Reclaiming The Pagan Cultural Narrative
The main thrust of my argument is that, as Christian Nationalism and it’s call for authoritarianism rise in the United States, the Pagan community will come under increasing attack and condemnation rooted in a lack of understanding about who and what we are. This lack of understanding is a result of us ceding the cultural narrative of what it means to be pagan, what we actually believe, and how our beliefs manifest in our community to capitalist media and assimilationist politics as a result of our inherently insular communities. To combat this we must each become more engaged and public in our communities by putting our faith into action.
New Moon Ritual: December 2023
Taproot (noun): 1) a primary root that grows vertically downward and gives off small lateral roots; 2) the central element or position in a line of growth or development.
This is the definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. This is also the word and image that came through repeatedly during this month’s ritual.
Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Tryals of Thomas Vaughan and Thomas Davis
Glory holes. Arguably one of the most recognizable cultural artifacts of contemporary gay culture due to it's relationship to cruising and anonymous sex, something that marked the reality of the gay male experience in the Western world for centuries. When loving the person you want, either romantically or physically, is against the law and can land you in prison, an asylum, or worse, you find ways to satisfy your needs as safely and discreetly as possible.
New Moon Ritual: November 2023
It was a bit of a scattered experience. At one point I woke up because it felt like someone was playing with my hair, which has never happened before in this house. I’m still on the fence if that is related to this ritual or something else entirely.
Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Christopher Isherwood
Christopher Isherwood was an author, diarist, playwright, screenwriter, and autobiographer. He is best known for A Single Man, his semi-autobiographical novel Goodbye to Berlin which inspired the musical Cabaret, and his memoir Christopher and His Kind which connected him with the ongoing gay liberation movement.
New Moon Ritual: September 2023
The lesson I took from this ritual is that practicing a liberatory spirituality means we are seeking more than just liberation for ourselves. A true liberatory spirituality also seeks liberation for those we encounter. The liberation we seek for ourselves and others is the freedom to live authentically.
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.
New Moon Ritual: August 2023
The way the moon presented to me was like I was starting into a cup of thick, viscous fluid somewhere between the color of oil and the dark crimson of blood from a deep wound. There was a physicality to this month’s divination ritual that made me think less about what the future holds and grounded me firmly in the present moment.
New Moon Ritual: July 2023
Will-o’-the-wisp. Corpse candle. Ignis fatuus.
My dreams for this new moon divination ritual were full of these ghost lights. In folklore these lights are often believed to toe the line between mischievous and malicious, luring travelers off of safe paths and into bogs, over cliffs, or into the realms of fairy.
Queer Ancestor Spotlight: UpStairs Lounge Fire
The UpStairs Lounge was a gay bar located on the second floor of a three-story building located at 604 Iberville Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. On June 24, 1973 the bar was set on fire and thirty-two people died. It remained the deadliest attack on the LGBTQ+ community until the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando in 2016.