#womanspirit

“Eat gently and with gratitude

Give thanks for the circles that are life”

Art by fernleaf

from WomanSpirit Volume 9 #33

The above is a page of letters sent to WomanSpirit, a lesbian feminist spirituality quarterly magazine. The letters were published in the year 1975, on page sixty-three of the Fall Equinox issue (September). The black and white illustration in the corner is a tree with its leaves falling.

One of the letters on this page is from the Elf Queen's Daughters, a Pagan group of elves who were predecessors of the otherkin community that would start decades later, in the year 1990. The EQD called one another sisters regardless of gender. Some of the EQD were transgender women. Transcript of the relevant letter:

"We do find womanspirit in all human beings. It is all a matter of degree. Who did possess womanspirit in abundance last week, may be possessed this week of no more than a complaining disposition and an attitude that could turn away the dog that would love them and the lover that should blow away such a curious possession as the petty and fussy woman, picking over last week's ecstacy until all that's left is the paper-back novel stuff. And, who did last week bicker about and gossip with the 'bull-pen' folk at work about whatever was most small and mean, may this week be 'the elf queen's daughter' and call down hawks from the blue skies and bring love and freedom from the stars and womanspirit pure from The Great Mother of All Things.

"We know so many witches, so many 'high priestesses', so many elves, so many who know so much and experience all that man and woman may experience; yet, we know very, very few who know magic to call it their own. Magic must be one's very own to be really functional. A deaf-mute may partake of a wordless magic that would make him-her master in and within the real domain of one's limited life. Our Elven people have a wordless, inner magic that goes deeper and yet transcends formal adeptship and charming lore. We are vowed to release this potential energy. We have no vows to tradition, or friendship or even sisterhood relative to this. We are vowed to give all to love and only love. The living WOMANSPIRIT within our tribal body finds this love only amongst those few men and women who sister-all manner of man, woman and beast because of an inner need to do so."

The letter is signed "The Elf Queen's Daughters," followed by two Post Office Box addresses, one in Aurora, Illinois, the other in San Francisco, California.

Source:

Ruth Mountaingrove et al. (Sept. 1975). WomanSpirit, 2(5). https://jstor.org/stable/community.28046746

Content warnings if you go read the rest of the magazine issue or series: Although the above excerpt is suitable for all audiences, the rest of the magazine has adult content, and should only be viewed by people over age 18. Common themes are sexual assault, violence, trauma, nudity, and references to reproductive organs. Pieces in the magazine are often about having survived sexual violence, and the pains and joys of reclaiming one’s sexuality. For another thing, this magazine comes from early radical feminism in the 1970s, before the schism fully developed between the rest of the movement and those who were transgender exclusionary (TERFs). Because of this, some contributors to the magazine expressed biological essentialist views that are offensive to some sexes and genders. The magazine printed these alongside contributors who, in contrast, expressed inclusive, biologically transcendent attitudes, as the elves did in this letter. WomanSpirit is a very moving and historically important collection of poetry, articles, letters, art, and comics made by many women, but all sorts of readers who browse it will find something that’s upsetting or even seriously triggering to them, so explore with caution.

HAIL MARY, FULL OF GRACE

GOD-WITHIN MANIFEST IN WOMAN

HALLOWED BY THY NAME, LOST IN SHADOW

NOW FOUND IN BLAZING LIGHTNING.

HOLY MARY, POWERSOURCE TOUCHSTONE-WOMAN

MOTHER, SISTER, DAUGHTER, GRANT US THY STRENGTH

VIRGIN GODDESS, SWEET MADONNA, MOTHER EARTH, MOTHER OF SORROWS,

LIVE WITHIN US