Pagan, Shinto & Spiritual Book Reviews March 2017

Pat Mosley (editor), Arcane Perfection: An Anthology by Queer, Trans and Intersex Witches

(Cutlines Press, 2017)

I miss Pat Mosley. He was a writer here at Patheos until the takeover by Beliefnet and subsequent contract changes resulted in a number of writers leaving Patheos Pagan (he blogs independently here). Before he left, I downloaded a copy his book Arcane Perfection: An Anthology by Queer, Trans and Intersex Witches, and then completely forgot about it until finding it on my Kindle the other day, and I was glad to be able to read something by him again.

Incidents of discrimination against members of the trans, intersex and non-binary community within Paganism, most notably the exclusion of transgender women from “women-only” groups, has generated waves of discussion regarding trans-inclusiveness in Pagan religions and has forced Pagans of all genders and sexualities to confront the fact that the community is divided on these issues. Arcane Perfection offers, in a very timely fashion, something necessary: a collective voice for those who are directly affected by this discrimination, the transgender, intersex and queer community.

Arcane Perfection is a scrapbook of essays, interviews, poetry, rituals and art by mainly transgender and non-binary Pagans and witches. For a cisgender reader such as myself, it is a useful insight into a community that’s pretty unknown to me, and it is fascinating to read about trans and non-binary interpretations of magic and Pagan beliefs. It’s also eye-opening to read first-hand accounts of this community’s interactions with the wider Pagan sphere – both the good and the bad. This does include considerable criticism of Patheos Pagan and other well-known Pagan blogging platforms for allowing Pagans who express non-inclusive views towards transgenderism, such as those who say that transgender women are not “real women.” Whatever your thoughts about Patheos Pagan on this issue, it’s good to hear the opinions of those affected.

One of my favourite parts of Arcane Perfection is an interview with transwoman Bast-follower Avalon Lee, who shares some wise words. On the accusation that transwomen cause “female erasure,” she counters:

 “I say no, we are not ‘erasing’ the idea of womanhood, quite the contrary. We are so much of what we are, of what the Divine Feminine put within our hearts and souls, that we have no choice but to go to whatever lengths are necessary in order to show the world that we fully embrace the womanhood that we know that is us.”

I think she also hits the nail on the head when addressing the source of some of the fears of Pagans who have rejected trans individuals:

“People, even Pagans, who fear the unknown or who disavow of the knowledge we could give them, or who simply are “set in their ways”, choose to voice these things and display their ignorance of the real truth because they fear we’ll be “taking” something from them. Something intangible. They don’t really know what, and if you press them about it, they’ll respond negatively…The only way to counter this is for us to be more visible, to show that Pagans are an inclusive group of people who won’t deny the essence of what and who you are, simply because of their own worldly prejudices. I’m not saying they’re bigoted, because they truly may not be, it may just be that it’s a sub-conscious facet of their own fears that manifests as what you see and hear from those people.”

From what I can gather from his other writings, Mosley has an interest in Luciferianism and Left-Hand paths, and fittingly the writing in Arcane Perfection is anarchic, radical, individualist and (warning!) doesn’t shy away from explicit language and sexual descriptions. It also includes plenty of full-colour artworks and illustrations, so I recommend reading this book on a full-colour screen if you can.

I think Arcane Perfection is valuable reading for Pagans of all gender identities. For cisgender Pagans, it can aid understanding of what it means to be a trans, intersex or queer Pagan. For transgender and non-binary Pagans, it offers inspiration and ideas for incorporating one’s gender identity into one’s spiritual life, in addition to celebration and affirmation of trans and queer Paganism. Above all, Arcane Perfection is a reminder that Neo paganismis maturing, both in the sense of the word that the movement is getting older and ideological differences are arising between different generations of Pagans, and in the sense that Paganism is growing in size, influence and visibility. This means that Paganism is going to run into similar issues affecting other larger, older religions, such as divergence between those who want to maintain a more orthodox approach, and those who want their religion to be liberal and open.

But Arcane Perfection also reminds me that Paganism owes a great deal of its development in the 70s to those who felt rejected or oppressed by other religions – namely, women. And today, it continues to attract groups who find themselves marginalised by other religions, like the LGBTQI+ community. That Paganism can offer refuge to the persecuted and oppressed is, I believe, one of its greatest strengths, and a trait that has directly led the broad, diverse and enriched movement we see today. It’s a trait that we should strive to keep.