What if an intersexed person (hermaphrodite) wanted to become Pagan Clergy?

Question

What I've learned regarding gender and sex just collided with my religion. I'm hoping a wise PAGAN on here can help me sort it all out.

God is male, Goddess is female. Got that, makes sense. Those two energies combine to make life. I happen to be a mix of both (I'm genderqueer, NOT intersexed). That all works just fine.
Male, female, that's sex. Ok, so that means I'd be a Priest (as apposed to a Priestess) if I took that path that far, because I'm male, right?
So what if an intersex wanted to become a Wiccan/Pagan Priest/Priestess? Now I'm confused.
Any Pagans around here who could shed a little light on this?

What about transsexuals (FtM and MtF)? What would their clergy titles/roles be?
Anything special I should know about genderqueer individuals like myself?

hermaphrodite worship... no, you completely and utterly missed my point entirely. Forget the same page, we're not in the same library!

I've met God and Goddess. Don't tell me Goddess doesn't exist, I know Her well enough to be sure of Her existence.

Answer 1

First, I don't believe I've ever heard of a true hermaphrodite (which would have to be a woman with a functioning testes that could make herself pregnant).

Second, God is not "male". He doesn't have a gender.

Third, there's no such thing as a "goddess".

Can't really tell where you're going with this, but if you start off with false images of your main characters, it can't be good.

Answer 2

There shouldn't be any problem at all.

Remember that the gender of the gods, and the gender of the clergy are just symbols. Now, in Wicca, there's this belief that only a man can invoke the God and only a woman can invoke the Goddess. That's just nonsense! A person of any gender (male, female, m to f, f to m) can invoke any deity. In Voudoun, a worshiper can be possessed by a deity of either gender. Why should it not be so in Wicca?

Now, in other Neopagan traditions, there isn't such a heavy emphasis on gender polarity. In Druidism, for example, or Hellenic Reconstructionism. There are simply a lot of gods, some are male and some are female, a priest can be either gender, and there only needs to be one priest to perform the rituals. The Wiccan idea of a priest and a priestess come out of the symbolism of Sex Magick, Thelema, and Crowley's Gnostic Mass. But, again, it's just symbols. If two men, or two women wanted to do the Wiccan Great Rite (symbolic or actual) then why not?

Neopaganism tends to be very accepting of people of different sexual and gender identities, however, I can understand the potential to feel alienated because of the way Wiccan ritual is usually structured to be performed by a Priest and a Priestess. It's really more flexible than that, though.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

First off, Shibbole, we should talk. I wish more people were open minded and could see that not everyone has the same set of beliefs and the fact that both male and female entities have been accounted for in every known religion, just in most Christian denominations were taken out long ago, and then replaced with the Virgin Mary... anyway, that out of the way, I believe your title as far as in a Pagan clergy would be whatever you wish it to be. If you count yourself as male it would be a priest, as female a priestess. But then the question need be asked of what is in a title? You know you and those you pray to know you as well as you do. What you call yourself has to fit YOU, don't worry about the rest of the world. Ok?

Answer 4

I can only speak as a Wiccan, but ALL Wiccans are generally considered to be clergy -- it is not a religion where there is a distinction made between priest/esses and the congregation. We generally have no titles, except in the case of initiatory Traditions where a High Priestess and a High Priest might lead a coven, or in the case of a respected elder in the non-initiatory Traditions who might be given the title High Priest/ess as a gesture of respect.

If an intersex were to choose to become Wiccan, they would probably be regarded as manifesting both the Goddess and the God in one body, and therefore capable of acting as High Priest or High Priestess in any given rite where such roles applied. Gardnerian Wiccans would probably not admit them to that Tradition, however, since Gardnerian covens are arranged in strict male/female polarities.

Transsexuals would be accepted by most Traditions except Gardnerian, I'd guess, and treated as the gender they had chosen for themselves.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

In Pagan cosmology, everything has male and female aspects to it, including people. So, yours are just a little more obvious than most folks. It means that you actually have less of a handicap. In those balance-seeking paths (as opposed to the untra-feminists ones which don't require it of women) people are encouraged to embrace their non-obvious gender, and get in touch with it. You don't have to do this, because you already have. The Gender of the clergy doesn't matter. You can be a Priest or Priestess, whichever YOU prefer. Priest is actually a gender-neutral concept (as is God, really) and the "ess" is only added to stress the feminine. Many Pagan clergy refer to themselves as Reverand, which is gender-neutral, and that might work best for you. The gender you claim is the one you are most comfortable with.

Answer 6

I guess in the situation of a hermaphrodite, it would be up to them to decide whether they want to be a priest or priestess, or whether they would prefer to be known as simply reverend, or something like that. As for transgendered, I would think that role would be determined by what gender they consider themselves to be, regardless of the outward appearance of what gender they are. Pagan is a very broad umbrella, though, it encompasses many religions. I can't tell you what all Pagans would think, only what I consider appropriate. In some Pagan cultures, transexuals and hermaphrodites are uniquely suited to special duties, because they are both. I think it would really be determined by what tradition you are studying in, and what your group thinks about it....

Answer 7

I'm sending this question to a friend of mine...

but I'm pretty sure that there is no such heirarchy for pagans...

There are some Wiccan groups that have leadership roles but "Pagan" is an umbrella term that includes many different religions (like native american spirituality and greek mythology as well.)

Most of the Wiccans and Pagans that I have met are solo practitioners or they belong to a coven (which is usually just 3 people) or a tribe (if they are natives - in which case they would have a "Shaman").

The only churches that they go to are interfaith churches like Unitarian Universalist or Science of Mind....
They range from Judeo-Christian based in their beliefs all the way to Norse Mythology....

But there are gay pagan "activity" groups... like "The Radical Fairies" and another one that I cannot remember the name of at the moment...

Answer 8

I am not sure of the Pagan teachings but In Hinduism at least, God and Goddess unite to be the perfect being... that is why in their patheon ( and Tibetan Buddhist pantheons ) there are images of God with his Shakti or a Deity in embrace with their consorts.

In fact... In Hinduism ... Lord Shiva appears in a half male-half female form, one side male and one side female and THAT is supposed to be an image of a complete being... a being perfect in Power ( Shakti ) and the Application of it.

As for the pagan's view... i am very interested to know as well.

Answer 9

i also believe their are 2 gods, one feminine, one masculine. 2 gods though, all my reading leads to this without actually saying it. and the way this world is you might not want to tell them you are hermaphrodite, tis none of their business, but you are who you are, you shouldn't have to hide it either. if it does comes down to it.

sorry i do not have an answer to your question, just my 2 cents worth

Answer 10

You must understand, there aren't many here who think that what you are asking is serious. Paganism in general tends to be based upon whatever floats you boat. Hedonistic and all.

So it wouldn't matter if you started your own religion if that's what you wanted to do. There is all kinds of crap about hermaphrodite worship if that's where you want to go with this.