In 1979 the book Spiral Dance was released by Starhawk, founding member of the west coast based Reclaiming Collective. It’s a book about the rebirth of the goddess religions, what they’re based on, how they work, what they mean. It includes many rites, rituals, spells and wisdom and it talks about building community, being an activist, working for the greater good, and more. It’s one of the most beloved books of the Craft of the Wise. I have the 10th anniversary edition released in 1989, and there’s a 20th anniversary edition that dropped in ‘99. This is an essential part of a Witch’s library. (Along with True Magic by Amber K, which explained quantum physics before quantum physicists did, kind of.)
However, the book Spiral Dance is named after the actual spiral dance, a deeply symbolic rite of magic.
The spiral dance rite
This is how it was taught to me.
In a properly cast circle with quarters open and gods invoked, all join hands forming an open-ended chain. The leader, holding the hand of the person behind her, begins to move in an inward circle, in a clockwise (deosil pronounced “djessle”) direction. She moves in a spiral, each lap of the circle getting smaller as the participants, linked by hands, follow. And so the circle gets smaller, and a spiral pattern emerges.
When the leader reaches the center, she changes directions, and begins moving outward again, in a counterclockwise (widdershins) direction this time.
As they move, participants sway, bounce, and step. Usually there is music, or better, drumming, or even better, a Witch’s chant so there’s a beat to follow.
The symbolism of the inward spiral
Like the symbolism of the waning year when nature turns inward and darkness abounds, we humans likewise, if we’re in tune, reflect and contemplate and go deep within ourselves to explore the shadows.
On the journey of the inward spiral, we are shedding ballast all the way, dropping anything that has not served us and all things that hold us back. We reach the center, much like Inanna reached the Underworld on her journey of descent, unclothed, unadorned, raw, exposed, nothing but our truest selves. (This also happens, in a more dramatic and often painful way, during our dark nights of the soul, but that’s another post.)
An instant in the center
When the leader reaches the center, she changes direction and begins spiraling outward again, moving clockwise this time. (Clockwise = deosil prounced d’jessel, rhyming with vessel, with combining the d and j sounds for a harder j.)
That moment in the center is a moment of profound change, and is reflected by the energy we experience at the winter solstice, the shortest day, the longest night of the year. Upon reaching that spot of darkness before the spark of light returns, we shall have shed many of our anchors and needless weights, our limiting beliefs and misguided notions, all our hate and anger and all the weight of the year gone by. We’d been leaving our burdens along the path, and we are naked, light, reborn as we turn to begin the journey of the outward spiral.
The Symbolism of the outward spiral
As we journey outward again, we are gathering life to us through experiences. All we experience through the coming year are like shells and feathers and gemstones we find along our path and collect. Every encounter, relationship, event, conversation, every sunny day is another treasure.
On the outward spiral we do not only gather, but we share. We express. We create. We build. Our ideas expand and become new realities the whole year through. Some of these new things will enhance our lives and the lives of those we love in great ways. Others will serve their purpose and begin to get heavy on our backs, and those are the ones we’ll leave behind when we turn inward once more.
On the outward spiral we gather and express.
On the inward spiral, we contemplate and release.
At the center, we change.
This is the cycle at every scale
From the cycle of the year, to the cycles of a human lifetime, we do the spiral dance. We are born in the center, we journey outward into maturity, and then at a certain point we cross a threshold and begin the inward journey of contemplation and wisdom and understanding as we age, and eventually we reach the center again, leave our bodies, process the all we’ve learned in that expanded eternal instant, and then are born in new bodies to begin the outward journey anew.
In the spring we plant, and in summer plants grow and in fall they mature, and this is all outward spiral stuff. In late fall, the harvest is done, and the inward journey begins. The plants die, their fruits all plucked, and they withdraw into the depths where their roots slumber and await renewal in spring once more.
This is the kind of reflection that is meant by the words “As above, so below. As within, so without.” When we find a pattern in one part of nature, we can rest assured that the same pattern will be reflected in all parts of nature, from the most minute forms we can’t even see them, to those so vast we can’t even comprehend them.
And this is the cycle of human existence, too.
In the rite of the spiral dance
We observe and reflect the rites of living. We play out the wheel of the year and the seasons of a human lifetime, of all lifetimes, honoring every stage of them within the microcosm of a sacred dance.
And now you know.
Here’s a video of a spiral dance from a Goddess conference held in 2014 so you get the gist. This was a very large group, so there’s not a lot of room for bopping and dancing. in a smaller group you can get more creative. But as you watch, the leader spirals inward, and more and more participants are drawn in, each will reach the center before switching directions.
The repetitive chant, the harmonies, the drumbeat, the slow pace, all combine to trigger the mind into alpha state, the state of magic and of creating. There’s plenty of time for contemplation about the symbolism during the spiral dance. I’ve been in many of these dancing rituals, and the power of them is undeniable.
Watch their feet. Those who know their witchery use a grapevine step throughout the dance. This is truly powerful to observe and even more powerful to perform. And if you watch to the end, with the hands in the air and the ululations and the toning, you will get chills, I guarantee it. You’ll want the sound up for this.
We’re on the inward spiral
What are we leaving along the path as we spiral inward toward the center? What have we stripped away when we reach that instant of stillness and darkness, unclothed and unbound in the center? What do we leave behind on the inward path, and what will we hope to pick up as we journey outward into the new year?
These are the questions we contemplate on the journey of the spiral dance.
A solo spiral?
Although the energy of group magic is an experience unto itself, it’s not always possible to join with others. A solitary witch can perform the spiral dance alone, or as alone as one can be in a properly cast circle filled with guides, guardians, gods, ancestors, elements, and elementals.
Simply begin. Turn in inward circles as you dance a decreasing, counterclockwise spiral inward to the center, then turn, and dance an increasing, clockwise circle back out again. When you reach the place where you started, turn and begin again. I recommend three full cycles as a minimum.
Reach out!
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Meanwhile, at my day job….
Christmas Romance Abounds
If you like Hallmark holiday romances, you’re gonna love these 11 titles!