Stillness · “Stillness Reveals”
Relaxation
To enter a deeply relaxed, inwardly absorbed state by systematically releasing tension part by part and slowing the breath — the doorway Starhawk uses before guided trance journeys, visualisation, and inner work.
Relaxation (trance doorway) in 5 lines: Lie or sit comfortably, undisturbed. Breathe slow and deep, each out-breath a letting-go. Move through the body part by part — feet to face — releasing tension until you feel heavy, still, and inwardly turned. Rest at that calm, awake threshold (and, if guided, let inner images arise without forcing). Return deliberately: feel the body, wiggle fingers and toes, open the eyes, and ground.
What it is
Before any trance or guided inner journey in The Spiral Dance, Starhawk teaches relaxation as the entry skill. In Chapter 9 (“Trance”), the first exercise is a progressive relaxation: you lie or sit comfortably, slow the breath, and release tension from the body part by part, sinking into a calm, heavy, inwardly-turned state.
This relaxed absorption is the doorway through which she then leads visualisations, “journeys,” and meetings with inner images (the Goddess, guides, symbols, past-life or otherworld imagery). Starhawk is clear that trance is not magic-mysterious — it begins with ordinary, deliberate relaxation, and the depth of the inner work depends on how fully you let go of bodily tension first.
Note: the popular “Crystal Countdown” trance is Laurie Cabot’s method, not Starhawk’s — The Spiral Dance uses this breath-and-progressive-relaxation induction.
The Method
From The Spiral Dance, Ch. 9 (“Trance”), Exercise 9 (“Relaxation”). Faithful paraphrase:
- Get comfortable. Lie down (or sit with support) where you won’t be disturbed. Let the body be fully supported; loosen anything tight.
- Begin with the breath. Take slow, deep breaths. Let each out-breath be a letting-go. Establish an easy, deepening rhythm. (Breath is, again, Starhawk’s basic tool.)
- Release the body, part by part. Move attention through the body in sequence — feet, legs, hips, belly, back, hands, arms, shoulders, neck, face — and at each part tense slightly and then let go, or simply feel it grow heavy, warm, and relaxed. Let each area sink and soften completely before moving on. Feel the whole body grow heavy and still. 4. Sink inward. As the body releases, let attention turn inward, away from the room and outer sounds. Feel yourself drifting down into a calm, dreamy, receptive state — relaxed but awake and aware (this is the trance threshold, not sleep).
- (Then) the journey, if guided. From this relaxed base, Starhawk leads the visualisation/trance journey — e.g. imagining a doorway, a path, a landscape, and meeting whatever images arise. Let images come without forcing; observe and interact. (The relaxation is the induction; the journey is the content.)
- Return deliberately. Come back up by reversing — become aware of the body, the breath, the floor, the room. Wiggle fingers and toes, breathe deeper, open the eyes. Starhawk stresses a clear return so you don’t stay half-in.
- Ground and reorient. Ground (feel the floor, eat or drink something, touch the earth) to fully re-enter ordinary consciousness. Optionally record what you experienced.
Starhawk’s spirit: relax “part by part,” let the body grow “heavy” and the breath slow, until you “sink” into the receptive state. (short paraphrase; full induction in the book) (Sourcing note: progressive part-by-part relaxation, breath-led induction, the inward turn, and the deliberate grounded return are Starhawk’s documented method, attributed. Wording is faithful paraphrase, not verbatim reproduction.)
Source & Lineage
Starhawk (Miriam Simos, b. 1951), founder of Reclaiming, set out trance work in The Spiral Dance (1979). → (as filed). The relaxation induction draws directly on progressive muscle relaxation (Edmund Jacobson, 1920s–30s) and on hypnotic / guided-imagery induction technique — the same relaxation-then-suggestion arc used in clinical hypnosis and in the Western magical “pathworking” tradition (Golden Dawn).
Starhawk’s contribution is to make trance approachable, self-led, and de-mystified — a learnable skill, not a rare gift — and to use it for Goddess-centred inner journeying.
The Traditions' versions
Progressive muscle relaxation (Jacobson) — the secular, clinically-validated parent of the body-release method.
- Guided imagery / hypnotic induction — relax, then lead the imagination; same structure.,
- Yoga nidra — lying-down, body-part rotation of awareness into a hypnagogic state; very close cousin.
- Pathworking (ceremonial magic) — relaxed, guided inner journeys through symbolic landscapes.
- Neville’s SATS — pre-sleep relaxed-state impression of an inner scene; shares the receptive-state doorway.
Common refinements
Rushing the body-release. The depth of trance tracks how completely you relax first. Go slowly, part by part; don’t skip to the imagery.
- Trying to force images. Like Coué’s reversed effort — straining to “see” something blocks it. Relax and let images arise; accept whatever comes (or nothing).
- Falling asleep. Lying flat after a tiring day often tips into sleep. Sit semi-reclined, or keep an arm raised, if you need to stay at the threshold.
- No clean return. Drifting out without the deliberate come-back leaves you foggy. Always reverse the induction and ground.
- Over-literalising the content. Holding journey figures as objective external entities (rather than meaningful inner material) invites confusion. Engage them seriously as inner symbols.