Month: August 2013

afrodiaspores:

Portraits in the series, “Guardians of Dahomeyan Deities from Benin to Maranhão [Brazil]” (“Zeladores de Voduns do Benin ao Maranhão”) by Márcio Vasconcelos, 2009-2011. In order from the top: ”Pai Euclides,” “Curador,” “Mãe Elzita,” “Mundica Estrela,” “Irene Moreira,” and an unidentified practitioner. Voduns are spirits of Fon origin venerated in the Brazilian religious formations Tambor da Mina and Jeje Candomblé.

Ethnographer and historian Kelly E. Hayes defines a key term:

Zelador means “caretaker” or “custodian” and typically refers to the caretaker of a building or residence…Spirits are conceptualized as members of one’s family, and like family members, the labor required to maintain harmonious relationships with them involves activities of remembering, caring, feeding, and feting. These activities ensure the continual flow of axé, vital energy or life force, necessary for the well-being of both humans and spirits.

Our Job

I’m glad I have this blog somewhat separate from the actual scrollofthoth.com. Now more than ever because I want to say some things about the upcoming podcast that would be inappropriate to post on the main page.

The topic was Pagan Leadership and LBGTQ Pagan Spirituality. One of our guests was a member of the Re-Formed Congregation of the Goddess. We got to a point in the conversation where we were talking about the experience of being a woman and I asked, “Does the RCG allow transgender women to join?”

To my surprise the answer was no.

One thing I berate my Christian friends about is that they don’t police their own. If I were a Christian, it would be my mission to let the world know that the Westboro Baptist Church and Pat Robertson DO NOT represent Christian beliefs. They are not good Christians.

Admittedly, I didn’t call out my guest on the podcast. I didn’t think it would be appropriate to attack my guest. Maybe I was just a coward. But I do want to say that I think this stance is wrong. That those who identify as female should be treated with all respect and given the same opportunities as someone who was born that way. I don’t believe that a person’s birth gender determines how well they will understand a particular spiritual path.

This guest does not represent the RCG, and I’m not sure if this is the policy of RCG International, but if it is, it’s up to us as pagans to say loud and clear they they DO NOT represent us, and that their behavior is not acceptable.