I write some articles for a collective cultural french blog called "les toiles roses"(www.lestoilesroses.net), talking about movies, books, culture and spirituality related to the LGBT people. My papers are published under the name "le chaudron rose de Papy Potter" (Papy Potter's pink caulron). I talk about different aspects of spirituality related to the gay. Sometimes, I publish a text with my own thoughts, about a deity, chamanism,.... Sometimes, I interview someone. For example, I've interviewed the french Radical Faeries, and Donald L.Engstrom.

I would be very happy if some of you could answer to the following questions. I would also publish the answers (if you allow me so) in my Pink Cauldron. It could also bring people to this forum, who knows ?

 

Here are my questions (if you think about another one that would be interesting to be answered to, don't hesitate) :

1°  You are a gay witch. How does the fact of being gay influence your practice ?

2° Do you think there are some spiritual practices to which gay people are best ?

3° Which deities do you feel attracted to, as a gay man ?

4° Have you sometimes felt that the fact of being gay could be a problem for the other witches you've met ?

5° What would you say to a gay man new to the craft ?

 

Well, now, here are my own answers :

1° I think I don't see male and female energies as all distinct and embodied only in a God and a Goddess. I also see these two energies mixed in some Great Androgyne Spirit, some kind of She-Male spirit where 1 + 1 = 3.  I dance and I sing while practicing magick, being a kind of  hairy bear (that I am) sometimes becoming a butterfly (that I am not). Being gay, I don't feel "obliged" to do the same things as "straight" ones. I feel free to imagine my own spells, to follow other ways, to call for the Great Glamourous Drag Queen and for the Leather Loving Bear King.

2° I think that a gay man better experiences Goddess'love than straight ones. I mean : we have the same "object of affection" than women. So, we can add some male energy to all the love and peace wishes coming from womens' heart. We show there can be something more than competition between men. Love can exist between males who are too often educated to be some "warrior" (in their jobs, in their social lives, etc...). So, yes, I think we are better in love and peace spells. Maybe, also,  can we better act as mediators, contact dead ones, be guardians for the trees (see Andrew Rammer (or Ramer ?)'s work : two flutes playing).

3° There are many ones. Pan and Gaia are surely the ones I am the most attracted to. Because of their obvious link to a nature I feel important to protect. I wish I found some book of shadows only devoted to "how to heal the earth, to help the animals and the plants". We often call for animal spirits and plants to help us. But do we wonder how we can help animals and plants ? I mean "spiritually" ?  If you know this kind of book, please tell me

4° I remember I published my gay call for the elements on an ecclectic wiccan forum. Some people believed it to be scandalous that I could call for gods and goddesses as if they could be involved somehow with gay. Some other ones contested this point of view. I saw then that no, LGBT are not necessarily well accepted in wiccan circles.

5° Learn, Enjoy, Imagine.

Well, and now, it's up to you, guys !

1°  You are a gay witch. How does the fact of being gay influence your practice ? Well I can identify whit the softness and strength of feminine deities, but also whit the power and fire of the male deities. I don't see myself as only male. If I where straight I might have seen it that way, but I think me being gay is a more balanced way between masculine and feminine energy's. As a witch(and human) I feel more in touch whit my center.

2° Do you think there are some spiritual practices to which gay people are best ? Hm, tough question. I think gay people can ben more open en sensitive to other way's of thinking or energy's. But I don't believe that gay people are 'better' than straight people in a spiritual path of any kind. I at least don't consider myself to be that. Like I said (wrote) gay people can be more open to things. Thinking outside the box.

3° Which deities do you feel attracted to, as a gay man ? Pan, he's a very nice natural and sexual energy, The playful and mischievous part of me gets loose when I work whit him. And Ceres, she's the first  Goddess I ever worked whit. The warmer and caring side of me gets stronger if I work whit her. When I sport outdoor (Ghehe, the weather is just about right now) I feel connected to both of them, I want to run, play and just feel free! . I don't think I'm attracted to them because I'm gay, I think there energy has a better connection to mine (Or vice versa)

4° Have you sometimes felt that the fact of being gay could be a problem for the other witches you've met ?  No, I never felt left out, or second best. All the witches I've met have been very open and accepting towards my sexuality. I think that is because as a witch you know there can't be anything wrong whit love, no matter in what form it comes.

5° What would you say to a gay man new to the craft ? To keep his heart open, and listen to his feelings. If a ritual or spell doesn't feel right, just don't do it.  Also to search for queer myths, I did it when I was sixteen, and it helped me to get more in my center. Call the deities or energy you need, they will respond. Just keep you heart open, the rest will follow.

Oh, Faune. You have my permission to publish/use my awnsers for you blog. I hope they have some use for you. Your'e anwsers where quite interessting to, par example; the leather loving bear king?! I have a very strong imagination, and I think I don't want him in my circle, nor do I want the the Great Glamourous Drag Queen to appear... Then again..could be fun.  Wonder what here aspects of power are.

Don't get me the wrong way, It just sounds funny. And it shows to me you have a creative and open attitude. 

BB 

 

Excellent idea Faune, perhaps we could use this to help flush out the Wiki page in The Helix or add your overall article to the Musings section here on site if people/yourself permit us to? I'm afraid that I think I was somewhat more cumbersome in my replies than desired but if nothing else I was honest...

 

 

 

1°  You are a gay witch. How does the fact of being gay influence your practice?

 

 

I think there are two tiers to this answer one is asking, "how does being gay affect your practice?" and the other is, "how does being gay effect your practice?". The difference between the two words is that affect implies an external or outside difference to the practice, while effect implies how we as the individual relate to the practice. So while I believe we are ALL, regardless of sexual orientation and identity, effected with our understanding and our relationship to the world outside by our practices and so it stands to reason that our practices are influenced or effected by our experiences in Life and the so-called mundane world.

  

I'm firmly in the bracket of the Craft that believes that no matter what one's practice should reflect their expression of the world. I believe that by being true to ourselves we become more equipped to involve ourselves in exploration with others. In terms of how I am personally effected by the Craft well I'd have to say that being gay I tend to find myself in some fairly interesting conversations on nights out or even just on the bus to Pride festivals as people stop and ask what the rainbow flag is for! I delight in telling them its history and explaining that it actually has very little to do with sexuality and more to do with personality which we all have.  

 

 

2° Do you think there are some spiritual practices to which gay people are best ?

 

 

Hmm, not really to be honest. I think that when comes to developing the Craft as a spiritual practice it comes down to individual development. For instance on Gay Witch Network there are witches whom differ in practices from myself so much the fact that we are LGBTQ identified is one factor which joins us but also and probably more fundamental is our innate sense of curiosity and exploration. Being LGBTQ often cajoles if not outright forces a person to start to become more apt at expression.

 

A great quote I heard recently was, "We look for the differences in others to remind ourselves that we are not alone". So while finding what we are alike with is a tremendous blessing also finding out who or what we are not alike can be very interesting. So all in all I would have strong reluctance to say "gay people are better at..." because we aren't better and we certainly aren't worse simply different and I think our sense of the Craft is the same.

 

 

3° Which deities do you feel attracted to, as a gay man ?

 

 

Absolutely none. I have to be honest here and say that in terms of the Craft the Gods and Goddesses tend to pick me. Without meaning to allude to any sense of lineage aside from my own cultural heritage I'm Irish and I'm a Witch which makes for slightly different relationship to the Gods.

 

One deity native to Ireland that has become a very strong force in my Life has been the Goddess Sinann. Sinann is the daughter of the Irish sea-god Manannán MacLir and the grand-daughter of Lír (not to be confused with the Children of Lír). Her story tells of a desire for knowledge and wisdom through creative pursuits. She didn't deed the protocols when approaching the Filíochta (meaning poets; what people call druids now) of the Well of Connla. The Well rose in anger and drowned Sinann at which point she became the River Shannon in Ireland. For me Sinann called to me when I first started exploring the Craft but being stubborn I rejected her advances but she's a wiley one so has been subtly influencing my Path ever since. It's a very long and personal story but suffice to say Sinann like other Irish gods has never really been worshipped in the sense of having a "priesthood" and so I've never developed this relationship with her. Just wouldn't work. Besides I get the impression while she enjoys differences and embraces them its not so much a case of "fag-haggery" (if you pardon the expression) simply that like us she seeks wisdom and knowledge. Perhaps because I'm gay and a writer and someone that wishes to be a teacher that Sinann is drawn to, your guess is as good as mine.

 

Unfortunately, I really can't answer this question for you more succinctly. LGBTQ mythos in Ireland is few and far between. There are some references to Cú Chulainn's slaying of his boyhood friend "whom he laid beside". Its not really enough to found too much of a practice on really and Cú Chulainn wasn't a "god" initially but like many revered ancestors did take on epic traits including the "hero's light" which possibly refers to an aura or presence.

 

 

4° Have you sometimes felt that the fact of being gay could be a problem for the other witches you've met ?

 

 

I think this tends to be more an issue with Traditional Wicca (e.g. Gardnerian, Alexandrian, etc.) with their focus on the physical attributes of initiates or members of the Coven. The individuals I have encountered within the traditions are very open to LGBTQ people but I think the interpretation of the system is still somewhat biased to interpreting the Divine Masculine as male and the Divine Feminine as female. Given Traditional Wicca's focus as a fertility-religion there can be a strict adherence to physical representations within a ritual circle.

 

When I was initially searching for groups to work with I found that some Traditional Wiccan groups still felt rather strongly that as a gay man I could still serve the God and Goddess (or Gods where applicable) but I would have to work in the constraints of their Tradition. This was all well and good for myself since another focus of a Coven is training in a Tradition or a system of magic but I always wanted to know what happened before I arrived to "fill the male quotient" as it were? Which two women where left holding hands? And why if all the texts I read indicated that we all regardless of gender embody masculine and feminine energies so surely to be the best Witch I could be I ought to be developing both attributes of my psyche? As yet I've received no answer to these questions.

 

I don't think that on a person-to-person basis many people within the neopagan community are homophobic (though some are) but I think some traditions do promote a certain level of bias which in untempered hands I do worry could boil over to out-right homophobia.

 

 

5° What would you say to a gay man new to the Craft ?

 

 

To be fair that would depend largely on their situation. Some generic pieces of advice is that the Craft can be very beneficial to developing as a person. If you are honest with yourself and open to growth then you will find a home here. There is no shame in either being a neophtye or a newbie. The Craft is a Path to walk and walk it you should. Read and learn but also be open to what Life teaches. Life is he ultimate initiating force in the Universe. It starts and ends things all the time and the Craft is just one aspect of Life.

 

For me personally I found the greatest skills I learned weren't from a Craft book or from the Craft at all but from getting out and living Life, going to college and learning new skills at courses.

 

 

 

 

Also Faune you have my permission to use this in your article. If you need me to edit down my responses for word count etc. let me know and I'd be happy to oblige. I would prefer the opportunity to edit my own answers though if thats okay? As a fellow writer I'm sure you can appreciate why. 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, thank you very much for these first answers. Yes, it could be added to the helix or to the musings when done. For the blog "les toiles roses", I would first take all the answers and put them together on a same file. So a whole english version would exist before I translate it to french. The length of the answers doesn't matter. I could split the article in several sections if needed. I wouldn't change anything, just translate to French. And I would use the different pseudos, with no photograph, so that it remains quite anonymous.

1° You are a gay witch. How does the fact of being gay influence your practice ?

I'm not sure I can claim the term "witch", and my practice is a ragged mess, but I do have one. That said....

Being gay influences my practice much in the way it influences my whole life. It brings a different perspective to things than straight people have--although many pagans count as not-straight in their own ways. One of my more unusual perspectives is a general disinterest in gender role polarities. I don't feel a need to integrate or deal with "masculine" and "feminine" in any way, and I find even acknowledging such categories to be limiting. There are ways I may be regarded by others as masculine, and ways I may be regarded by others as feminine or effeminate, but to me they are just facets of my personality.

I've never quite understood why so many people are so invested in the dichotomy that they feel a need to defend it or work within it. Nobody can completely avoid the socialization of gender stereotypes, of course, but by and large I just don't buy into the typical "men do these activities and have these fixed traits, women do and have those". I do acknowledge the fact that most people do in fact happen to line up that way, through both biology and socialization, of course! But people really seem to cling to the whole thing in a very unhealthy way, in my view.

Another facet, one I've barely explored, concerns discrimination, and my part in it. I am drawn to men, not just sexually, but in all sorts of ways, and women...I can basically take 'em or leave 'em. I notice men more than women, and am more likely to strike up a conversation with a guy (so long as I'm not feeling too shy). So while I'm not objectifying women, I am not giving them equal attention, and both are common problems in relations between men and women. Now I've got good women friends, of course, so it's not like I'm excluding them, but I don't make as much effort to get to know women as I do men. If I could really scrape up the time for my practice I would use this to seek out other areas of my life that I don't pay enough notice to.

2° Do you think there are some spiritual practices to which gay people are best ?

Practices as such--ritual, trance, journey work--no. Well, ok, maybe sex magic.
Aspects of those practices, yes. As mentioned above, gay people often have a different perspective, which can help understanding and experience of some mysteries. But it can also hinder! I simply don't know what it's actually like to be straight, so I have my blind spots like anybody else.

3° Which deities do you feel attracted to, as a gay man ?

I don't really do the deity thing. While I have encountered mythic figures in journey work (Antero Vipunen and Väinämöinen, from Finnish myth), I've been working prinicipally with guides in animal form. I do have some guides in human form, but they aren't traditional deity figures. So I don't really fit the question, I think. I suppose if I took time to go through a list I could say which deities' stories I relate to most, but again they aren't a core part of my practice.

4° Have you sometimes felt that the fact of being gay could be a problem for the other witches you've met ?

So far, no. I'm lucky enough to live in California, where the pagan community is very loose (in both good and bad ways!), open, and diverse.

5° What would you say to a gay man new to the craft ?

The craft is a really big tent; take your time exploring until you find a group or tradition that really, deeply speaks to your being (I'm still looking, myself!). Look within for guidance as much as without; really learn to listen to that quiet voice within. Embrace being gay as part of your path, but make room for a broader relation to mystery. Not necessarily right from the start--if you need to work through gay stuff first, by all means do that! But there's plenty of mystery left once you've begun working through the gay stuff. :-)

----

Well that might be almost as long as Abhainn's replies! I'd also be happy to edit down as necessary. Et aussi je voudrais bien lire ton traduction en français. J'ai pensé à écrire en français moi-même mais bien que je connais bien la langue je peux pas écrire si précisement qu'en anglais. Alors je mets en toi ma confiance!

 

Thank you very much, Niklinna. Your french seems to be excellent. I'll show the french translation, anyway.

Any idea when you'll have the article read for reading? I managed to get Google to translate some of your writings but not all unfortunately... just managed to get a comfy position on the couch when Google got awkward!

Maybe it would be published in june. Or in july. It doesn't depend on me. The blog's owner is someone else. I am just one of the writers. He (and only he) decides when he publishes something, because we are many to write. "Les toiles roses" has been elected the best cultural gay blog in France and there are many writers. When the boss gets the text, he sometimes needs several weeks before publishing it. Anyway, maybe other guys here will answer too, Satyr, DN, Bug,...So, I don't think I will begin the translation before next week-end. And I will tell you when it is published.

Okay cool that means can post this on the fan page on some of the social networking sites and see if we can drum up some support that way! 

Edit: I have my person blog, Facebook both my personal one and fan-page as well as my personal MySpace and hoping to get the forum's page as well.

Hey Faune, there have have been a few friends on my Facebook page wondering whether the article was open to the whole spectrum of LGBTQ or specifically gay, male/masculine witches?

Hi,
I just joined up to the site via Abhainn's posting on Facebook. I wondered if you might be interested in a gay woman's perspective? I've altered the wording on a couple of the questions accordingly...
1° You are a gay witch. How does the fact of being gay influence your practice ?
My practice has always been informed by my own individual path, although I have worked with a few others in ritual & ceremonial contexts. Personally, my sexuality is about being a woman and loving women in all their wondrous forms. I work from the Irish tradition, and generally with the mythic feminine. I use the term "witch" of myself in a sociological sense. As such, there is a confluence is terms of being on the fringes of mainstream socity, with one foot inside and the other foot outside the everyday world. To me, being a witch is about watching the edges, seeing through things and around things, and never quite being "included" in the community for which we work.
In terms of women's mysteries, a gay woman can bring a new perspective to the "traditional" maiden-mother-crone combo. As a gay woman, these phases of life / roles are no longer defined in terms of a woman's relationship to a man or to child-bearing. It can be liberating to express and celebrate a woman's sexuality and sexual energy without it being necessarily bound up in pro-creation. And, as a dream I had years ago told me: we as women can be confined by thinking we have to be maiden, mother or crone. There is also "the other one", the face at the back that you can't see.(Imagine looking at one of the images of the triple-faced god/dess, and then imagine the face you can't see).

2° Do you think there are some spiritual practices to which gay people are best ?
I think that diversity and difference of perspective is important to any spiritual practice and the growth of every tradition. Even those of us who study deeply and explore to inform our practice can be prone to making basic unquestioning assumptions: the most pertinent here is probably the classic Wiccan one that the there is a fundamental male/female dichotomy at the heart of the universe. And we can be prone to assuming that homosexuality is rooted in some kind of cross-gender identification - "feminine" men and "masculine" women. The spectrum of "queer" experience surely brings all that into question, and we can be, as it were, the "one white crow that disproves the theory that all crows are black" [William James].

3° Which deities do you feel attracted to, as a gay [wo]man ?
Hmmm.... depends on what I'm studying! I work within the Irish tradition, and work through sotries in the landscape. Recently, I was reading a saga which began with a detailed description of Etain, washing from a silver basin by a well. Reading the rich description was like falling in love! As Abhainn pointed out, there isn't much on the surface in terms of Irish stories with same-sex love and affection explicitly described. But reading the stories and experiencing them in the landscape is a way of coming to know the mythic characters personally. Also, there aren't "god/desses" per se within the Irish tradition - more a mix of ancestors and spirits of the land.

4° Have you sometimes felt that the fact of being gay could be a problem for the other witches you've met ?
I think that there is still a heterosexist (rather than outright homophobic) current within most traditions. I've always found the Wiccan traditions particularly heterosexist, and have always had a problem with everything coming down to "Lord & Lady" dichotomy. But I've had the pleasure of standing in a circle where the priestess passed the chalice around saying "Now, it has to go around boy-girl-boy-girl", as I stood in a group of non-straight fellows who deliberately subverted that with wicked little smiles! But since I don't work within gormal groupings, I rarely come into contact with prescribed ritual forms that presume specific gender roles.

5° What would you say to a gay [wo]man new to the craft ?
I would say not to expect a ready-made archetype, but to find her own path and explore whatever tradition calls to her, making it her own. And always and only to do that which lifts her up, never what pushes her down. I would warn her that her path will be difficult, but all the more meaningful and rewarding for that.

****
I hope these answers make some kind of sense, and you are welcome to use whatever you wish in the piece you are putting together. I've been writing this piece in bits and pieces late at night, so it might be a little rambling and disjointed! But I think these are important questions to ask ourselves, and to be aware that our sexuality is intrinsic to who we are are as human beings, and that there can be no spiritual life without the body.
As a post-script, I'd like to share a bit of my experience as a single lesbian - I often refer to it as my "spinsterhood". It has brought me to a love and respect of myself as an embodied being, which can sometimes be subsumed into an "other" in relationships. It has also given me some understanding of traditions of "celibate" priesthoods. "Celibacy" can be seen as a sexuality that is contained and expressed within one body alone. An American friend who had lived within the Hopi nation told me that part of the Hopi view of gender and sexuality included an understanding of a holy man or woman whose sexual relationship is with the divine. This is a very powerful way to experience the divine without giving one's power away to another. I think that when one's sexuality is focussed on others of the same sex, then one's sexual relationship to one's own self is less "scary" than it might be for someone heterosexual. Just a thought.
Anyway, not sure how well I'm expressing myself!! Ask me if you need any of this translated into English
beannacht

Hi all, oh yes, it would be so great to get the point of view from lesbians, bisexual people and transgender. Daniel (the blog's owner) would be so happy. He always says there are too few women talking. The more answers I get, the best it is. What I would do then is splitting the article in several pieces. For example, first show the answers to the first question so that the diversity of answers can be more easily seen.

Thank you Abhainn for having passed the "word" through your social network

And thank you, clothru for giving a woman's perspective that is enlightening

As such, there is a confluence is terms of being on the fringes of mainstream socity, with one foot inside and the other foot outside the everyday world. To me, being a witch is about watching the edges, seeing through things and around things, and never quite being "included" in the community for which we work.

Ah Clothru, you have struck quite a chord here! This is how I have felt from my earliest memories of childhood, no matter the community. Straight, queer, pagan, you name it, I feel stuck between and outside and across them all and never able to fully enter any particular group.

Doesn't she just?! I love the way she expresses herself, indeed I'm very impressed with the coherency and honesty by which people are contributing. Tis wonderful to see such advocacy of the Self.

Awgh Faune no need to thank me people came on their own merit and shows that the voice of people is deeply varied and rooted in the search for self-expression. Well done you for helping us all to contribute.

some amazing answers to those questions. enough so that I think I might have trouble being as clear and expansive as those who have given this the time and thought that they have in answering.

I know that this is far too late to answer, but if this thread happens to continue I will have to sit down and think through some good responses for you.

Thank you, greywolf. No, it's not too late to answer to these questions. I have not yet begun the translation (the blog's boss has still 2 papers left from me still not published, so I would be surprised if he published them befire july)

Hi all, the translation is done. The first paper will soon be published. I've gathered the answers around each question. The first paper will be about the first question and will be published during the month of July on the french blog : www.lestoilesroses.net

Once more, I thank all the ones who answered.

In French, this is :

"Ce billet débute une suite d’interviews de sorciers et d’une sorcière qui ont tous un point commun : ils sont homosexuels.

La sorcellerie est de plus en plus fréquemment pratiquée, quoique toujours assez discrète dans nos contrées. Il est assez difficile d’ailleurs de lui donner une définition. On pourrait affirmer par exemple que les sorciers voient d’abord la présence du divin en chaque élément de la nature (plantes, animaux, astres, êtres humains mais aussi êtres de l’invisible, comme l’esprit des ancêtres, les diverses divinités, les guides spirituels, etc…). Ces éléments interagissent ensemble sous la forme d’un réseau. Tous sont interconnectés, de sorte qu’il soit toujours possible de faire appel, par exemple, à tel type de plante ou à un cristal adapté, pour soutenir une action. Les sorciers croient en la possibilité d’agir sur les événements et de changer certaines choses par le biais de la magie. Il peut s’agir de guérir, d’accompagner, de protéger des personnes ou des lieux, etc… Chacun a sa propre personnalité et entre mieux en résonance avec certains autres éléments du réseau. Par exemple, quelqu’un qui est plus attiré par les plantes utilisera des herbes et des fleurs pour la confection de ses sortilèges. Un sortilège est en général envoyé dans les fils du réseau afin d’agir selon l’intention formulée par le sorcier. Un principe assez communément accepté est toutefois de ne jamais faire de mal à autrui et de toujours œuvrer vers une amélioration.

Cela dit, le monde de la sorcellerie moderne s’articule fréquemment autour d’un présupposé de base qui est que le divin s’organise autour de deux pôles : le masculin et le féminin. Les deux sont perçus comme nécessaires à la bonne marche du monde. La sorcellerie impliquerait donc la formule : homme + femme = quelque chose de plus. Pourtant, de nombreux sorciers, et parmi les plus célèbres, sont gays. Scott Cuningham en est un exemple parmi d’autres. De même, nombreuses sont les sorcières lesbiennes. Comment se positionnent-ils en tant qu’homosexuels dans leur pratique spirituelle ? Voilà ce que cette série de questions tente d’éclairer à travers divers témoignages recueillis par mes soins par le biais d’un forum américain : « the gay witch network – home of gay witchcraft » : www.gaywitch.org

Je ne me suis donc pas ici adressé à des auteurs célèbres mais plutôt à des sorciers anonymes. Ils ont pris du temps pour me répondre et je les en remercie tous chaleureusement. Si je devais relever des points communs dans leurs réponses, ce seraient : une grande liberté de pensée, une certaine critique du monde et d’eux-mêmes, ainsi qu’une constante recherche.

Dans ce chaudron, et dans les suivants, vous aurez la possibilité de lire les réponses de ces frères et sœurs aux questions suivantes :

1° Vous êtes un(e) sorcier gay(e). Comment le fait d’être gay affecte-t-il votre pratique ?

2° Croyez-vous qu’il y ait des pratiques spirituelles (sous-entendu : liées à la magie) pour lesquelles les gays sont meilleurs ?

3° Y a-t-il des divinités qui vous attirent plus, en tant que gay ?

4° Avez-vous déjà rencontré de l’homophobie de la part d’autres sorciers ?

5° Quel conseil donneriez-vous à un sorcier novice ?

Une manière donc de faire un peu le tour de la réalité homosexuelle chez les sorciers et néo-païens.

Voici donc la première question :

1 ° Vous êtes un(e) sorcier(e) gay. Comment le fait d'être gay(e) affecte-t-il votre pratique?

Réponse de Clothru (Irlande)

Mon propre parcours individuel m’a toujours fourni les informations nécessaires à ma pratique, même si j'ai travaillé avec d’autres dans le cadre de rituels et de cérémonies. Personnellement, ma sexualité, c'est être une femme et d'aimer les femmes sous toutes leurs formes merveilleuses. Je travaille à partir de la tradition irlandaise et, plus généralement, avec le féminin mythique. J'utilise le terme «sorcière» pour me définir moi-même dans un sens sociologique. En tant que tel, il y a une confluence au niveau du terme, dans le sens « être en marge de la société grand-public », avec un pied à l'intérieur et l'autre pied en dehors du monde de tous les jours. Pour moi, être une sorcière c’est regarder au delà des bords du cercle, à travers les choses et dans les choses, et ne jamais s’inclure complètement dans la communauté pour laquelle nous travaillons.

En termes de mystères féminins, une lesbienne peut apporter une perspective nouvelle à la "traditionnelle" manière de voir « jeune fille-mère-vieille femme » (note de Papy Potter : les sorcières voient la lune comme une expression des trois âges de la femme. La lune croissante désigne la jeune femme vierge et favorise tous les travaux magiques visant a créer quelque chose. La pleine lune désigne, elle, la femme en tant que mère et favorise tous les travaux magiques en leur apportant une énergie maximale. La lune décroissante désigne par contre la femme âgée, et favorise tous les travaux magiques visant à faire disparaître quelque chose (comme une maladie, par exemple). En tant que lesbienne, ces phases de la vie et ces rôles de la femme ne se définissent plus en terme de procréation ou de relation d’une femme à une homme. Il peut être libérateur d'exprimer et de célébrer la sexualité de la femme et de l'énergie sexuelle sans que cette énergie soit nécessairement liée à la pro-création. Et, comme on me l’a dit dans un rêve que j’ai eu il y a longtemps : « nous, les femmes pouvons nous sentir limitées par l’idée que nous devons être fille, mère ou vieille femme. Il y a aussi "l'autre" face, derrière, celle que vous ne pouvez pas voir (Imaginez-vous dans l'une des images du dieu ou de la déesse à trois visages et imaginez ce visage que vous ne pouvez pas voir) » (Note de Papy Potter : Ici, c’est un peu la lune noire qui est évoquée, ou même la face cachée de la lune. Je ne peux m’empêcher de songer que certains sorciers pensent que c’est justement lors de la lune noire que les anciens chamans gays pratiquaient l’essentiel de leur magie, alors que classiquement, ce jour-là, les sorciers s’abstiennent de pratiquer toute magie).

Réponse de Niklinna (Etats Unis d’Amérique)

Je ne suis pas sûr que je puisse réclamer le terme de «sorcier» pour ma part, et ma pratique est un vrai gâchis « déliquescent », mais j'en ai une, cela dit ....

Être gay influence beaucoup ma pratique de la même manière qu’elle influe sur toute ma vie. Cela m’apporte une perspective différente des choses que les straights (note de Papy Potter : dans le sens hétéros) - bien que beaucoup de païens, à leur façon, soient non-straights (note de Papy Potter : dans le sens « non-conformistes »). Un de mes points de vue les plus inhabituels est un désintérêt général envers ces histoires de polarités du rôle des sexes. Je ne me sens pas le besoin d'intégrer ou de faire face à la « masculinité » ou à la « féminité », en aucune façon, et je reconnais même à ces catégories un caractère limitant. Certaines de mes manières peuvent être considéré par les autres comme masculines, et d’autres de mes manières peuvent être considérés par les autres comme féminines ou efféminées, mais pour moi, ce ne sont là que des facettes de ma personnalité.

Je n'ai jamais bien compris pourquoi tant de gens s’investissent tellement dans cette dichotomie, à un tel point qu'ils en ressentent le besoin de la défendre ou de travailler avec elle. Personne ne peut éviter complètement la socialisation des stéréotypes de genre, bien sûr, mais en gros je n'arrive pas à adhérer à l’idée que "les hommes font telles activités et ont telles caractéristiques, les femmes font autre chose et ont d’autres spécificités". Je reconnais le fait que la plupart des gens s’intègrent dans ces critères, du fait de la biologie et de la socialisation, bien sûr ! Mais les gens semblent vraiment s'accrocher à tout cela d'une manière très malsaine, à mon avis.

Une autre facette, que je viens à peine d’explorer, concerne la discrimination, et mon rôle en cela. Je suis attiré par les hommes, pas seulement sexuellement, mais en toutes sortes de manières, et les femmes ... je peux en « prendre » l'essentiel ou le laisser. Je remarque plus les hommes que les femmes, et je suis davantage susceptible d'engager une conversation avec un mec (tant que je ne me sens pas trop timide). Ainsi, alors que je ne puis objectiver les femmes (note de Papy Potter : objectiver pourrait se comprendre aussi dans le sens, « faire objet », donc considérer la femme en tant qu’objet (ou plutôt sujet) d’affection), je ne puis leur donner une attention égale. Les deux aspects sont des problèmes communs dans les relations entre les hommes et les femmes. Maintenant, j'ai de bonnes amies, bien sûr, ce n'est donc pas comme si je les excluais, mais je ne fais pas autant d'efforts pour apprendre à connaître les femmes que je ne le fais pour les hommes. Si je pouvais vraiment gagner du temps sur ma pratique, je l'utiliserais pour explorer d'autres domaines de ma vie auxquels je n’accorde pas assez d’attention.

Réponse de Famillinar (Pays-Bas)

Eh bien je peux m’identifier avec la douceur et la force des divinités féminines, mais aussi avec le pouvoir et le feu des dieux masculins. Je ne me vois pas comme seulement homme. Si j’étais hétéro je pourrais me percevoir de cette façon, mais comme je suis gay je crois être en équilibre avec les énergies masculines et féminines. En tant que sorcier (et humain), je me sens plus à l'écoute de ce que je suis au fond de moi.


Réponse d’Abhainn (Irlande)

Je pense que cette question comprend deux niveaux. «Comment le fait d'être gay affecte-t-il votre pratique?" Et l'autre, « quel effet a le fait d’être gay sur votre pratique? ". La différence entre les deux est que « affecter » implique une différence extérieure à la pratique magique, alors que « l'effet » implique la façon dont nous, en tant qu’individus, nous rapportons à la pratique. Ainsi, alors que je crois que nous tous, indépendamment de notre orientation sexuelle et de notre identité, subissons l’effet de nos pratiques, conjointement avec notre compréhension et notre relation au monde extérieur, il est aussi évident que nos pratiques sont influencées par nos expériences de la vie et du monde soit-disant ordinaire.

Je suis fermement de ceux qui estiment que peu importe si la pratique de quelqu’un reflète ou non son expression du monde. Je crois qu'en étant fidèle à nous-mêmes, nous nous équipons mieux afin de mieux nous impliquer dans l'exploration de la magie avec d'autres. En ce qui concerne la façon dont je subis personnellement l’effet de la magie, je dois dire qu’en tant que gay, j'ai tendance à participer à des conversations assez intéressantes lors de soirées à l’extérieur ou même simplement dans le bus qui conduisent à des festivals et que les gens s’arrêtent pour demander pour « quoi » est le drapeau arc-en-ciel ! Je prends plaisir à leur raconter son histoire et à expliquer qu'il a en fait très peu à voir avec la sexualité et plus à voir avec la personnalité que nous avons tous.

Réponse de Faune (Belgique)

Je ne perçois pas les énergies masculines et féminines comme totalement distinctes et incarnées dans ce que nous nommons le Dieu et la Déesse. Je vois aussi ces deux énergies comme mélangées sous la forme d’un Esprit Androgyne, une sorte de She-Male Esprit à l’intérieur duquel 1 + 1 = 3. Je danse et je chante tout en pratiquant la magie, tel un vrai ours poilu (que je suis), capable aussi de devenir un papillon (que je ne suis pas). En tant que gay, je ne me sens pas «obligé» de faire la même chose que les hétéros. Je me sens libre d'imaginer mes propres charmes, de suivre d'autres chemins, de faire appel à la Grande Reine du Glamour et à l’Esprit de l’Amant Ours vêtu de cuir, si ça me chante.

Voilà donc pour les réponses à cette première question. Ces témoignages semblent montrer que la pratique de la magie, chez les gays, se désolidarise de la dichotomie « mâle-femelle » si répandue chez les sorciers. Cela peut s’exprimer de différentes manières. Par exemple, en considérant que le masculin et le féminin existent en chacun de nous et que cette polarité n’est pas si tranchée. Ou encore on peut affirmer que cette polarité a moins d’importance qu’il y paraît ou qu’elle n’explique pas tout. Il est étonnant que la question portait sur « comment le fait d’être gay influence-t-il », et que chacun a plus ou moins rebondi sur une réflexion sur les genres.

Le prochain billet portera sur :

Pensez-vous qu'il existe des pratiques spirituelles (magiques) pour lesquelles les homosexuels sont meilleurs?"

Hi everyone. Sorry. It's been a while. Shame on me. It took me one month to understand how to log in on the new version of the forum. I didn't understand why I could register but not log in !

Concerning this paper, I have no news from the owner of the blog "les toiles roses". He hasn't published this interview and gave me no explanation. Consequently, I finally told him that I gave up writing for him.

Yikes, thats a bit crap! And not very professional. Sorry Faune hope you find a more suitable space to publish your piece.

I had to hunt for the login link when it moved to the bottom of the page, too. Maybe it should go back to the top!

Bummer about the article. :-/