REVIEW: Ariadne's Thread, by Shekhinah Mountainwater

[Xiao Rong]

Ariadne’s Thread: A Workbook of Goddess Magic, by Shekhinah Mountainwater
Published by Crossing Press in 1991

The Good:

Shekhinah’s book is a phenomenal exploration of Goddess feminist witchcraft. By this, I mean that she approaches magic and paganism from a woman-centered point of view (sorry, menfolk, this book is not directed towards you). The book is intended to be a fully self-contained class on Goddess magic, a full course of study which ends in initiation. Specifically, the book is about spirituality liberating women from patriarchy (by this I mean the social, political, and cultural institution of gender oppression) and reclaiming womanhood as a source of power that can revolutionize the world into a peaceful, earth-revering, egalitarian society. Her exploration of the Maiden, Mother, and Crone is probably the most detailed and thoughtful that I’ve ever seen.

One of the things I find most powerful about her thinking is the way in which she reinvents a number of mental frameworks that we take for granted in order to challenge our normal, dualistic (man/woman) way of thinking. For instance, she provides a lunar calendar system with 13 months that is more in tune with women’s menstrual cycle; a gender-neutral 5-pointed pentagram in order to replace our stereotypical associations of male/female characteristics; re-tellings of traditional myths, etc. She even creates woman-centered systems of tarot, lunar calendar, and runes that reaffirm powerful women’s archetypes and a feminist ethic centered around care.

In addition, Shekhinah’s book is simply a joy to read, a numinous experience in itself. Her poetry and rituals are powerful and evocative, and really draw you out of the mundane and into the mysteries.

The Bad:

There were some chapters where Shekhinah was much weaker than others, such as when she delves into the more practical topics of astrology, tarot, and herbology. Whereas in previous chapters, she was very thoughtful and nuanced in her exploration of women’s mysteries, these chapters felt like your typical copy-paste of Wicca 101 or whatever. In these, I almost wish she had just left these topics alone instead of trying to tackle them all in her book and fit them all into her self-contained course.

One other aspect I found mildly problematic is that, although there is definitely a lot to be gained just from reading the book and doing the exercises at the back of each chapter, most of the rituals are designed to be performed as part of a group (and a rather large group at that!) It’s a shame that for those of us who, for practical reasons, cannot meet in groups in a consistent community, Shekhinah’s beautiful rituals will only ever be experienced in writing, since they are fairly difficult to adapt for solitary witches.

I am also somewhat less of a fan of the primacy that women’s biology assumes in the book. I think that her openness and valuation of moon cycles is important, but I wish she would recognize that there are many women who, for whatever reason, do not experience menstrual cycles and fertility in the traditional sense (although, to her credit, Shekhinah does note that the Maiden, Mother, and Crone are archetypes that are accessible to all women at all aspects of their life). I think it’s wonderful that Shekhinah is so affirmative of lesbian love, but I wish she had talked more about those of us who do not fit into the traditional gender binary at all (of course, this book came out more than 20 years ago, so I can’t be too hard on her for this!)

To Take With a Grain of Salt:

I think I should clarify that Shekhinah’s book is rooted pretty firmly in radical feminism, which has been pretty maligned in modern culture. However, Shekhinah’s work is emblematic of the best of what radical feminism has to offer, which is a total reimagining of what society can be like without patriarchy - which is NOT, as one might imagine, a matriarchy (i.e. simply making women the dominant gender) or a lesbian separatist society, but a radically egalitarian society in which men and women are equal, although traditionally feminine values (such as compassion, care, nurturing, sensuality, and love) are the driving forces in society and are equally accessible to both genders.

The Verdict:

I thought this book was really fantastic; I’m so lucky I got my hands on a copy of this book. Although I don’t agree with everything Shekhinah says, and I won’t necessarily switch to a lunar calendar anytime soon, I think this book is really important for challenging our gender assumptions and affirming womanhood. It was a very inspirational read, and I admire that Shekhinah, a pioneer of the Goddess feminist movement, can express her dreams of such a different and better society in a really beautiful, compelling, and moving way.

5 out of 5 stars

[-Dark-Moon-]

Nice review, Xiao. Very interesting.

[North Star]

This is a fantastic review. Thank you so much for sharing, I have been looking into a new book on this subject!

[Xiao Rong]

Thank you! I should probably have added that I myself identify most closely as a Goddess feminist, so this book resonated with me a lot - but, you know, personal bias and all. But still, great book! (also, writing reviews is fun, because I'm a nerd, haha)

[Kassandra]

Nice review.

[Vervain]

Xiao, I love reading all your reviews... they just always make me want to go book shopping!