Ritual: “Sunlight Is The Best Disinfectant” Summer Solstice Ritual
As I’m writing this, misinformation and disinformation are flooding social media as part of a coordinated global campaign to undermine democracy and fully rupture any attempt at consensus reality. In the midst of the 2024 general election, one party is helmed by an actual insurrectionist who has a 50/50 shot at reclaiming power and establishing a theocratic autocracy in the United States, all of which is enabled by members of that party spewing outright lies without any meaningful pushback. Every week we seem to uncover yet another example of right-wing billionaires buying votes on the Supreme Court.
The ritual outlined below builds upon this idea and weaves in the energy of the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, with the goal of dragging these lies and liars into the stark light of the sun. This ritual harnesses the powerful solar energy of this time of the year to shine a spotlight on their corruption. This ritual calls in the purifying flames of the sun to burn away the darkness to expose their machinations.
The Ritual of Pride
Instead of making offers to the land to ensure an abundance of grain we are instead planting seeds of hope to sustain us through the next year. We celebrate our continued survival in the face of systems and ideologies that would seek to erase and destroy us, and mourn those we have lost to violence and oppression. We lift up our dead in prayer, song, dance, sex, and celebration to ensure their stories carry on.
Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Leonard Matlovich
Leonard Matlovich was an American Vietnam War veteran, recipient of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, and was the first openly gay service member to purposely out himself to the military in order to fight their ban on gay men serving in the armed forces. He is also the first named openly gay person to appear on the cover of a U.S. news magazine.
Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Kiyoshi Kuromiya
Kiyoshi Kuromiya was a Japanese-American author, advocate, and activist who was involved in the civil rights movement, the anti-Vietnam War protests, gay liberation, and HIV/AIDS activism. He worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr., and was one of the founders of the the first medical treatment and competency guidelines produced by people living with HIV/AIDS for their community.
Personal: Magical Thinking Won’t Stop Fascism
I’m writing this blog post after driving to work listening to a podcast that just made me more and more frustrated. I’m not going to say which podcast it was because I’ve spent my entire adult life on the internet and the current social media culture doesn’t exactly allow for nuanced critique. The episode was about taking care of yourself in this larger socio-political global moment and navigating the feelings of shame, guilt, obligation that come up when feeling like you need to prioritize your own safety and sanity. This is something that deeply resonates with me right now and I was hoping for a few “A-ha!” moments, and instead I got a greatest hits of what I can only call privileged magical thinking.
Guest Post: ‘Who Do I Say I Am?’ Sermon by Shige Sakurai
The below sermon was delivered by Shige Sakurai (they/them) during the Sunday, March 27th, service at All Souls Unitarian Universalist congregation in Washington, DC. The theme of the service was “Who Do I Say I Am?”
Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Audre Lorde
Audre Geraldine Lorde was an American writer, feminist, and civil rights activist. She used her creative spirit to address the injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and disability. Given her personal identities her poems and prose also dealt largely with the exploration of black female identity. Lorde became a powerful force in the academic world with her essay “The Master’s Tools Will Not Dismantle the Master’s House.” She is also remembered for her speech at the 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
Personal: Reflections from the Red Dragon Feast
Over the weekend I was able to attend my first DC Red Dragon Feast and it was such an incredible experience. This is a queer magical ritual which began on the West Coast in the 1980s. This ongoing spell was first brought into being as a way to bring hope during the early days of the HIV/AIDS pandemic with the goal of focusing this energy towards finding a cure. It has since been expanded to include all blood-borne diseases.
Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands
This month we remember a short-lived micronation that was born as a political response to LGBTQ+ discrimination in Australia. This micronation was founded in 2004 and lasted until 2017. The territory was comprised of small and mostly uninhabited islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia.
Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin was a central figure in the civil rights movement in United States the 1950s and 1960s. He was well versed in non-violent protest and helped to shape the movement as an advisor and collaborator. Due to his homosexuality, however, he remained in the background sometimes by choice and sometimes by necessity.