1978-1997), by two Neopagan women of Jewish descent, Starhawk and Diane Baker, in order to explore and develop feminist Neopagan emancipatory rituals, today, the organization focuses on progressive social, political, environmental and economic activism.
Guided by a shared Principles of Unity, a document that lists the core values of the tradition: personal authority, inclusivity, social and environmental justice and a recognition of intersectionality, priestess (and author) Irisanya Moon, not only teaches classes on Reclaiming around the world, but was herself initiated into the tradition in 2014.
So what we have here in Honoring the Wild: Reclaiming Witchcraft and Environmental Activism, to give it it’s full name, is a collection, nay, an anthology moreover, of meditations on the Reclaiming Witchcraft tradition, where short, but at all times intricately imbued with real world mysticism, prose of recollections and advice are brought forth.
Instilling activism at its core at all times, the Reclaiming traditions brought out on these pages, are ones most definitely attune to the here and now, albeit with a late ’70s slant at times, but one that never wavers in its proudly inspired magick.
About the Author - Irisanya Moon is a priestess, teacher, and initiate in the Reclaiming tradition. She has taught classes and camps around the world, including the US, Canada, UK and Australia. Irisanya has also contributed to a number of books including Elements of Magic, Naming the Goddess, and The Goddess in America. She is based in Santa Rosa, California, USA.
Official Book Purchase Link
www.JohnHuntPublishing.com