Transgender Day of Remembrance 2013, San Francisco

A report of Jaina Bee's attendance at this recent event can be read on our Out and About: events page.

Who we are

CAYA Coven's Beyond the Binary was established after the business meeting held at our annual coven retreat on September 21, 2013.

The consensus of that discussion was that a Genderqueer/Genderfluid group would form to explore practices and mythologies related to the experience of being Genderqueer/Genderfluid.  

 

And so came together the charter members of the Third Gender Circle. With great joy, we introduce ourselves:

Q'desha Yansumi Diwata
I am the High Priestess of Musical Ecstasy, ordained in two traditions within CAYA Coven - The Bloodroot Honey Priestess Tribe and the Wildflower Tradition. Among other things, I am a cisgendered, pansexual, woman of color.  It is my dedication to the Goddess Lilith and my work with Her that drives me to work with my fellow Priest/esses to help co-create sacred, safe spaces for all beings.

Gatekeeper Jey

Melissa ra Karit
I am a genderqueer Ordain in the Wildflower Tradition. I am the Priest/ess of the Body-Temple, holding the sacredness of our bodies as a central tenant of my spiritual practice and service. It is my hope and intention that we will co-create more spaces for trans* and other gender variant pagans.

owl of love  
As a bisexual being, i self-identify as genderqueer and genderfluid, driven on the dynamics of my partner(s) and those around me. Feminine & Masculine are both necessary and in a ratio that always is in flux. My hope & dream for us is to practice our unique ways of being in a safe space with generative, uplifting language while connecting with the Divine (Deity and mortal) all along the prisms of gender & sexuality.


Jaina Bee
I am an Ordain in CAYA's Wildflower Tradition, dedicated to Kuan Yin, Ganesh and Hermes. I see great potential in the concept of metagender. My privileged status as one who can be completely open and out about my gender identity and my Pagan spiritual practice keeps me ever mindful of the responsibility I have to serve those that cannot be so. May the Ancestors and Divine Ones guide my actions for the benefit of all beings.

On this Transgender Day of Remembrance we humbly offer our service to the Divine

The Transgender Day of Remembrance occurs every November 20 to memorialize people who were murdered as a result of transphobia. "Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender — that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant — each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people."—quoted from transgenderdor.org

Hail our Beloved and Honored Ancestors!
With deep respect and affection, the members of Beyond the Binary offer our gratitude, today and every day, to all of the brave and wonderful Ancestors who did not fit into the gender expectations of their time and place. Their trials and victories serve as true inspiration for us. We strive to honor the memory of their light by taking up the mantle of working towards the acceptance, honoring, and respect of all lives in this world.  We pray for these Ancestors' benevolent guidance as we accept stewardship of this work to help integrate all genders into a loving union in service to Deity. Blessed be.

Who Are We?
Beyond the Binary is a newly-hatched group within CAYA Coven, formed of our public Priest/esses, charged with furthering the work of CAYA Coven towards a more proactive inclusion of people who self-identify beyond the gender binary in the spiritual and magical work that we do. We most definitely invite people of every gender to participate as we move together through uncharted realms of language, identity and spiritual practice.

Though the discussion of gender inclusiveness in Pagan practice began long ago, and we anticipate it will continue indefinitely, we, the members of Beyond the Binary, intend to spend the coming year making connections and alliances with other groups and individuals who share this concern, to participate in events that support and celebrate diverse gender identities, and to report and discuss our observations here in this public blog. Our longterm vision is to provide sacred service to gender variant people and communities.

With Love and Respect,
Beyond the Binary

Strega Manea Trinacria, High Priestess of Wild Magic
Q'desha Yansumi Diwata, High Priestess of Musical Ecstacy
Gatekeeper Jey, High Priest of Doorways and Crossroads
Juniper, Priestess of Psychosynthesis
Melissa ra Karit, Priest/ess of the Body-Temple
Jaina Bee, 2014 Wildflower Priest/ess Initiate
owl of love, 2014 Wildflower Priest/ess Initiate