Gay Love Could Save Humanity

African Wisdom Teacher Malidoma Some of the Dagara Tribe brought his tribal understanding of gender and sexuality to the West in the 1990s. He, and his wife Sobonfu Some, both taught that it was accepted in their culture that a person's inner gender may be different to their physical sex, and that the sexuality of same sex orientated individuals was regarded a spiritual energy that was used for the greater good of the community. Gay sex was seen as a way to open gates to other dimensions, to worlds of nature spirits, ancestors, angels and deities.

On Queer Spirituality

A collection of thoughts, ideas and viewpoints on 'Queer Spirituality', collected together by Shokti.

How to respond to Uganda’s Fascistic Anti-Gay Law?

The parliament of Uganda has voted for laws imposing lengthy prison sentences for people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer or who are found to have promoted homosexuality. It establishes the death penalty for homosexual acts with under-18s, people with disabilities and several other groups, plus sets out punishment for failing to report suspected gay relationships – so criminalising the families and friends of LGBTQ+ people.

WE ARE ALL TRANS by Shokti

“The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free.” Maya Angelou 

Trans people are constantly in the news, and getting similar, hostile, treatment to that given out to gay men in past decades: currently we are seeing anti-trans bills in American legislatures, protests at Drag Queen Story Time events in the UK, and anti-trans rhetoric flowing freely.  

Let's celebrate

At Queer Spirit Festival:
Let's celebrate
women loving women
men loving men
genderfluidity
non-binariness
queerness in all its fabulous forms...

Is Nature, the Universe and Everything Queer?  By Mackerel Sky

It has been proposed that one of the main driving forces of evolution, far outstripping that of Competition is the process of Symbiogenesis. Symbiogenesis happens when two or more organisms have been living in a symbiotic state long enough for them to join together and create a new separate species.

2023 Tickets now on sale

17-21 August 2023, Bridwell Park, Devon

Call for contributions

Come help co-create an inspirational journey into love at Bridwell Park next summer!

Reclaiming Queer Nature

QUEER SPIRIT FESTIVAL  17-21 August 2023  Bridwell Park, Devon, UK

Queer Spirituality is the movement of LGBTQ+ people DISCOVERING, CELEBRATING and REDEFINING WHO WE ARE, shaking ourselves free from limiting beliefs and imposed labels as we RECLAIM QUEER NATURE as innate and part of the sacred Wholeness of Life.

Queer Spirit Rising

The division of gender and sexuality into neatly defined and labelled boxes by the new scientific kids on the block, psychology and sociology, from the late 19th century onwards has never sat well with some gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

My name is Joseph and I am a Pagan Priest

I am also a Queer person.

What is a Pagan Priest you might ask? Well, in essence, it’s a choice to dedicate a life, at least in part, to be of service to my community by bringing an opportunity to connect with self, the natural world and the Divine to those who are so inclined.

News from Queer Spirit Festival - February 2022

We know you have been waiting patiently for news of plans for the next Queer Spirit Festival – finally, here it is:
The next Queer Spirit is planned for SUMMER 2023. 

The Origins of Homophobia

by Shokti

In the latter days of the Roman Empire, after the adoption of Christianity as the official state religion, a long, dark period of anti-sexual, homophobic, pleasure-denying control of the human spirit began.  The roots of this prejudice are so deep they have been forgotten in the modern world.

Lammas Blessings

by Lindsay River 

Lammas in England, Lughnasa in Ireland, Calan Awst in Wales, the Gule of August in Scotland (1st August) marks the celebration of the grain harvest – a glorious time of dancing and feasting when the precious corn has been reaped and carried in safely. It may be celebrated later than 1^st August, when the grain has been brought home. The time before grain harvest was often a hungry one when the flour from the year before had run out – I experienced this in Crete in 1980 when there was nothing but hard dried bread in the shops.

Beltane 2021

By Matt

The roaring fires of Beltane are off in the distance and the magic of Beltane is close at hand. Flowers are blooming, the Earth is turning green, and the temperatures are getting ready to soar.

Beltane is a time of rising passions, regeneration, love, kicking off a period of rapid growth, both in nature and in us. We can set the stage for this Beltane by getting in touch with what ignites our own inner fires, and dedicating that creative energy towards our intentions for the year ahead.

Respect is  all it takes
By Pippa Dee

As a transgender woman who completed my surgeries in 1995, I think it’s time I said something about the way some people in the LGBT+ COMMUNITY view us.

The Queer Spirit of Uranus
By Shokti

In the ancient wisdom tradition astrology, Saturn was long considered to be the ruling planet of Aquarius, but the discovery of Uranus in 1781 led to this unusual planet being assigned the role. 
Uranus is unique as the only planet in our solar system that rotates on its horizontal axis. 

LEO LEO LEO LEO: GO LIONS!!!

Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars are all in the playful, generous, fire sign of the Lion as we gather on the 14^th August for our Queer Spirit celebration . After a tough year energetically, the cosmos is saying get out of the cage! It's time to have some fun, feel the love and spread the joy: the Leo in us all is the child of the universe wanting to perform, play, make love, and he is shining through ALL of our personal archetypes right now! SHINE ON!

Queer Spirit of Africa

At Queer Spirit Festival we celebrate the loving, spiritual nature and gifts of LGBTQ+ people across the world – but rather than encourage lots of people to fly around the planet to the UK we hope to influence the global understanding of queerness by inviting our asylum seeker and refugee sisters and brothers who are already in Britain from Africa, the Caribbean and other places where we suffer persecution.

Community
by Al Head

Community is a word we use a lot at Queer Spirit. Queer community, lgbtq community or, more properly perhaps, the lgbtq communities. Community is something we hope for, that we long for, that we seek, that we strive to create? But what do we mean by community? And is community what we are trying to create at Queer Spirit Festival?

The Land is Waiting

Whittlebury Park in the green fields of central England is our home this year for the third Queer Spirit Festival from August 14 to 18.  The land is waiting for us.

500+ Queers are expected for a 5 day celebration of the sacredness of life and the spirit of creativity, passion, joy and activism of the global queer community.

Queer Mystics Gather
by Shokti

The gathering together of a few hundred pioneers from the lgbtq+ community to celebrate the sacredness of life through sharing love, creativity, spiritual and magical/ceremonial practices - in a world where we are still condemned and persecuted by so-called 'holy' religions - is a HUGELY RADICAL STEP.

Self-Discovery at Queer Spirit Festival

5 days in the Northamptonshire countryside August 14-18, 2019: Queer Spirit Festival is a great place to meet people, chill in the summer sun and check out some of the many incredible activities on offer: we have a packed programme of workshops, playshops, performance and ceremonies - for all tastes and all ages.

The Call of Queer Spirit, by Shokti Lovestar

Until the spiritual nature of queer people is understood, religious persecution of us will not end.

The world will not do this work for us, we find this understanding inside ourselves.

Only we can define our own queer spirit.