Gender variance in spirituality: Difference between revisions
imported>Sekhet (→Asia: More pictures from Wikimedia Commons.) |
imported>Sekhet (Moved the entry about Baphomet to the section for European figures.) |
||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
==Africa== | ==Africa== | ||
===Kemetic | ===Ancient Egyptian (Kemetic) religion=== | ||
[[File:C+B-Nile-Hapi.PNG|thumb|Hapi.]] | [[File:C+B-Nile-Hapi.PNG|thumb|100px|Hapi, an ancient Egyptian god.]] | ||
Gender-variant deities and figures in | Gender-variant deities and figures in ancient Egyptian religion: | ||
* '''Hapi''', god of the Nile River, often depicted as a man with breasts, representing the fertility of the river. | * '''Hapi''', god of the Nile River, often depicted as a man with breasts, representing the fertility of the river. | ||
* '''Isis''', a goddess, was said to have answered a mortal's wish for a change of sex. The mortal was Iphis, child of Ligdus and Telethusa. Telethusa raised Iphis as a boy, because Ligdus said he would kill the child otherwise. Isis answered Iphis's pleas to change into a man, so that Iphis could marry and live happily ever after. | * '''Isis''', a goddess, was said to have answered a mortal's wish for a change of sex. The mortal was Iphis, child of Ligdus and Telethusa. Telethusa raised Iphis as a boy, because Ligdus said he would kill the child otherwise. Isis answered Iphis's pleas to change into a man, so that Iphis could marry and live happily ever after. | ||
| Line 39: | Line 39: | ||
==Americas== | ==Americas== | ||
[[File:Huehuecoyotl.jpg|thumb|The Aztec god Huehuecoyotl, in the Codex Telleriano-Remensis (16th century).]] | [[File:Huehuecoyotl.jpg|thumb|200px|The Aztec god Huehuecoyotl, in the Codex Telleriano-Remensis (16th century).]] | ||
Gender variant figures in Zuni traditions: | Gender variant figures in Zuni traditions: | ||
* '''He'e''', a male kachina who wore feminine clothing. He defended his pueblo while wearing a mixture of men’s and women’s [[clothing]], with one side of his hair dressed in the women’s style. | * '''He'e''', a male kachina who wore feminine clothing. He defended his pueblo while wearing a mixture of men’s and women’s [[clothing]], with one side of his hair dressed in the women’s style. | ||
| Line 188: | Line 188: | ||
===Norse religion=== | ===Norse religion=== | ||
[[File:Ed0019.jpg|thumb|Loki dressing Thor, the thunder god, in feminine clothing. Illustration by Carl Larsson and Gunnar Forssell in the ''Poetic Edda'', 1893.]] | [[File:Ed0019.jpg|thumb|200px|Loki dressing Thor, the thunder god, in feminine clothing. Illustration by Carl Larsson and Gunnar Forssell in the ''Poetic Edda'', 1893.]] | ||
Gender-variant deities in Norse religion: | Gender-variant deities in Norse religion: | ||
* '''Friga''', usually female, but sometimes both male and female | * '''Friga''', usually female, but sometimes both male and female | ||
| Line 195: | Line 195: | ||
{{Clear}} | {{Clear}} | ||
===Other European spiritual traditions=== | |||
Figures from other European spiritual traditions include: | |||
* '''Baphomet''', a primal androgyne said by the mystic Eliphas Lévi (1810-1875) to have been worshiped by the Knights Templar. This primal androgyne is an alchemical allegorical figure, made of a mixture of human (female and male) and animal features, representing the spiritual and physical realms, with a flame over its head representing enlightenment. This is the figure on the Tarot card called "The Devil," but it's debatable whether it's synonymous with the devil. | * '''Baphomet''', a primal androgyne said by the mystic Eliphas Lévi (1810-1875) to have been worshiped by the Knights Templar. This primal androgyne is an alchemical allegorical figure, made of a mixture of human (female and male) and animal features, representing the spiritual and physical realms, with a flame over its head representing enlightenment. This is the figure on the Tarot card called "The Devil," but it's debatable whether it's synonymous with the devil. | ||
{{Clear}} | {{Clear}} | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* [[Gender-variant identities worldwide]] | * [[Gender-variant identities worldwide]] | ||