The events at Pantheacon 2011 caused a storm that reverberated across the planet, with discussion on many web sites and mailing lists, and even a mention in the UK's Guardian newspaper. This book was created in the hope of extending the debate and bringing it to a wider audience. We have included articles from people in both major camps, who have explained their positions powerfully and sincerely. This book is not an easy read -- much of it will be painful, and there is probably no one in the wider pagan community who will not be offended by at least something in here. Articles have been edited only for grammar and typography -- you will find honest words, entirely uncensored. This, however, is the point of the exercise. When nothing is said, nothing will be heard, and nothing can change.

The intention of Outside the Charmed Circle is to help readers live as the truest expression of their gendered, sexual, spiritual self. It is designed to support you as you awaken to who you are, deepen your magical practice, and walk through the Pagan world. Author Misha Magdalene provides hands-on meditations, prompts, and magical workings to help you explore your identity as it intersects with your spiritual practice. With thoughtful insights on embodiment, consent, and Eros, as well as explorations of self-esteem, ability, disability, and your feelings about your body, this book helps those in the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies engage with a wide range of identities in a magical setting.

During the Middle Ages in Europe, some sexual and gendered behaviors were labeled “sodomitical” or evoked the use of ambiguous phrases such as the “unmentionable vice” or the “sin against nature.” How, though, did these categories enter the field of vision? How do you know a sodomite when you see one? In Seeing Sodomy in the Middle Ages, Robert Mills explores the relationship between sodomy and motifs of vision and visibility in medieval culture, on the one hand, and those categories we today call gender and sexuality, on the other. Challenging the view that ideas about sexual and gender dissidence were too confused to congeal into a coherent form in the Middle Ages, Mills demonstrates that sodomy had a rich, multimedia presence in the period—and that a flexible approach to questions of terminology sheds new light on the many forms this presence took. Among the topics that Mills covers are depictions of the practices of sodomites in illuminated Bibles; motifs of gender transformation and sex change as envisioned by medieval artists and commentators on Ovid; sexual relations in religious houses and other enclosed spaces; and the applicability of modern categories such as “transgender,” “butch” and “femme,” or “sexual orientation” to medieval culture. Taking in a multitude of images, texts, and methodologies, this book will be of interest to all scholars, regardless of discipline, who engage with gender and sexuality in their work.

Both personal and scholarly in tone, this book encourages readers to think theologically, ethically, and politically about the statement that declares: “God loves diversity and justice.” The multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multi-disciplinary, and multi-gendered identities of the eleven contributors and two respondents deepen the conversation. It considers questions such as: Do we affirm or challenge this theological statement? Do we concentrate on “God” in our response or do we interrogate what diversity and justice mean in light of God’s love for diversity and justice? Alternatively, do we prefer to ponder the verb, to love, and consider what it might mean for society if people really believed in a divinity loving diversity and justice? Of course, there are no easy and simple answers whether we consult the Sikh scriptures, the Bible, the Qur’an, the movies, the Declaration of Human Rights, or the transgender movement, but the effort is worthwhile. The result is a serious historical, literary, cultural, and religious discourse that fends against intellectually rigid thought and simplistic belief systems across the religious spectrum. In our world in which so much military unrest and violence, economic inequities, and religious strife prevail, such a conversation nurtures theological, ethical, and political possibilities of inclusion and justice.

When Christopher Penczak was introduced to Witchcraft, he found a spiritual path that hononred and embraced his homosexuality. Now he has written a book of clearheaded theory and practice that is bound to become a classic. With Gay Witchcraft, Penczak joins the ranks of his forebearers in spirit, gay writers who have taken a tradition and made it home. This is a complete book of theory and spiritual practices of Witchcraft for the gay community. Penczak's writing will make it much easier for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people interested in practicing any form of Witchcraft. Exploring the history of Paganism and offering a compendium of spells, meditations, ceremonies, and affirmations that will enrich both the novice and the experienced practioner seeking out new views of myth, ritual, and healing.

The Routledge Handbook of Mormonism and Gender is an outstanding reference source to this controversial subject area. Since its founding in 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has engaged gender in surprising ways. LDS practice of polygamy in the nineteenth century both fueled rhetoric of patriarchal rule as well as gave polygamous wives greater autonomy than their monogamous peers. The tensions over women’s autonomy continued after polygamy was abandoned and defined much of the twentieth century. In the 1970s, 1990s, and 2010s, Mormon feminists came into direct confrontation with the male Mormon hierarchy. These public clashes produced some reforms, but fell short of accomplishing full equality. LGBT Mormons have a similar history. These movements are part of the larger story of how Mormonism has managed changing gender norms in a global context. Comprising over forty chapters by a team of international contributors the Handbook is divided into four parts: • Methodological issues • Historical approaches • Social scientific approaches • Theological approaches. These sections examine central issues, debates, and problems, including: agency, feminism, sexuality and sexual ethics, masculinity, queer studies, plural marriage, homosexuality, race, scripture, gender and the priesthood, the family, sexual violence, and identity. The Routledge Handbook of Mormonism and Gender is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies, gender studies, and women’s studies. The Handbook will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as cultural studies, politics, anthropology, and sociology.

Branch Out from Antiquated Interpretations of the Tree of Life The Hermetic Qabala is a rich framework for understanding ourselves, our magickal workings, and the universe, but outdated descriptions often obscure its intrinsically queer and nonbinary nature. With updated, affirming metaphors and word choices, this guide makes it easy for any practitioner to understand and work with the Tree of Life. Enfys J. Book welcomes queer people to see themselves in this esoteric practice and offers a variety of pathworkings, exercises, and spells to deepen their understanding of each of the ten spheres (sephiroth). This book also shows magickal communities how to co-create spaces and structures that are friendlier and more accessible to all. With a modern, inclusive understanding of the Qabala, you can enhance your magick, fully express your identity, and conquer life's challenges.

Long before history began, when Ireland was ruled by poets and tribal chieftains, the prophet Sinnach was the most powerful druid in the ancient province of Mumu. But before he was a prophet, before he was a poet, he was a just boy--a boy whom everyone believed was a girl. Unable to suppress his true nature, Sinnach fled persecution and sought refuge in the wilderness. By his nature, his talents, and his oath to the goddess Ériu, Sinnach came to find his place in a world shaped by poetry, magic, and combat. Yet the attainment of great power is not without consequence. Sinnach is inadvertently entangled in the dangerous affairs of both men and Síd, the Faerie Folk. His perilous travels into the Otherworld, the conflicting passions of love, and the return of an old enemy threaten to endanger his identity, peace between the tribes, and peace between the worlds. Inspired by the great mythological epics of ancient Ireland, this is a new myth that tells very old truths about who we were, who we are, and who we might become.