Gay Owned and Operated
June is LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. Mandragora Magika proudly displays our "Gay Owned and Operated" badge on the website year round. This is not to "ram it down people's throats" or "to be political" as queer people are so often accused of, but it is about visibility of gay/queer people within our shared community. If you've never been fearful to show affection to your partner in public, had the government argue whether you should be allowed to marry the person you love, been beaten up for being yourself, or felt discrimination from healthcare workers, judges, cops, family etc. you will likely never understand the true importance of LGBTQIA+ Pride.
While not exactly the same, many pagans (regardless of sexuality or gender) will understand LGBTQIA+ Pride better because they can attest to the discrimination they have felt because of their religion or spiritual path. Pagan Pride is a movement that tries to help build a positive public image of paganism.
This badge is to remind people of the contributions of queers specifically in the Witchcraft/Pagan communities.
A very short list of important queer pagans that were out of the closet and passed over and made an impact on Gay Spiritual traditions, Neo-paganism, Wicca, and Witchcraft.
Harry Hay, founder of the Radical Faeries
Eddie Buczynski, founder of multiple traditions including the Minoan Brotherhood and NY Wica, a tradition for men that love men
Herman Slater, publisher and owner of The Warlock Shoppe and The Magickal Childe
Scott Cunningham, author of many occult and pagan books
Alex Sanders, High Priest that is responsible for the Alexandrian tradition
Leo Martello, author and High Priest
Eddy Gutiérrez, founder on the Unnamed Path which was designed for gay, queer, and male-identifying individuals. Also a practitioner of multiple ATR's.
Aleister Crowley, was an English occultist, philosopher, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema
**I by no means left anyone off this list on purpose, and did not go into the extensive list of living practitioners. You all know who you are and thank you for all you do.
The badge was created with a symbol I call the "Heart Pent" that merges the pentagram with the heart. It was created in the spirit of love, acceptance and compassion. If you would like to display the symbol on your personal site or if you need me to customize it for your use please contact me with your needed edits I will be happy to do so. Let's spread the love.
It is also displayed as a beacon of safety. I do my best to get people to talk about their inclusivity in their profiles when using the site so seekers can determine if groups are safe to open up dialog with.
Our Disclaimer Page states:
We encourage groups listing on this site to add in their profiles or websites their policies on inclusivity for marginalized groups, stating that they do not discriminate against race, sexuality, gender, disability etc.
We ask groups to list their inclusivity so that seekers can find groups easily without feeling they will run into prejudice, but not all add that info in their profiles so please ask potential teachers if it is not obvious in their profile.
If you are trans, non-binary, gay etc, and you are interviewing with an Initiatory Coven or Group we suggest you ask about that coven's policy for training and initiating people that fall outside of the binary. Know that if one group doesn't work for your life, there will hopefully be others that will fit you better.
It is also a reminder to those people that might not feel right in their own skin, or do not like themselves because of who they are. Know this, we are all of the Gods and no one can ever take that away from you.
Happy LGBTQIA+ Month to all of you! and a special thank you to all you allies, you are welcome to come celebrate freedom and love with us!
Queer-Specific and Accepting Paths:
Feri Tradition: a modern form of traditional witchcraft that is open to LGBTQ individuals
Minoan Brotherhood: an initiatory tradition for men that love men. Founded by Eddie Buczynsi.
Minoan Sisterhood: the women's counterpart tot he Minoan Brotherhood. Founded by Lady Rhea and Lady Miw-Sekhmet
NY Wica: an initiatory tradition accepting of LGBTQ individuals. Founded by Eddie Buczynsi.
Fellowship of the Phoenix: a neo-pagan tradition open to all queer/LGBTQIA adults
Radical Faeries: a predominately gay-male oriented movement seeking to define queer consciousness through spirituality
Unnamed Path: a dynamic and evolving spiritual tradition designed for gay, queer, and male-identifying individuals who seek a deep connection with the ancestral lineage
For more reading:
Randy Conner’s Encyclopedia of Queer Myth and Symbol
Misha Magdalene’s Outside the Charmed Circle
A. Evans’s Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture: A Radical View of Western Civilization and Some of the People it Has Tried to Destroy
Cassandra Snow’s Queering Your Craft: Witchcraft from the Margin
Pat Mosley’s Arcane Perfection: An Anthology by Queer, Trans and Intersex Witches
Thista Minai’s Casting A Queer Circle: Non-Binary Witchcraft
Lee Harrington’s Queer Magic
Yvonne Aburrow’s All Acts of Love & Please: Inclusive Wicca
Deborah Lipp’s Bending the Binary: Polarity Magic in a Nonbinary World
ABOUT SI MANDRAGORA
Si is a Gardnerian High Priest and Minos Antheus Z.A. x in the Minoan Brotherhood operating in Flagler County, FL. A practitioner of various kinds of witchcraft since adolescence, he now runs Mandragora Magika, creates occult art, grows all kinds of plants but mostly in love with the poisonous variety. Si holds a degree in Graphic Design from the Art Institute.