Spiritual Transgendering

Author Unknown

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

In some religious traditions there are certain roles for females, certain roles for males, and certain roles for sexually ambiguous persons. A sexually ambiguous person can "turn into" a man or a woman, depending on the religious task at hand. For this reason, sexually ambiguous persons are very valuable.

In modern society, sex roles are becoming less defined, although they still exist.

A sexually ambiguous person may be a homosexual or bisexual, may be transsexual or transvestite, may even be a physical hermaphrodite. Sexually ambiguous persons can store tremendous amounts of psychic energy and release it at the proper time for the benefit of the community. They can service as "amplifiers" or "storage batteries" for the karma or spiritual energy of their entire community. For this reason, sexually ambiguous persons are usually treated very well in traditional societies.

In some societies, they remain under the close guidance of a shaman, who directs their society; in other societies, they themselves receive training and become shamen, healers, diviners, spokespersons, heads of reli­gious societies, etc.

In the following discussion, by "man" I mean a person born with male genitals, and by "woman" I mean a person born with female genitals. I use the words "man" and "woman" referring to the physical gender identity rather than to the psychic or spiritual gender identity, which is ambiguous or with the opposite sex. The point is to bring the physical gender identity in line with the psychic gender identity, without resorting to surgery or other drastic means. Further, in this discussion, when I say "man" I mean a man who aspires to be a woman, and when I say "woman" I mean "a woman who aspires to be a man", for brevity I omit this qualification. Obviously, anyone who follows these sug­gestions aspires to be a member of the other gender.

A sexually ambiguous person can "turn into" a member of the desired gender by use of appropriate dress, hair style, mannerisms, thoughts, herbs, stones, ritual objects and deities.

Dress, hairstyle and mannerisms are obvious. Length of hair does not matter, as, in traditional areas, most people, male and female, have long hair. A sexually ambiguous person in modern society can likewise adopt the appropri­ate hairstyle regardless of hair length. For example, a woman can wear her long hair in a simple ponytail at the nape of the neck, while a man can use creative styling techniques and ornamentation so as to adopt a woman's hair style even if his hair is short. When altering one's appearance it is important to be subtle. The effect is not to appear to be a "drag queen" or a "bull dyke", but appear as a normal member of the opposite sex. Many people who cross-dress overdo it badly.

One who wants to change his or her gender should exercise discipline and think thoughts appropriate to the opposite sex. Meditation helps here. In modern society, sex roles are becoming less defined, although they still exist. A person who wishes to change gender can research the sex roles of his or her ancestral cultures, whether actual or adopted, and adapt to these roles, as much as possible, to his or her life in modern society. Sex roles can become oppressive if taken too strictly; the pur­pose here is not to take on rigid taboos but rather to take on the spirit of the other gender. So one can be somewhat flexible here.

One area that calls for careful observance, however, is the menstrual taboos. Properly under­stood, these taboos are for a woman to conserve and recharge her power periodically. She refrains from contact with others and from doing certain types of magic (except in the case of immediate need) so as to return to society afterward, refreshed and recharged. Some women fast at this time. A man can observe these same rites during the full moon, or the dark of the moon, whichever "feels" right.

Herbs - here's where we get into the nitty gritty. A man would use herbs such as mugwort, damiana, blue and black cohosh, motherwort, squaw vine, shepherd's purse, pomegranate, etc. He would eat soy products such as roasted soybean, tofu, T.V.P., etc, such as soybeans contain precursors to oestrogen. A woman would use herbs such as saw palmetto berries, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginseng, red pepper pods, plantain flowers, licorice mandrake, etc. all of these herbs are ok to use in tea or food. In addition, a man can wear or carry elder, willow, or rose, while a woman can wear or carry holly, oak or wild mushrooms. The above, edible, herbs may be worn or carried as well as eaten or drunk, but please don't eat or drink the herbs specified for wearing or carrying. Be careful with long term use of these herbs, as some have natural substances that are precur­sors to the human sex hormones. Long term use of these herbs can cause one to develop the secondary sex charac­teristics of the opposite sex. This may or may not be what one wants.

Another good herb for gender changing, whether man to woman or woman to man, is lichen. One does not wear, carry or consume it: instead one cultivates it in the home or the yard and absorbs its spiritual influence.

Stones also help. A woman would carry tiger eye, univalve seashells, a bar magnet, carnelian, or citrine, while a man would carry bivalve seashells, a round magnet, moonstone, selenite, or geode. These can be made into jewellery or carried in a pocket or pouch. Wear the pouch around your waist rather than around your neck so that the Influence may reach the sex centre more easily. The pouch may also contain the appropriate herbs.

In many traditional societies, ordinary men worship certain deities while ordinary women worship other deities and both sexes honour certain deities in common. A man who aspires to become a woman would honor the women's deities and vice versa. There are also certain deities who are hermaphroditic, and are special to sexually ambiguous people, though ordinary people don't pay much attention to them. In modern neopagan and new age thought, certain deities are popular with ordinary men and others popular with ordinary women, so one who wishes to change gender would worship the appropriate deities of the other gender, either from neopagan or new age trads, or from his/her ancestral trads, whether actual or adopted.

People who frequently change gender usually do so for a specific ritual purpose, and often make or have made certain ritual objects, garments and jewellery which they use while cross-sexing and don't use while performing in their primary gender role. Garments should be of natural materials, and loose and non-constricting. The effect should be to evoke the spirit of the other ender rather than ape the physical appearance. Jewellery and ritual objects may incorporate the appropriate herbs and stones as well as symbolic crafted items. When not in use, store them appropriately and recharge them periodically. A man would keep his "woman things" in a box made of cedar or willow, together with the herbs and other substances mentioned above. Recharge them periodically by exposing them to the moonlight at full or new moon times. A woman would keep her "man things" in a box made of oak or holly, together with the appropriate herbs and other substances. Recharge them periodically by exposing them to sunlight at noon, especially at the solstices, equinoxes, and cross quarters.

A final word on gender-changing - it's a serious thing. It affects your karmic balance and also the karmic balance of everyone around you. Undertake it only for a definite, serious purpose, not for trivial reasons.

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