Larson's Vie Bohème and Legacy

I normally write my blog entries when something particularly important is happening, either an event that I've taken part in, or a special anniversary about anything I care about, and today in particular marks both of those items to perfection! Today we celebrate the birthday of Jonathan Larson, what would have been his 60th birthday in fact, which makes it pretty big!

Jonathan Larson is someone who should have had a completely different set of cards dealt in his life, and at the same time someone whom we wouldn't have such an incredible legacy to remember him by if it wasn't for the cards he was dealt - talk about bittersweet!
By his legacy I am talking of course about RENT! The incredible musical which opened doors and boundaries for BAME and possibly even more so LGBTQIA+ actors and artists, and if I may be as bold as to say, just as much an exquisite musical composition as La Bohème, on which RENT is based. The technical achievements of dialogue songs between the leads and even more convoluted ensemble numbers such as La Vie Bohème and the extremely stunning Seasons of Love are proof enough that Larson created a real masterpiece - not to mention the beautiful cacophony that is Christmas Bells! Truly, absolute proof of Larson's genius!
He gave a voice to the poor, the homeless, the diseased and the disabled. He gave a voice to sex workers and strippers, and to anyone anyone whose sexual practices came outside the norm. Regardless of whether critics or scholars say that Larson agreed or disagreed with any specific lifestyle, and I've heard and read so many opinions on this, the fact is that he gave a voice to so many people who still didn't have a voice in the 90s. There were ancestors to this, of course, like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar, and of course La Bohème a hundred years earlier! But there was something that Larsson did that created a turning point for generations to come. He was able to unify the issue, and to close the gap so to speak, between the classes and how each person sees things depending on where they came from and where they're intending to go, or if they can still go somewhere because of their illness, which is the crux of the matter! The eight main roles have a mix of backgrounds, the three leads forming a particularly balanced triangle in what they all give and get from each other: Mark Cohen, Jewish intellectual turned creative, still seen as a little boy by his mother (kindhearted lady but a bit clueless); Roger Davis, ex pretty boy front man who suddenly has to confront his own mortality; and Mimi Márquez, young and sassy S&M club dancer who suddenly has to admit she's not as tough and savvy as she wants to pretend.
The supporting characters have as much weight as the leads, though, in that each one is supremely pivotal to the story in general and the character arcs of the rest of the cast! Maureen Johnson (star of the show in her own mind), Miss White Privilege who starts off as helping others for the fame but then genuinely interested in making life better for them (in my opinion the most difficult character to cast, and not just here but possibly ever!). She's Mark's ex and is now with Joanne Jefferson, an Ivy League-graduated lawyer who defies her family's expectations while at the same time defying anyone who dares to say that being organised and structural is boring or unsexy at all - and she's one of my full-on dream roles, by the way! Joanne is also one of the first male to female roles converted in a new adaptation of this kind, which gives her an edge that I'm particularly attracted to.
Then we have one of the ultimate power couples in any musical: Tom Collins and Angel Dumott Schunard - will not say too much about them, because spoilers! but they are two of my favourite characters in any musical, and Angel in particular is just a real delight to watch - and to learn from!!
And last but absolutely not least, we've got Benjamin Coffin III, antihero, anti-villain, and decisively catalystic! Unfortunate idealist-turned-capitalist, but without whom the story would not unfold!
So, this is what I mean when I say that what Larson created here, in translating these eight characters into their new and revised versions, was to give all kinds of different people a voice. All of them have something to say, and all of them come from different walks of life. The actors who have portrayed these roles have, for the most part, played them with depth and understanding of the intention behind the lyrics and sets. All ensemble casts have deeply moved me, and I feel so proud, honoured and blessed to be part of the ensemble cast this time around, too!
And by the way, I was originally going to write this entry yesterday, as it was Gertrude Stein's birthday, until I realised it would have been Larson's 60th, and then everything changed and I went into a wild (and fun!) connections research frenzy - first finding out that Rosa Parks and Rupert Grint share their birthday with Jonathan Larson (how cool is that?), and then finding out all sorts of interesting bits from all my favourite cast members (so far, as I haven't seen all the versions yet, so this entry might need updating later on, wink wink).
Let me take a deep breath and write all this down La Vie Bohème style: first things first, the already legendary Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, respectively original (and both best) Mark and Roger, nearly shared the same birthday, as Pascal's is on October 25th and Rapp's is on October 26th. Not too amazing yet, but things start getting funny when you see that Telly Leung, who first took part on the ensemble and played the role of my favourite Squeegee Man as well as Angel's understudy, later on went to play a very fantastic Angel, pretty much the same as Will Chase, who played the Squeegee Man and was understudy for Roger and then went on to play him very decently afterwards - yet the even funnier thing is that Leung's birthday is on January 3rd (same as JRR Tolkien, on a literary tangent!), and two other cast members' birthdays are on January 2nd: my favourite Mimi and Benny, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Taye Diggs! Then we have several of my favourites respectively whose birthdays fall on the second of each month - Eden Espinosa (Maureen) on February 2nd just gone, Fredi Walker (original and fantastic Joanne) on October 2nd, Wilson Jermaine Heredia (absolutely legendary Angel) on December 2nd, and Wayne Brady (perfect Collins to Leung's fantastic Angel) on June 2nd. My other two favourites, Jesse L. Martin as Collins and the unomparable Tracie Thoms as Joanne come out of the pattern a little bit, but Martin's birthday is on January 18th and Thoms' is on June 12th, so *I* get to share my birthday month and day with them, so there!
Ok, ok, I will concede that this might have just been a combination of OCD + ADD talking here making connections, but I will also admit that making those connections makes it, for me, even more poignant because they are all part of this great never-ending story - the cast, I mean. Actors will take over their roles one after the other, and Larson's legacy will continue in the circle, as the Seasons of Love come one after the other and new generations get to explore and experience this musical.
And now I am part of it.
The fabulous cast that I am part of will be in the spotlight, and I shall write even more about my experience with them soon, too!
For now, let's raise our glass to La Vie Bohème and Jonathan Larson!

With blessings as always,

Sandra Cole ~ Actress, Model, Writer, Witch

For tickets to RENT in Arc Theatre Trowbridge, click here!

Personal thoughts: one way to escape

I want to talk today about a subject that we all need to start being really honest about: how extremely easy it is to become an enabler during cases of emotional abuse. I'm not talking about physical or sexual abuse this time around, as that will have its own entry at some point in the future. I'm talking about emotional abuse, and gaslighting in particular, because there is a very odd phenomenon I have seen happen over the years: how someone can watch another person be emotionally abused, gaslighted, and manipulated, and they can still side with the abuser and hold them up in the highest regard.

Ah, but that's the whole point of gaslighting and manipulation, you might very quickly interject. Yes, indeed, that's the whole point, as the people around the victim might also be manipulated into believing differently so that the victim remains isolated, but what I'm referring to goes well beyond that.

First, as the after-effects of emotional abuse really mean that the victim doubts their reality, and often end up having huge trust issues, it might actually be really difficult for the third person to genuinely remain in the victim's life, so it's not always the third person's fault. Let's call them the friend, as the kind of people I'm referring to normally end up being friends of both the victim and the abuser, sometimes becoming tighter with the abuser than the victim in the long run. As it happens, then, the friend ends up inadvertently becoming an enabler, and sometimes an apologist as well, as whatever they see as hurt or pain in the abuser is often used as the reason their friend might be "A bit difficult, eh?" or "Not really easy to get along with" or "Not everyone's cup of tea, you know?" but very rarely "An abuser."

In most of these instances the victim is called out for being difficult, remaining stuck in the past or being unwilling to forgive - with barely any acknowledgement at all of the actions of the abuser and more often than not a complete disregard towards the victim's need to vent or to emotionally discharge in any way. "Why can't you let go?", "Stop carrying this, you're hurting yourself?", "Are you sure you're not making too much of it?" - we've all heard those kinds of questions and more! Or even worse: "Why can't you let go? X obviously has!"... Of course X has let go! X did the damage in the first place, X has nothing to let go of...! But do it goes, and the victim often has to see their friend congratulating their abuser on being oh so strong, on having had the strength and perseverance to survive this, that and the other, or, even better, on having this huge, open and oh so forgiving heart.

Let's be super honest about this: it is painful to watch as our abuser gets revered for having stood their ground or for being able to forgive this petty person who obviously won't forgive them for that misunderstanding last year. It feels like lead in the stomach when your abuser talks about how much they have hurt in their lives and how they deserve all the love in the world in front of mutual friends and you see them lifting him/her up in a way they didn't do with you when you were at the mercy of said abuser. Don't get me wrong, there are times when the suffering is very real and they will deserve everyone's pity and support - deaths of loved ones, illness, loss of something significant, of course we're all bound to be suffering from all of these issues of real life, so let's be honest too and acknowledge that it's good to have friends who will want to help those in need, regardless of their past! And yes, it is a mark of strength if you're able to reach out to your abuser in their time of need, but there is *no* shame at all in not wanting to do so either! It's not about "being the better person" or being "in a higher spiritual place" or anything like that - the hurt you suffered at their hands might be enough for you to distance yourself from them in every single way and that should always be respected in every single way too.

I think we can safely say we all know someone who will do a big song and dance about being so open to forgiveness that they will write a 2-minute read Facebook status saying something like "If you have hurt me in the past, I forgive you. If I have hurt you in the past I forgive myself, as I am wise enough to know that the hurt might not leave your heart so I'll help you out by letting it leave mine". Sounds enlightened and mystical, doesn't it? A drink for the first person who can tell me what's wrong with it!

Ironically enough, this also displays how the abuser might be manipulating others to believe that the victim is actually the abuser! I see this every day, as I have lived through several examples, some which happened to me directly, some that happened to people I love and thus I was very able to detect who was lying and who was telling the truth... And when you're able to do that you're also able to tell how the manipulator worked on your mind as well and it's terrifying, but it's better to do so so we're able to break free!

Anyway, a few months ago I was very open about how something very triggering had happened as Stephen and I were on our way to rehearsal for a play we were in, and that was kind of also the reason I stopped writing for several months. PTSD from emotional abuse needs more understanding, and acknowledging that people might often be victims who have to stand back and watch as everyone treats their abusers as if they were the best thing since sliced bread is also important, regardless of whether the abuser has changed or not or deserves their own accolades for whatever they're doing - perhaps they're a really talented artist, writer or actor, or perhaps they've just developed a socio-economic plan that'll actually help the people in the town they live in, or perhaps they've just started a new business or course that will change their life forever, and even in such a way that they're able to truly change their ways!

So, all in all, yes, be kind to them, because everyone deserves to be treated well, but don't do the "Oh, but he/she seems like such a sweet person" if you learn what they have done in the past - and make sure you can distinguish between the abuser and the victim as well. This really needs to be said and talked about, as only then can we really escape from the cage of fear, shame and pain - and that goes both for victims as well as their friends who are just realising any of this. There might be more options, and I'd be happy to hear them too and help spread the word, but for the moment this is what I've experienced and this is what I know.

In short, be kind to everyone, because you never know their story and what they have had to endure. Be kind to everyone and celebrate their success, their strength, their survival. Be kind to everyone and don't be afraid to break away if you find something out that you're not comfortable with. Be kind to everyone and at the same time feel no shame in aknowledging that you might have inadvertently enabled emotional abuse, but please do whatever you might need to do to rectify the damage if that's the case. Be kind to everyone and help them rise up from the trauma or from their past mistakes if you feel you can. Be kind to everyone and acknowledge their pain and their past. Be kind to everyone and acknowledge that not everyone will want to - or has to, even - forgive. Be kind to everyone and perhaps the balance will be restored.

Healing and blessings to everyone,
Sandra Cole ~ Actress, Model, Writer, Esoteric Practitioner
Photo by Michael Foley - not necessarily intended to depict a cage, as I had so much fun in this photoshoot, but expressive nonetheless.

Mandala Queen

by Mark Pictkhall

by Suzie Mcfadzean

Layers.
Captivating.
Layers.
Showing ever so slightly parts of me that had been hidden.

Layers.

Growth, emotion, hope.
Layers.
Reality unfolded, cosmic ratios becoming one again.

by Stephen Cole

Layers,
Measurements and waves and pleasure,
Magic unfolded in the layers of my self.
Layers of pain and joy and wisdom,
Cosmic release and expansion beyond.

Layers,
My proportions glowing, undulating,
Happy to be flowing,
Happy to be on show.
Layers of Nature's shapes and psychic discoveries,
Layers of spiritual increase.

Art that creates the layers,
Layers that display the art,
Entering a state of glee as I frolic in the layers,
As I dance beneath the layers and the layers come undone,
As I revel in the layers and the real me is put on show,

Art and healing and light and shade,
Layers embracing me and layers displaying me,
Layers softening the path as I become.
And I become.
Mandala Queen.

Sandra Cole ~ Actress, Model, Writer, Witch

With many thanks to the utterly amazing and inspiring Erica Jane Wafford for using me as her canvas for her gorgeous creation, and to all the photographers who captured the magic!! Photos taken during Glastonbury Body Art Festival, in benefit of Children's World.

by Geoff Corris

by Suzie Mcfazdean

by Normal for Glastonbury (left) and Soleira Green (right)

by Fields of Light Photography

by Ian George from Cosmic Oak Media, featuring Stephen Cole as Anubis, painted by Sian Eirwen Drew

What You Will, indeed!

Last night we had a first, and what a first it was!
Twelfth Night, or What You Will, is at its core a story about confusion and duality and the effects of the visit from the Lord of Misrule, and, well, to put it simply, the Lord of Misrule paid a visit to us!
Over the couple of days leading up to our performance, three of our cast members had medical emergencies (all are in recovery, safe and sound), and thus we found ourselves three characters short of a play. Our fabulous cast, however, rose above it like nothing we had seen before! I love every single one of them and have full gratitude for what they helped accomplish, for we'd made a choice: we'd turn the play into a rehearsed reading and allow our actors to be as fully in character as they felt comfortable with under the new circumstances (taking neurodiversity and dislexia into consideration), and we both read for all three missing characters, book in hand, while everyone around us made the best use of the character they had become over the last four months. We stripped back the stage, forgoing the beautiful sea and sky curtain Stephen had put together in favour of a props table so that both of us could reach easily for the bits and pieces of the three characters that we hadn't rehearsed for and so that the whole setting worked as a rehearsed reading. Our cast members sat around us and enjoyed the ad-libbing that ensued, and they still managed to not break character when they came on stage with either of us, even though both Stephen and I had our books in hand to keep up with every scene change that our missing actors would have helped with (and so as to not have our brains melt with the effort that a neuro-diverse brain has to make in order to change last minute everything that has been rehearsed). And, let's also admit, it must not have been easy to keep their characters by my side, especially when I started bursting out in giggles after jumping from Antonio to Maria, to myself as Olivia and back again!
Then there were obviously the moments when Stephen or I would have ended up talking to ourselves because we shared a scene with the character that we were trippling with, so we had to ask two of our other actors to read in for the missing characters, and thus Sebastian ended up having three shapes and sizes, and no cap or yes cap depending on who remembered to put it on (or wether I remembered to put it on Sebastian's head or not!). As it happened, we did end up talking to ourselves a couple of times, and a personal favourite moment for me was Stephen fighting with himself as Sebastian and Toby Belch and me running up to him shouting in anger and then holding his hands and asking him to forgive my cousin and to be mine! Needless to say I couldn't stop giggling after that!
My scenes with Feste, with "Cesario" and with Malvolio were fabulous and nearly perfect, as every single one of them kept character and made the best of their time on stage, and I was able to keep my character to begin with until near the end when I was jumping back and forth so much that my brain had turned to mulch. The yellow stockings scene was as brilliant as we had planned, I'm proud to say, even though we had to change the setting completely to accommodate the rehearsed reading atmosphere, and I am looking forward to performing it with Tom Hector as the perfectly cast Malvolio that he was when we set a new date for the performance!
Our Feste, Ezra Aquinas Wardell, is a true star in the making. He stayed in character throughout and made me, Stephen and Janetta Morton, our "other" Maria, really comfortable in our scenes regardless of whether we were playing our own character or the newly assigned one. He is worth following, as he will go far! Janetta, wondrous veteran that she is, kept her calm and jumped into action whilst also providing a reassuring energy to everyone involved. Her three characters were brought to life as individually as she had set herself up to, and she stood her ground as Maria when needed.
Our fantastic Viola, Emmelaine Leighton-Maccardell, shone with every single line and even managed to keep me going when I said my lines in the wrong order, reacting accordingly and creating a genuinely poignant atmosphere between us. At one point I came on stage wearing Antonio's cap (which I had forgotten to give to Sebastian when it was time), and I took it off and threw it behind the screen, owning the joke, and she managed to keep a straight face and the emotion of the scene even though everyone else was in stitches. Her relationship with Orsino was also fantastic to behold, also making the emotion of Viola's love for Orsino feel absolutely real even though Stephen had just finished playing her twin brother. She deserves to shine, and we can't wait to see her play Viola in her full splendor!
Kesley Cage and Talitha Wade, as Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Fabian respectively, we're also utterly fantastic! Talitha, like Ezra and Emmelaine, did not break character once and gave Fabian the depth that we cast her for, and Kesley's impressive delivery of the foppish knight more than made up for the confusion that he was thrown into by the revolving characters around him, fate that was also suffered by Tim Parker as he had to bid Janetta's officer to arrest me and a of a sudden forgetting who was playing Antonio between me and Stephen. His delivery as Curio Valentine was impeccable until that moment of completely understandable confusion (and the ammount of times I had to remind the other actors and audience that I was playing Antonio or Maria was actually funny in itself anyway), and his patience in having to deal with the changes is truly worth a mention - neurodiversity can be a huge block for some people under said circumstances, but the way all our neuro-diverse actors dealt with these circumstances is commendable to say the least!
As for our actors who weren't there, they had been perfectly cast and for all of us it was a shame not to have been able to put on the production that we had rehearsed for for the last four months, but all of us are very excited for the moment when we're able to set it the way we plan it! Real friendships grew between the cast, and some of us have experienced a closeness that can only happen when improv takes over, so maybe the Lord of Misrule had it right all along?
I mean, at the end of the play I had to tell my newlywed husband Sebastian, as played by Tom that I was Antonio while my actual husband Stephen - who had been tripling as Sebastian until then, and who I had been seducing as Antonio until then while I rejected him as Olivia - asked our good friend Emmelaine to marry him whether he was Cesario or Viola (and whom I had been seducing as Olivia), and I gently reminded Tom that I was his wife Olivia again so that we could all kiss each other and live happily ever after... Then Tom jumped behind the screen, dropped his trousers and came out as Malvolio to confront me (as Olivia, not Antonio or Maria) about the yellow stockings incident!
As Fabian put it very wisely, If that had been played upon the stage I would've condemned it as an improvable fiction!

Sandra Cole ~ Actress, Model, Writer, Witch
His & Hers Theatre Company

Swimsuits and lingerie - for mental health and more!

A couple of weeks ago, my gorgeous and always supportive Stephen and I mentioned that I'd done a lingerie and swimwear photoshoot for charity, raising funds for Mental Health Awareness and Chestnut Appeal (for prostate cancer). Well, this is the second phase! I'm in a competition with over 300 girls to be in a calendar - UK Calendar Girls - which itself raises funds for different charities each year. The way the fundraiser goes is that people vote through their phones and 15% of the cost goes towards the charities (the rest to cover admin costs and to keep the event running), and the finalists do a series of fundraisers at the end of the competition.
I particularly love that one of the charities being looked after this year is Mental Health Awareness, as I have dealt with Mental Health issues my whole life and I was also given the chance to do some research for a mental health clinic at some point in my life. As someone who's had paranoia, dysmorphia, depression and crippling anxiety for most of my life (sometimes even all at once), to raise awareness about mental health is something I consider highly important. After two miscarriages in my early twenties (while already carrying the horrible side  effects of PCOS, as well as heavy - although life-saving - psychiatric treatment), my metabolism was never the same. The collagen disappeared from my body, my breasts and my knees getting the worst of it, and doing the simplest of crunches would set off an episode of contractions that would render me useless... But I've always been a very active person! From the long hikes me and my cousins would take over childhood camping trips to long hours of dedicated workout where eventually I would experience serious burnout because of how unstable my metabolism was, to this day when activity for me is a must! I've always had healthy eating habits, too, with lots of fruit and veg and lots of water, balancing my carbs and protein, etc... However, as many people in my life are aware of, one of the things I suffered constantly in my life in Mexico was criticism over my looks (I have too many curves and wear too little makeup, apparently), so one of the things I was set on for this competition was to not have anything airbrushed, as I genuinely believe that we need to stop telling women (and men, for that matter!) that that we are imperfect - we all have this or that or the other that we're always going to want to change, enhance or eliminate completely, but that doesn't make us imperfect or ugly! Sure, hit the gym, eat better, whatever you want or need to do, but only because that's good for you, not because if you don't do it then you're "not perfect". Same with the makeup - if you're someone who expresses stuff through makeup because of the colours and shades and that gives you an outlet, hooray, carry on! But please stop believing that the only way to be beautiful is to contour and plaster your face away...
So, yeah, I requested for none of my pictures to be airbrushed because I genuinely believe that expresses better my commitment to Mental Health Awareness, and to helping people see themselves as they truly are and experience the beauty of themselves as they are. The competition was open to women of all shapes and sizes, ages 18 - 45. At 37 I am already considered a "mature" model in the industry, thus having only started two years ago means my chances of really getting in are pretty low. As you can see I'm putting my best foot forward, though! I was pleasantly surprised to see that most ladies in the competition had either focused on getting their bodies ready for the photoshoot and thus not required airbrushing, or simply decided to show their scars and weight "issues" in the very same way I did and felt proud of their own strength and resilience!
Now, I am a model, an actress and a writer, all of it self-made, and all of it ties into the same story, which I strive to tell as I feel others might benefit from my story, so I shall keep releasing bits and chapters as I go along! In the meantime, please vote for me if you wish to help me support these two charities, and of course if you want to support me in my modelling career.
Before I go just to say that I also love that the Chestnut Appeal is also being supported, as men often get sidelined when it comes to cancer awareness!
Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, no, I don't intend to stop being a life model! I love doing that for a living and I wish to continue as long as I can! I just want to do all different types of modelling, is all!

As always wishing all my dear readers the best,
Sandra Cole ~ Actress, Model, Writer, Incorrigible Optimist

Photo by Andy Owen

MUA in all pictures Lydia Grimshaw

The right to BE

I defend my right to express my femininity. I've earned my freedom after all my struggle.

I defend the right of any woman, cis and trans, to express their femininity. It's not a competition.

I defend the right of any man to express their femininity. It should never be a cause for shame.

I defend the right of my husband to express his masculinity. He has earned his freedom after his own struggle, too.

I defend the right of any man, cis and trans, to express their masculinity. It's not a competition.

I defend the right of any woman to express their masculinity. It should never be a cause for fear.

I defend the right for anyone who wishes to express both, one at a time or at the same time. It's not confusion, get off their back.

I defend the right for anyone to not express either, because who are we to tell them that they have to adhere to either one?

I defend the right of attraction to one, the other, both or all. It's all in the eye of the beholder, and it's all in what the heart and body wants.

I defend the right of feeling no specific attraction, as who's to say that we should all feel the same way?

I defend the right of exploring all the paths, of discovering who one really is, of changing bodies accordingly, of changing one's mind if it needs be, of respecting each other in all these decisions, and more importantly:

I defend the right to simply BE.

Sandra Cole ~ Actress, Model, Writer, Esoteric Practitioner

Picture from our original play "The Fool's Journey - a Trip through the Tarot" (His & Hers Theatre Company). My husband Stephen as the Fool and myself as the World - traditionally portrayed as Male and Female respectively, but often also cards of gender fluidity depending on the deck used. The Fool may represent Androgyny and the World can be the Hermaphrodite figure of Alchemy, both in the constant motion of beginning and end, learning, becoming, and evolution in all aspects. In short, the constant flow of life.

The picture was taken by our friend and teacher Mani Navasothy.

"Paganism 101"

I've recently witnessed someone use "Paganism 101" to justify their sexism, bigotry and transphobia ...

I think they haven't actually fully realised that Paganism is a world-wide thing, as in *every country in the world* has a Pagan background, and the history of humanity goes back to at least 50,000 years, as communities evolved by learning from Nature, observing, exploring and experimenting with the elements around them and the interrelations between themselves, plants, animals and the seasons... Also interacting, with other communities, sometimes leading to growth, sometimes to destruction... But always, always understanding more about themselves and the world around them through that process of evolution... That is where Paganism comes from and that's why so many people choose it as their path...

Fighting over who's right in how a ritual is done, or how a particular God or Goddess is expressed is completely redundant, as even if that's how it was done back then for the specific tribe's original reason, the context of that belief has changed completely, and even though as a witch I do believe that some things require very specific elements or combinations (Moon cycle, herbs, use of Archetypal energies or symbols, even manifestation through words), we need to remember that so much of our knowledge of the world comes from the scientific discoveries that those first shamans, healers, hedgewitches, etc. of old began to explore and document to begin with... Back when they began they had no real knowledge of atoms or bacteria or chromosomes. Yes, we owe it to them to have given us the privilege and possibility to explore our own natural cycles, out Femininity and our Masculinity, the forces that interact around us to help us understand the physical world, etc... But if any of that is going to blind us to science, then what's the point!

To begin with, in all the different spiritual paths of humanity that are considered Pagan there has been an understanding of the Masculine and the Feminine within each and every one of us, and quite a lot of the tribes formally acknowledged that there were individuals that did not fit into man or woman kind of category. There is a natural flow between Masculine and Feminine, and the biological aspects of human reproduction have to do with specific organs and their attributes, but not necessarily with Femininity and Masculinity as constructs. There's so much that so many of us still need to learn and understand about how the body works, but using that lack of understanding to justify sexist and transphobic views in the name of Paganism is not okay...

Fortunately, I live in a community where more and more people are understanding these subjects, and as both my husband and a friend who is also a former May King pointed out, along with many friends of every gender and different traditions, the embodiment of the Masculine and Feminine are the magical thing in itself, regardless of who is embodying what. In general terms, Glastonbury is very inclusive and our celebrations all year-round tend to be open and welcoming - and people call out those who aren't. For the Beltane Celebrations specifically we have a beautiful motto that goes "Owned by none and enjoyed by all". And that, my friends, is Paganism 101.

Paganism aside, I genuinely feel like all of these altercations come from a general fear of sexuality, and that without that there wouldn't even be a discussion about who is what and why... I have attempted to write an entry about that, but was attacked just at the mere mention of it a while back. I feel, going back to the original subject, that a fear of sexuality does not fit in Paganism, as it goes well against everything that Paganism stands, and has always stood, for. By understanding what sexuality really is, and seeing it as normal, I feel, much of today's gender issues could be resolved.

I have already written an entry regarding Femeninity, and I will probably write another one on the matter at some point soon, and also one on Masculinity. It goes without saying  that trans women and trans men will be included, too.

This is a picture from a statue my husband and I have in our lounge, by the way, and yes, we both feel proud of being each other's ideal of the Masculine and Feminine, but we don't condone other people telling others who or what they're supposed to be.

Joyful path to all you dear readers, and see you next time!

Sandra Cole ~ Actress, Model, Writer, Witch.