Once again, I've done that thing where I'm supposed to write but my inner child throws a tantrum and refuses, so I flake out on PBP. At least this time I'm only late in getting it done, right? :)
This week's blog is about gender, when it's important, when it's not, and my perceptions on why this is. Speaking in spiritual or energetic terms, gender is a very nebulous thing. What we term 'male' energetically is the projective polarity that sits on the opposite end of the receptive polarity we term 'female.' I see it, quite literally, as the yin and yang. Two opposite parts of a whole with a drop of each other inside to keep the balance.
In some Wiccan traditions, gender matters. In these traditions it is said that only women can draw down both the moon and sun and that men simply can not invoke the Goddess. (Here, I speak in physical, genetic terms of male/female.) Other traditions teach that this division is a load of crap because both the Lord and Lady reside within, two halves making a whole. My personal belief is that gender only matters at certain times and during certain rituals, specifically, certain Rites of Passage.
Many Rites of Passage are gender neutral, such as Wiccanings, The Rite of Mystery, and Crossovers, however, many are not, such as puberty rites and your Men's and Women's Mysteries. My understanding of Rites of Passage is that these rites are a celebration of the individual reaching certain physical milestones in their life and these milestones are specifically related to ones gender and the physicality of the body.
So, what exactly, does this mean for our transgendered and gender queer friends? It means quite a bit, actually. Whether you have a uterus or a scrotum, quite literally, determines which mysteries you are a part of. For instance, it would be quite confusing to put a queer boy through a young girls puberty rite. No matter how he may try, no matter how much he may identify with the feminine, he would never be able to produce the monthly blood of a woman. Much in the same way, putting a queer girl through a male puberty rite and asking her to produce semen would create internal confusion.
It is my belief that we must first learn the mysteries of our physical body, whether or not we identify with it or want to change it. In accepting what we physically are and trying to understand it, we can come to a greater understanding of why we perceive it to be 'wrong' mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Much in the same way that the modern world requires a certain amount of counseling and living as the opposite sex before a gender transformation operation, we as pagans should do something similar spiritually.
In this exploration of the physical versus mental/spiritual/emotional it is of utmost importance to recognize that there are spiritual reasons and spiritual lessons for being gay or for being transgendered. It is not punishment. It is not the Universe being mean. To be Two-Spirited is a pretty special thing. However, to completely ignore ones physical nature and toss it to the side because it doesn't 'feel' right is to deny ones Self of that completion.
Gender only matters when it comes to the physicality of this manifestation. We have lived many lives, many incarnations, in many physical bodies. The Spirit simply is, but it must manifest itself in polarities. When we are one within ourselves, then we can become one with the Universe.
Brightest Blessings, Friends!!
This week's blog is about gender, when it's important, when it's not, and my perceptions on why this is. Speaking in spiritual or energetic terms, gender is a very nebulous thing. What we term 'male' energetically is the projective polarity that sits on the opposite end of the receptive polarity we term 'female.' I see it, quite literally, as the yin and yang. Two opposite parts of a whole with a drop of each other inside to keep the balance.
Many Rites of Passage are gender neutral, such as Wiccanings, The Rite of Mystery, and Crossovers, however, many are not, such as puberty rites and your Men's and Women's Mysteries. My understanding of Rites of Passage is that these rites are a celebration of the individual reaching certain physical milestones in their life and these milestones are specifically related to ones gender and the physicality of the body.
So, what exactly, does this mean for our transgendered and gender queer friends? It means quite a bit, actually. Whether you have a uterus or a scrotum, quite literally, determines which mysteries you are a part of. For instance, it would be quite confusing to put a queer boy through a young girls puberty rite. No matter how he may try, no matter how much he may identify with the feminine, he would never be able to produce the monthly blood of a woman. Much in the same way, putting a queer girl through a male puberty rite and asking her to produce semen would create internal confusion.
It is my belief that we must first learn the mysteries of our physical body, whether or not we identify with it or want to change it. In accepting what we physically are and trying to understand it, we can come to a greater understanding of why we perceive it to be 'wrong' mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Much in the same way that the modern world requires a certain amount of counseling and living as the opposite sex before a gender transformation operation, we as pagans should do something similar spiritually.
In this exploration of the physical versus mental/spiritual/emotional it is of utmost importance to recognize that there are spiritual reasons and spiritual lessons for being gay or for being transgendered. It is not punishment. It is not the Universe being mean. To be Two-Spirited is a pretty special thing. However, to completely ignore ones physical nature and toss it to the side because it doesn't 'feel' right is to deny ones Self of that completion.
Gender only matters when it comes to the physicality of this manifestation. We have lived many lives, many incarnations, in many physical bodies. The Spirit simply is, but it must manifest itself in polarities. When we are one within ourselves, then we can become one with the Universe.
Brightest Blessings, Friends!!
No comments:
Post a Comment