Gay Witchcraft: Empowering the Tribe
Author and "gay shaman" Christopher Penszack created an outstanding and groundbreaking resource for the gay Wiccan community in this thorough and heartfelt guidebook. Despite the fact that homosexuals often found spiritual nurturance and respect within the Wiccan cultures of the past, modern day practitioners usually avoid any discussion (or even acknowledgement) of gay witchcraft. Thankfully, Penszack not only breaks the silence, he does it with grace, clarity, and enormous integrity. When speaking to spell-casting ethics and the laws of magick, Penszack emphasizes theWiccan Rede: "We believe in the Rule of Three, meaning all you do comes back to you three-fold, or three times as strong as your original intent," he explains. "As a result, all your intentions, even if directed at someone else, eventually return to you, so keep your intentions with the highest of morals." From this foundation of causing no harm, Penszack gets down to the nitty-gritty of gay witchcraft, such as meditation techniques, animal totems, altar-building, auras, spells, and invocations. His writing stays tasteful yet candid as he delves into the tantra-like section on "Sex Magick" where he suggests spells and activities to encourage connection and healing (including a "soul baring" exercise of massaging and/or licking a partner’s chakra path and then maintaining eye contact during orgasm). Penszack sprinkled many fascinating facts into this magick manual. For instance, he offers a list of "queer positive deities," including Adonis (often invoked for lesbian love spells) and the Native American/Inuit goddess Sedna (a gynandromorphous creation deity). He also provides an extensive bibliography and list of online resources.--Gail Hudson