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If Christianity and capitalism are both based on controlling nature — desires, forests, whatever — then it’s no wonder Starhawk doesn’t go in for either one. The world’s most famous witch (we think; if you know a more famous witch, tell us) thinks more or less the opposite. Humans, she thinks, might instead look to “the wild” for guidance. Almost like if we didn’t fight with nature so much, we might feel better and stop raping the planet? It’s so hard to understand! As a permaculture expert with a couple of books out on the subject, and as a columnist for The Washington Post and Newsweek’s “On Faith” Web arm, Starhawk is a respected voice of Wicca, paganism, peace activism, and a bunch of other stuff that gives the Rush Limbaughs of this world apoplexy. She’s been witching it up for about three decades, intelligently and patiently repeating things like “Generally, if you hear of somebody making a dramatic public display of being a ‘Witch’ with evil powers, that person is not accepted by real Witches as a sincere and responsible member of the religion. Most real Witches are embarrassed by such people.” (That’s from the FAQ on the Reclaiming Web site; Starhawk is a co-founder.) We wonder what she thinks of local author Frank Portman’s new young-adult novel, Andromeda Klein, whose protagonist is a teenaged occultist — especially since her own latest publication is The Last Wild Witch, a children’s book.
Tue., Nov. 17, 7 p.m., 2009