Witch gay

This story originally appeared in News Is Out.

Witch. We hear women called this all the time. Sometimes it’s meant as a substitute for the misogynist b word. But “witch” is not a kind slur to fling at women. The history of women being called witches is grim. Demonizing, torture and killing of women — particularly lesbians or women thought to be lesbians — is inextricably tied to being targeted as a witch. Witchcraft and lesbianism are often linked and have been since the days of burning witches at the stake centuries ago.

For centuries, women have been accused of being witches — an accusation that usually accompanied being unmarried and/or having too many cats. Ohio senator JD Vance’s “childless cat ladies” claim during the election was all about his try to target Democrats as anti-family and too male lover friendly. Vance included Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg with the “ladies,” even though Buttigieg is married with two children.

Vance stopped short of calling “childless cat ladies” “unnatural,” but the implication was clarify. And this charge of childlessness has always been one attached to lesbians.

Back in 1992, Republican presidential candidate Rev. Pat

The Beyond the Binary exhibition brings together the diverse perspectives of LGBTQ+ researchers, artists and community activists to create space for self-representation in the museum.

Beyond the Binary researcher Mara Gold provides more communication about witchcraft and the LGBTIQ+ community.

The witch in bottle

There is a long history of witchcraft and the LGBTIQ+ people, both in terms of queer culture and faith as well as the way LGBTIQ+ people hold been persecuted throughout history. One of the most famous objects in the museum, this glass flask reputed to contain a witch is an marvelous starting point to inform some of these stories.

Oppression and persecution

This bottle represents the oppression and persecution of those who were outside ‘acceptable’ binaries. Some of these so-called witch bottles were used to ward away spells or disease but others were used specifically to harm supposed witches. The victim of the witch would include urine in the bottle, which would stop the witch from urinating until the spell was removed, causing some serious pain. Interestingly, many techniques used to ward away witches involved the use of spells. The witch apparent

Being a Gay Witch
Christopher Penczak is the author of 'City Magick,' 'Spirit Allies,' and 'The Inner Temple of Witchcraft.' He lives in New Hampshire with his husband Steve. He spoke with Beliefnet producer Lisa Schneider via email.

How did sexual orientation get the focal point of your spiritual practice? What does it mean to be a gay witch?

I wouldn't say that sexual orientation is the focal point of my spiritual practice. I deliberate the experience of organism human is. Being same-sex attracted is just an aspect of this life, this earthwalk. I think reconciling the fact that I am gay and a spiritual person -- coming from a time, place and culture that often sees those two as mutually exclusive -- forced me to really inspect being a gay guy in a different way.
Whatever spiritual perform I looked at in my studies, I would always seek to realize what the religion consideration about and how they treated women and homosexuals. That was a huge yardstick for me, since both groups have been traditionally persecuted by more mainstream religions.
Being a gay witch is reclaiming the spirit of traditions that predate more dominant religions and reaffirm the sacredness in the offset between genders,

What is a gay witch? A brief intro to International Gay Witch Day
A homosexual witch named Storm Faerywolf writes in 2000, “In most Wiccan traditions of modern witchcraft there is a strong emphasis on sexual polarity as a model for magickal/ritual productive. Simply stated, this is the belief that magickal energy is generated most strongly (and perhaps only) by a male and female working partnership, a concept that was popularized by the Gardnerian tradition and has been passed down in some shape to the vast majority of modern witchcraft traditions being practiced today. Even in traditions where this polarity is seen to be internalized (i.e. the idea that we each contain an inner male and female which compete for balance regardless of our physical gender) we find that, ultimately, the model we have adopted is still a heterosexist one: that of polarized or complimentary forces entity identified as male and female, thereby enshrining this model as the template for all real relationships whether they be amorous , magickal, or otherwise. For Queers this can be a dangerous practice.”
It can be dangerous. It is merely another instance where queers are subjugated. I will be c

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