ANDROGYNYSHAMANIC
ANDROGYNY
Now is the time for the awakening of the Gatekeepers.
Many are gathered at this portal, which exists between the World of Form and the
Multiverse. There was a time when this one gate was two. It was "fragmented" into an "upper
world" and a "lower world." As of now, that conceptual model has been superceded.
Indeed, the assignment of "upper" and "lower" to the unseen worlds is just another manifestation of
judgment---applied to a passageway of consciousness which has no reason to be judged.
It is there, and it is time that we knew about it.
The term "Berdache" is a French European application of an ancient tradition which spans many reality
contexts. It is a GIFT, an ability that has become an
entire state of consciousness. In a nutshell, these dear people have the capacity---usually from birth---
to feel into both sides of the human polarity spectrum. Therefore, if you are a
Berdache male, you would have all the physical/mental faculties and predispositions that accompany that gender
assignment plus you would be able to access all of the emotions, thought patterns, and subconscious
imagery that a female has as well. The same is true (in reverse) of Berdache females.
The "Berdache" are also known as llahamana, adonisgi, gatekeepers,
nadle, mexago, winkte, yirka- la ul, and i-wa-wisp. They are those individuals who, because of their essential energetic androgyny,
have the power to enter the Otherworld. This is NOT a sexual orientation. It is spiritual.
Some Berdache are gay, but that is more a choice of action, a preference, than it is a mandate for the
usage of this gift.
The indigenous thought about the Other World, the realm of the Gods, is that it is a realm of
ONENESS. The Gods or spirits are both masculine and feminine
in one. Though a certain spirit might manifest before a human in either a masculine or feminine
character, it is---at it's core---BOTH genders.
The Berdache are special in the fact that they carry this androgynous energy---the energy of the Gods.
It is what makes them able to exist both in physical form and also "journey" into the other realms as
well. Hermes Trismegastrus and the Egyptian God THOTH were both examples of this propensity for
androgyny. In fact, the term "hermaphrodite" (Hermes+ Aphrodite)
refers to the marriage of the archetypal male and female (these two were the
children of Zeus). This important predisposition is seen clearly in the African culture.
In childbirth, the spirit of the fetus is exhorted through the voice of the mother. It is at
this time that the "energy" of it's soul is examined by the village Shaman. Certain souls who possess
this androgyny are seen to be "blessed from birth." They are called "the holy ones." It is in this African
tradition that the name of "Gatekeeper" is given to the child. Many preparations are made to welcome it into the community,
including the giving of an appropriate name to "harmonize" with it's sacred
purpose.
The Berdache are the highest shamans, healers, teachers, diviners, dreamers,
prophets, and guardians of the Gateway. To them, sexuality is nothing more than an
extension of their spiritual being. If their energy was not used for this purpose,
there would develop a blockage or build-up that would seek expression. Quite often,
that expression would end up being sexual, since touching another human always
causes this energy to flow.
The priestesses in the Temples of the Goddess were often Berdache. Though they
often lived "normal" lives---having husbands and families---they would choose, at key
times to go and live at the Temple, devoting many hours,
days, weeks to worship of the Goddess.
In this "Temple-system" of worship, people from the city would come and pay homage to the particular face or version of the
Goddess for which the Temple was built. Most noted were the Temples for Diana, Artemis,
Isis, and Hecate---though there were/are many more faces of the ONE Goddess. The
"homage" would often consist of money or physical goods---which would be utilized
for the upkeep of the Temple as well as the support of the Priestesses.
Temple worship was often sexual in nature. Many times, children were born of the
connections made there. These children were raised in the Temple and were called
"Children of the Goddess." Those less sympathetic with this religious system, who
wrote about these "rites," would refer to these Priestesses as "Temple Prostitutes."
They looked upon them with scorn, and later sought to overthrow the whole system.
Many of these Priestesses were Berdache. In the evening time, after sacrifices were
through, they would often express their love and commitment sexually with each
other. These interactions were not necessarily "gay." They were not necessarily
ANYTHING, other than an "in-the-moment" expression of spiritual truth.
Also in the Native American and African traditions, there were certain forms of
Berdache expression which were called WARRIOR-SHAMANS or SHAMAN-CHIEFS.
They could commune with the other world but could not journey there---unless their
souls left their bodies---an activity which is called "soul traveling." These Shaman
types, although heterosexual in orientation, would often take on the skirt of a
woman during their period of initiation (and often afterwards, as a sign of their
"office.") They wished to honor their feminine "side" even though they were heterosexual in practice.
In many cultures, the warriors of the tribe would have a Berdache attending to them.
This was considered a badge of honor, and a necessary element if they were to be
successful in battle. Often this "attending" would involve sexual joining. In Celtic
cultures, this was particularly true. One Roman writer shook his head, when writing
of these practices. He said: "....the Celtic women are not BAD
LOOKING. One would wonder why their men, so often, will resort to fondling
each other!"
In truth, to explore connection with a Berdache is to invoke power into one's being.
It is a way of altering ones polarity---aligning it more with ONENESS---and opening
up psychic and mystical powers within the soul. In these religious and ethnic traditions, this willingness to "explore" was/is not
considered a perversion at all. Rather, it is a reaching into the realms of the unknown in
order that the soul might grow.
The Berdache, as has been shared, typically become the medicine men, the dreamers,
the healers, and the prophets. One didn't have to be Berdache to follow these callings, but typically they were.
Today, as we are approaching the greatest AWAKENING OF SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE
and ACCESSIBILITY that the world has ever known, the
Gatekeepers are---once again---being called into service.
All over the world they are
"awakening" and becoming aware of their giftedness. It is said, within the Fundamentalist Judeo-Christian
traditions, that the sign of the "end-times" is when homosexuality proliferates. This
situation, which existed in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, was considered a blasphemy to
the Male Godhead. This judgment was the cause of the destruction of those famous cities, as well as the
leveling of many Temples of the Goddess.
The predictions of destruction and catastrophe that have been attached to this
coming time of Transformation are expressions of POLARIZED
MALE fear about acceptance and outward
acknowledgement of the internal feminine side. The Multiverse will be full of alternative realities
where mountains have to crumble and valleys have to crack open as the Archetypal Male resists the
mandate to deal with His "significant otherness."
The universe of Oneness will unite in peace and understanding. Those who are Gatekeepers will
arise, each in his or her appointed time, to show the way for integrating these magical powers into the
normal flow of human experience. Then, and only then, will the God and Goddess stand together, side-
by-side, and rule the way we've always wished they would.
© 1995, Reconnections, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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