LGBT Topics and Wicca - Gay- and Lesbian-oriented Traditions

Gay- and Lesbian-oriented Traditions

Dianic Wicca is a religion that welcomes lesbian pagans and celebrates their perspectives on feminism, sexism, and women's empowerment within patriarchal culture. However, many Dianic covens exclude transgender people, being solely for womyn-born-womyn.

Although not specifically Wiccan, one branch of traditional Witchcraft has provided a home for many Neo-Pagan LGBT men and women. The Feri Tradition is very open to all sexual orientations and some sources encourage bisexuality during rituals to reach states of ecstasy. The Feri Tradition should not be confused, however, with other spiritual traditions bearing the name Faery (including the Radical Faeries as well as branches of Wicca that focus on fairy/faery lore.)

Faery Witch covens of gay men only have been formed and are readily accepted among the larger group of Faery Witches. Both heterosexual and LGBT couples are married and handfasted in Faery Witch ceremonies every year.

The Minoan Brotherhood was founded in 1977 in New York by Edmund Buczynski, an elder in the Gardnerian, WICA and New York Welsh Traditions, in order to create a Craft tradition for gay and bisexual men—one that would celebrate and explore the distinctive mysteries unique to men who love men. The Minoan Sisterhood was founded as the Women's counterpart to the Brotherhood soon thereafter by Lady Rhea and Lady Miw-Sekhmet in collaboration with Buczynski, based on his work with the Brotherhood. Legitimate Minoan initiations and elevations are all conducted in same-sex only circles. Both traditions continue to this day. The Brotherhood and Sisterhood are oath-bound, initiatory mystery religions which use a ritual framework descended from Gardnerian Wicca.

The Brotherhood of the Phoenix was founded in the summer of 2004 by seven gay men from diverse traditions such as ceremonial magic, shamanism, and pre-Gardnerian witchcraft in order to create an ecumenical Neopagan tradition which serves the community of men who love men. The mandate of the Brotherhood is to help gay, bisexual, and transgender men overcome the burden of societal labels. The Brotherhood rejects the limiting beliefs and prejudices of modern culture and religions that preach intolerance and hate. Instead of didactic teaching, they stress a simple Neopagan principle: "Find the Divine within your own experience." To impart this principle, they hold public rituals near the eight common holidays of Neopagan tradition where they celebrate the embodiment of the gay male divine through the life-cycle of human experience.

There is another predominantly gay group called the Radical Faeries, which emphasizes queer spirituality. Certain branches are exclusively focused on gay male spirituality; others are open to all genders and orientations.