The Pagan Book of Living and Dying
I received The Pagan Book of Living and Dying: Practical Rituals, Prayers, Blessings, and Meditations on Crossing Over by Starhawk and M. Macha Nightmare the other day. It has been really helpful in coping with Sharon’s passing and helping her family through their grief. It has also been a good guide on how to plan her crossing over ritual, which will be held tonight.
This is the first Starhawk book I have owned and I have to say, I really enjoy her frank and upfront style of writing. She doesn’t try to dumb stuff down so much that it feels like you are reading “Dr. Seuss Goes Witchy”. Starhawk also avoid giving “definitive rituals and guidelines” and I prefer that method of inspiration. She touches on almost every form of death, old age, terminal illness, sudden death, miscarriage, abortion; as well as duties of caregivers and family and mediations and prayers for grieving. It even has a little section for nurses and doctors, who work around the dieing. The book has lead me to reflect on my own mortality and though I am not as near as some people are to readily accepting that eventuality in my life, it helps me along the path. If you aspire to be clergy I really do recommend it, it is thoughtful and thought-provoking.
Michael really likes the book because it has sheet music for some Pagan crossing over and healing songs by Starhawk and some others; which is something he has wanted for awhile (Pagan sheet music.) If other Starhawk books have this in them too, I shall have to pick them up as well. I love listening to Michael on the piano and singing. Maybe I will build up the nerve to learn to sing some solo…
September 4th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
I’m sorry for your loss. Yes, this is a great book. Starhawk’s books, The Spiral Dance, is more basic, but she never dumbs down stuff. She’s always passionate, poetic, and inspiring. Macha is also a very inspiring woman.
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September 5th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
I am so sorry to hear about your friend’s mother.
Starhawk’s Pagan Book of Living and Dying has been a very helpful book for me, as well. It helped me finally come to terms with the death of my first boyfriend, after almost 25 years of pain.
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September 12th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
I suggest not taking the book as a general guide to Starhawk’s writing, though. Although her name is in the biggest font face on the front of the book, much of the book was written by others, and both she and M. Macha NightMare wrote the transitional material. (Macha actually specializes in the topic more than Starhawk does.) It is intended for an audience familiar with either _The Spiral Dance_ or an equivalent introduction to Paganism. Starhawk’s song Weaver, Weaver (pg 171 in the edition I have) has pretty much become the traditional Reclaiming requiem.
I hadn’t looked at the book in years and it’s interesting to see how many of the authors I’ve actually met at one year or another at WitchCamp. I think you’d like Deborah Oak, she can be both straight to the point but much more compassionate than she comes across (to me, anyway) in her writing. And some good news about Donald Engstrom, who referred to himself as “the Widow Engstrom” for several years after the death of his husband, Rick (as described in the book in “Aric Arthur Graf Dies”); he has found love again with a new husband that he handfasted with a few years back; a picture of Donald and his new husband can be seen on the altar in this picture. (And Donald, true to his nature, was completely befuddled as to why I would ask his permission to take a picture that incorporated a picture from a personal life event of his…)
PS: If you have a labyrinth around somewhere that you can use, try singing “The Beauty Song” while walking the path… the way the directions keep changing amplify the meaning of the words wonderfully.
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September 13th, 2007 at 9:06 am
I should get Spiral Dance next time I come across it. No Pagan should be without it? At least I have heard it referenced so many times I am curious… It is so nice to hear of finding love again, especially after such a loss as Donald had.
We have a labyrinth behind a local Jesuit church and school, I have been meaning to check it out for awhile.
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