The Radical Faerie community developed in America among Gay men during the 1970's sexual revolution. Radical Faerie communities generally are inspired by aboriginal and native, traditional spiritualities, especially those that incorporate queer gender. The Radical Faeries use heart circle, communal living, consensus decision-making, dance, drag, pagan ritual, drumming, sex, magic, and intimacy to examine what it means to be a whole human who is also queer person. In the beginning, the movement was open exclusively to Gay men. Some Radical Faerie communities are now open to all genders. Radical Faerie communities practice queer-themed spirituality associated with radical politics, paganism, feminism, gender liberation, and may encompus any and all relegions or a lack of them. Jump to: navigation, search Queer has traditionally meant strange or unusual, but is now often used in reference to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities. ... Look up Politics on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Politics (disambiguation) Democracy History of democracy List of democracy and elections-related topics List of years in politics List of politics by country articles Political corruption Political economy Political movement Political parties of the world Political party Political psychology Political sociology Political... Within a Christian context, Paganism (from Latin paganus) and Heathenry are catch-all terms which have come to connote a broad set of spiritual/religious beliefs and practices of a natural religion, as opposed to the Abrahamic religions. ... Jump to: navigation, search Feminism is a diverse collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women, especially socially, politically, and economically within a context of patriarchy. ... In sociology, gender identity describes the gender with which a person identifies (i. ...

Harry Hay and Mitch Walker, veterans of various phases of Gay Liberation, issued the call to a "Spiritual Gathering of Radical Faeries." Those who heard the Two-Spirit Call showed up. Hay introduced the idea of spirituality into gay liberation, a galvanic shock to the soul of Gay politics. Radical Faeries recognize the isolation and disconnectedness Gay men grow up with, as a spiritual wound needing spiritual healing. Hay's genius, and that of the co-creators of the Radical Faerie movement, was to make this spiritual healing possible, real, and powerfully effective. Harry Hay (April 7, 1912 - October 24, 2002) was a leader of the gay rights movement in the United States. ... Berdache (from French, from Arabic bardajo meaning kept boy) is a generic term used by some for a third gender (woman-living-man) among many, if not most, Native American tribes. ... ... The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also...

Some Radical Faeries ask what kind of society emerges if Queerfolk are together by themselves, set apart in order to investigate the inner voice in a completely Gay culture. Such seeking led to Faerie Gatherings lasting a week or more where new and spontaneous ways of relating could emerge.

No Radical Faerie dogma or doctrine exists per se. The identity of Radical Faerie is never conferred upon a person. The individual claims his Radical Faerie nature in an on-going act of self-discovery and self-actualization. It can be as challenging to define“Radical Faerie”as it is to define“Human Being,”as ultimately those aspects of life that hold meaning are experienced, rarely to be mediated effectively through description.

In keeping with the hippie, neopagan, ecology, and even eco-feminist trends of the time, gatherings were held out-of-doors in natural settings. To this end, distinct Radical Faerie communities have created Sanctuaries in many beautiful rural settings. For a incomplete listing of farie envents, locations see http://www.mensfestival.com Jump to: navigation, search Flower-Power Bus Hippie (also hippy) is a term originally used to describe some of the rebellious youth of the 1960s and 1970s. ... Jump to: navigation, search Neopaganism (sometimes Neo-Paganism) describes a heterogeneous group of new religious movements which attempt to revive ancient, mainly pre-Christian and often pre-Judaic Indo-European religions. ... Ecology is the branch of science that studies the distribution and abundance of living organisms, and the interactions between organisms and their environment. ... Ecofeminism is a biocentric environmental movement with cultural and social concerns. ...

Radical Faeries hold that the Queer soul is linked with the natural world, that Queerfolk are called by the Good Goddess to be gatekeepers to the spirit world. As a sign of this spirit connection, many Radical Faeries take a ritual name, known as a Faerie Name. This tradition is inspired by the Native American “Medicine Name” tradition, where a shaman gives spiritually significant individuals a Medicine name. In the Native American traditions, a shaman always bestowed Medicine Names upon initiates; one does not choose it. The Faerie Name tradition is similar, however, Radical Faeries frequently choose their own Faerie Names.

The concept of Queer people as a nation apart drove Hay's thinking from early on. The African American liberation movement provided models of how to think about society's subgroups. Radical Faeries ask: Who are Queer people? What are we for? Faeries see "Queer space" as a kind of magical spiritual arena of possibility, in which consciousness and events develop in a fundamentally different and authentic fashion. African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ...

Faerie gatherings are a space "between the worlds." Generally, Radical Faeries celebrate the 8 pagan holidays of the year [Samhain (Halloween), Yule (Winter Solstice), Imbolc (Candlemas), Ostara (Vernal Equinox), Beltane (May Day), Litha (Summer Solstice), Lughnasadh (Lammas), Mabon (Autumnal Equinox)]. Gatherings are frequently held in connection with these holidays. A ritual at gathering is likely to include candles, fires, prayers, chanting, dancing, streamers, bedizened drag queens, ritual music, mud pits, sweat lodges, fire dances, drumming, running through the woods naked, Sufi twirling, and spiral dancing. Nudity at ritual is common. And as always, Radical Faeries take inspiration from Aboriginal America. As Chief Seattle of the Duwamish tribe stated: “Your religion was written on tablets of stone by the iron finger of an angry god, lest you might forget it. The red man could never remember or comprehend it. Our religion is the traditions of our ancestors, the dreams of our old men given by the Great Spirit, and the visions of our sachems; it is written in the hearts of our people."

Heart Circle is a central tool of the Radical Faerie way of life, and arose from the ideal of consensus, as developed in democratic and feminist thinking. Heart Circle is informed by a theoretical opposition to hierarchy, drawn from feminism, from radical politics, and from Hay's idea of "Subject-Subject Consciousness." It includes aspects of various therapy, human-potential, and consciousness-raising groups. Each day at gatherings this group process forms for discussion, emotional processing, and emotional healing. Heart Circle is a place to share thoughts and feelings, to heal, to make decisions, and to develop a deeper understanding of what it means to be a Queer person. It can also be a place of confrontation, of unflinching examination of our deepest beliefs, understandings, and faults. Disagreement – rooted in the “contrarian” tradition of some Plains Indian Tribes - is a Radical Faerie first principle. Jump to: navigation, search Consensus has two common meanings. ... Jump to: navigation, search Feminism is a diverse collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women, especially socially, politically, and economically within a context of patriarchy. ... Subject-SUBJECT consciousness, a concept proposed by Harry Hay believed by Hay to be queer peoples unique perspective on the world. ...

Informality, acceptance, and flamboyance of dress (and undress) are the norm at gatherings, which are held across the world. Radical Faerie sanctuaries - rural land or urban buildings where Faeries have come together to live a communal life - now exist in North America, Europe, and Australia.

Bibliography

• Harry Hay, Will Roscoe (ed.); Radically Gay: Gay Liberation in the Words of its Founder; Beacon Press (1996)
• Stuart Timmons; The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement; Alyson Publications (1990)
• Mark Thompson; Gay Spirit: Myth and Meaning; St. Martin's Press (1987)
• RFD: A Country Journal for Queer Folk Everywhere

Alyson Publications is a book publisher founded in Boston, USA, now based in Los Angeles, specialising in feminist and gay fiction and non-fiction. ...

External link

• Mens Festival is a incomplete listing of events and thier locations
• Great Web Portal for Radical Faeries
• Faerie Camp Destiny in Vermont
• Faerie Camp Destiny's building project in progress in Vermont
• FolleTerre Faerie Sanctuary in France