Retraction of Statement of Solidarity with Yeshe

We, the undersigned, had previously supported Jessica Matthews aka Yeshe 
Rabbit, with this Statement of Solidarity which we now retract. We have recently 
received information concerning multiple allegations of transphobic actions on 
her part that have caused us immeasurable concern. We believe those who have 
shared their experiences with us. We will protect their confidences and their safety.

Accountability is important to us. We recognize the harm that our initial Statement 
caused and extend our sincere apologies. If you feel you need further information 
or would like to discuss accountability with us, please contact us at 
 divinespiralingrainbowtribe@gmail.com.

Let this be our public declaration that we will fight to protect our trans, enby, agender, 
intersex, gender questioning, gender abolitionist, and other beautifully gender diverse 
kin with our hearts, souls, minds and guts. We are stronger together.

In solidarity,

Rainbow Melissa ra Karit, Baba Jaina Bee, Ravensong Phoenixfire, 
Kitsune Hearthweaver, Shell Selvans

On Becoming: A message from Panprosdexia

Earlier this month, as we prepared for our first Divine Spiraling Rainbow Tribe sabbat of the year, Panprosdexia made it clear that they wanted to be the deity honored in the upcoming ritual.  It made sense for us to be honoring the agender, asexual, unpartnered deity of the Tetrad ++ whose name is All Acceptance for a rite that honors who each of us truly are as well as who we are becoming.

In preparation for last weekend's Rite of Becoming, I sat with Panprosdexia and listened to the messages that came through.  While we are just getting to know one another, we found a commonality in our affinity for ravens, and that opened the line of communication.  In the intervening weeks between the first planning meeting and the rite itself, they had a lot to say.  When working with Deity that I don't plan to aspect, I will often draw a Tarot card to see if it is in line with the messages I have been receiving.

Drawing from Paulina Cassidy's Joie de Vivre deck, I pulled the Two of Coins:

 Flexibility. Motion, Balance, Focus, Change. Life isn’t an easy ride.  The key to becoming involves an acceptance of the flow, and acceptance of who we are, and from that we learn how to navigate balance and become who we are meant to be.

This was completely in line with the messages I had been receiving from Panprosdexia:

Finding quiet time is essential. You need that quiet space in the dark to really meet yourself without distractions and find out what is really important. I hold containers of space.  If you fill that space with what is expected of you, you’re not making room for who you actually are. You’re allowed to ask who you really are.  It’s OK. It’s why I made this space for you.  Even the things you are the most worried about revealing to the world I hold close, because that is who you are.  And it is when you are able to be with me, and accept yourself as I accept you, that you are able to truly Become.  In the darkest of places when you feel most alone, I will be there to take your hand.

That same night that I shared Panprosdexia's message with those present at ritual, I was welcomed as an official member of the Divine Spiraling Rainbow Tribe.  In preparation, I have been working to empty my vessel of others' expectations of me, and I bring to this Work what I truly have to offer.

Written by Ravensong Phoenixfire

To Phanes

[video shows a white button down top and a necklace with a crystal heart]

Invocation for Sovereign Phanes

"Great Winged One
Protogonos, come
We follow thee from dark to light
O scepter bearing Father of Night
Sovereign Phanes, come."

- Written by Rainbow Melissa ra Karit

How we gender (or don't) our children

I recently re-read the GENDER book. First and foremost, this was a good reminder that I 
have more to learn (and always will!) about gender identity, and other identities, and how 
to honor people’s chosen identities. But more specifically it got me thinking about how we 
gender children, especially really young children who haven't declared a gender for 
themselves.

The book got me thinking more consciously about how we as a society assign gender 
(typically based on a binary understanding of sex) to babies. I started noticing this 
behavior in particular when I was pregnant. The most common first question was ‘Is it a 
boy or a girl?’, and since I didn’t want to know until the birth I used humor to move through 
these moments, as gently as I could making the (often entirely unconsidered) point of how 
useless it is to know a fetus’s genitalia. I typically responded with ‘It’s a human!’

I still want to say ‘My kiddo is a human!’ when people ask if my child is a boy or a girl 
(although now they assume one or the other, most often based on shoe color it seems, 
and ask if they're correct). It feels a bit more pedantic to me now though to try to use that 
same humor, because I do use male pronouns, and precisely because he has a penis. So 
the humor still works when I get the sense that I’m interacting with someone who will 
appreciate the ridiculousness of pink shoes meaning someone is female and a girl. But in 
other settings, I find myself just answering the question and moving past the interaction. It’s 
such a strange feeling, because part of me is thinking in those moments: ‘Why do you want 
to know my child's sex in order to determine how you want to interact with them?’ The 
question seems so intrusive, and irrelevant. But being frustrated in those moments doesn’t 
really help me understand where people are coming from, and it doesn’t help me move 
through my days with gratitude, both of which are aspects of myself that I highly value. 
Reading the GENDER book again got me thinking more about what I can creatively do about 
this discomfort.

My main action around this discomfort is to find a term of endearment that is not gendered 
(my go-to is “kiddo”), and to catch myself when I refer to children with assumed-gender 
pronouns, and instead use the term ‘kiddo(s)’ to refer to kids, or ‘children’ if I’m feeling all 
formal. I like the approach of challenging myself not to gender children - it feels like a step in 
the right direction of not gendering people in general...until they actually have a chance to tell 
me about their gender, if they choose to!

Rainbow Moon Circle's Yearning Moon this Saturday in Alameda

Come As You Are To…
The Rainbow Moon Circle’s Yearning Moon
A Full Moon Circle Honoring and Celebrating Gender Diversity

Saturday, January 6th, 7:00PM
Doors open at 7:00PM, circle is cast at 7:15PM
Please arrive on time, no one is admitted after the circle is cast.

Home of Truth Cottage, 1300 Grand Street, Alameda
The Cottage is around the back, take the side path through the garden to find us.

$10-$20 donation accepted, no one turned away for lack of funds

The mxgender Priestxes of Come As You Are Pagan Congregation invite people of any and all genders - or none - to join us in exploring our divine nature as children of the stars. Together, we open our hearts to mystery and make a wish for the future.

You are welcome to bring something to charge on the altar, as well as cakes and ale to share after.

Our Mission: The Rainbow Moon Circle is a safe and sacred space for all to explore the spectra of gender and identity. We honor the holistic experience of self-determined identity and its infinite intersections. We celebrate the glittering prism of Divine existence that is powerful, delightful, enthusiastic, playful, transformative, magickal, compassionate, and reverent. Live the Spectra!

Join us on Facebook

Divine Spiraling Rainbow Tribe Daily Practice 2018

The Divine Spiraling Rainbow Tribe invites anyone who lives outside the gender binary or who questions the authority of the gender binary to join us in using this song as part of your daily meditations, prayers, or other workings.

With Water We Heal: Witches of Transgression 2018

AN INVITATION TO THE WITCHES OF THE WORLD - PLEASE SHARE WIDELY!

2018 Witches of Transgression Working:

With Water We Heal

The Divine Spiraling Rainbow Tribe is a Mystery Tradition within CAYA Pagan Congregation devoted to exploring and honoring sacred mxgender Mysteries. Our Priestxes embody the experience of identity beyond the gender binary, and celebrate the glittering prism of Divine existence that is Powerful, Delightful, Enthusiastic, Playful, Transformative, Magickal, Compassionate, and Reverent. We invite people of all genders or none, but especially mxgender and non-binary people, to join us in doing a public, world-wide working to bring a better world into being. By performing this ritual in our own spaces all over the world each Full Moon, we grid the Earth with the energy of the Divine, toward a shared vision of intentional change.

I want to participate. What should I do?

If you would like to join us in this effort, please:

1. Share this working and its intent with other people you know, or in your own social media, using the hashtag #witchesoftransgression
2. Follow our blog.
3. Perform the following ritual at your own altar each Full Moon between now and December 22, 2018. We begin Jan. 1, 2018, but join us whenever you wish.

THE RITUAL WORKING: EVERY FULL MOON