Our Core Philosophies & Beliefs
We begin with a simple maxim: “Find the divine within your own experience.”
From there the rest of our tradition flows. Our path manifests through experiential revelation. We value personal expression as a means for the manifestation of Divinity. The cycles of nature guide us. The whisperings of our gods and spirits teach us. We honor connections to our personal and collective past, naming these forces ancestors.
The Fellowship is open to people of all cosmologies and theologies: our membership includes both atheists and “hard” polytheists, as well as anyone in between those extremes. We encourage the respectful use of our symbols and spirits as a way to manifest personal and communal change, and we recognize that there are many paths to that manifestation.
The Divine is ultimately a Mystery that reveals itself in myriad forms, at all times and places. Within the Fellowship of the Phoenix, we primarily focus our awareness upon the Divine as immanent in manifestation, or present within the world itself, and not necessarily separate from the physical realm in transcendence. We believe that acknowledging the Divine in ourselves, and each other, allows us to connect deeply with one another and this belief, by extension, connects us to our entire community.
Our Ethics
As mentioned above, our tradition rejects dogma and encourages self-responsibility and integrity. Thus we don’t prescribe morals on our membership or have long lists of rules that they must abide by. We do have ethical guidelines and values that we prescribe to as an organization, which can be found here in our bylaws. Every member has committed to certain aims and to the support of our community.
As an organization, we have also prepared the following statement as of Fire Dance 2017.
Statement on Social Justice and Environmental Responsibility
As a neopagan order, we work closely with friends and supporters of many backgrounds and traditions, providing mutual support. We strive to approach the world and one another with open hearts.
We stand firmly with marginalized, oppressed, and beleaguered people.
We staunchly oppose racism, authoritarianism, patriarchy, sexism, xenophobia, and ageism. We believe in the need to constantly challenge bias and discrimination in our communities.
We reject the cruelty of our current corporate capitalist society. We believe in inclusivity for all economic backgrounds.
We encourage compassion for people of all traditions, practices, and identities while standing up for those whose voices have been silenced.
We celebrate those who challenge sexual and gender identity norms.
We aspire to make our work accessible to those of varying abilities and physical conditions.
We affirm that sexual consent and respect for personal autonomy are essential.
We value the Earth, the environment, and all the beings who share this world with us, and reject the destructive practices all too common in our society. We encourage our members and allies to live in a way that reduces environmental destruction and helps to preserve biodiversity and wild places.
We are consistently working to improve our inclusivity and understanding and invite constructive feedback on ways that we might improve.
Our Gods
Our order recognizes a pantheon of eight Queer deities, all of them having given us names that are both endearment and title, legend and gift.
We honor the Divine Youth, who returns wonder to our hearts and minds, reminding us to take each experience in with fresh eyes and an open heart.
We honor the Explorer, who shows us courage in the face of the unknown and the known and feeds our hearts in times of fear.
We honor the Lover, who opens our hearts to love when we think it impossible, and who guards us when the boundaries of the heart are threatened.
We honor the Healer, who guides our hands and hearts through love into healing, teaching us to embrace the flames and reject the panacea.
We honor the Warrior, who brings us strength when we are vulnerable, challenging injustice and preventing abuse with shield, sword, and strategy.
We honor the Androgyne (or Liberator), who offers balance in a mad world and embodies the flow that defies duality.
We honor the Shaman (or Mystic), who delivers gnosis from between the seen and unseen and gives witness to queer power that once was lost.
We honor the Elder, who shepherds us towards wisdom and thought, sharing the spirit of calm reflection and sage advice.
Our gods are newly revealed to us, and we learn more through our interactions with them and sharing of knowledge between one another.
One recent change is the names or titles that we use for at least two of the divinities when working in community. Our Seattle Temple has been inspired towards change in referring to the Liberator and the Mystic. The Fellowship holds that the divine has many names and many faces and this change is a reflection of that belief as well as our continuing ethic of emergent revelation.
Our Spirits
A very core mystery of our queer experience is that of self-transformation and the heart-fires that we hold and allow to burn bright. In this tradition we know this as the flame of the Phoenix; the power to transform and regenerate.
This flame resides in the heart of each of us and connects us all in a shining web of light. This light is the Phoenix, the Bennu Bird, who is integral to the work of our Order. The Phoenix is the spirit of our community; our Fellowship given consciousness. It is the Phoenix that we pay homage to when we say Ta Kya Te or celebrate in community.
We are an emergent and experiential tradition – there’s always more to be learned. Our tradition also gives honor to the spirits of Terra and Sol, who are newly revealed to us. They are spirits of transformation and manifestation, guides of magic and intent.
The Four Realms
As Terra and Sol are emergent to our Order, so are what we call the Four Realms; The Spiral, Cauldron, Compass, and Point. Together they are the paths of manifestation and provide a road from the numinous to the mundane and back.
The Spiral of Existence shines upon us, enlivening our spirits and calling us to Beauty. The dance of the heavens is the dance of the gods, the spinning light and whispers of the divine twining around the Staff of Life, the spindle of the world. The Spiral is both desire and ideation.
The Cauldron of Creation cradles our spirits, leading us to mystery. It is the womb of our world; the healing well and the ever-flowing Horn of Plenty, the sacred grail from which flows life and death, poison and cure. The Cauldron is both formation and emotion.
The Compass of the World provides shape and form, giving us experience and perception. The clarity of our sensed world is present here, the animus and spirit of rock, river, and tree given form by the Blade of Desire, the unquenched flame made solid. The Compass is both navigation and sensation.
The Point of Place is the manifestation of all that came before. It is the reality of birth and the vitality of life, the Paten of Fulfillment that carries the spark of divine immanence and produces the sum of all that has come before. The Point is both manifestation and decision.