“Mother: a female parent.” “Father: a male parent.” If you’ve been reading along with the other articles in this series, you might know where this is going. If not, that’s ok too; we’re all on this journey together. In the comment section of the first article in this series, there’s a lively dialogue going about sex and gender and blood mysteries and the LGBTQ community. Some of the comments come off to me as bigoted, while others just strike me... Read more
Sex, gender, and sexual orientation. These are three distinct forms of identity, and we each have our own combination of all three. Gender (at least, my understanding of gender), is that thing which we feel about who we are and how we present ourselves to the world. I believe that gender is not something we choose; it is something integral to who we are, and we discover it over time for ourselves. In the United States and much of the... Read more
My daughter was two years old when she first told her birth mother that she was a girl. For those of you with children, this might not come as a surprise; toddlers often begin to describe themselves at this age. They might say their own name, or insist that something is “mine.” This is also the age where imagination play really takes off; pretending to be an animal, a cowboy, or a princess. Certain special toys are dragged everywhere, sometimes... Read more
In 2012, Ruth Barrett was a guest of honor at one of the oldest and largest Pagan camping festivals in the United States, Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG), where she was asked to lead The Women’s Ritual. The ritual description, as found in the PSG schedule, specified that it was for “…women who bleed, will bleed, or have bled our sacred bloods…” Understandably, there was some public outcry. Melissa Murray, who attended that PSG, had this to say in an interview... Read more
I see a lot of folks I’ve met at festivals, posting memes about being weird, misunderstood, different from “normal” people, etc. I see posts about frustration with the world in which we live; frustration with health issues, poverty, and social stigma. What I do not see, is “Look at this cool thing I just did to help!” posts. Read more
I reach for the music; but I want the quiet of my mind. I’m always looking for something, to fill the silence, and drown out the din. It’s been a struggle this year; it’s been unspeakably hard. I’ve spoken of it. The words won’t always come when bidden. There’s a place inside of me, that sings. It resides around campfires, and sways to the feeling of bodies in tune with mine. It recognizes the stars at night, and hopes for... Read more
“To Know, To Dare, To Will, To Keep Silent” The first time I heard this phrase, I didn’t realize its origins were somewhat murky, just that it resonated in a way that was hard to explain. Yet, I did take one issue with it… “To Keep Silent.” I’ve been an activist of one stripe or another for most of my life. There exists video footage of me, age four, pointing to some trash floating in a river, and despairing at... Read more
For many creative people inspiration comes at a cost. We all have our own secrets; the things we’d rather not look at or talk about. Usually, it’s in breaking those things apart, that we find our power. Read more
When you have two husbands, two apartments, and two sets of holidays, life can get complicated. Learn from Ashleigh's Poly Holiday mistakes! Read more
When it looks like Autumn during your Yule celebration, there's something wrong, and it should be alarming for those of us who say we are a part of an earth-centered tradition. Read more
The Ash Grove
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