Number 157 Spring 2014 $9.95 faeries worldwideIssue 158 / Summer 2014 LOST CULTURE Submission Deadline: April 21, 2014 www.rfdmag.org/upload In April 1984 the Centers for Disease Control released official findings that the retrovirus HTLV-III, now commonly known as HIV was the cause of AIDS. In that time, the world has lost a great deal of people to the pandemic of the virus as well as social and political reaction / lack of reaction to both helping mediate the illness and work to find useful ways of promoting ways of preventing it's spread. As a community we witnessed a level of political inaction based on bias to the communities impacted by HIV while we rallied to help and nurture those in our midst impacted by both the virus and the community at-large's bias and fear. We're hoping to engage our readers in exploring some of the cultural accomplishments which came with facing HIV as well as considering the cultural losses which have left a void in our hearts. So we're encouraging people to consider ways of showing through art, photography, film stills and through writing how we engaged in responding to HIV and it's political impact as well as sharing work from people lost in those years whose work has been "lost." Many communities were and are impacted by HIV so encourage all of our readers to share this theme within the diverse community they are a part of to share those reflections with all of our readers. Photo courtesy NAMES Project RFD 157 Spring 2014 1 Roaming Foreign Dispatches Vol 40 No 2 #157 Spring 2014 Greetings from a snowy New England. As we layout out 21st issue here in the Northeast, we’re welcoming voices from around the globe sharing their experiences of bringing a fey spirit and sense of community to the world while also asking ourselves what we can do to create a more positive experience for all GLBTQ people in the world. With that in mind, we welcome the news from the collective working to bring us the Global Faerie Gathering this summer while also being thank- ful for the efforts to empower people throughout the world around queer issues and how our perspective has something to offer while the cultures of other communities also have significant opportunities to see similarities amongst the variety. We’re coming upon the fortieth anniversary of RFD this Fall and as our experience through the magazine has changed it also clear from these pages that RFD has also given people opportunities to create personal and change in their immediate environment, we welcome that feedback and hope everyone who has a RFD story to tell will consider ways of sharing it for our Fall 2014 issue. With that anniversary on our minds, we’re hoping the RFD community will consider helping us as we undertake digitizing our back issues to share with a larger audience and as we make our paper back issues available to archives and libraries. If you can help please be in touch with us. Meanwhile, we hope you enjoy the personal sharing across time and loca- tion about how the Radical Faerie dream is becoming real around the world in ways which reflect our hopes as well as our changing visions and as we welcome the diversity our collective tribe. Wishing everyone a splendid spring! —The RFD Collective Between the Lines2 RFD 157 Spring 2014 RFD is a reader-written journal for gay people which focuses on country living and encourages alternative lifestyles. We foster community building and networking, explore the diverse expressions of our sexuality, care for the environment, Radical Faerie consciousness, and nature-centered spirituality, and share experiences of our lives. RFD is produced by volun- teers. We welcome your participation. The business and general production are coordinated by a collective. Features and entire issues are prepared by different groups in various places. RFD (ISSN# 0149-709X) is published quarterly for $25 a year by RFD Press, P.O. Box 302, Hadley MA 01035-0302. Postmaster: Send address changes to RFD, P.O. Box 302, Hadley MA 01035- 0302 Non-profit tax exempt #62- 1723644, a function of RFD Press with office of registration at 231 Ten Penny Rd., Woodbury, TN 37190. RFD Cover Price: $9.95. A regular subscription is the least expensive way to receive it four times a year. Copyright © 2012 RFD Press. The records required by Title 18 U.S.D. Section 2257 and as- sociated with respect to this magazine (and all graphic material associated therewith on which this label appears) are kept by the custodian of records at the following location: RFD Press, 85 N Main St, Ste 200, White River Junc- tion, VT 05001. Mail for our Brothers Behind Bars project should be sent to P.O. Box 68, Liberty TN 37095. On the Covers Front/Back : Efthimios Kalos Production Managing Editor: Bambi Gauthier Art Director: Matt Bucy Editor: Paul Wirhun Submission Deadlines Summer–April 21, 2014 Fall–July 21, 2014 See inside covers for themes and specifics. For advertising, subscriptions, back issues and other information visit www.rfdmag.org Artists in This Issue Efthimios Kalos Covers, 40 Walt Cessna 2, 32-33 Donald Rizzo 4, 47 Justime 8 Weston Pratt 18 Benyamin Reich 19, 25 artboydancing 26, 61 Gary Schliemann 27, 28 Photo by Walt Cessna from his series of San Francisco fey RFD 157 Spring 2014 3 CONTENTS 2014 Gatherings ................................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 A Letter to RFD Readers .......................Hammer ........................6 Why a Global Faerie Gathering? Liberation from Harry to Now ...............Bill Blackburn ...................8 Using Our Queer Gifts For the Greater Good .....Ed, of all people .................11 Nothing to Fear ...............................Swarm .........................13 On the Front Lines of Homophobia in Uganda ........Tim McCarthy and Pepe Julian Onziema ........14 How Africa Helped Me Find The Faeries .........Sweet Chi ......................20 Operation Sodom: Radical Faeries & the Pagan Revival in the Promised Land ..........Amichai Lau-Lavie AKA Superkali .............23 Interview with Hugglewrumpf and Teacosy .......Franklin Abbott .................27 Once Upon a Time in Atlanta ...................Franklin Abbott .................30 Some EuroFaerie History .......................Junis ...........................34 EuroFaeries .......................Eilendes Wasser a.k.a. Trish-Trash .............37 Efthimios Kalos ...............................Efthimios Kalos .................40 New Faeriespirit in Austria, Central and Eastern Europe ..................Mata Hari ......................41 Dear Fellow Faeries ............................Walteci de la sana ...............45 Interview with Habibi ..........................Franklin Abbott .................48 The First Bali Gathering ........................Chas Nol .......................52 India In Me ...................................Arthur Durkee (Dragon) .........54 Planet Criers: Reflection on Recent Earth Actions .......................Reverend Billy ..................57 There are times when I believe they mistake my enthusiasm for ambition. . . . . . Gavin Geoffrey Dillard ...........604 RFD 157 Spring 2014 RFD 157 Spring 2014 5 The best place to get a quick feel for the avail- able gathering options around the world is to visit www.radfae.org—it usually includes an up to date listing of gatherings around the world as well as listing regional sanctu- aries and communities. Other communities with gatherings and events of interest to RFD’s readers: The Billy Club thebillys.org California Men’s Gathering www.thecmg.org Easton Mountain eastonmountain.org Gay Spirit Visions www.gayspiritvisions.org MidWest Men’s Fest www.mwmf.us Sex Magick www.faeriesexmagick.org Didn’t Gay Used to Mean Happy? LoveSpirit Valentines retreat Oxfordshire England Mar 28-30 Earth Conclave Family Reunion Southwestern WI Apr 3-6 GSV Spring Retreat Highlands NC Apr 25-27 Betane Short Mt TN Apr 25- May 4 Saratoga Springs CA Apr 30- May 4 Beltane Amber Fox ON May 1-4 Spring Community Week Folleterre France May 2-9 Beltane Gathering Folleterre France May 10-17 Victoria Day Gathering Amber Fox ON May 16-19 BC Faerie Camp Squamish BC May 16-19 Generate Gathering Ukiah CA May 22-29 Walt Whitman Faerie Camp Destiny VT May 23-26 California Men’s Gathering Camp Shalom CA May 23-26 Rheingold Gatherette Folleterre France May 28- Jun 1 Sex Magick Dos Rios, CA May 31- Jun 7 Sex Magick Folleterre France Jun 12-19 Family Gathering Faerie Camp Destiny VT Jun 13-16 Billy Club Jul Fourth Saratoga Springs CA Jun 30- Jul 6 Musical Creative Arts Gathering Folleterre France Jun 5-14 Summer Solstice Gathering Glastonbury UK Jun 16-22 Faerie Spirit Gathering Kawashaway MN Jul 1-6 Spiritual Gathering for Radical Faeries Wolf Creek OR Jul 3- 10 Jul Fourth Faerie Camp Destiny VT Jul 4-6 Faerie Witch Camp Faerie Camp Destiny VT Jul 11-13 Sex Magick Folleterre France Jul 12-19 Witch Camp Wolf Creek OR Jul 19- 26 Mid-West Men’s Fest McLouth KA Jul 22-31 Summer Community Week Folleterre France Jul 26- Aug 1 27th Annual High Summer Gather- ing Amber Fox ON Jul 30- Aug 4 Lammas Kawashaway MN Aug 1-10 SUMMER GATHERING Folleterre France Aug 4-13 Blue Heron Gathering Blue Heron Farm Aug 5-8 Summer Gathering Breitenbush OR Aug 13-17 Global Faerie Gathering and Sympo- sium Ukiah CA Aug 25- Sep 1 Billy Club Labor Day Rancho Cicada CA Aug 28- Sep 1 Kink Gathering Faerie Camp Destiny VT Aug 29- Sep 1 GSV Fall Retreat Highlands NC Sep 18-21 Thanksgiving Gathering Amber Fox ON Oct 10-13 Fall Foliage Faerie Camp Destiny VT Oct 10-14 Sex Magick for Alumni Saratoga Springs CA Oct 20-27 Billy Club Halloween Saratoga Springs CA Oct 29- Nov 2 Sex Magick Sunshine Coast, BC Nov 21-28 Billy Club New Year’s St. Dorothy’s Rest CA Dec 27- Jan 1 2014 Gatherings “Desire” by Donald Rizzo6 RFD 157 Spring 2014 D ear RFD Readers, My name is Hammer, I am 57-years-old and I want to come out! This is my heart share. I want to come out as a global activist for queer liberation and organizer of our Faerie Tribe world-wide. This is my invitation and plea for your support and assistance. I have lived the most outrageously blessed life. I am blessed with relative wealth and freedom, like so many of us living here in the US, Europe and richer industrial countries. I have been blessed with clean water, decent housing, food, civil liberties, and access to economic opportunities. But equally or maybe more importantly I have been spiritually and culturally blessed by having lived most of my life inside the Radical Faerie Community. I live in a community that affirms and celebrates me as a sexual and spiritual person. A community that val- ues the deepest essence of my being. In no way am I marginalized, shamed, abused, or threatened inside this community. I am loved. When I was 24-years-old I met Harry Hay at a Faerie Gathering at Harbin Hot Springs in Califor- nia. One clear winter night we spent many hours floating in a warm mineral springs pool, our arms around each other, bodies held tight quietly talking. At the time I had little understanding of his signifi- cance as a gay rights visionary. To me he was an old man who had lived a long time as gay activist. I asked him questions about his history and our history. I was curious to know what his life had been like. I specifically remember asking, “Did you know anyone who had been imprisoned in the Nazi death camps during World War II? ” Yes he did. He had known of men who left the US and returned to Germany in an attempt to rescue lovers known to be in peril. He said, “We never heard from them again”. Holding living gay history in my arms made a big impression on me. I understood I was part of a continuous movement that went back many decades and would have many decades further to go. Thirty-three years later LGBT people still strug- gle for dignity and acceptance in the US and other western liberal democratic societies, especially young people and the most vulnerable. We Faeries know the limitations of gay “marriage” and “rights” to serve in the military. Today seventy-five percent of the world’s popula- tion lives under threat of government sanctioned punishment for coming out queer. Now there is a global movement for queer rights. The UN has initi- ated a campaign to make queer rights an essential part of human rights. It all seems to be moving in the right direction. But 76 countries still hold homosexuality illegal and 7 countries allow queer people to be legally put to death for this crime. In Russia, Nigeria, Uganda, many Eastern European and Middle Eastern countries coming out queer can mean long prison terms, torture, and death. We are living in a time that millions of LGBT people face barbarous consequences for expressing natural human expressions of love and sexuality. And all of this is occurring right now, in spite of such dramatic increased acceptance of queer people in so many parts of the world. In the context of knowing what we know about the risks so many activists are taking across the globe for the most basic of queer civil rights, it has become impossible for me to not reach out to them. I cannot sit in complacency simply reading news accounts and watching internet video clips and not take deeper action. The deepest and most profound action I know to take is to invite the world into the Faerie Community. I don’t want to passively wait until others discover Faerie consciousness and the alternative vision of radical gay acceptance and cel- ebration we Faeries hold precious. I don’t have time, nor do our queer global tribe who risk so much for the sake of fundamental human rights. As queers around the world struggle for rights A Letter to RFD Readers by Hammer Hammer, photos courtesy of the author. RFD 157 Spring 2014 7 and liberation, I invite us as a Faerie community to go global. Sure we have sanctuaries in Australia and France, and gatherings in Thailand, Austria, and New Zealand, but do we yet have a Global Com- munity? Are we in India, China, Russia, Brazil and Africa and Latin America? The vision of a deeper liberation of self that Bill Blackburn writes about in his article in this edition of RFD is missing in many gay rights struggles. We want more than “rights” and tolerance and to be left alone—and not tortured. We want a deep spiritually radical transformation of the self. We want to live in a place of health and wellness that allows us to make our fullest contribution to society and culture as queer people. Not simply allowed to coexist on the margins, looked down upon as broken, spiritually bankrupt, tolerated as pathetic and sick. No! This will not do. Freedom must include a deep and searching understanding of what is our worth as sexual and spiritual beings? Why are we here? What gifts are we allowed to contribute as individuals and a com- munity held in honor and dignity. In all of my activ- ism and searching I have never found a gay rights group that has a deeper sense of self worth, self love and inner dignity than I find in body of the Radical Faeries. There are Radical Faeries being born in fire all over the globe today. They are the ones stepping up in the face of deep resistance and demanding to change the status quo conversations that we are only worthy of belittlement or death. They affirm our love and sexuality is valuable, precious and holy. They risk ostracization, beatings, torture, and death. They step up because they have queer souls. They put their physical lives on the line in a life and death manner because their inner queer compass is seek- ing a liberation of the heart, not just the body. The Global Radical Faerie Gathering in August 2014 is a call to deepen and transform our global Radical Faerie Community. Let us be conscious of our place in the world as spiritual seekers, com- munity activists, shamans and healers, artists and cultural change agents. Please join us by attending the gathering. Please help us raise $20,000.00 for travel fund assistance for faeries to come from all over the planet. Please assist us in spreading the invitation internationally. Please host queer people from around the world whom we call to community for this week in August. This gathering will include a three-day sympo- sium on three topics. Global Queer Culture, Global Health, and Global Political Rights. We invite you to sing, dance, deliver a paper, offer a performance or tell your story. May we witness your heart as well as your whole self; body mind and spirit. Thank you for reading my heart share. To become an organizer or participant of this gathering, please contact me: Terrypcavanagh@ gmail.com. w We want to live in a place of health and wellness that allows us to make our fullest contribution to society and culture as queer people. Next >