Queer Spirituality: The Radical Faeries

By Anastacia Mott Austin

According to many sources on gay spirituality, gay and lesbian and trans-gendered folks once held sacred positions in their cultures; as priests, shamans, medicine men, wise women and the like.

But in our modernized, Westernized, Christian-centered world, gays and lesbians say they have been at best pushed aside and marginalized by the dominant culture; at worst demonized, murdered, and considered examples of unholiness.

By the time of the sexual revolution in America in the 1970s, many of them had had enough. In 1979, a gay man named Harry Hay, along with his partner and a couple of other men issued flyers inviting gay men to a "Spiritual Conference of Radical Faeries," a call to incorporate spirituality into the gay community as a means of healing and self-discovery. The Radical Faerie movement was born.

The movement has evolved over time, and is difficult to define, as members will immediately point out that there is no one definition of a Radical Faerie.

However, many agree with the explanation given by Stuart Timmons, member of the Radical Faerie group, in his book, The Trouble with Harry Hay: "…[It is] a mixture of political alternative, counterculture, and spirituality movement. [It is] a networking of gentle men devoted to the principles of ecology, spiritual truth, and, in New Age terms, ‘gay-centeredness.’"

In keeping with the emerging movements of the ‘70s such as paganism, earth-consciousness, and the end of the hippie counterculture movement, Radical Faeries identify with the earth and with many pagan rituals, such as celebrating the seasons and marking the significant dates of solstices and equinoxes.

The word "faerie" reflected these earth-conscious values as well as a determined attempt to reclaim the derogatory term "fairy" used to describe gay men. The "radical" definition was added to accentuate a focus on alternative, "radical" politics, usually left-leaning, or a conscious wish to not assimilate into the existing culture but to transform it.

According to Timmons, during the initial conference organized by Hay, attended by over 200 gay men, he called out to the men "to throw off the ugly green frogskin of hetero-imitation to find the shining Faerie prince beneath."

Along with the pagan influence was a tendency to identify with Native American practices, and one ritual that has endured is the "faerie circle," in which participants at gatherings form a circle each day.

The faerie circle derives from an opposition to hierarchy (which is linear, not circular), and involves passing a "talking stick" around the circle so that each participant may speak his truth, share feelings, confront issues or other people, and be a part of a process known as consensus practice.

There are many "faerie tribes" that comprise the over-arching Faery Circle, and just as many variants of its spiritual practice. Some groups are largely based in spirituality and self-healing; others are primarily designed for social or sexual interaction; still others focus more on pageantry and feature events with drag queens and fantasy. Some groups accept women, others do not.

With the death of founder Harry Hay in 2002, the group has experienced some growing pains. Some ex-members voice frustration at the undefined, "the only rules are no rules" format’: others feel that some circles have strayed too far from the group’s original goals.

Still, the ideals it expresses are still a strong pull for the queer community: a place to call home, whatever that may be.

Joey Cain, editor of the monthly newsletter Raddish from the Nomenus Wolf Creek Radical Faerie Sanctuary, puts it this way: "We relate to others as we relate to ourselves – as subjects. It is the essence of faerie vision. It underlies our respect for nature, our magical practice, our sexuality, and our relationship with women. Sadly, today’s world is in short supply of this consciousness. The world needs our gifts, and our time as faeries has come. Together we can sprout and nurture our visions. That is why we will continue to gather as faeries and share."