Being male, and therefore obviously not in favor of those who are anti-male, I originally hated this book. My opinion hasn't improved more than a fraction since reading it a second time and investigating a bit of the time it was written.

The Spiral Dance, no matter what edition, is extremely Dianic, embodying the feminist, anti-male aspects. This is understandable considering it was published during the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) period. Women fought for equal rights and to break free from a patriarchal society, which was invariably mixed into mainstream patriarchal religions. Starhawk opened the door for women of a struggling era: to the "ancient religion of the Goddess." A religion where, ideally, women are treated equally and all traits they possess are sacred. After being beaten, fired, discriminated against, paid lower wages, rejected, not being able to sue, and stuck in the cramped up house with rowdy kids and dirty dishes... What woman would turn down the chance to be Normal?! For this reason, I completely understand the female nation's attraction to the book, and from there, the religion, and indeed I celebrate with them!

What I do not understand, and quite naturally disturbed by, is the extreme feminist view the book holds! The ideal of the ancient religions is to establish absolute balance, and therefore harmony... balance within yourself, as well as within society and external relations. The slant of this book, however, conveys the opposite of that ideal! Isn't it false pretenses to claim a religion of equality and then attempt to direct the readers mind toward how "evil" men are; the inhuman bigotry and cruelty of all men?! I would think so...

To make a grossly exaggerated and improper stereotype, but one that effectively conveys my point and is more than uncommon:

Womyncentric Gynocrat
A man's shadow crossed her altar once and she spent three weeks purifying it. She'll have no wands in her chalice, thank you. No boys allowed in her full-moon club. Can hold forth for hours on the magical properties of menstrual blood. DISTINGUISHING SIGNS: Tiny axes or curved knives, just right for amputating a penis, are a favored symbol and often hang conveniently from her body parts. When a man approaches she rolls her eyes and stops talking.
Taken from the "Which Witch Is Which" page. Your personal guide to the Pagan Community!

The book doesn't portray an equality in Paganism, it shows how women are "superior" to men in every aspect. The section on the Goddess far out ranks the section for the God, labeling the Goddess as literally Everything, and a singular paragraph is devoted to what the Goddess means to men! In the section of the God, most of the paragraphs (except one or two) are on why the God is important to women, and labels the God as everything the Goddess is not... which leaves? I don't see how this fits... isn't being anti-male equally as digressive as being anti-female?

In a news group I came across a post that related sort of like this (I wish I hadn't deleted it):
There was a woman who remarked that every time she said she was Wiccan, the men reacted with a "Oh no, not another one... look, I want equality too!"

Because of books such as this one, Wicca (and therefore Witchcraft, because people don't distinguish the two often) is a predominantly female religion. All female covens are a dime a dozen, all male covens are a handful.

This is not to discredit the exercises and other material in the book! The are outstanding! Geared toward building a creative fluidity of the mind and build a comfortable foundation for magick and ritual. Some would argue that it is too structured, but while the curriculum is structured to ensure a strong growth, the exercises are quite lax and interesting. Additionally, she outlines some good ways to going about building a coven, designing and performing rituals, and building self-confidence. Like most books on the market The Spiral Dance is more Wiccan in nature than Traditional Witchcraft, but for a Wiccan book, it stands in the upper ranks.

Provided one can get past the imbalance of masculine and feminine importance, or simply ignore it, Starhawk has done an excellent job of establishing the basis for spiritual and magickal growth.

Wiccan Rating: B+
Witchcraft Rating: C-