Edward Westermarck’s 1906 book The Origin and Development of Moral Ideas included a chapter presenting the world with an overview of the occurrence of homosexuality and gender fluidity around the world, showing their frequent association with the spiritual aspects of communal life, and their widespread acceptance in pre-Christian cultures as natural parts of God’s creation.Continue reading “A 1906 Book about Gay Sexuality”
Author Archives: shokti
The Third Gender
The division of gender and sexuality into neatly defined and labelled boxes by the new scientific kids on the block, psychology and sociology, from the late 19th century onwards has never sat well with some gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. There have always been queer voices in the west who objected to the limitationsContinue reading “The Third Gender”
Holy Groves and Cruising Grounds
“One of the sacred functions of the tribe of men who love men is that we are Guardians of the Trees. There is something in our nature that is like the nature of the trees themselves, for the pattern of our love creates a ladder of energy, vertical, heaven and earth connecting, just as theContinue reading “Holy Groves and Cruising Grounds”
“The Priests in some Societies, the Pariahs in Others”
The homosexual in America; a subjective approach by Donald Webster Cory (the pen name of Edward Sagarin) published 1957, recorded the development of queer culture during the early to mid twentieth century. To set the scene he offered this historical overview of homosexuality around the world, which shows that some gays in that time ofContinue reading ““The Priests in some Societies, the Pariahs in Others””
A Cosmic Dance of Oneness
Sooner or later it will come to everyone – the feeling and understanding that life is a unity, a cosmic dance of matter, mind, emotion and spirit, a journey of the soul with Divinity our goal… but at the moment the world is wallowing in and swallowing up the darkness of separation, fear and divisionContinue reading “A Cosmic Dance of Oneness”
Full Moon in Capricorn
The sensitive, emotional, homely, and yet directed and determined, rays of the Cancer Sun shine on us during the first month of Summer. This is the month that the Earth pulls us out of the fast-paced growth energies of the last half of the Spring into the Summer place of being and feeling. After aContinue reading “Full Moon in Capricorn”
50 YEARS OF GAY PRIDE
The first London Gay Pride in 1972, organised by the Gay Liberation Front was a protest “against all forms of oppression and victimisation” (GLF Manifesto) of gay people. The GLF demanded: that all discrimination against gay people, male and female, by the law, by employers, and by society at large, should end. that all peopleContinue reading “50 YEARS OF GAY PRIDE”
Carpenter’s Wisdom: Gays and God
In his 1914 book, INTERMEDIATE TYPES among PRIMITIVE FOLK: A Study in Social Evolution, English gay philosopher-poet EDWARD CARPENTER studied the connection of homosexuality with divination and religion, commenting in that “it certainly is remarkable to find – even from this slight study – how widespread the connection has been among the primitive peoples andContinue reading “Carpenter’s Wisdom: Gays and God”
Gay Liberation is Human Liberation
“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,And what I assume you shall assume,For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” Walt Whitman, Song of Myself 50 years on from the first Gay Pride March in London – that of the Gay Liberation Front on 1st July 1972, walking from Trafalgar Square toContinue reading “Gay Liberation is Human Liberation”
A 1976 Faery Ritual
From Fall 1977 edition of White Crane Journal. https://www.whitecraneinstitute.org/wcjarchives/wc01020.htm by Arthur Evans, author of Witchcraft and the Gay Counter-Culture: “The scene was San Francisco’s Sutro Park, near the beach at Land’s End. A new group I had helped create, the Faery Circle, had decided to conduct a night-time ritual here. It was held in honorContinue reading “A 1976 Faery Ritual”
Summer Solstice Call
Warriors of Light, Shamans of Shadow Witches of the Winds, Waves, Earth and Fire There are HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of us BORN AROUND THE WORLD WAKING UP TO OUR ROLES DISCOVERING THE DESTINY But there are many more struggling one foot still firmly stuck in the old paradigm of division, dis-ease and dismay….. Let’s castContinue reading “Summer Solstice Call”
Each of us is the same Me.
One day everyone will see Humanity’s destiny is Divinity… Some day soon it will become clear That the New Age is here. The illusion of separation will dissolve In knowledge of Oneness we will rapidly evolve. The spell was cast long ago: Wake up from deep sleep We’ve been treated like sheep It’s time toContinue reading “Each of us is the same Me.”
RITUAL FOR PERSONAL RESET
When life overwhelms, things get out of control Through the powers of NATURE We can find healing, balance and reset the soul: We are beings of MIND, BODY, SPIRIT and EMOTION – One With All Life at the Core of Who We Are – Peace and Health are found through Understanding, Compassion and Devotion. [ThisContinue reading “RITUAL FOR PERSONAL RESET”
The Return of the Holy Ones
When the Great Wars were over, and the population numbed by consumer dreams and TV screens, the Chosen Ones began to return. They took on a role that few would choose but they know eternity and have nothing to lose, the Holy Children were born to be gay, to give, receive and make love thisContinue reading “The Return of the Holy Ones”
In Tune with the Infinite
Ralph Waldo TRINE (1866-1958) excerpted from In Tune with the Infinite “The great central fact of the universe is that spirit of infinite life and power that is back of all, that manifests itself in and through all. This spirit of infinite life and power that is back of all is what I call God.Continue reading “In Tune with the Infinite”
the gay-wakening
Time to change the story from dark and gory to one of glory – gay love was never abominable, in fact it’s quite incredible – the ancients knew that there’s something we do which brings harmony, grace and connects people to place. Like the earth Herself, our bodies are divine, intimately, intricately designed to connectContinue reading “the gay-wakening”
THE FIRST FRENCH CANNABIS CAFE
When Napoleon Bonaparte’s French troops were occupying Egypt at the end of the 18th century they discovered cannabis, liked it and brought it back to France with them, where it’s use and effects excited both psychiatrists and artists. The war to conquer Algeria from 1830-47 brought more hashish into France. Psychiatrist Jacques-Joseph Moreau studied useContinue reading “THE FIRST FRENCH CANNABIS CAFE”
The Queer Spiritual Inheritance
When I write and speak about the commonalities between the spiritual roles often taken by same-sex loving and gender-fluid people in traditional cultures around the world and also in pre-Christian Europe I tend to feel like I am delivering ‘news’, releasing a perspective little known in the world. However it is no new discovery IContinue reading “The Queer Spiritual Inheritance”
Shokti on Shakti, the Holy Spirit
“The influence of the Holy Spirit, exquisitely called the Comforter, is a matter of actual experience, as solid a reality as that of electro-magnetism” W. C. Brownell, American art and literary critic (1851-1928) “We All Come From the Goddess” Pagan Chant The Divine Feminine – known as shakti – shekinah – holy spirit– is theContinue reading “Shokti on Shakti, the Holy Spirit”
IN BETWEEN
The world is torn apart, the world is falling apart – because the holy souls who walk between the worlds have been prevented from practising their pagan art. Once as shamans we served, or as priestesses of pleasure – we knew the body as the temple of the soul – our erotic magic has anContinue reading “IN BETWEEN”
The Big Lie
THE BIG LIE OF THE MODERN AGE IS THAT WE ARE MATERIAL BEINGS, WHO HAVE SOMEHOW EVOLVED TO BE CONSCIOUS. THE BIG TRUTH IS EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE: WE ARE CONSCIOUS BEINGS WHO HAVE EVOLVED INTO MATERIAL FORM. TO COMPLETE THE JOURNEY WE NEED TO UNITE CONSCIOUSNESS WITH THE BODY – THIS IS THE SACRED JOURNEYContinue reading “The Big Lie”
the ban on homosex was a devilish decoy
Share the joy, reveal the ploy: the ban on homosex was a devilish decoy from what the elite were up to as they plundered the earth – the world has long forgotten what gay love is worth. Plato spotted that tyrants dominate through societal division while homo love breeds brotherhood, community, trust – which isContinue reading “the ban on homosex was a devilish decoy”
THE SPIRITUAL VIEW OF GENDER
“Whether woman or man, one’s real humanity comes to light only when the feminine and masculine qualities within one are balanced.” Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi, Mother of Immortal Bliss) A few decades ago the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ was a commonly heard phrase, one rarely used now – did men and women declare a truce? MaybeContinue reading “THE SPIRITUAL VIEW OF GENDER”
Living Presence
To conjure the Living Presence In body, mind and soul – and to attune to Divine Essence – is the direct route to being whole. If we recognise the Unity underlying life’s diversity – we can live in deep community with the elements, animals, the earth. If we find the Divine Emotion concealed in everyContinue reading “Living Presence”
a multiverse of consciousness
The deep belief in materiality has driven humanity to insanity – we have to gain a sense of conscious unity in order to realise our innate divinity. The tale of conflict and woe, that divides the world into friend and foe, is the tale that has to go. Competition keeps us in the head, co-operationContinue reading “a multiverse of consciousness”
DYING AND RISING GODS
“The philosophers of the ancient world were the spiritual masters of the Inner Mysteries… At the heart of the Mysteries were myths concerning a dying and resurrecting godman, who was known by many different names. In Egypt he was Osiris, in Greece Dionysus, in Asia Minor Attis, In Syria Adonis, in Italy Bacchus, in PersiaContinue reading “DYING AND RISING GODS”
Divinity is a Queer Thing
Divinity is a Queer thing Like Sexuality it starts from within, Jesus said you have to marry the inner genders to get in to the kingdom of Heaven. Divinity doesn’t sit in clouds, it doesn’t hide in holy shrouds, it emerges in a people feeling proud despite the trials of persecution. Rising into who weContinue reading “Divinity is a Queer Thing”
Cruised by a Priest
Today I got cruised by a priest, His dog collar on full display, I thought, will he think that I worship the Beast? If I tell him that it’s to the Goddess and Pan that I pray. “Good” he said, then he did proceed to eulogise on the prospect of honouring my throbbing presence withinContinue reading “Cruised by a Priest”
Nature’s Gay Sons
The magical ones, nature’s gay sons, gentle feminine men had a role back then, in the ancient days of the Goddess Mother the first priesthood on the planet was this band of brothers. Known as Gala they sang, like the women, for the dead and tended the temples wherein lived the Godhead, serving as priestsContinue reading “Nature’s Gay Sons”
THE TRANS GOD
“…the mother of the gods … commanding him to restrain his infinity, converted him to herself.” Emperor Julian on Attis in the Discourse on the Mother of the Gods C4 The ancient Great ‘Mother of the Gods’, Cybele, was worshipped in Phrygia in the Anatolian region of modern Turkey since way back in pre-history –Continue reading “THE TRANS GOD”
THE GREAT EARTH MOTHER
Cybele – Rhea – Demeter – Gaia – Isis – Artemis – Aphrodite – Astarte – Ashtoreth – Venus: For thousands of years the Earth Mother reigned, her temples and rites had prestige and fame, She was worshipped across the ancient lands served by priestesses and queer priesthoods who also sometimes travelled in bands ofContinue reading “THE GREAT EARTH MOTHER”
1600 Years of Christian Persecution of Queers
Scotland’s government marked International Women’s Day 2022 by issuing a formal apology to the 2000 women and 500 men who were executed between the 16th and 18th centuries in a mania against witchcraft. “Addressing Scottish lawmakers, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was “injustice on a colossal scale” that was “driven at least in partContinue reading “1600 Years of Christian Persecution of Queers”
PISCES NEW MOON
The world is not OUTSIDE you though that is how it seems, the external is a mirror of all your hopes, fears and dreams, an optical illusion designed to facilitate the play of the multidimensional magician who illuminates the way for us to rediscover that we are he, it’s just our minds got led astray.Continue reading “PISCES NEW MOON”
GAYS ARE CHILDREN OF GAIA
GAYS ARE CHILDREN OF THE EARTH WE ONCE SERVED THE GREAT MOTHER AND KNEW OUR TRUE WORTH. ISHTAR, INANNA, ISIS, ARTEMIS, ASTARTE, CYBELE, DIANA, APHRODITE QUEER PRIESTS SERVED THE GODDESS, THE SUPREME DEITY. THE ANGRY MEN FOLLOWING THEIR SUFFERING GOD BROUGHT SWORDS TO OUR GROVES AND TEMPLES: THEY STRUCK DOWN OUR TREES AND BURIED OURContinue reading “GAYS ARE CHILDREN OF GAIA”
Wisdom is the Way
Somewhere inside the human psyche sits the knowledge of Source and memory of Unity: a deep programme is actually running the show as the ancients said: As Above, So Below. Mystical relationship with the flow of Creation was once kept alive in temples, at shrines: acts of sacrifice were offerings of remembrance and communion wasContinue reading “Wisdom is the Way”