Trans Spirit Rising
In Transgender Warriors, Leslie Feinberg's radical vision of trans people as catalysts of radical, positive change to society, published in 1996, we get to share Leslie's excited discovery of the history of gender-variant people in spiritual roles in cultures across the world: “the more I dig, the more I find that although what we think of as gender today has been expressed differently in diverse historical periods, cultures, regions, nationalities, and classes, there appears to have always been gender diversity in the human population.”
Transgender Warriors offers a tangible political, vision, seeing trans people as born to play a role in delivering to the world social justice and both sexual and economic equality - Leslie's vision is informed by knowledge of the significant roles transgender people have historically played in the spiritual life of many pre-Christian societies.
“I discovered abundant evidence of male-female transsexual women priestesses who played an important role in the worship of the Great Mother... throughout the Middle East, Northern Africa, Europe and western Asia... including the Syrian Astarte and Dea Syria at Hierapolis, Atargatis, Ashtoreth or Ishtar, Hecate at Laguire, and Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus... transsexual women priestesses known as gallae were found in such large numbers in Anatolia, an area which today is part of Turkey, that some classical texts report as many as five thousand in some cities. The gallae served the Great Mother, known to the Phrygians as Cybele, whose worship is believed to date back to the Stone Age.”
Leslie's research opened up a global history – the book lists many African cultures that featured sex/gender transformation among the followers of intersexual deities, also gives examples from North and South America and quotes Korean American transgender historian Pauline Park on Asia: “Transgendered identities and practices have been documented in every traditional Asian society. In some Asian traditions, transgendered figures perform religious or quasi-religious functions... the basaja of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi... the hijra of India... the Korean mudang... the idea that combining the characteristics of both sexes and both genders could connect one to a transcendent spiritual realm seemed to underlie the practice.”
For Leslie, being trans is a calling to personal and spiritual liberation, but personal freedom is not enough: “...as Trans people, we will not be free until we fight for and win a society in which no class stands to benefit from fomenting hatred and prejudice, where laws restricting sex and gender and human love will be unthinkable.... Look for us – transgender warriors – in the leadership of the struggle to usher in the dawn of liberation.”
Revealing the largely hidden history of the spiritual roles undertaken in pre-Christian cultures by what we now call trans people, and other identity groups in our modern rainbow nation, informs and broadens our understanding of the spiritual aspect, message and potential in trans identity today.
Blossom Of Bone, by Randy P Connor, 1993, takes us into deep exploration of historical examples of the connections between 'homoeroticism, gender-variance and the sacred': “I feel it is imperative to let others know of the lives and works of homoerotically inclined and gender-variant spiritual workers and spiritually minded artists who have lived in other cultures and periods of history, so that we may draw on their memory for sustenance. I feel it equally imperative that we know the history of the torture and execution of our spiritual ancestors at the hands of patriarchal religious forces, so that we do not critically adhere to the patriarchal faiths in which many of us have been reared.” He acknowledges that for queer people to see ourselves as healers and transformers of consciousness is a choice that not all will make, but he suggests we consider “that in our expression of gender and sexual variance we may be reflecting an essential queerness that is found throughout nature...”
In her 2007 book, Omnigender : a trans-religious approach, Virginia R Mollenkott, wrote that “many of the priests and priestesses who dedicated their lives to various goddesses were gender-variant, either homosexual or otherwise transgendered. For instance, within the spiritual household and center of learning led by Sappho at Lesbos (approximately 620 B.C.E.) lesbian priests served the goddess Aphrodite, who is sometimes depicted as hermaphroditic, with both female breasts and an erect phallus. And the transgender qedeshim who served Asherah, the primary goddess of the Canaanites, also served her consort Baal, who was depicted as a golden calf and who loved both women and men.
“The Phrygean and Greco-Roman goddess Cybele was served by galli, male priests who were eunuchs and transvestites. Ironically, the highest-ranking galli wore miters ribboned turbans or tiaras associated with effeminacy the irony being, of course, that Western Christianity still uses the term miter for a bishop's liturgical cap. When the galli were being initiated they were referred to as "those who are being born again" - another irony, considering the frequent use of that term by the Evangelical Right. Once initiated, the galli were called sometimes "half men," sometimes "not men."
Trans shaman Raven Kaldera turned this historical knowledge into practical exercises aimed to empower trans readers in their journey to wholeness through working with archetypes and spiritual practices. His book Hermaphrodeities: The Transgender Spirituality Workbook, published 2008, gives us myths, histories, practices and commentaries on many ancient non-binary deities, some still very much around in the world today, including Shiva, Dionysus, Baphomet, Cybele and Aphrodite Urania. He describes his motivation to write the book coming about “Because I saw the earth-centred spiritual community... dividing Deity up into rigid male and female categories as dualistic and stifling as the Judaeo-Christian division of Good and Evil.... A spirituality centred on the sacredness of life in this world must acknowledge and hold holy all the ways of being alive in this world, and that includes us.”
Not every trans person feels the spiritual call. But for those who do, Raven offers his own experience as advice: “... when the Gods and spirits killed me and rebuilt me and brought me back and told that I was a shaman now, their apprentice and tool, one things was made clear: A shaman always serves a tribe. Without a tribe, they are nothing. And my tribe is all of you. Transexuals, both transwomen and transmen. Genderqueers. Cross-dressers of whatever stripe, fetishistic or otherwise. The normal-looking ones who have an inner female or male so strong that they demand part of their life... the intersexuals.. the ones who just know, inside, that they are both male and female.”
In 2023 Ariana Serpentine published Sacred Gender: Create Trans and Non-binary Spiritual Connections, another practical guide that also brings in nonbinary figures from pagan pantheons to help “create a spiritual connection to your gender and incorporate it into your personal practice.”
A review of Sacred Gender on TransSurvivors says: “For some people, finding spiritual belonging can be a way of healing. Connection to community, history, and ritual can be critical for some folks. While this is not for everyone, especially considering how religion and spirituality are often sites of harm for trans and nonbinary people, Sacred Gender reminds us that there is a place for trans and nonbinary spirituality for those looking for it.”
The works of Buddhist feminist Rita M Gross (1943–2015), who was Professor Emerita of Comparative Studies in Religion at the University of Wisconsin, include Buddhism Beyond Gender and Buddhism after Patriarchy in which she argues that true Buddhist liberation necessarily includes liberation from the “prison of gender”. Inspired by the language of the thirteenth-century Japanese master, Dogen, Gross argues that accomplishing such a liberation requires a “study of the [gendered] self” in order to “forget the [gendered] self.”
T.W. Moore, Deconstructing the Gender Binary – Implications from Taoist and Buddhist philosophy: "Daoists have long had the understanding that each of us is a mix of male and female. Yin (female energy) and Yang (male energy) are not two separate fixed entities but are fluid – the one flows into the other as a continuous cycle of energies” (McKenna, 2018). The well-known Daoist symbol of the yin yang well depicts the fluidity of gender with a wave of white (male energy) punctuated by a small black dot (feminine energy), indicating that even when in an intensely masculine psychological state, one can maintain balance by yielding room for feminine psychology. The inverse occurs on the other pole of the diagram. This psychological androgyny is said to provide a person with balance and strength.”
In the 2020s, initiatives in Trans Spirituality are of course manifesting also on the Internet. Here's what I've found:
Website Transvitae | Trusted Source For Transgender News & Information features some articles by 'Techno Druidry' aimed at spiritual trans folk: such as...
Transcending Spirit: Finding Connection as a Trans Individual is a guide that “aims to empower transgender people to embrace their unique paths to spiritual fulfilment. It emphasizes the importance of body positivity and self-acceptance, and provides ways to discover body-positive spiritual practices. The guide also offers actionable steps for finding or cultivating supportive spiritual communities that celebrate transgender identities, ultimately encouraging readers to confidently own their distinct spiritual journeys.”
Connecting with Higher Self: Spirituality and Gender Identity:
“The concept of a higher self goes beyond the physical body and personality. It represents our purest essence, unbound by limitations like gender identity. This higher self is often described as a wellspring of wisdom and compassion that connects us to all things.
“For transgender individuals, the idea of a higher self that transcends gender can be incredibly liberating. It offers a sense of wholeness and validates the feeling that your true identity exists beyond the limitations of the physical world.
“Spirituality offers a beautiful framework for transgender individuals to explore their authentic selves and connect with a higher consciousness that transcends earthly labels. Through various spiritual practices, one can cultivate self-acceptance, inner strength, a sense of community, and a sense of purpose.”
Introduction to Light Omega - Light Omega
GurujiMa, the founder of Light Omega, a spiritual centre dedicated to the Divine Feminine, in Massachusetts, USA, in a 2025 published an article Transgender as a Spiritual Path, which reminds me of Leslie Feinberg's radical vision:
“There is a reason... why souls, prior to taking birth, have chosen to experience this physical lack-of-fit between self and body in order to accomplish several tasks. The first is the task of personal learning about the balance of male and female within themselves. This balance belongs to each person and in a given lifetime may become a spiritual goal. Next, there is also a significant contribution that can be made to a world that is in need of freeing itself from role classifications about gender, and instead embracing an ideal of individual freedom to choose who one is.
“The ‘crisis’ that sensing that one is not in the ‘right’ body presents is both a search for an authentic self, and a service to the world in the establishment of individual freedom. The right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” applies to this decision as to all others. Thus, it may be said that those who have chosen bodies that present to the conscious self a sense of ‘lack-of-fit’ between identity and the gender of one’s birth-body are also embarked upon a spiritual path toward greater truth. This can happen even if the conscious self has no interest in spirituality and does not consciously experience themselves in service to a larger human need...
“...There is, for many, the personal experience of their own body and the need to come into harmony within themselves that is paramount. But for some, the right to choose is not only a transgender right. It is a human right. Therefore, those brave souls who have chosen to bear witness to this right in this way may be considered wayshowers for others, pointing the way to a future in which all that joins people together in unity will exist comfortably within the context of great diversity. This is the motto of ‘e pluribus Unum,’ and it is written within the hearts of all who seek unity with all.”
Enfleshed.com, a website dedicated to 'spiritual nourishment for collective liberation,' features a section of audio recordings - Our Table: Trans Spirituality Conversations, also available on Spotify:
“Though our stories and presence are often erased, trans spiritual and religious people exist and always have. Many of us have found spiritual wisdom and practices to be essential sources of strength, comfort, nourishment, and solidarity.”
Sibyls – Christian Transgender Group
Sibyls is a voluntary UK group for Christian transgender, non-binary and intersex people, partners and allies. founded by Jay Walmsley in 1996
Through a confidential network of members, Sibyls aims to
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Support the process of self-knowledge, understanding and self-acceptance
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Provide safe and private spaces in which trans people are able to be who we are, where we can explore our concerns and be true to our own identities
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Develop long-term caring relationships among Sibyls
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Signpost help and support in times of crisis, for transgender people, families and friends
TRANS SPIRIT FLOURISHING is an initiative of Josephine Inkpin - an ecumenical Anglican priest and trans woman in Sydney, Australia, “seeking to shed light on transgender life & spiritual understanding and to help develop support and encouragement for trans people in our varied journeys.”
“Especially in Western societies, the lives of sexual and gender minorities have often been cloaked in invisibility where they have not been under attack. Yet most cultures have recognised the reality of sexual and gender variance and many have provided social space and sometimes dedicated roles for gender variant people. Among the best known have been ancient eunuchs, Indian hijras, Balkan sworn virgins, Thai kathoeys, and Lakota winkte. Not all of these sit easily of course with some traditional Christian traditions but, at the very least, they remind us to look more deeply and to engage more compassionately and creatively with gender expression in our own day and cultures.In Australia for example we might greet far more positively our Indigenous transgender people - such as the Sistersgirls or Yimpininni of the Tiwi Islands and elsewhere - and affirm the gender nonconforming traditions of the Pacific and other neighbouring peoples.”
Even the American National Catholic Reporter features an article by Maxwell Kuzma called The fruits of the transgender spiritual journey:
“The transgender spiritual journey is a process of "soul seeing" — discerning what is invisible to the eye yet profoundly real. For transgender people, this means uncovering the authentic self beneath layers of societal expectations and discovering deeper truths about who we are and how we are seen. In my own journey, this practice of seeing has not only led me to find happiness and well-being for the first time in my life, but also led me to a more intimate relationship with God than I ever had before.
“One of the greatest gifts of the transgender journey is the gift of embodiment: the experience of truly inhabiting one's body, seeing it as an expression of the soul's deepest truth and a beautiful gift from God.
“Our journeys of transformation, though unique, are part of a larger story — a story where each of us is invited to see the invisible, embrace the sacred and step into the fullness of who we are meant to be in the eyes of God. To step out and "be not afraid." This is not just a journey for some, but for all: a journey into the light of authenticity, love and divine grace.”
I guess I shouldn't be surprised at manifestations of Christian trans spirituality, after all as Paul puts it in Galatians 3:28, “in Christ Jesus” - that is, in a humanity that respects ourselves as beloved siblings stemming from one Divine Spirit - “there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one.”
I share these examples to show, as Kit Heyam puts it in their 2022 book dedicated to uncovering the threads of trans history througout time, Before We Were Trans, that “... the intersection of spirituality and gender disruption is a cross-cultural phenomenon... thinking in spiritual terms can help us to move beyond the restrictive, binary gender categories that humans have created.”
Cross-cultural indeed – some psychologists and academics have even noticed what's going on:
Spirituality, Transgender Identity, and Coming Out 2015 by Walter O.Bockting & Charles Cesaretti.
“In a number of cultures (e.g., Native American and Asian communities), the transgender experience has held positive, spiritual meanings—a value often denied to transgender people in today's Western society. We posit that gender dualism (male versus female, man versus woman, masculine versus feminine) has contributed to the social stigmatization of transgenderism, and that dualism in terms of the separation between science and religion (body versus spirit) has contributed to the medicalization (and pathologization) of transgenderism. A paradigm shift has been gradually occurring over the past decade, in which transgender individuals are affirming their identity and sexuality as distinct from both male and female identity and sexuality. This process can be described as a spiritual discernment or awakening, not only for the individual involved but also for family and community, including their community of faith. Attention to this coming-out process by mental health practitioners and spiritual counselors can help transgender individuals to transform stigma into pride and to integrate body and spirit.”
Euphoria and Spirit: G-d, Body Mod, the Transsexual Divine | Springer Nature Link
by Shoshana Rosenberg, Damien W. Riggs & Salem Skelton. Part of the book series: Critical and Applied Approaches in Sexuality, Gender and Identity
“...we look at how trans experiences interact with the Divine. In particular, we will explore how transsexual practices of body modification create channels for spiritual experiences, and how experiences of Divinity and connections to G-d can be transed to produce spiritual euphoria. We end with a discussion of transsexual citizenship in Divinity, and discuss how processes of spiritual (re)connection create counter-narratives to oppressive, fundamentalist religious worldviews.”
Yes! Let's create more “counter-narratives to oppressive, fundamentalist religious worldviews”!!!
If you got this far (thank you!) I have a 10 second treat for you - BBC Transgender Discussion from 1973 - Open Door Series . This TV programme featured 4 transgender people in discussion with a couple of respected intellectuals of the time and the whole show is well worth a watch. This clip is from the introduction to the panel members and shows that the cosmic power of transness has always been seen by some!
I will close with this spectacular testimonial from an Oral History Interview with Angela Brightfeather, January 24, 2002. (Interview K-0841. Southern Oral History Program Collection interviewer Chris McGinnis)
“It seems that almost all transgender I talk with‚ say 'I am not a very spiritual person'‚ but a lot of transgender people seem to have a lot of spirituality around them, or a belief system related to spirituality. I think that they are in touch with the fact that they are special, but a lot of them don't know how special. They don't know how powerful that they are... I can walk across a restaurant floor and I can have every single eye in that place, including all men, all women on me, just looking at me, thinking, projecting towards me all of their thoughts and all of their ideas and all of their power. Just draining themselves trying to figure out what I am, what I am doing there, and what I am made of, and why I am doing this and why I am doing that, as a shaman, as a transgender person, I feel that transgender people have always been able to absorb that incredulous ability about what people have about what they do and absorb that power and act like a sponge and be able to keep that, use that power and pass it on to other people.
And I think that is where the essence of the transgender person really is. That they are those type of conveyors, transits, bridges of power, that allow power to pass through them, from them in greater quantities than a lot of other people. I think that the possibilities for transgender people recognizing that power and being able to use that are limitless, are infinite, they can change the world that we live in, which it goes back to my first statement of being able to believe that we can do that we never thought that we really could, we're able to change the world, we are able to make meaningful changes in society.”
