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.
Personal: Queer Druidry
I’m a native Floridian. I will always consider myself a Florida Boy and will always love my swamps. I also grew up in the time before same-sex marriage equality, under the shadow of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, when the only thing a closeted teen like myself knew about being gay was violence and disease and isolation - because those were the only stories being told. That’s why what is currently happening in Florida is so deeply personal and deeply troubling for me.
Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet, playwright, and a major literary and political figure in LGBTQ+ history. He is best remembered for works such as The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest. His trial for gross indecency is considered one of the first “celebrity” trials.
Guest Post: Queer Ancestor Spotlight - Denis Rake
I’m excited to share my first guest Queer Ancestor Spotlight. Boudica spent time researching an amazing and almost unbelievable character from World War 2 history, Denis Rake. I hope you enjoy this deep dive into the colorful and exciting life of a British spy.
Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, also known as Doña Inés de Asbaje y Ramirez de Santillana, a Hieronymite nun who lived in colonial Mexico in the 17th century. She was a writer, philosopher, composer, and poet. She predominantly self-educated and would become on the acclaimed masters of the Spanish Golden Age, gaining the nicknames “The Tenth Muse” and “The Phoenix of America.” As a nun she focused on issues of love and feminism, which would lead to her condemnation by the Bishop of Puebla.
Guest Post: The Philosophy of “Sister Act”
I’m excited and honored to share a new guest writer for the White Rose Witching blog: Cooper, aka The Witch King. I met Cooper via Twitter last year when I purchased a natal chart reading from him. The level of depth, care, insight, and accuracy of the reading was incredible and also low-key dragging me. Since then we’ve continued to ping off of each other mainly around deep reflections on our own spiritual paths and shared rage at the state of discourse in our democracy.
I hope you all enjoy this essay examining one of my favorite movies, “Sister Act”, and how it reflects a deeper crisis of faith rocking the Catholic Church at the time this movie was produced.
Guest Post: Cultivating Hope - Lessons From Our Fungal Elders
I am excited to share another guest post from my dear friend and go-to resource for bioregional witchcraft, Doozy. For context, this guest post was written on the day the verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse case was announced.
Queer Ancestor Spotlight: El Baile De Los Cuarenta y Uno
El baile de los cuarenta y uno, or ‘The Dance of the Forty-One’, refers to a social scandal in early 20th century Mexico. As with many aspects of queer society in this era this event revolves around a police raid of a private home during a dance at which 19 men were dressed in drag. The Mexican government attempted to suppress discussion of this event since it involved elite members of society but it became heavily satirized in the Mexican press and media. Some, such as writer Carlos Monsiváis, refer to this event as the invention of homosexuality in Mexico.
Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Matthew Shepard
This month’s Queer Ancestor Spotlight is deeply personal to me. The story and legacy of Matthew Shepard’s death functions almost as bookends to my coming out process and finding affirming queer community. I was just starting to realize I was not exactly like my other male friends when Matthew’s death became a national story. I traveled the inner journey of coming out to myself while his death rippled through the politics of the United States. I came out publicly shortly before the act bearing Matthew’s name codified sexual orientation and gender identity in federal hate crime law. And I found myself on the other side of the historic legalization of same-sex marriage as a married gay man, surrounded and supported by queer community in the Washington National Cathedral as we gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of Matthew as his ashes were finally laid to rest.