|
|
|
| Enter |
|---|
When the Mystai were first founded by our Mother Coven, so many moons ago, we were part of the Feminist Dianic tradition. We all had roots in that tradition and it had a profound beauty and meaning for us. This meant, as part of our Dianic heritage, that only "women-born women" were part of the Sisterhood. We even asked about that very issue on our membership form. We were all fine with that.Times change. We became our own Tradition almost 3 1/2 years ago because we realized that the work we were doing was taking us away from our Dianic roots. Some things were kept, some things from other Paths and experiences were added, and new things were created. One of the most profound changes was our shift to focusing on the Lunar Mysteries solely and away from seasonal observances. It was the reason for the name we chose. We are Initiates of the Lunar Mysteries. As a consequence of this shift, our group was spiritually adopted by Hekate as our Matron. We work with other Goddesses as well, but Hekate is our focus in many ways, one of the most important being the celebration of Her Mysteries as a central part of our Sacred Year. The more you work with Hekate, the more She challenges you. You can't do things just because they were always done that way. Everything can and will be questioned. Hekate isn't gentle about it either. If you try to ignore Her challenges She will put them in your face until you can't run away any longer. One challenge that hit me as Mentor Sister and Founder had to do with the Dianic paradigm that we were for "women born women only". As I learned more about Hekate and Her ancient traditions as part of discovering what I could to help recreate Her Mysteries, I learned about a group of Priestesses called the Semnotatoi, who served Hekate at Ephesus and other sites. The Semnotatoi were in many ways, what we would consider transgendered. They were not like the men who were castrated to be eunuchs but still appeared to be men for all intents and purposes. They were castrated, yes, but they served as Priestesses. They were ritually considered to be women. After learning about this, a little bug started pestering the back of my psyche. As I spent more time not only with the Mystai, but with Hekateans, learning and growing as Hekate's Priestess, that little bug got bigger. Finally I realized what the issue was and why it was there. I felt a moral and spiritual mandate to open up the Mystai to all women, both cis-gendered and trans gendered. The Mystai have spent a long time off and on discussing this issue, coming to consensus as best as we could. As of today, and for all time, The Mystai of the Moon are now a Sisterhood of Priestesses, both cis-gendered and fully transgendered. The stipulation for full transgendering has to do with the process physical, emotional, psychic, and spiritual that the person undergoes while transitioning. I have seen someone I love go through it, and it is a process I feel deserves to be a time treated as its own Mystery with its own experiences and revelations that should be completed before any new kind of spiritual process is undertaken, especially one that involves going deep into the Mysteries of Hekate (or any other deity for that matter). So I am happy to say that the question about "women born women" has been removed from our membership form.