Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol, and Spirit: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender LoreDid you know that in medieval French folklore a person might change sex by passing under a rainbow? Or that same-sex unions have been celebrated by peoples of the ancient Mediterranean, Africa, China, and Indigenous America? Or that Sappho, da Vinci, Emily Dickinson, Nijinsky, Benjamin Britten, Mishima, Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Keith Haring, Boy George, and Derek Jarman number among those who have explored the spiritual dimension of gender and sexuality in their works? While the terms many of us employ today to identify ourselves - 'queer', 'lesbian', 'gay', 'bisexual', 'transgendered' - differ markedly from those of peoples of other times and places, we are nevertheless the bearers of a rich spiritual history that has been ignored or suppressed, a history encoded in sacred texts as well as in works of art, music, dance and other media. Drawing upon religion, mythology, folklore, anthropology, history and the arts, the Encyclopedia is a cornucopia of queer spirituality, containing over 1,500 alphabetically arranged entries from Aakulujjuusi to Zeus. |
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Page xii
... desire ... sears into a world where being is reconfigured . John , the mystic lover , desires a being of a different order . . . In order to ' know ' this being , the senses . . . must be reconfigured ... [ In ] ' The Spiritual Canticle ...
... desire ... sears into a world where being is reconfigured . John , the mystic lover , desires a being of a different order . . . In order to ' know ' this being , the senses . . . must be reconfigured ... [ In ] ' The Spiritual Canticle ...
Page 7
... desire ; and that one may eliminate desire by following the Middle Way . This Way is commonly referred to as the Noble Eightfold Path , the second doctrine central to Buddhism . This path consists of correct understanding , correct ...
... desire ; and that one may eliminate desire by following the Middle Way . This Way is commonly referred to as the Noble Eightfold Path , the second doctrine central to Buddhism . This path consists of correct understanding , correct ...
Page 222
... desire and love . Another characteristic of many ancient love spells is their insistence that the desired party fall in love with the magician , even if this appears to be contrary to the desired one's will . In the late twentieth ...
... desire and love . Another characteristic of many ancient love spells is their insistence that the desired party fall in love with the magician , even if this appears to be contrary to the desired one's will . In the late twentieth ...
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Common terms and phrases
Agdistis Amazonian Amazons anal intercourse ancient and/or androgynous APHRODITE APOLLO appears Artemis ARTEMIS/DIANA artists associated Attis beautiful became become believed beloved bisexual Buddhism castration celebrated ceremony Christian companion cultures Cybele dance death deity depicted described devotees DIONYSUS divine dressed erotic especially eunuchs Euro-western female feminine flowers Freyja galli GANYMEDE gender variant gender variant male Ghede Goddess Reverence Greek hair healing HERACLES HERMES heterosexual HIERODULES Hindu homoerotically inclined homoeroticism homosexuality honor inspired Jesus Krishna lesbian linked living lover magic masculine mother mystical myth mythology orishá pansexual passion patron persons poem poet practitioners priestesses priests Queen queer queer-identified Radical Faeries referred relationship religion rites ritual role Roman sacred Saint same-sex eroticism Sappho sexual variance shamans Shiva signifying spiritual functionaries spiritual traditions suggests symbolic tale temple third gender transformed transgendered transgendered male transgenderism TWO-SPIRIT vampire Vodou warrior wearing woman women worship writes Xochiquetzal young ZEUS