The Fifth Sacred Thing

by Starhawk

Book Overview

An epic tale of freedom and slavery, love and war, and the potential futures of humankind tells of a twenty-first century California clan caught between two clashing worlds, one based on tolerance, the other on repression. Declaration of the Four Sacred Things The earth is a living, conscious being. In company with cultures of many different times and places, we name these things as sacred- air, fire, water, and earth. Whether we see them as the breath,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553373803
• ISBN13: 9780553373806
• Release Date: June 1994
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

This book is life-changing

What a beautiful imagining of what life could be like. If you're struggling with nihilism and doom scrolling then this beautiful utopian revolution is a much needed breath of fresh air.

Give it a go

It helped me imagine and envision a radically new way of living, loving, and interacting with the world. Read it!

Gandhi would have loved Starhawk

I love this book. I didn't like it at first, but I decided to give it an hour before I made up my mind. Now I am really glad I stuck with it, because it is one of the richest, most thought-provoking books I have ever read. One of the greatest questions is - how do people resist the violent advances of others without becoming violent themselves? We can look to others for inspiration - HH the Dalai Lama, Gandhi, MLK - there have been a few who have managed to hold on to their ideals despite the crimes inflicted upon them. But how do we do this ourselves? How do we maintain peace within ourselves? This book discusses these issues on a societal level, but the wisdom you will gain can be applied on a personal level. You will likely find yourself rethinking how you view numerous things - from illness to monogamy. And the story is interesting and creative, with characters you will come to care about. This is a fantastic book. Go ahead and give it some time - you will probably love it, too!

Read it again.... and again....

I first read The Fifth Sacred Thing when it came out in hardback... it was a well loved copy that was passed from midwife to midwife, and we all added our comments on the flyleafs. Since then I've read and re-read it, gaining more insights each time.As a former northern Californian, I could easily visualize the landscapes, and the characters seemed so real that I almost expected to run into Madrone on my next trip to San Francisco.Starhawk weaves a wonderful tale, filled with vivid characters. Its the age old struggle of good vs evil, but with futuristic twists and turns. The challenges of day to day life in a world where resources are wearing thin may be a chilling prediction of the future. We all hold the fate of Mother Earth in our hands, and Starhawk helps us see what the consequences could be.I was touched by the sense of community displayed and by the intelligent integration of spirituality in every day life. Other reviewers felt that the book was "preachy" -- but I think Starhawk made her point... gracefully and with empathy and compassion.

Thought-provoking, beautiful, sensual

I was initially a little wary of this book -- I was afraid that it might just be cheesy New Age nonsense. But I was wrong. I TOTALLY ENJOYED IT! I didn't want it to end! It describes 2 possible paths US society might take : one of domination and violence, the other of equality and respect. I liked that even in the ideal world there are conflicts of interest and arguments, but people are committed to working through them and talking them out. So nothing's "too" perfect; rather, it is a possible world, truly something that we can believe in and work toward. Wonderful, spirit-moving, thought-provoking work. Heightened my sensory experience of the world and made me appreciate everything around us.

A glimpse of a spiritual future and a breathtaking adventure

Starhawk has created a powerful window to the future that is both hopeful and frightening. Set in a world a few decades ahead of our own, the city of San Francisco has become the last bastian of religious freedom in a radically changed America. I found this book mesmerising. After the first page you will lose yourself in the tapestry of the lives and characters that fight for what they believe and still live in peace and harmony. At times disturbing in it's honest protrayel of a radical political and moral shifting in a not to hard too believe future. The beautiful imagery and weaving of magic and human emotion will leave you entertained and enlightened.I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Engaging story of eco-utopia against fascist state

I, too had this book on my shelf for several years before I actually read it. Although it obviously sounded good enough at the time I bought it, I feared that it would be preachy and overbearing. It was nothing of the sort. The characters are complex; flawed at times, saintly at others. The story is compelling, combining plots about the personal growth of the various characters, adventure stories as Bird escapes from prison and Madrone ventures into the southern wilds to help the freedom fighters, and the ultimate show down between the San Franciscans and the Stewards. It is a bit simplistic, perhaps, but that didn't stop me from wishing things in reality were more like they are in Maya and Madrone's world. The attempts to portray this world as one free of any racial or sexual bigotry do get a bit heavy handed at times, but never so much that it interfered with my enjoyment of the story. I would recommend this book to anyone, and in fact immediately after I finished ran out and bought a copy to give as a gift this Christmas.