Homoseksualnsot i paganizam

Jean Broc - Smrt Hijacinta (1801)

Mit grčkog boga Apolona i mladića Hijacinta govori o ljubavi među ovim dvjema muškarcima te tuzi koja je uslijedila nakon tragične nesreće. Više velikih grčkih i rimskih pisaca se prepričali ovaj mit, uključujući Ovidija, Hesioda, Pauzanija i Lucija. Htjela bih predstaviti Lucijevu verziju ovoga mita iz njegovog djela Dialogues of the Gods 16 (slob. prev. Dijalozi božanstava 16) za koju smatram da je najizravnija verzija od svih na koje sam naišla (slobodno prevodim):

Hermes: Zašto si tako tužan Apolone?

Apolon: Avaj Hermese,--moja ljubav!

Hermes: O, to je loše. Što, zar i dalje razmišljaš o onoj ljubavnoj aferi s Dafne?

Apolon: Ne. Ja žalim za svojim ljubljenim; za Lakoncem, sinom Oibalosovim.

Hermes: Za Hijacintom? On nije mrtav?

Apolon: Mrtav.

Hermes: Tko ga je usmrtio? Tko je mogao imati srca? Taj prekrasan mladić!

Apolon: To je bilo djelo vlastite mi ruke.

Hermes: Zasigurno si bio lud!

Apolon: Ne lud; bila je to nezgoda.

Hermes: O? I kako se to zbilo?

Apolon: On je učio kako bacati alku, a ja sam ju bacao s njim. Ja sam upravo svoju alku bio bacio u zrak kao i obično kada je ljubomorni Zefir (proklet bio on iznad svega! On je već dugo bio zaljubljen u Hijacinta, iako Hijacint nije htio ništa imati s njim)--Zefir je zahujao s Tajgeta i razbio alku o mladićevu glavu; krv je potekla iz rane u bujici i sve je bilo gotovo u jednom času. Moja je prva misao bila o osveti; ja sam usmjerio strijelu na Zefira i gonio ga po planini. Što se tiče mladića, pokopao sam ga u Amikli, na kobnom mjestu; i iz njegove krvi sam uzrokovao da cvijet izraste, najslađi, najljepši od svog cvijeća, u kojem su bila ispisana slova jada. --Je li moja žalost nerazborita?

Hermes: Jest, Apolone. Znao si da si podario svoje srce smrtniku: stoga ne tuguj zbog njegove smrtnosti.

Iako se ovaj mit razlikuje od autora do autora (ponekad umjesto alke bacaju disk, okolnosti mladićeve smrti se ponekad razlikuju itd., druge verzije mita možete pročitati ovdje), jedno uvijek ostaje nepromijenjeno; Apolon je uvijek zaljubljen u Hijacinta, a njihova je ljubav uvijek prikazana kao romantična i iskrena.

Ali kako se ovaj mit nadovezuje na naslov posta? Pa htjela sam početi tako da pokažem da homoseksualnost nije bila nepoznata našim antičkim precima. Naprotiv, na nju su bili naviknuti u svojim pričama, religijskom životu, ali i svakodnevnom životu. Ovo je jedan od argumenata koji mi je pao na pamet kada sam se počela zapitivati o prihvaćenosti homoseksualnosti u paganskoj zajednici. Znam podosta gej muškaraca i lezbijki, neki od kojih su i pagani. Iako sam sama heteroseksualna, isto sam suosjećala s njima kada bi iskusili bilo kakve neugodne situacije zbog svoje seksualne orijentacije, kako unutar paganske zajednice tako i van nje (što je bilo češće). Činilo mi se da je homoseksualnost bolje prihvaćena unutar paganizma nego u većini drugih zapadnjačkih religija i počela sam se misliti zbog čega je tako. Ovo, naravno, nije oduvijek istinito; paganizam je bio mnogo manje tolerantan po pitanju ovoga prije nekoliko desetljeća, ali vremena se mijenjaju (no o ovome ću više reći kasnije).

Nakon što sam sama sebi postavila ova pitanja, počela sam ih postavljati i drugim ljudima. Podijelila sam upitnik nekolicini Pagana. Zamolila sam ih da ga ispune kako bih dobila što širi uvid u situaciju i mogla pisati što je moguće objektivnije. Odgovori su varirali i zaista mi jesu dali potpuno dojam. Također, ljudi koji su volontirali odgovoriti na ova pitanja ne žive u istoj zemlji, nisu iste dobi, ne slijede isti paganski pravac, imaju različita životna iskustva i različitih su seksualnih orijentacija. Sve je ovo osiguralo široki raspon odgovora za koje sam dobila dopuštenje da ih podijelim s vama. Stoga hvala svima vama koji ste svoje dragocjeno vrijeme iskoristili za odgovaranje na moja pitanja! :D

Pitanje na koje ću pokušati dati odgovor u ovome postu jest sljedeće: je li paganizam homofobičan, ili tolerantan prema homoseksualcima? Kako bih došla do odgovora, trebala sam pitati druge i sebe nekoliko dodatnih pitanja. Ono što slijedi su rezultati mojih ispitivanja i mojih osobnih razmatranja.

(Napomene: većina ispitanika je htjela ostati anonimna pa su stoga skoro sva imena koje možete pročitati pseudonimi. Također, mnogo je odgovora originalno na engleskom, ali sam ih slobodno prevela za ovaj post. Originalne odgovore možete pročitati u engleskoj verziji ovoga posta.)

Je li homoseksualnost dovoljno dobro prihvaćena u paganizmu?

Odgovori na ovo pitanje su se jako razlikovali ovisno o osobnom iskustvu ispitanika. Tako sam dobila neke jako pozitivne, samopouzdane odgovore poput sljedećih:

"Da, u mom iskustvu, ljudi svih orijentacija su dobro prihvaćeni u paganskoj zajednici." - Rational Witch (slob. prev. s engleskog)

"Mislim da je. Nisam se sreo sa nekom magijskom/okultnom grupom koja bi seksualna orijentacija navela kao uvjet za učlanjenje ili praksu. Ali opet, to je moje iskustvo heteroseksualca. Možda bi na ovo pitanje jasnije odgovorio netko tko je homoseksualac." - Baphomet

Ali većina odgovora je ipak bila višestrana:

"Mislim da je većinom prihvaćena, ali ne dovoljno. Postoje krugovi koji ne prihvaćaju homoseksualnost, ili samo tvrde da prihvaćaju, ali vam ne omogućuju pristup krugu ako ste gej. (Jednako kao što postoje neke skupine koje ne prihvaćaju heteroseksualne ljude neovisno o njihovim uvjerenjima)." - Alberica (slob. prev. s engleskog)

"Smatram da je homoseksualnost jako prihvaćena u paganizmu, ali kao što je slučaj i s razinom prihvaćenosti na državnoj razini, vjerojatno bi mogla biti i više prihvaćena. Mnogo je institucionaliziranog heteroseksizma u svijetu i nije drukčije u paganskoj zajednici. Zanimljivo je da postoje knjige koje su izričito orijentirane na istospolne ljude. Gay Witchcraft od Christophera Penczaka je jedan primjer." - Kel (slob. prev. s engleskog)

"U mom osobnom iskustvu je jako miješano. 

S jedne strane možete vidjeti da nove prakse niču te da su zaista otvorene po pitanju raznih orijentacija i ekspresija roda...

Međutim, s druge strane, još možete vidjeti mnoštvo problema unutar paganizma kod prihvaćanja pripadnika "Queer" zajednice - pogotovo u tradicijama koje su fokusirane na rodnu i muško-žensku binarnost. Bio je jedan post na nekom blogu (ali da me ubijete se ne mogu sjetiti gdje, bilo je to davno) gdje je autor(ica) pričao/la o svojim iskustvima s kovenom koji je bio zasnovan na muško-ženskom radu u parovima neovisno o njihovoj seksualnoj orijentaciji, spolu, ili latentnoj energiji pojedinaca. Također sam se susretala s grupama koje su se sastojale samo od žena, a koje su odbijale prihvaćati lezbijke u trupu zbog kojih god razloga.

Dakle, mislim da je miješano. Ali također mislim da se situacija poboljšava - polagano - kako sve veći broj ljudi sve otvorenije istražuje koncepte neheteroseksualnih orijentacija i ne "cisrodnih" izraza, ono postaje sve otvorenije i prihvaćenije u općem društvu." - Sandra (slob. prev. s engleskog)

Napomena: pojam "cisrodan/na" nije prihvaćen u hrvatskom jeziku, ali je najbolji prijevod kojeg sam mogla smisliti za engleski pojam cisgender. Više o značenju riječi možete pročitati Zagreb pridea.

Nakon što sam dobila sve ove pozitivne odgovore, zaključila sam da svi ovi pojedinci zaista vjeruju da bi homoseksualnost trebala biti prihvaćena. Kada sam ih detaljnije pitala o ovome, dobila sam potvrdu svojih pretpostavki. Posebno mi se dopao sljedeći odgovor:

"Da, čvrsto vjerujem da bi ono trebalo biti prihvaćeno od strane svih, a pogotovo pagana. Mnogi od nas žive po Vještičjoj pouci: "Ako ne naudite nikome, činite vama po volji". Mislim da proganjanje nekog samo zbog njihove seksualnosti, rase, spola, ili određenih vjerovanja je oblik štete i odbijam sudjelovati u tome. Vjerujem da mi kao mlada vjera imamo obvezu učiti od prošlih pogrešaka, uključujući od greške diskriminacije." - Rational Witch (slob. prev. s engleskog)

Većina odgovora stavlja naglasak na ovu obvezu koju imamo prema drugim ljudskim bićima te na osnovni ljudski moral i empatiju. Diskriminacije jest oblik štete i ja se kao wiccanka u potpunosti slažem s gornjim odgovorom. Izgleda da su moderni pagani, barem koliko sam ja saznala, jako tolerantni o drugim seksualnostima. No morala sam se zapitati zbog čega je tako.

Rastuća tolerancija

Pagani (odnosno neopagani) nisu oduvijek tolerirali homoseksualnost, ali izgleda da se nešto promijenilo.

Kako bih ovo objasnila, moram reći par riječi o Geraldu Gardneru. Ovoga se čovjeka često naziva "ocem wicce". On zaista jest oblikovao ovaj duhovni put u mnogo pogleda, ali on nipošto nije jedini osnivač, mesija, ili išta slično tome. Na njega se gleda kao na važnu ličnost u prošlosti wicce te kao na važnog pisca u ovom području, ali se ne slažu svi s njegovim stavovima. U svom djelu Witchcraft Today (str. 42 i 46 u ovome pdfu) ona kaže sljedeće:

"The witches tell me: 'The law always has been that power must be passed from man to woman or from woman to man, the only exception being when a mother initiates her daughter or a father his son, because they are part of themselves.' (The reason is that great love is apt to occur between people who go through the rites together.)

They go on to say: 'The Templars broke this age-old rule and passed the power from man to man: this led to sin and in so doing it brought about their downfall'. " - str. 42

"Witches teach that to work magic you must start with a couple, a male and a female intelligence being necessary, and they must be in sympathy with each other; and they find that in practice they become fond of each other. Sometimes it is undesirable that they should fall in love. Witches have methods by which they try to prevent this, but they are not always successful. For this reason, they say, the goddess has strictly forbidden a man to be initiated by or to work with a man, or a woman to be initiated by or to work with a woman, the only exceptions being that a father may initiate his son and a mother her daughter, as said above; and the curse of the goddess may be on any who break this law. They think that the Templars broke this law and worked magic, man with man, without knowing the way to prevent love; so they sinned, and the curse of the goddess came upon them." - str. 46

Slobodno prevedeno:

Vještice mi kažu: "Zakon je oduvijek bio da se ovlaštenje treba prenositi s muškarca na ženu i sa žene na muškarca. Jedina prihvaćena iznimka je kada majka inicira svoju kćer, ili otac svog sina jer su oni dio jedni drugih." (Razlog je taj što postoji sklonost da se jaka ljubav razvije među ljudima koji prolaze kroz rituale zajedno.)

One nastavljaju: "Templari su prekršili ovo pradavno pravilo i prenosili moć s muškarca na muškarca: ovo ih je odvelo u grijeh i samim time uzrokovalo njihovu propast" - str. 42

Vještice podučavaju da je potrebno početi s parom kako bi se radila magija; da je potrebna muška i ženska inteligencija te da jedno drugome moraju biti naklonjeni; i oni uvide da tijekom prakse postaju zaljubljeni jedno u drugo. Ponekad je nepoželjno da se zaljube. Vještice imaju metode kojima pokušavaju ovo spriječiti, ali one nisu uvijek uspješne. Zbog ovoga je, kako kažu, božica strogo zabranila da muškarac bude iniciran, ili da radi s drugim muškarcem, ili da žena bude inicirana ili da radi s drugom ženom. Jedine iznimke u ovome su da otac može inicirati svog sina, a majka svoju kćer, kako je rečeno i poviše; i prokletstvo božice će pasti na bilo koga tko prekrši ovaj zakon. Oni misli da su templari prekršili ovaj zakon i radili magiju muškarac s muškarcem, neznajući metode kojima se može spriječiti ljubav; tako su zgriješili, i prokletstvo božice ih je snašlo. - str. 46

Treba se ipak uzeti u obzir da su ovi citati izvađeni i konteksta jer su izvađeni iz poglavlja koje govori o progonstvu Templara od strane katoličke crkve. Neki tvrde da ovi citati nisu Gardnerovi osobni stavovi o zadanoj temi upravo zbog ovoga, ali se meni čine da jesu. On jasno kaže da su mu "vještice rekle" nešto te da "vještice podučavaju" to. Također je vrlo lako razlikovati dijelove ovog poglavlja koji govore o stavovima katoličke crkve od onih koji objašnjavaju Gardnerove stavove. Ako pročitate sami ove odlomke, shvatit ćete o čemu pričam.

Sve u svemu, većina tradicionalista (tradicionalnih wiccana) se slaže s ovim tvrdnjama. Ovo uključuje stroge sljedbenike gardnerijevske tradicije. Gotovo je pravilo da gardnerovci moraju raditi u muško-ženskim parovima. Što se tiče njihovog prihvaćanja homoseksualaca u svoje kovene, zaista ne mogu govoriti iz osobnog iskustva, ali pretpostavljam da postoje neke liberalnije skupine čak i u ovom tradicionalnom krugu ljudi. Ipak, Gardnerov mogući stav o neheteroseksualnim orijentacijama se u prošlosti dovodio u pitanje zbog njegovog odnosa s Aleisterom Crowleyem koji je bio otvoreno biseksualan. Crowley je inicirao Gardnera u O.T.O. ali su se oni poznavali i privatno...Gardner je naprosto morao znati za ovo. Ali kada bi mrtvi govorio...

Ipak, samo zato što je Gardner bio protiv homoseksualnosti ne znači da svi wiccani ili pagani jesu ili bi opće trebali biti. Ova anti-gej faza u povijesti wicce je upravo to - faza. Ona je trajala jako kratko i završila s osnutkom aleksandrijevske tradicije. Alex Sanders, osnivač ove denominacije wicce je bio biseksualan. Koliko je meni poznato, on zaista nije forsirao rad u muško-ženskim parovima na svojim ritualima. Ipak, June Johns u svom djelu Alex Sanders the King of the Witches objašnjava da Sanders nije mogao shvatiti kako se homoseksualnost može uklopiti u wiccansku ritualnu praksu. Kako ona kaže (str. 60):

"'Initiate me,' urged his companion. 'Then you would have a coven of two, and I promise I shall do all you ask of me.' Alex explained that no male witch may initiate another male, nor a female a female. The natural laws of witchcraft, which regard homosexuality as a denial of the basic tenet of fertility, insist on man always being paired with woman, especially in a ceremony as personal as initiation."

Slobodno prevedeno:

"Iniciraj me," navaljivao je prijatelj. "Onda bi imao koven od dvoje, a ja obećavam da ću raditi sve što zatražiš od mene." Alex je objasnio da nijedna muška vještice ne može inicirati drugog muškarca, niti žena može ženu. Prirodni zakoni vještičarstva, koji smatraju da je homoseksualnost odbijanje osnovnih pravila plodnosti, inzistiraju  da muškarac uvijek bude sparen sa ženom, pogotovo u ceremoniji koja je toliko osobna kao inicijacija.

Usprkos ovoj izjavi, vjerujem da je Sanders označio početak prihvaćanja homoseksualnosti u wiccanskoj zajednici.

Htjela bih citirati dio zanimljivog članka kojeg sam našla na ovu temu. On nosi naziv "Wicked? Homophobic wizards, gay witches and the fight for acceptance in the Wicca community". Jedna od ljudi koji su intervjuirani u njemu je divna žena po imenu Morgana Sythove (zapravo ju citiraju u članku!). Ali ću pustiti izvadak da govori za sebe:

"I’m becoming disillusioned with my older friends – traditional Wiccans that marginalise the gay community,” she [Morgana] declares, exasperated yet resolute. . . As a religion of self-acceptance, Sythove explains, when Wicca emerged in the early 60s and 70s, it went hand in hand with homosexuality. “Much like the stigma against homosexuality, many people, despite the fact that witchcraft has been against the law since 1735, saw paganism as diabolical. Wicca provided the community and acceptance for gay people that was lacking in greater society."

Slobodno prevedeno:

"Postajem razočarana u svoje starije prijatelje - tradicionalne wiccane koji marginaliziraju gej zajednicu," kaže Morgana, bijesna, ali odvažna (...) Sythove objašnjava da je wicca, kada je izniknula u 60ima i 70ima, kao religija samoprihvaćanja išla ruku pod ruku s homoseksualnošću. "Kao što je slučaj sa stigmom homoseksualnosti, mnogi ljudi, usprkos činjenici da je vještičarstvo bilo protuzakonito od 1735. godine, gledalo na paganizam kao na nešto đavolsko. Wicca je pružila društvu prihvaćanje gej ljudi koje je nedostajalo u širem društvu."

Šezdesete godine su označile početak Pokreta za oslobođenje homoseksualaca (eng. Gay Liberation Movement). Društvo tada nije baš bilo tolerantno prema gejevima, ali izgleda da su neki od njih pronašli utočište u paganizmu. Od tada nadalje, gejevi su počeli dobivati građanska prava po cijelom svijetu, doživljavati moralne pobjede, a time i dobivati na samopouzdanju (naravno, ovo je sve generalizirano). Broj homoseksualnih pagana je, čini se, porastao od tada. Zapravo, možda i nije narastao; možda se naprosto radi o tome da je veći broj ljudi bio voljan "izaći iz ormara"  zahvaljujući rastućoj toleranciji prema homoseksualnosti. Ne može se procijeniti je li postojao jednak broj homoseksualaca u paganskoj zajednici u 50ima. Samo što su 50e bila drukčije vrijeme koje je bilo mnogo manje tolerantno prema homoseksualcima pa su se ljudi bojali priznati svoju seksualnost. Ovo su 60e znatno promijenile.

Kada smo već na temi "izlaženja iz ormara", vjerujem da je ovo važna dodirna točka paganizma i homoseksualnosti. Engleski izraz "to come out of the closet" označava izlaženje iz skrovišta. Ovo je skrovište "gej ormar" za homoseksualce, a "vještičji ormar" (ili ormar za metle) za vještice i pagane. Pripadnici obaju skupina su se susretali s istim problemima kada su htjeli priznati svoja uvjerenja/seksualnost svojim prijateljima, suradnicima, ili obitelji. Sjećam se da sam se ja premišljala cijelu vječnost o tome kako objasniti svojim roditeljima da sam paganka. Također znam da je ovo bio veliki problem gotovo svim mojim gej prijateljima kada je došao trenutak da svojim roditeljima priznaju svoju seksualnost. Ovo je moguće jedan od razloga zbog kojih paganizam, usudila bih se reći, "privlači" homoseksualce.

Ali tu je i činjenica da paganizam ne kaže da ćete završiti u paklu ako imate istospolnog partnera. Uz to, paganizam zrači nekakvom aurom prihvaćanja koja privlači mnoštvo različitih ljudi. Lijepo sam se nasmijala kada sam pročitala Sandrino mišljenje o ovome:

"...čini se da paganizam zrači nekakvom energijom koja je "za sve čudake" (u osnovi za sve ljude koje opće društvo teže prihvaća, koji se osjećaju marginalizirani od strane društva koje je većinom "cisseksualno", heteroseksualno i bijelo), pa je velika vjerojatnost da je upravo to pridonijelo našem rastu i razvoju." (slob. prev. s engleskog)

Mislim da je potrebno istaknuti za izraze "za sve čudake" zaista ne znači ništa loše. Meni se ovaj izraz čak činio jako toplim i simpatičnim, ali nadasve iskrenim. Ovako većina mojih nepaganskih prijatelja misli o paganizmu, a vjeruje da svi mi smatramo da je ovo istina barem donekle...samo što to zvuči čudno kada se kaže na glas. Ali naše (ne)prihvaćanje ove činjenice ne mijenja njezinu istinitost.

Ali što je sa svim onim paganima koji nisu toliko tolerantni prema homoseksualnosti? Sve što sam do sada govorila je jako generalno, ali postoje pojedinci koji se ne bi složili ni s jednom od dosadašnjih tvrdnji  i koje bi se moglo nazvati homofobičnima. Naravno, svatko ima pravo na svoje mišljenje, a tvrditi da svi pagani prihvaćaju homoseksualnost bi bila predrasuda. Kao što je slučaj s bilo kojom skupinom ljudi (bila religijska ili ne), postoje nesuglasice i osobni stavovi. Vrijeme je da sada pogledamo i njih.

(Napomena: o naslovima "anti-gej" i "pro-gej" se može diskutirati, ali sam sigurna da razumijete što želim reći s njima. Poanta je da služe svrsi ovoga posta)

Anti-gej argumenti

Kada sam počela razmišljati o ovoj temi, prvo sam se zapitala jesam li kojim slučajem malo homofobična. Istraživanje koje sam od tada podnijela mi je zaista otvorilo oči. Naime, pitanje s kojim sam bila suočena na početku istraživanja je bilo kako se homoseksualnost može uklopiti u duhovni put koji je baziran na plodnosti (između ostalog). U moju obranu, ja obično asociram muško-ženske polarnosti kada pomislim na plodnost, ali ovo ne vrijedi za svakoga. Nisam tada shvaćala kako homoseksualci mogu izbalansirati muške i ženske polarnosti u sebi, ili čak kako se snalaze u paganskim vjerovanjima. Ali sam na svoje veliko zadovoljstvo saznala da homoseksualcima navedeno ne predstavlja nikakav problem. 

Bez obzira na ovo, mnoštvo pagana će iskoristiti ovu ideju "nekompatibilnost" muško-ženskih polariteta i homoseksualnosti za jedan od svojih anti-gej argumenata. U prije spomenutom članku, Kevin Carlyon tvrdi da homoseksualnosti nije mjesto u vjeri koja je bazirana na plodnosti. Koliko god da me je sljedeća izjava nasmijala, ipak ju smatram jako uvredljivom. On kaže sljedeće: "Energy can’t really be raised by a man sticking his willy up someone else’s bum. Like terminals on a battery, if two of the same polarity are touched together the power supply is short-circuited rather than energised". (Slobodno prevedeno: Energiju se ne može baš podignuti tako da muškarac gura svog pišu u tuđu guzicu. Kao što je slučaj s krajevima baterija, ako se dva istog polariteta spoje, dogodi se kratki spoj umjesto da nastane energija). Kada on to tako sroči, može se činiti logičnim, ali sam pitala više homoseksualaca njihovo mišljenje o ovoj temi i moram priznati da su mi njihovi argumenti bilo mnogo uvjerljiviji (no pustit ću vas da sami razvijete svoje mišljenje).

No vratimo se na glavnu temu. Neki će tvrditi da ova muško-ženska polarnost tvori ključni dio paganizma. Dokaz ovoga je važnost Moćnog obreda (stvarni/metaforički čin seksualnog sjedinjenja Boga i Božice - u osnovi je heteroseksualan) u tradicijama poput wicce. U obranu ovoga može stati i sama percepcija glavnih božanstava u paganizmu kao muškarca i žene (Bog i Božica). Ako se doslovno uzme ove ideje i usporedi ih se sa svjetovnim stanjima, onda se homoseksualnost ne može tako lako uklopiti u paganizam. Kada sam pitala jednog od volontera misli li da su homoseksualnost i paganska vjerovanja i principi kompatibilni (posebno kada je u pitanju odnos muških i  ženskih polariteta), njegov argument je sadržavao upravo poviše navedene argumente:

"Mislim da se [homoseksualnost] kosi s načelima koje ja upotrebljavam u praksi (načela polarnosti, muško/žensko, yin/yang, pasivno/aktivno, bogovi/božice). U većini stvari to nije problem no u nekim ritualima (onima seksualne prirode) ne znam kako bi se mogle uklopiti osobe istog spola. I bez obzira koliko šovinistički zvučao čini mi se da bi lakše to išlo dvjema ženama nego muškarcima zbog tipa energije koje predstavljaju. Kako [muškarac] može biti usuglašen s energijom Boginje ako tu energiju nije konkretno iskusio. Možda to nije prepreka kada se prizivaju samo muške energije, npr. energije Marsa ali kada se prizivaju polarnosti mislim da je to problem. No to ne znači da ne postoji praksa koja bi mogla prevladati i tu prepreku samo što ja za takvu praksu još nisam čuo." - Baphomet

Smatram da je problem s ovakvim načinom gledanja na situaciju to što je ograničen. Božansko se ne može usporediti sa svjetovnim u smislu seksualnosti ili spola; ono nadmašuje takva trivijalna pitanja. Kako je Morgana Sythove rekla: "God and Goddesses are not human! They exist within the realm of Spirit, they are archetypes, personifications of the great abstract universal forces. The law of polarity should mean anything that is a polarity: hot and cold, up and down" (Slobodno prevedeno: Bog i Božica nisu ljudi! Oni postoji u kraljevstvu Duhovnog, oni su arhetipovi, personifikacije velikih apstraktnih sila univerzuma. Zakon polariteta bi se trebao odnositi na sve što je polaritet: vruće i hladno, gore i dolje). Možda vas ovo malo potakne na razmišljanje. :)

Iskreno, nisam uspjela naći nijedan drugi argument protiv homoseksualnosti (u ovom kontekstu) izuzev ovoga. Da zaključim ovaj dio posta, neki smatraju da se homoseksualnost kosi s paganskim uvjerenjima jer je paganizam zasnovan na štovanju dualnosti u prirodi (koju se obično gleda u smislu muškog i ženskog). Ako se pojam "polaritet" uzme da označava samo muško-ženske polaritete, onda ovo može uzrokovati probleme za naše homoseksualne braće i sestara. Ali postoji još mnogo stavovi koje se treba iznijeti.

Pro-gej argumenti

Čini mi se da unutar paganske zajednice postoji mnogo više pro-gej nego anti-gej argumenata. Jako zanimljiv stav, koji se veže uz sam početak ovog posta, je sljedeći:

"Muško-ženski polaritet je jako obuhvaćen u paganizmu, najviše u wicci i vjerama koje su slične njoj. Ipak, ne spada svatko u mušku ili žensku kategoriju.

Pa, ja smatram da polarnost prožima svaki aspekt našeg života i ne samo religijsku stranu.  Često se čuje i govori o "svećeniku" i "svećenici", ali postoji mnoštvo ljudi koji se ne identificiraju isključivo kao muškarci, ili kao žene, a kako će se oni nazivati ako su dio takve tradicije? Ovo se također događa i u svakodnevnom životu. Mnogo puta, kada netko upoznaje istospolni par, osoba pita tko igra mušku, a tko žensku ulogu u vezi. To pokazuje takvo nepoštivanje! Ali za većinu ljudi TREBA postojati netko tko će igrati ulogu muškaraca i ulogu žene, jer im inače ništa nema smisla. Isto je s idejom Boga/Božice. Postoje božanstva koja ne spadaju u nijednu kategoriju. Postoje božanstva koja pripadaju dvama spolovima istovremeno, ali i božanstava koji su bespolna. Ali će ih ljudi ipak svrstavati u dihotomiju "bog/božica", kao da je to jedina opcija koja postoji. Možda je lakše shvatiti stvari koje dolaze u paru...ne znam. Poput "dobro/loše", "crno/bijelo", "dan/noć" itd., ali ljudi ne shvaćaju da postoje druge opcije između ovih krajnosti i da ne treba sve spadati u neki ekstrem." - Alberica (slob. prev. s engleskog)

Ovakvo se razmišljanje i dalje vrti oko pitanja muško-ženskog polariteta. Zaista ne razmišljamo o tome, ali nije sve crno ili bijelo, ili naprosto žensko ili muško. Postoje muškarci s mnoštvom "ženskih" kvaliteta, ali i žene s mnoštvom "muških" kvaliteta. Dakle nitko nije u potpunosti jedno, ili drugo. Ovo je jedan mogući pro-gej argument.

Ali što bi se dogodilo kada bismo u potpunosti zanemarili muško-žensku polarnost? Što ako kažemo da priroda nije sačinjena samo od muško-ženske binarnosti te da paganizam, iako slavi polarnost, ne slavi ovu konkretnu polarnost već polarnost uopće? Evo još nekoliko stavova koji zastupaju upravo ovakav stav:

"Naši antički preci su vjerovali u dualnost: u muško-žensku polarnost ako se može tako reći, ali ja smatram da je to više bilo vjerovanje u cjelovitost postojanja nego u konkretnu polarnost, ako to ima smisla. Kada govorim o cjelovitosti postojanja, najlakši način da ovo objasnim je da ovu ideju usporedim sa svojim kršćanskim odgojem.

Kada sam odrastala sam bila odgajana da mislim da smo mi, kao ljudi, stvoreni nesavršeni; da smo rođeni u ovaj svijet kao grešnici pa trebamo provesti cijeli svoj život težeći nekom savršenstvu koje nikada nećemo dostići. Molimo se za oprost za naše grijehe koji mogu biti bilo što; od krivog odijevanja, krivog razmišljanja, krivog govorenja, ili naprosto da smo u temelju krivi (tj. gej). Upravo zato što smo u osnovi pogrešni i grešni trebamo spasitelja koji će govoriti u naše ime kako ne bismo bili osuđeni na mjesto mučenja za cijelu vječnost.

Po ovome u osnovi nismo potpuna bića, jer smo grešni i jer trebamo biti spašeni.

Drevni su nam preci vjerovali u i voljeli simetriju i ravnotežu. Postojala je teorija, ili ideja (a neki izvori kažu da je istinita, drugi da nije, ali to ovisi o tome što čitate) koja kaže da postoje "Dvije zemlje". Postoji ova zemlja i još jedna u kojoj naš u potpunosti suprotni dvojnik živi i doživljava sve što mi proživljavamo, uključujući i iste procese rođenja i smrti. Možda ovdje živimo život u kojemu smo "nesavršeni" i imamo loše dane, ili trenutke ili nemamo nužno sve (npr. ne ide nam matematika), ali to je sve u redu jer naš dvojnik posjeduje sve te stvari koje nama nedostaju, a mi imamo sve ono što njemu/njoj nedostaje.

U ovom smo smislu cjelovita bića koja žive na ovoj planeti. Mi, kao ljudi, sadržimo sve osobine, ali izražavamo samo neke. Možemo dobiti, ili izgubiti karakteristike tijekom vremena, ali su one i dalje tu. Ne postoji razlog da budemo spašeni, ili tražimo oprost od Bogova jer su nas Oni stvorili kao potpuna bića. Možemo pogriješiti, može nam zatrebati oprost, ali ne od Bogova već od ljudi koje smo povrijedili ovdje na Zemlji.

Ne težimo stalno savršenstvu koje ne možemo dostići jer već jesmo savršeni. A onda kada budemo mogli prihvatiti svoju savršenost možemo početi više raditi na pomaganju drugima i stvaranju boljeg svijeta." - Kel (slob. prev. s engleskog)

"Nema te točke u kojoj bi se paganska načela i homoseksualnost trebali kositi, niti se po mom mišljenju kose. Naravno, svugdje postoje prototipovi "majke" i "oca" ali kao i sve ostalo to su samo simboli ljubavnika/voljenih a ako iza njih stoje dva muškarca ili dvije žene to je sasvim u redu jer nije ljubav zbog toga manja niti sramotna kakvom se na žalost smatra." - Soror Morgan

Očito je da svi pagani ne gledaju na prirodu kao na dualnost muškog i ženskog principa. Većina je zapravo svjesna činjenice da homoseksualnost postoji u prirodi jednako kao što postoji i heteroseksualnost.

"Muško-ženska polarnost je obrazac Prirode (iako postoji mnoštvo homoseksualnih/ aseksualnih/hermafroditnih životinja uz to), a je li određena osoba orijentirana tako nema veze s njihovom sposobnošću štovanja Božice i Boga. Ako netko odluči slijediti dijanski pravac, ili neki drugi jednospolni oblik vjerovanja, to je ok po meni. Svi smo mi spojeni s Božanskim, bez obzira kako odlučimo štovati." - Rational Witch (slob. prev. s engleskog)

Ako se vratimo na etimologiju riječi "pagan", trebamo istaknuti izvornu povezanost sa selom i tlom. Ne postoje tu nikakve implikacije muško-ženskih polarnosti već samo štovanje zemlje i preko nje prirode u cijelosti. Očito je da se ne vrti sve u paganizmu oko plodnosti (iako je ovo jako važan aspekt ove vjere). Ako pogledamo paganizam iz ove perspektive i kažemo da se zasniva na štovanju cijele prirode, onda trebamo priznavati ne samo njezine "heteroseksualne" dijelove nego i one "svih drugih seksualnosti". Naime, znanstvena istraživanja su dokazala da više stotina vrsta životinja prakticira neku vrstu homoseksualnih aktivnosti. A ovo je samo početak. Što je sa svim životinjama koje se razmnožavaju aseksualno? Ili s brojem hermafroditnih životinja? Sve ono što mi smatramo problematičnim kod ljudi je očito i normalno kod životinja (i da, to uključuje sisavce). Ako vam se da nešto više čitati o ovome, možete pogledati web stranice časopisa Yale Scientific i newsmedical.net (iako ćete sigurno moći pronaći još mnogo toga na internetu te u lokalnim knjižnicama).

Još jedan argument kojeg trebam spomenuti ovdje je drukčije razumijevanje pojmova "rod" (eng. gender) i "spol" (eng. sex) u paganizmu (spol=muškarac/žena; rod=muško/žensko; više možete saznati ovdje). Uobičajena pretpostavka jest da su muškarci muževni, a žene ženstvene, ali ovo nije uvijek istina u stvarnosti. Pagani vjeruju da spol i rod nisu nužno povezani jedni s drugim. Kao što sam već rekla, neki muškarci mogu biti jako ženstveni, a neke žene muževne; to ovisi o ravnoteži energija i kvaliteta u osobi. Ne postoji dobra ili loša ravnoteža; svaki pojedinac ima vlastitu ravnotežu koja je savršena za njega/nju jer ih ona čini onakvima kakvi jesu. Kao što je Kel jako lijepo rekla, svi smo mi stvoreni savršeni na svoj način...samo to trebamo osvijestiti.

Dakle svaka osoba sadrži u sebi muške i ženske kvalitete neovisno o svom spolu. Nitko nije u potpunosti muškarac, ili u potpunosti žena. U ovom se smislu na homoseksualnost može gledati kao naginjanje prema onom rodu koje se ne smatra "normalnim" (od strane društva) s obzirom na spol određene osobe (npr. žena bi trebala biti ženstvena po društvu, ali su mnoge lezbijke muževne). Naravno, ovo može biti slučaj s bilo kojom osobom bez obzira na njihovu seksualnu orijentaciju. No, ovaj je primjer samo služio ilustriranja ove zamisli pa se ispričavam na generalizaciji.

Ako malo bolje promislimo o ovome, pojavi se još jedno pitanje. Zašto se onda gleda na Boga i Božicu isključivo kao na muškarca i ženu? Oboje od njih imaju različite kvalitete koje su različito izbalansirane. Na primjer, neki će smatrati Rogatog Boga muževnijim od Zelenog Čovjeka (makar je i ovo individualno). Kao što je slučaj i s božanstvima i s ljudima, priroda sama po sebi nije isključivo ženstvena, ili muževna. Ove karakteristike jednostavno prodiru jedne u drugu, a ja smatram da bi bilo najbolje da ovo prihvatimo jer bi nam to omogućilo (i olakšalo) da prihvatimo kako sebe, tako i sve one oko nas.

Većina pagana je u potrazi za "savršenim" balansom između muškog i ženskog jer smatraju da je ovo točka u kojoj mogu biti jednako povezani i s Bogom i s Božicom. Ovo je jako teško postići. Većina žena je na kraju više povezana s Božicom, a većina muškaraca s Bogom. Ako ništa drugo, svakog pojedinca se potiče na istraživanje "suprotnog" roda kako bi pokušao ove dvije strane dovesti u ravnotežu. Tako se muškarce potiče da istraže svoju žensku stranu kako bi bolje razumjeli Božicu, žene, svoje emocije i tako dalje. Suprotno se može reći za većinu homoseksualaca. Oni su većinom već povezani sa svojim "suprotnim spolom" i već su zapravo postigli duboku povezanost s Bogom/Božicom (ili zapravo s oboje). Ovaj se argument često spominje kada se rasprava slična ovoj odvija jer je u potpunosti naklonjen homoseksualcima. 

Ako zaista želimo sažeti cijelu ovu diskusiju o polaritetima, spolovima i rodovima, onda vjeruje da se može reći da u fokusu pažnje ne treba biti polaritet muško/žensko niti muževno/ženstveno već polaritet receptivnosti i projektivnosti. Ovo je opet vrlo individualno. Nisu ni svi muškarci projektivni, a nisu ni sve žene receptivne u smislu energija i osobnosti. Najvažnije je, barem u paganskoj praksi, da su projektivnost i receptivnost izbalansirani. Ako dvoje ljudi radi u paru, najbolje je ako je jedna osoba projektivna, a druga receptivna (generalno govoreći jer ovo nužno ne vrijedi za sve ciljeve) jer će se tako postići konačna ravnoteža (pošto su oba polariteta prisutna). A hoće li obje ove osobe biti muškarci, ili žene, ili će pak biti različitog spola je u potpunosti irelevantno.

Zašto ja vjerujem da bi pagani trebali biti tolerantni

Kao što ste mogli zaključiti, ja sam wiccanka. Iako je ono što slijedi vjerojatno najčešće citirana izjava za ovu temu (barem za ovu "pro-gej" stranu), moram to istaknuti. Citat na kojeg mislim je dio Vodstva Božice (u osnovi wiccanski tekst) i glasi:

"Let my worship be within the heart that rejoiceth; for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals."

U prijevodu:

"Neka moje štovanje bude u srcu koje slavi; jer vidite, sva djela ljubavi i užitka su moji rituali."

Vodstvo samo po sebi, a što je još važnije i ovaj citat su prihvaćeni od strane većine pagana (uključujući i ne-wiccane). Ali što spada u "SVA djela ljubavi i užitka"? Ovaj izvadak u suštini znači da bilo koji čin, emocija, ili bilo koja pozitivna misao koja dijeli ljubav i širi zadovoljstvo (a ne mržnju!) je dobrodošla i potaknuta. Ako je ovaj čin/emocija homoseksualna po društvenim standardima, neka je, dok god ne šteti nikome, odnosno dok god dijeli isključivo ljubav i zadovoljstvo. Ovo se ne odnosi samo na seksualnu ljubav i zadovoljstvo, nego i na emocionalnu, duhovnu i bilo koju drugu vrstu koje se možete sjetiti.

Po mome mišljenju, bilo koji  paganin koji istinski želi slijediti neki paganski duhovni put treba prihvatiti prirodu u njezinoj cijelosti, čak i one dijelove s kojima se ne osjeća ugodno, ili koji se doimaju nelogičnima ponekad. Prirodi postoji takva kakva jest s razlogom i sve unutar nje je savršeno uravnoteženo, uključujući i ljude. Jedino međusobna mržnja, netrpeljivost, pohlepa i izrabljivanje mogu poremetiti ovu ravnotežu.

Možda ću sada zvučati kao hipi (iako osobno nemam ništa protiv toga), ali smatram da djela mržnje ne mogu donijeti ništa dobro. Mogu se samo nadati da će ljudi (pagani i nepagani) shvatiti ovo prije nego što sve od k vragu. 

Nadam se da ste uživali u ovom postu i da sam vas potaknula na razmišljanje. :)

Do sljedećeg puta,

vaša Witch's Cat

Homosexuality and Paganism

Jean Broc - The Death of Hyacinth (1801)

The myth of the Greek god Apollo and the young Hyacinth speaks of the love between these two men and the sadness which follows after a tragic accident. Several great Roman and Greek writers retold this myth, including Ovid, Hesiod, Pausanias and Lucian. I would like to present Lucian's version of this myth from his work Dialogues of the Gods 16 which I think is the most straight-forward of the versions I found:

"Hermes : Why so sad, Apollon?

Apollon : Alas, Hermes,--my love!

Hermes : Oh; that's bad. What, are you still brooding over that affair of Daphne?

Apollon : No. I grieve for my beloved; the Lakonian, the son of Oibalos.

Hermes : Hyakinthos? he is not dead?

Apollon : Dead.

Hermes : Who killed him? Who could have the heart? That lovely boy!

Apollon : It was the work of my own hand.

Hermes : You must have been mad!

Apollon : Not mad; it was an accident.

Hermes : Oh? and how did it happen?

Apollon : He was learning to throw the quoit, and I was throwing with him. I had just sent my quoit up into the air as usual, when jealous Zephyros (damned be he above all winds! he had long been in love with Hyakinthos, though Hyakinthos would have nothing to say to him)--Zephyros came blustering down from Taygetos, and dashed the quoit upon the child's head; blood flowed from the wound in streams, and in one moment all was over. My first thought was of revenge; I lodged an arrow in Zephyros, and pursued his flight to the mountain. As for the child, I buried him at Amyklai, on the fatal spot; and from his blood I have caused a flower to spring up, sweetest, fairest of flowers, inscribed with letters of woe.--Is my grief unreasonable?

Hermes : It is, Apollo. You knew that you had set your heart upon a mortal: grieve not then for his mortality."

Although the myth varies from author to author (the quoit is sometimes replaced by a discus, the circumstances of the youth's death may differ etc., you can read other versions here), one thing always remains the same; Apollo is always in love with Hyacinth and their love is always depicted as romantic and honest. 

But what does this myth have to do with the title of this post? Well, I wanted to begin by showing that homosexuality was not unfamiliar to the ancients. On the contrary, they were quite comfortable with it in their stories, religious life as well as their mundane lives. This was one of the arguments that came to my mind when I started asking myself about the acceptance of homosexuality in the Pagan community. I know quite a few gay men and lesbians, some of which are also Pagan. Although I myself am heterosexual, I still felt for them when they experienced unpleasant situations because of their sexuality, both inside the Pagan community but even more so outside of it. It seemed to me as though homosexuality was better accepted in Paganism than in most other western religions and I started wondering why. This, of course, wasn't always true; Paganism was much less tolerant of homosexuality a few decades ago, but times change (...I'll get to that later). 

So after I asked myself these questions, I started asking other people. I gave out a questionnaire which I asked my fellow Pagans to fill out for me in an attempt to get a broader view of the situation and to be able to write as objectively as possible. The answers varied and really did give me the full picture. Also, the people that volunteered to answer the questions don't come from the same country, they aren't the same age, they follow different Pagan paths, come from different backgrounds and are of different sexualities. All of this ensured a wide range of answers which I was given permission to share with you. So thanks to all of you who took the time to write down your answers! :D

The question which I will attempt to answer in this post is the following: Is Paganism gay-friendly or homophobic? In order to find an answer, I had to ask both myself and others a few additional questions. What follows are the results of my inquiries and contemplations. 

(Note: most of the respondents wished to stay anonymous so almost all of the names you will read are pseudonyms)

Is Homosexuality Accepted Enough in Paganism?

The answers to this question greatly varied depending on the individual's personal experiences. So I got some very confident, positive answers such as the following ones:

"Yes, in my experience, people of all orientations are well accepted in the Pagan community." - Rational Witch

"I believe it is. I have yet to encounter a magical/occult group which lists sexual orientation as a criterion for admittance or practice. But then again, this is my experience as a heterosexual. Maybe someone who is homosexual could answer this question more clearly." - Baphomet (freely translated from Croatian)

But most of the answers were multivocal:

"I think it is accepted for the most part, but not enough. There are some circles that don't accept it or claim they accept it, but if you're homosexual you are not allowed in them. (Just like there are some groups that don't accept heterosexual people regardless of their beliefs)." - Alberica

"I think that homosexuality is accepted a lot in Paganism, but just like with the national acceptance level, it could probably be accepted more. There's a lot of institutionalized heterosexism in the world, and it's not any different within the Pagan community. 

Interestingly, there's books out there that are specifically oriented to people of the same sex. Gay Witchcraft by Christopher Penczak is an example." - Kel

"In my own experience, it's pretty mixed. 

On one hand you see practices cropping up that are really open about various orientations and gender expression . . . 

On the other hand, though, you still see a lot of issues with Queer acceptance in the Pagan community - especially in traditions who focus on the gender and masculine/feminine binary. There was a blog post at some point (for the life of me I can't remember where, but it wasn't long ago) where the author talked about their experiences with a coven who was set on male-female pairs regardless of the sexual orientation, gender, and latent energy of the people in the pair. I've also encountered groups who were all female who were strict about not allowing lesbians into the group for whatever reasoning they had. 

So it's mixed, I think. But I also think it's getting better - slowly - as more people get to more openly explore the concepts of non-straight sexuality and non-cis-gender expression and it becomes more open and accepted in general society." - Sandra

When I received all of these positive answers, I assumed that these individuals believed that homosexuality really should be accepted. When I asked them about this, I again got very positive answers. I especially like the following one:

"Yes, I feel very strongly that it should be accepted by all, especially Pagans. Many of us live by the Wiccan Rede, “An it harm none, do as ye will’. I think that ostracizing someone just for their sexuality, race, gender, or particular beliefs is a form of harm and I choose not to participate in that. I believe that we as a new faith have the responsibility to learn from the mistakes of the past, including those of discrimination." - Rational Witch

Most of the answers emphasized this responsibility we have towards other human beings as well as basic human morality and empathy. Discrimination is a form of harm and I as a Wiccan completely agree with the above answer. Apparently, modern Pagans, as far as I found out, are very accepting of all sexualities. I wondered why this was so. 

Growing Tolerance

Pagans (or should I say Neopagans) weren't always so tolerant of homosexuality, but something seems to have changed. 

In order to explain this, I have to say a few words about Gerald Gardner. This man is often called the "father of Wicca". Indeed, he did form this spiritual path greatly, but he is by no means the sole founder, or a messiah or anything along those lines. He is viewed as an important figure in Wicca's past and as an important author in this field but not everyone agrees with his opinions. In his work Witchcraft Today (pp. 42, 46 in this pdf), he says the following:

"The witches tell me: 'The law always has been that power must be passed from man to woman or from woman to man, the only exception being when a mother initiates her daughter or a father his son, because they are part of themselves.' (The reason is that great love is apt to occur between people who go through the rites together.)

They go on to say: 'The Templars broke this age-old rule and passed the power from man to man: this led to sin and in so doing it brought about their downfall'. " - p. 42

"Witches teach that to work magic you must start with a couple, a male and a female intelligence being necessary, and they must be in sympathy with each other; and they find that in practice they become fond of each other. Sometimes it is undesirable that they should fall in love. Witches have methods by which they try to prevent this, but they are not always successful. For this reason, they say, the goddess has strictly forbidden a man to be initiated by or to work with a man, or a woman to be initiated by or to work with a woman, the only exceptions being that a father may initiate his son and a mother her daughter, as said above; and the curse of the goddess may be on any who break this law. They think that the Templars broke this law and worked magic, man with man, without knowing the way to prevent love; so they sinned, and the curse of the goddess came upon them." - p. 46

One must take into consideration that these quotes are taken out of context, because they are from the chapter which talks about the Catholic Church's persecution of the Knights Templar. Some have claimed that these quotes aren't Gardner's personal opinions on the subject precisely because of this, but it seems to me that they are, He clearly states that "the witches told him" and that "witches teach" this. Also, it is very easy to differentiate the sections of this chapter which explain the views of the Catholic Church from those that explain Gardner's views. If you read it for yourself, you will see what I mean.

All in all, most traditionalists (i.e. traditional Wiccan practitioners) agree with these claims. This includes strict followers of the Gardnerian tradition. It is basically a rule that Gardnerians have to work in male-female pairs. As for their acceptance of homosexuals into their covens, I can't say from personal experience, but I assume that there are more liberal groups even in this traditional circle of people. Still, Gardner's possible issue with non-heterosexual orientations have to be questioned because of his relationship with Aleister Crowley who was openly bisexual. Crowley initiated Gardner into the O.T.O but they also had a personal relationship...so Gardner was bound to know this piece of information. But if only the dead could speak...

Still, just because Gardner was opposed to homosexuality doesn't mean that all Wiccans or Pagans are or even should be. This anti-gay phase in Wicca's history was precisely this - a phase. It lasted very shortly and ended with the formation of the Alexandrian tradition. Alex Sanders, the founder of this denomination, was bisexual. He also didn't force male-female partnership during rituals as far as I know. Although, June Johns explains in her work Alex Sanders the King of the Witches, that Sanders didn't see how homosexuality could fit into Wiccan ritual practice. As she says (p. 60):

"'Initiate me,' urged his companion. 'Then you would have a coven of two, and I promise I shall do all you ask of me.' Alex explained that no male witch may initiate another male, nor a female a female. The natural laws of witchcraft, which regard homosexuality as a denial of the basic tenet of fertility, insist on man always being paired with woman, especially in a ceremony as personal as initiation."

Despite this claim, I believe that Sanders marks the beginnings of the acceptance of homosexuality in the Wiccan community. 

I would now like to quote a part of an interesting article that I found on this topic. It's entitled "Wicked? Homophobic wizards, gay witches and the fight for acceptance in the Wicca community". One of the people interviewed in it is a wonderful woman (in my opinion) by the name of Morgana Sythove who is also quoted there. But I'll let the excerpt speak for itself:

"I’m becoming disillusioned with my older friends – traditional Wiccans that marginalise the gay community,” she [Morgana] declares, exasperated yet resolute. . . As a religion of self-acceptance, Sythove explains, when Wicca emerged in the early 60s and 70s, it went hand in hand with homosexuality. “Much like the stigma against homosexuality, many people, despite the fact that witchcraft has been against the law since 1735, saw paganism as diabolical. Wicca provided the community and acceptance for gay people that was lacking in greater society."

The 60s marked the beginning of the Gay Liberation Movement. During that time, society wasn't very accepting of homosexuals, but it seems that some of them found sanctuary in Paganism. From this point onward, gays started gaining civil rights all over the world, experiencing moral victories and thus gaining self-confidence (generally speaking of course). The number of homosexual Pagans seems to have grown since then. Actually, maybe it hasn't grown; maybe it's just the fact that more people were willing to come out of the closet thanks to the growing tolerance towards homosexuality. I mean, who's to say that there weren't just as many homosexuals in Pagan groups in the 50s? The 50s were just a different time which was much less accepting of this sexual orientation; people were simply afraid to "come out" back then. The 60s changed this significantly.

Since we're on the subject of coming out of the closet, I believe this is an important commonality of Paganism and homosexuality. Members of both groups often come across the same problem of "coming out" to their friends, relatives and colleagues. I know I really racked my brains about how to tell my parents about my Pagan beliefs. I also know that this was a huge issue for most of my gay friends when it came to their homosexuality. This may be one of the reasons why homosexuals are, I dare say, "attracted" to Paganism.

Then there is the fact that Paganism doesn't state that you'll go to hell if you have a same-sex partner. Plus, Paganism generally has a very accepting aura to it that attracts many kinds of people. I had a nice laugh when I read Sandra's comment on this topic:

"...Paganism seems to have this air about being "for all the weirdos" (essentially, people general society has a harder time accepting, who often feel pushed out by a society that is largely still cis-sexual, heterosexual, and white), it's not unlikely that that's also attributed to our own growth and progress."

I feel obligated to emphasize that the phrase "all the weirdos" doesn't mean anything bad really. I actually found this comment warm and truthful. This is how most of my non-Pagan friends feel about Paganism and I think we all believe this is true to some degree...it just sounds strange when we say it aloud. Nevertheless, our (un)acceptance of this fact doesn't change its verity.

But what about those Pagans out there who aren't so accepting of homosexuality? All of the things I have said so far are quite general, but there are individuals out there who would disagree with all of these claims and could be called homophobic. Of course, everyone has a right to their opinion and claiming that all Pagans are accepting of homosexuality is prejudiced. As is the case with any group of people (be it religious or not), there are disagreements and divided opinions. So let us have a look at them.

(Note: the titles "anti-gay" and "pro-gay" can be debated, but I'm sure you will understand what I mean. The point is: they serve the purpose of this topic.)

Anti-Gay Arguments

When I started thinking about this topic, I first asked myself if I was slightly homophobic. The research I have done since then really opened my eyes. The issue I was faced with at the beginning of this journey was how homosexuality can fit into a (among other things) fertility-based spiritual path. In my defense, I usually think of male-female polarities when I think of fertility, but not everyone does. I couldn't see how homosexuals manage to balance this male-female polarity in themselves or even how they can relate to this belief system. But I found out, to my great pleasure, that they don't have any problems with either of the above. 

Nevertheless, many Pagans will take this "incompatibility" of the male-female polarity notion and homosexuality as one of their anti-gay arguments. In the previously mentioned article, Kevin Carlyon claims that homosexuality doesn't belong in a fertility-based religion. As much as his following remark made me laugh, I still find it very offensive. He says: "Energy can’t really be raised by a man sticking his willy up someone else’s bum. Like terminals on a battery, if two of the same polarity are touched together the power supply is short-circuited rather than energised". When he puts it that way, it may seem logical, but I have asked many homosexuals their opinion about this issue and I have to admit that their arguments made even more sense to me (but I will let you develop your own opinions). 

But let us return to the main topic. Some may claim that this male-female polarity forms a key point of Paganism. Proof of this is the importance of the Great Rite (a real/metaphorical sexual unity of the Goddess and the God - essentially heterosexual) in traditions such as Wicca, but also the very perception and naming of the two main deities of Paganism: the Goddess and the God themselves (one female and the other male). If one is to take these concepts literally and compare them to worldly states, then yes, homosexuality cannot fit into Paganism. When I asked one of my volunteers the question "Do you think that homosexuality is compatible with Pagan beliefs and principles? (especially with regard to male-female polarities)", the reply argued precisely the above ideas:

"I believe it [homosexuality] goes against the principles I use in my won practice (the principles of polarity, male/female, yin/yang, passive/active, the Goddess/the God). This isn't a problem in most situations but in some rituals (those of a sexual nature), I don't see how two people of the same sex could work together. And despite how chauvinistic I will sound, it seems to me that this would be easier for two women than two men because of the type of energy that they represent. How can a man be compliant with the energy of the Goddess if he has never specifically experienced it? Maybe this isn't an issue when solely male energies, such as the energy of Mars are evoked, but when polarities are evoked, I believe this can be a problem. But this doesn't mean that a practice which could overcome this obstacle doesn't exist. It's just that I still haven't heard about such a practice" - Baphomet (freely translated from Croatian)

I believe that the problem with this kind of thinking is that it is restricted. The Divine cannot be compared to the mundane in terms of sexuality or gender; it rises above such issues. As Morgana Sythove says: "God and Goddesses are not human! They exist within the realm of Spirit, they are archetypes, personifications of the great abstract universal forces. The law of polarity should mean anything that is a polarity: hot and cold, up and down". So there is some food for thought for you. :)

Honestly, I couldn't find any other argument against homosexuality apart from this one. To sum up this section of the post, some believe that homosexuality is contradictory to the Pagan belief system because Paganism is based on the celebration of the duality of nature (which is generally perceived as male-female). If the term "polarity" is perceived as solely male-female, then this may cause problems for our homosexual brothers and sisters. But there are still many more opinions to be expressed.

Pro-Gay Arguments

It seems to me that there are many more pro-gay arguments in the Pagan community than their air anti-gay ones. A very interesting opinion, which relates to the beginning of my post is the following one:

"The male-female polarity is very extended in Paganism, mostly in Wiccan and Wiccan-like religions, and not everyone falls in the male or female category.

Well, I think that polarity permeates every aspect of our life, not only the religious side. It's very common to hear and speak of "the priest" or "the priestess", but there are lots of people that don't self-identify as male or female, and for those people, what are they going to call themselves if they are part of a tradition as such? This happens also in everyday life. So many times, when someone meets a same-sex couple, they ask "who plays the male and who plays the female part?". That is SO disrespectful! But for the majority of people, there HAS to be someone who acts as male and someone who acts as female, otherwise they can't make any sense of it.

Same thing for the god/goddess idea. There are gods that don't fall in an either/or category. There are gods that have both sexes at once, and gods that are sexless. But people will put them on a "god/goddess" dichotomy, as if that's the only thing that exists. Maybe it's easier to understand things that come in pairs, I don't know. Like "good/bad", "black/white", "day/night" etc., without realizing that there are other options from one end to the other and not everything needs to be extreme." - Alberica

This opinion is still centered around the issue of male-female polarity. You don't really think about it, but not everything is black or white or simply male or female. There are men with many "female" qualities and there are many women out there who have "male" qualities. So not everyone is completely one or the other. This is one possible pro-gay argument.

But what if we are to completely disregard with male-female polarity as being important? What if we say that nature is not male-female based and that Paganism, while celebrating polarity, does not celebrate this specific polarity but just polarity in general? Here are two more opinions which take on this opinion:

"The Ancients believed in dualism: the male-female polarity, if you will, but I think it was more a belief in the wholeness of existence, if that makes sense, rather than an actual polarity. When I'm talking about the wholeness of existence, the easiest way for me to explain it is to compare it to my Christian upbringing.

When I was growing up, I was raised to believe that we, as humans, were created less than perfect. We were born into the world as sinners, so we had to spend our entire lives striving for a perfection we would never reach. We would pray for forgiveness for our sins which could be anything from dressing wrong, thinking wrong, speaking wrong to being fundamentally wrong (aka, gay). Because we were fundamentally flawed and sinners, we needed a savior to speak on our behalf so that we wouldn't be condemned to a place of torture for all eternity.

We weren't whole beings, basically, because we sinned and needed saving.

The Ancients believed in and loved symmetry and balance. There was a theory or idea (and some sources say it's real and some say it's not, so it depends on who you read) that there were "Two Lands." There was this land and another one where our exact opposite twin lived and experienced everything we did, including the same birth and death dates. We may live a life here where we are "less than" and have bad days or moments or don't necessarily have everything (like maybe we lack math skills), but it's okay because our opposite twin has all those things we lack and we have all the things our twin lacks.

In that sense, we're whole beings who exist on this planet. We, as humans, encompass all traits, but we only express some of them. And maybe we gain traits or lose traits over time, but they're still all there. There's no reason for being saved or asking for forgiveness of the Gods because They created us as whole beings. We may slip up, and need forgiveness, but it's not from the Gods, it's from the people we hurt here on the planet.

We aren't constantly striving for a perfection we can't ever get to because we're already perfect. And when we are able to accept that perfection, we can spend our time working more towards helping others and making the world a better place." - Kel

"There is no point according to which Pagan principles and homosexuality are contradictory to one another and they aren't contradictory in my opinion. Of course, the archetypes of the "mother" and "father" exist everywhere, but as is the situation with everything else, they are just symbols of loved ones/lovers and if whether two men or two women stand behind them is absolutely fine because this doesn't make the love between them any smaller or disgraceful as is, unfortunately, usually thought." - Soror Morgan (freely translated from Croatian)

Obviously, not all Pagans see nature as the duality of male and female. Most are actually aware that homosexuality is also present in nature, just as heterosexuality is:

"Male-female polarity is the pattern of Nature (though there are plenty of homosexual/asexual/hermaphroditic animals too), and whether or not a particular person is oriented that way personally has nothing to do with their ability to worship the Goddess and God. If someone chooses to follow a Dianic path or other single-gender form of belief, it’s fine with me. We are all connected with the Divine, however we choose to worship." - Rational Witch

If we were to return to the etymology of the word "Pagan", we would have to emphasize the original connection to the country and the land. There is no implication of male-female polarities here but just the worship of the land and, by extension, of all of nature. Obviously, Paganism isn't only about celebrating fertility (although this is an important aspect of the faith). If we look at Paganism from this point of view and say that it is about worshiping all of nature, then we have to acknowledge not only the "heterosexual" parts of nature, but also those of "other sexualities". In fact, scientific research has determined that several hundreds of species of animals practice some sort of homosexual behavior. And this is only the tip of the ice-berg. What about all the animals that reproduce asexually? Or the number of hermaphrodite species? All of the issues we see as problematic in humans are evident and common among animals (and yes, that includes mammals). If you're willing to do a bit more reading on the subject, you can have a look at Yale Scientific magazine and newsmedical.net (although you will definitely be able to find more information on the subject online and in your local libraries).

Another argument that is worth mentioning here is the alternate understanding of the terms "gender" and "sex" in Paganism (sex=man/woman; gender=male/female). The usual assumption is that men are masculine and that women are feminine, but in reality, this is not always true. What most Pagans believe is that gender and sex are not strictly tied down together. As I have already said, some men may be effeminate and some women may be very masculine; it all depends on the balance of qualities and energies in a person. No one balance is good or bad; each individual has their own balance which is just right for them because it makes them what they are. Like Kel wonderfully pointed out, we are all created perfect in our own way...we just have to realize this.

So basically, every person has both male and female qualities regardless of their sex. Nobody is completely male or completely female. In this sense, homosexuality can be seen as a leaning towards one of the genders which just so happens to be the one less supported by society for that person's sex (e.g. a woman should be feminine according to society, though many lesbians can be described as masculine). Of course, this can be the case with any person notwithstanding their sexuality. Although this example just served to illustrate this specific point so I apologize for the generalization.

When one meditates on this, another issue may arise. Why, then, are the God and Goddess perceived as solely male or female? Both of them have several aspects which are differently balanced out. For example, some may perceive the Horned God as more masculine than the Green Man (although this is also individual). As is the case with both deities and humans, nature itself isn't solely male or female. These characteristics simply protrude one another and I believe it would be best if we accepted this because it would make it easier for us to accept ourselves and all those around us.

Most Pagans are in search for an "ideal" balance between masculine and feminine because they believe that this is the point where they can be equally in touch with the Goddess and the God. This is very hard to achieve of course. Most women end up being more in touch with the Goddess and most men with the God. If nothing else, each individual is encouraged to explore the "opposing" gender so they can try to balance this out. So men are urged to explore their feminine side in order to understand the Goddess, women, their emotions and so on. The opposite may be true for most homosexuals. They are usually already in touch with their "opposing gender" and have already established a deep connection with the God/Goddess or actually both. This argument is often mentioned when this topic is discussed and it is indeed in favor of homosexuality.

If we really want to sum up this whole issue of polarities, sexes and genders, then I believe it can be said that the real polarity here isn't male/female or masculine/feminine but rather receptive/projective. This is again very individual. Not all men are projective and not all women are receptive in terms of energy and personality. The main thing, at least in Pagan practices, to have this projectivity and receptivity balanced out. If two people are working in a pair, it is best if one is receptive and one is projective (generally speaking; this may vary on the goal) because ultimate balance will be achieved (as both polarities are present). Whether or not both of these individuals are men or women, or of different sexes is completely irrelevant.

Why I Believe Pagans Should Be Tolerant

As you might have concluded, I am a Wiccan and, even though this is perhaps the most quoted line for this topic (for the "pro" side at least), I have to emphasize it. The quote I am referring to comes from the Charge of the Goddess (an essentially Wiccan text) and reads:

"Let my worship be within the heart that rejoiceth; for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals."

The Charge itself and, more importantly, this quote have been accepted by many Pagans (this implies non-Wiccans also). So what does "ALL acts of love and pleasure" include? This means that any act, any emotion, any thought that is positive, that shares love and spreads pleasure (not hate!) is welcome and encouraged. If this act/emotion is homosexual according to society's standards, then so be it, as long as it does not do any harm, or rather as long as it gives only love and pleasure. This does not only refer to sexual love and pleasure, but also emotional, spiritual and any other kind you can think of. 

In my opinion, any Pagan that truly wishes to follow a Pagan path has to accept nature in its fullest, even the parts they are not comfortable with or that may seem illogical sometimes. Nature exists the way it does for a reason and everything in it is perfectly balanced out, including humans. It is mutual hatred, intolerance, greed and exploitation that disrupt this balance.

At the risk of sounding like a hippy (not that I personally have anything against this), no act of hatred can lead to anything good. I can only hope that people (Pagan and non-Pagan alike) will realize this before everything goes to rack and ruin.

I hope you enjoyed the post and that I gave you something to think about. :)
Until next time. Yours,

Witch's Cat