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Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture
This controversial work, published in 1978 by Fag Rag Press, investigates the historical relationship between homosexuality and paganism with a focus on old Europe and the persecution of pagans by Christians during the early formation of the Christian religion. It compares this history with present-day LGBT culture with an intent to show how the current persecution and marginalization of queer people is an extension of a history of religious intolerance.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1978
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About the author
Arthur Evans
3 books32 followersIn 1963 Evans discovered gay life in Greenwich Village, and in 1964 became lovers with Arthur Bell (later to become a columnist for the Village Voice). In 1966 Evans was admitted to City College of New York, which accepted all his credits from Brown University. He changed his major from political science to philosophy and became active in the anti-war movement. He participated in his first sit-in on May 13, 1966, when a group of students occupied the administration building of City College in protest against the college's involvement in the Selective Service System. (A group picture of the students, including Evans, appeared the next day on the front page of The New York Times.)
In 1967, after graduating with a B.A. degree from City College, Evans was admitted into the doctoral program in philosophy at Columbia University, where he specialized in ancient Greek philosophy. He participated in many anti-war protests during these years, including the celebrated upheaval at Columbia in the spring of 1968. In the same year he also participated in the protests at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. During this time, the poetry of Allen Ginsberg had a powerful influence on the formation of his values...
In 1967, after graduating with a B.A. degree from City College, Evans was admitted into the doctoral program in philosophy at Columbia University, where he specialized in ancient Greek philosophy. He participated in many anti-war protests during these years, including the celebrated upheaval at Columbia in the spring of 1968. In the same year he also participated in the protests at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. During this time, the poetry of Allen Ginsberg had a powerful influence on the formation of his values...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
September 12, 2019
Less witchy than the title implies, this is more of an effort to construct a distinctly queer counterhistory that prioritizes the marginalized, the clandestine, the feminine, the non-Christian, and often the non-Western (and demonstrates how all of these groups are more often than not deeply interconnected). Today some of the methodology and conclusions might come off as suspect, but what still registers is its righteous anger, and, sadly, many of the critiques of contemporary industrial and capitalist culture continue to resonate and ring true in our present moment as much as ever.
Good on feral death coven to reissue this book again (in 2013)—we need it as much as ever.
"Industralism has devastated our sexual lives. We complain that we treat each other's bodies unfeelingly, as so many objects, to use and dispose of. Yet we fail to realize that we treat everything (including ourselves) as so many objects to use and dispose of. We fail to see that the total objectification of our environment and of nature is a direct effect of the power system of industrialism. If we have been conditioned throughout our lives to objectify everything, how can we fail to objectify those who excite us sexually?"
Good on feral death coven to reissue this book again (in 2013)—we need it as much as ever.
"Industralism has devastated our sexual lives. We complain that we treat each other's bodies unfeelingly, as so many objects, to use and dispose of. Yet we fail to realize that we treat everything (including ourselves) as so many objects to use and dispose of. We fail to see that the total objectification of our environment and of nature is a direct effect of the power system of industrialism. If we have been conditioned throughout our lives to objectify everything, how can we fail to objectify those who excite us sexually?"
February 27, 2021
This review is rambling, and a bit angry, but I'm not re-writing it again...
This was a very depressing read and reminded me of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States." This is a history of the development of human society told from the point of view of the wiped out native cultures, pagans, witches and homosexuals.
As a gay man I've often been alienated from the domesticated, bourgeois homosexuality of modern society. This stems from both the suffocating force of HIV/AIDS which has haunted gay sexuality for decades and made sex a rendezvous with Thanatos, and the emergence of "corporate pride" and our desperate seeking of respect and inclusion from a society that hates us. This book is a call for the stark rejection of that.
Paternalistic societies became increasingly militaristic, and many disfunctions follow from that. In his chapter on Rome it's easy to see parallels to today; the military consumes most of the resources, dictates what leaders can do, enforces a "cult of discipline" throughout society, and creates a top-heavy strangulation of local life entirely out of touch with the needs of the people. Christianity came to dominate, "Ascetic religion became an opiate for the pain, enabling people to stifle their real needs and feelings, and thus avoid the suffering of constant frustration. The government was well-disposed to ascetic religion because it kept people quiet and obedient." He goes on to make a fairly compelling argument for how this set the stage for the later Industrial Revolution.
This is quite an eye-opening account of the history of Christianity we never hear about, particularly the early sects of Christianity. Evans goes into detail about the Cathars for example who engaged in orgies and homosexuality, rejected marriage and held a downright antinatalist view toward bringing new life into the world. Others, such as the Gnostics are covered too.
Homosexuality aside, Evans talks about the persecution of women, the erasure of maternal societies and abortion. The idea of witches engaging in child murder and molestation in underground caves and tunnels is also mentioned. If that sounds familiar it's because during the McMartin pre-school trial during the Satanic Panic people were convinced child molestation was occurring in vast tunnels underneath the school. Qanon fools still think it's happening today. (Well, Jeffrey Epstein and his elite billionaire pals are an exception, I've no doubt they're all goat head-wearing psychopaths). Class is a recurring theme here, the powerful urban elites adopting ascetic Christianity while the rural poor cling to their pagan ways.
Christianity is a history of repression, hierarchy and alienation from nature and one's own body and sexuality. Evans even touches on things like long hair on men and hallucinogenic drugs. This self-denial is so common and totalitarian in our lives, we don't even see it by comparison to societies that had nature-based religions.
Evans' chapter on America is great. He notes how the settlers coming to America arrived with no respect for nature left in them, paganism having died out long before in Europe and so they saw the country as a capitalist enterprise from the start. That's likely a clue as to why there's no class consciousness in America and the poor see themselves as "temporarily embarrassed millionaires" and are punitive to those poorer than themselves. This is ironic considering the average person is infinitely closer to the homeless man on the curb than the corporate titan raping children in a tunnel. The United States government was formed to protect the rich against the poor and wage war, destroying native cultures, imposing paternalism and extracting resources. At home the tentacles of the military-industrial complex are embedded throughout American society and create a militarized atmosphere that suffocates the appreciation for nature, creation of art and enjoyment of sex.
One of the most depressing aspects was how much worse things are in several respects than they were 40 years ago when this was written. He mentions the Vietnam War as the longest running American war and of course we've been in Afghanistan even longer and are dropping bombs on the heads of people in countries Americans have never heard of daily. Once Obama was elected the anti-war movement dissipated like frost in the morning sun and then Trump was elected and liberals lost their minds over Russia for three years at the expense of real concerns of people who are increasingly unable to afford children and are taking their own lives in increasing numbers. Then, after Putin Fever blew up in their faces liberals have embraced the neo-conservative ghoul architects of the Iraq War and the Intel community, which helped bring us Trump in the first place. It's all a depressing daisy chain clusterf---, without the sex. Evans ends the book with a passionate call for a return to inclusive tribal collectives, a return to nature and magic, and sex without shame. It's all rather sad and naive in light of the dark tunnel society is headed down.
Besides feeling a bit outdated, some conclusions Evan's reaches feel a little far-fetched, especially in etymology for example.
Arthur Evans died in 2011, I can only imagine he watched as his predictions of gay domestication came true. "You'll be accepted if you're a bourgeois striver and emulate middle class values, we'll turn a blind eye to what you do in your own bedroom, even though we still despise you, and make a joke of you behind your back." (My quote.)
"The whole industrial system is like one great night of the living dead where the entire populace has been reduced emotionally to the level of zombies. It has deadened us to our environment, deprived us of art, sterilized our animal nature, robbed us of the skills of survival, degraded our labor and leisure, and decimated our sexual lives. And so it has made us like the living dead — dead to nature, dead to each other, dead to ourselves."
This was a very depressing read and reminded me of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States." This is a history of the development of human society told from the point of view of the wiped out native cultures, pagans, witches and homosexuals.
As a gay man I've often been alienated from the domesticated, bourgeois homosexuality of modern society. This stems from both the suffocating force of HIV/AIDS which has haunted gay sexuality for decades and made sex a rendezvous with Thanatos, and the emergence of "corporate pride" and our desperate seeking of respect and inclusion from a society that hates us. This book is a call for the stark rejection of that.
Paternalistic societies became increasingly militaristic, and many disfunctions follow from that. In his chapter on Rome it's easy to see parallels to today; the military consumes most of the resources, dictates what leaders can do, enforces a "cult of discipline" throughout society, and creates a top-heavy strangulation of local life entirely out of touch with the needs of the people. Christianity came to dominate, "Ascetic religion became an opiate for the pain, enabling people to stifle their real needs and feelings, and thus avoid the suffering of constant frustration. The government was well-disposed to ascetic religion because it kept people quiet and obedient." He goes on to make a fairly compelling argument for how this set the stage for the later Industrial Revolution.
This is quite an eye-opening account of the history of Christianity we never hear about, particularly the early sects of Christianity. Evans goes into detail about the Cathars for example who engaged in orgies and homosexuality, rejected marriage and held a downright antinatalist view toward bringing new life into the world. Others, such as the Gnostics are covered too.
Homosexuality aside, Evans talks about the persecution of women, the erasure of maternal societies and abortion. The idea of witches engaging in child murder and molestation in underground caves and tunnels is also mentioned. If that sounds familiar it's because during the McMartin pre-school trial during the Satanic Panic people were convinced child molestation was occurring in vast tunnels underneath the school. Qanon fools still think it's happening today. (Well, Jeffrey Epstein and his elite billionaire pals are an exception, I've no doubt they're all goat head-wearing psychopaths). Class is a recurring theme here, the powerful urban elites adopting ascetic Christianity while the rural poor cling to their pagan ways.
Christianity is a history of repression, hierarchy and alienation from nature and one's own body and sexuality. Evans even touches on things like long hair on men and hallucinogenic drugs. This self-denial is so common and totalitarian in our lives, we don't even see it by comparison to societies that had nature-based religions.
Evans' chapter on America is great. He notes how the settlers coming to America arrived with no respect for nature left in them, paganism having died out long before in Europe and so they saw the country as a capitalist enterprise from the start. That's likely a clue as to why there's no class consciousness in America and the poor see themselves as "temporarily embarrassed millionaires" and are punitive to those poorer than themselves. This is ironic considering the average person is infinitely closer to the homeless man on the curb than the corporate titan raping children in a tunnel. The United States government was formed to protect the rich against the poor and wage war, destroying native cultures, imposing paternalism and extracting resources. At home the tentacles of the military-industrial complex are embedded throughout American society and create a militarized atmosphere that suffocates the appreciation for nature, creation of art and enjoyment of sex.
One of the most depressing aspects was how much worse things are in several respects than they were 40 years ago when this was written. He mentions the Vietnam War as the longest running American war and of course we've been in Afghanistan even longer and are dropping bombs on the heads of people in countries Americans have never heard of daily. Once Obama was elected the anti-war movement dissipated like frost in the morning sun and then Trump was elected and liberals lost their minds over Russia for three years at the expense of real concerns of people who are increasingly unable to afford children and are taking their own lives in increasing numbers. Then, after Putin Fever blew up in their faces liberals have embraced the neo-conservative ghoul architects of the Iraq War and the Intel community, which helped bring us Trump in the first place. It's all a depressing daisy chain clusterf---, without the sex. Evans ends the book with a passionate call for a return to inclusive tribal collectives, a return to nature and magic, and sex without shame. It's all rather sad and naive in light of the dark tunnel society is headed down.
Besides feeling a bit outdated, some conclusions Evan's reaches feel a little far-fetched, especially in etymology for example.
Arthur Evans died in 2011, I can only imagine he watched as his predictions of gay domestication came true. "You'll be accepted if you're a bourgeois striver and emulate middle class values, we'll turn a blind eye to what you do in your own bedroom, even though we still despise you, and make a joke of you behind your back." (My quote.)
"The whole industrial system is like one great night of the living dead where the entire populace has been reduced emotionally to the level of zombies. It has deadened us to our environment, deprived us of art, sterilized our animal nature, robbed us of the skills of survival, degraded our labor and leisure, and decimated our sexual lives. And so it has made us like the living dead — dead to nature, dead to each other, dead to ourselves."
May 4, 2021
"It may be surprising but is nonetheless true that 'war is a comparatively late development in the history of humanity.'"
April 17, 2018
Overall the book was a fascinating breakdown of how the systematic oppression of gay religious culture was used by christian institutions (the church, state, urbanization etc) to create the power hierarchy that shapes our reality today. While Evans’ approach to connecting the dots between biased straight historians and state record seemed well thought out, some conclusions were stretched. Partly the lack of historical congruency made the total narrative a bit hard to follow, but they did a great job at showing a variety of ways that patriarchal/capitalist/homophobic gov has developed by dominating nature religions and non-industrial or non-urban peoples.
November 20, 2014
ok this is *really* dated but i think there are some really interesting points to this (i.e. given this came out decades before Caliban and the Witch but seems to be a little less inflexible about gender roles although like it's not like Evans don't have some weird hangups with accepting cultural differences but i digress). Buy a copy (from LBC if you can afford it) or get a pdf because this is *interesting* given the continued influence even if it isn't exactly groundbreaking?
April 18, 2025
muy chulo, interesantísimo y sobre todo una edición muy guay que al final reflexiona sobre las propias limitaciones y fallos de la obra.
July 14, 2013
I first read this book back when I was in college. The book was an inspiration for the Radical Faeirie movement. The book examines the role of homosexuality in pre-Christian Western Europe. It is mostly idealized more then it is actual historical research, but the book was very inspirational to many gay men who were searching for spiritual answers.
August 26, 2020
Esperaba grandes historias de chamanes bolleras y orgias de travestis y he encontrado, además, una crítica voraz al industrialismo, histórico y actual, y al discurso único del desarrollo de las civilizaciones modernas. Una muy interesante reflexión de las relación entre religiones patriarcales y militarismo, desde la Gran Madre al Pentágono.
August 1, 2013
This is one of those seminal books (no pun intended) that marks original research into a topic that just wasn't on anyone's radar before it appeared. Brilliant history and insight-provoking commentary on the ways in which Gay men were persecuted along with women who faced the wrath of the Inquisition & related witch trials throughout Christendom for which sexual diversity was akin to heresy. Graphics support its points; it is a fascinating work that was ground-breaking in its day and will certainly enlighten and interest anyone for whom the cultural history of sexuality and of same-sex sexuality are of interest!
April 16, 2024
Escrito con la vehemencia y el ímpetu propios de los ensayos anglosajones de los 70, este texto es, a pesar de todo, utilísimo y necesario para entender la historia LGTBQ+ desde una perspectiva religiosa. La presentación de los datos es sesgada, rápida y abrumadora, pero son datos, al fin y al cabo, y es nuestra historia. El libro es una crítica a la moral judeocristiana y al patriarcado como causantes de la misoginia y la homofobia rampantes en nuestras sociedades. Nada nuevo bajo el sol... pero genialmente compilado.
May 7, 2020
Pouco riguroso desde o punto de vista académico, pero moi interesante e incluso necesario. Como ben recoñecen os editores no epílogo é recomendable lelo xunto con Caliban e a bruxa de Federici a modo de complemento (xa que ela obvia en grande medida a perspectiva LGBT)
May 8, 2020
This was incredibly informative and inspiring--a history of sorts, tracing the connections between queerness and spirituality.
September 3, 2022
"Magic is inherently a collective activity (...)"
January 13, 2013
For a book that has been receiving a fair amount of hype lately, I was a little disappointed. A majority of the book gives historical examples of the oppression of queer individuals (at least what today we would most likely call queer) and how their sexuality was a challenge to the State and Capital. Similar to Against His-Story, Against Leviathan, Arthur Evans traces these pockets of resistance and their eventual defeat, abolition, or recuperation. In many ways this narrative comes off as "the same old story," while offering little in the way of excitement (of course, I'm already very familiar with this tale). However, the last chapter shines through as Evans makes the call to destroy industrialism, create collectives (the examples given are a sort of do-it-yourself type), re-establish a connection with nature, and take part in the "spontaneous violence of autonomous anarchist collectives."
August 21, 2012
Amazing. Must read. Major things to think about.
August 31, 2015
tbh this book is quite interesting but also really simplistic and absurd at points
November 7, 2017
evans tends to repeat himself a lot
definitely an interesting perspective, really makes you hate christianity
took me forever to get through because it wasn't really enthralling to read
definitely an interesting perspective, really makes you hate christianity
took me forever to get through because it wasn't really enthralling to read
July 12, 2025
Debo decir que cuando encontré este libro ojeando en una tienda de segunda mano tuve que comprarlo inmediatamente. El título me fascinó: ¿Brujería y contracultura gay? Sí, por favor. Y no me decepcionó.
Los primeros capítulos se me hicieron un poco pesados, ya que me agobió un poco la cantidad de información que contiene cada párrafo, que a veces parecen datos arbitrarios, que no están del todo conectados en el hilo de la historia. Y tal vez también me incomodó la naturalidad con la que el autor habla de la sexualidad, la sodomía y los "ritos" sexuales. Aunque creo que esto puede ser a un nivel más personal, y precisamente va de eso el libro, ¿no? De cómo nos hemos ido desconectando de nuestra propia sexualidad, avergonzándonos de nuestros cuerpos e impidiendo las conversaciones naturales sobre el sexo.
También, la forma en la que el Evans conecta la historia de la religión cristiana con la brujería y la cultura gay me hicieron reflexionar sobre el papel que la religión en general tiene en nuestras vidas actualmente y cómo la historia es y ha sido contada principalmente por personas blancas y heterosexuales. Por eso mismo pienso que este libro es tan importante, ya que pocas veces se escucha la historia desde los grupos oprimidos.
Profundizando más en la lectura, y en especial en los últimos capítulos "Sexo entre los zombis" y "Magia y Revolución", creo que Evans supo dirigir muy bien la investigación hacia unas conclusiones muy interesantes. Sus reflexiones sobre el industrialismo, los pueblos naturales, el patriarcado, el profesionalismo, el liberalismo y el socialismo son, en mi opinión, muy acertadas. Especialmente cuando explica que se nos ha "olvidado" cómo vivir, ya que el sistema industrial nos ha convertido en esclavos del dinero, que tratamos a las personas y a nosotros mismos como objetos que usamos y tiramos. No sabemos cuidarnos, alimentarnos y arroparnos sin depender del sistema. También me gustó la puntualización del fascismo y sus orígenes en la disociación de la persona con su parte más "natural".
Creo que también hay que tener en cuenta que este libro fue escrito a finales de los años 70. Y aunque ahora nos parezca un lenguaje un tanto anticuado, algunas de las cosas que comenta el autor son verdaderamente revolucionarias para el periodo en el que el autor escribía. Además, de la traducción al español de la Editorial Descontrol, aprecié mucho el prólogo, las notas de la traducción y el epílogo. Creo que reflejan muy bien las dudas que me fueron surgiendo a lo largo de la lectura. Fue muy agradable poder leer la opinión de otra persona sobre lo que acababa de leer, así como sus recomendaciones de lectura y críticas hacia los autores, me ayudaron mucho a reflexionar.
Del capítulo de Magia y Revolución me quedo con la siguiente cita: ¿Creemos realmente que esto podrá detener a una civilización que fue capaz de borrar a las brujas del mapa, asesinar a los nativos, mandar a los judíos y a gays y lesbianas a los hornos crematorios, bombardear Vietnam hasta reducirla a la Edad de Piedra o infiltrarse en los grupos de protesta del país y asesinar a sus líderes? Lo dudo. Dudo que podamos detener jamás al patriarcado hasta que no nos diseminemos como un virus en el cuerpo político, cuando sea el momento, llevando con nosotros nuestras armas secretas, y ataquemos sin previo aviso a las instituciones que nos someten, así como a políticos, industriales, señores de la guerra y académicos que las dirigen. Sin duda habrá muchos que no estén de acuerdo, pero temo que sin una base revolucionaria, vayamos a perecer de nuevo como haces en una hoguera.
Los primeros capítulos se me hicieron un poco pesados, ya que me agobió un poco la cantidad de información que contiene cada párrafo, que a veces parecen datos arbitrarios, que no están del todo conectados en el hilo de la historia. Y tal vez también me incomodó la naturalidad con la que el autor habla de la sexualidad, la sodomía y los "ritos" sexuales. Aunque creo que esto puede ser a un nivel más personal, y precisamente va de eso el libro, ¿no? De cómo nos hemos ido desconectando de nuestra propia sexualidad, avergonzándonos de nuestros cuerpos e impidiendo las conversaciones naturales sobre el sexo.
También, la forma en la que el Evans conecta la historia de la religión cristiana con la brujería y la cultura gay me hicieron reflexionar sobre el papel que la religión en general tiene en nuestras vidas actualmente y cómo la historia es y ha sido contada principalmente por personas blancas y heterosexuales. Por eso mismo pienso que este libro es tan importante, ya que pocas veces se escucha la historia desde los grupos oprimidos.
Profundizando más en la lectura, y en especial en los últimos capítulos "Sexo entre los zombis" y "Magia y Revolución", creo que Evans supo dirigir muy bien la investigación hacia unas conclusiones muy interesantes. Sus reflexiones sobre el industrialismo, los pueblos naturales, el patriarcado, el profesionalismo, el liberalismo y el socialismo son, en mi opinión, muy acertadas. Especialmente cuando explica que se nos ha "olvidado" cómo vivir, ya que el sistema industrial nos ha convertido en esclavos del dinero, que tratamos a las personas y a nosotros mismos como objetos que usamos y tiramos. No sabemos cuidarnos, alimentarnos y arroparnos sin depender del sistema. También me gustó la puntualización del fascismo y sus orígenes en la disociación de la persona con su parte más "natural".
Creo que también hay que tener en cuenta que este libro fue escrito a finales de los años 70. Y aunque ahora nos parezca un lenguaje un tanto anticuado, algunas de las cosas que comenta el autor son verdaderamente revolucionarias para el periodo en el que el autor escribía. Además, de la traducción al español de la Editorial Descontrol, aprecié mucho el prólogo, las notas de la traducción y el epílogo. Creo que reflejan muy bien las dudas que me fueron surgiendo a lo largo de la lectura. Fue muy agradable poder leer la opinión de otra persona sobre lo que acababa de leer, así como sus recomendaciones de lectura y críticas hacia los autores, me ayudaron mucho a reflexionar.
Del capítulo de Magia y Revolución me quedo con la siguiente cita: ¿Creemos realmente que esto podrá detener a una civilización que fue capaz de borrar a las brujas del mapa, asesinar a los nativos, mandar a los judíos y a gays y lesbianas a los hornos crematorios, bombardear Vietnam hasta reducirla a la Edad de Piedra o infiltrarse en los grupos de protesta del país y asesinar a sus líderes? Lo dudo. Dudo que podamos detener jamás al patriarcado hasta que no nos diseminemos como un virus en el cuerpo político, cuando sea el momento, llevando con nosotros nuestras armas secretas, y ataquemos sin previo aviso a las instituciones que nos someten, así como a políticos, industriales, señores de la guerra y académicos que las dirigen. Sin duda habrá muchos que no estén de acuerdo, pero temo que sin una base revolucionaria, vayamos a perecer de nuevo como haces en una hoguera.
September 22, 2025
Como escribir una opinión de un libro que seguramente me ha cambiado la vida. De lectura obligada para comprender el vacío e ignorancia de los historiadores heteropatriarcales al escribir sobre la persecución de brujas. Este ensayo te hace anhelar regresar a esas primeras sociedades que veneraban a la Gran Madre, que tenían libertades sexuales y estaban conectadas a la naturaleza. El recorrido que hace reescribiendo la historia de la quema de gays y lesbianas, desde lo transmasc que debía ser Juana de Arco, pasando por la homosexualidad de los templarios o el militarismo e industrialismo americano que ha destruido su sociedad desde que mataron al primer indígena. Este libro (aún con algunas carencias y reproche) te hace querer robar a tus amigues y empezar una tribu humildemente orgiastica. Cada página es un regalito de rebeldía.
July 12, 2023
El sistema industrial ha reducido el sexo a una actividad productiva, del mismo modo que reduce todas las funciones humanas a meras actividades productivas. Bajo el industrialismo, el propósito del sexo se ha convertido en algo puramente económico: sirve para educar a los consumidores, trabajadores y soldados para que cumplan su papel en las jerarquías industriales y militares. Las relaciones sexuales se han reducido a relaciones productivas. La unidad básica de producción de personas es la familia heterosexual monógama.
October 28, 2025
Una mirada rompedora, muy original y bastante aguda sobre la persecución y el arrinconamiento de las tradiciones, rituales y cultos paganos y de la comunidad LGTBIQA+. Desde una perspectiva histórica, recurriendo a episodios y eventos ilustrativos, el autor nos muestra cómo los poderes dominantes, especialmente el cristianismo y el industrialismo, han estigmatizado e intentado aniquilar a las personas con una profunda conexión con el mundo natural, demonizándolas y tildándolas de brujas. Y, paralelamente, nos cuenta cómo esos mismos poderes dominantes asociaron a las personas LGTBIQA+ con ese concepto artificial, orquestado y sesgado, de brujas.
Aunque el texto sea irregular —tanto es concienzudo y coherente como ingenuo, especulativo y casi panfletario—, me ha parecido muy interesante descubrir el proceso de transición de herejía a brujería, cómo las disidencias han sido históricamente perseguidas y cómo las contraculturas siempre han sido la resistencia.
Aunque el texto sea irregular —tanto es concienzudo y coherente como ingenuo, especulativo y casi panfletario—, me ha parecido muy interesante descubrir el proceso de transición de herejía a brujería, cómo las disidencias han sido históricamente perseguidas y cómo las contraculturas siempre han sido la resistencia.
April 13, 2021
Really refreshing, though saddening, to recover and absorb the gruesome history of queer lives. Many of the criticisms of modern politics remain quite relevant, especially those of liberalism, socialism, and the gay bourgeoisie. The conclusion and Evans’ new socialism is less than concrete, however. The text drifts away from solid footing then, although I do not disagree with the mission and potential of a de-industrialized collective community. Frankly, the vision really needs much more than “magic” as a means to the end. I think it is a really romantic view of pastoral, pre-Christian societies when we can’t really know whether their values were as humane as we imagine.
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April 19, 2022Es caótico y repetitivo. Como ensayo es bastante torpe, como manifiesto es radical y tiene ideas interesantes, como libro de curiosidades está muy bien porque uno se entera de muchas cositas que no sabía (aunque no tantas para lo largo que es el libro). Hay que leerlo también con perspectiva, que han pasado 50 años muy convulsos desde que se escribió.
November 4, 2025
Not a perfect book but a totally fascinating alternate history of women/queers/gay men and their connection to magic. Some really interesting reframings of industrialization, america, patriarchy. The chapter "homosexuality and class warfare" was in particular a very sweeping and interesting history of "how it happened that straight white makes got control of our lives". "sex among the zombies" was another great chapter with interesting speculations on technology, socialism, industry, and america.
anyways I very much recommend this if you are interested in queers, magic, nature, sex as celebration/ritual, history,etcetc. Lots of ideas to think on and extrapolate pertaining to how to extricate us from this mess
anyways I very much recommend this if you are interested in queers, magic, nature, sex as celebration/ritual, history,etcetc. Lots of ideas to think on and extrapolate pertaining to how to extricate us from this mess
August 28, 2020
Aunque los temas que trata tienen apuntes y el discurso está un pelín atrasado, es un libro muy interesante para replantearte la manera en la que conocemos la historia. Además, los aportes de la edición en castellano, redondean la edición.
October 2, 2024
una maravillosa revisión de la historia LGBT y de como ha sido silenciada por el relato único occidental apoyandose en una relación entre las prácticas religiosas y la orientación sexual y representación de género no normativas
December 31, 2025
Renewing my commitment to saying faggot as much as possible in daily life
February 27, 2025
reading this back to back with faggots & their friends was a once in lifetime experience. make faggotry great again!!
January 15, 2025
Simplemente brutal.
December 31, 2019
Provocative and original. Evans takes a feminist critique of patriarchy and Christianity à la Starhawk, with a Marxist (Maoist-flavored) view of the historical development of class struggle and imperialism, and further integrates a critique of the forcible imposition of heterosexuality. Evans evokes a worldwide pre-history of "nature societies" characterized by gender egalitarianism, homosexuality and communal property relations. Evans sketches a historic trajectory through the development of Greco-Roman patriarchy, urbanization, Christianity, the Inquisition, European colonization and industrial capitalism. He critiques contemporary capitalism along with state socialism (as he characterizes the USSR and to some extent China), and calls for the creation of a communist future based on a refounding of local rural communes based on homosexuality and shared magical practice.
Although Evans paints a compelling picture, he relies heavily on historical claims that are open to dispute, leaving his essential argument on shaky grounds. One weakness is that the narrative leans heavily on European history without enough attention to different historical trajectories. Evans connects urbanization, patriarchy and masculine monotheism (among other processes) which can be connected in European history but do not align for example in China or Mesoamerica (where patriarchy developed just fine in a mostly rural non-monotheistic societies). Furthermore even in European history, the trends are not as straightforward as Evans suggests: for example he dwells at some length on the growth of Christianity in the transition from late antiquity to the middle ages but doesn't acknowledge that this time period was also characterized by a huge amount of *de*urbanization.
Evans also seems simplistic at times in his portrayal of "nature societies". While it's welcome to expose myths and reverse cultural stereotypes about "savage" cultures, it's important in an enterprise like this to acknowledge the diversity and complexity that prevailed among and within those historical (and contemporary cultures). The fact that severe forms of patriarchy developed and were maintained in many "nature societies" that still practiced magic and had tolerant views about homosexuality is something that really needs to be addressed in a book like this. To buy Evans' claim that the best hope for the future is to recreate rural nature Gay magic communes, it's necessary to explain why these will be liberating and not develop into the seeds of new patriarchal or oppressive systems. In my opinion this is a missing linchpin for making Evans' case and the book would be an absolute unmissable classic if he had tackled this as well.
Although Evans paints a compelling picture, he relies heavily on historical claims that are open to dispute, leaving his essential argument on shaky grounds. One weakness is that the narrative leans heavily on European history without enough attention to different historical trajectories. Evans connects urbanization, patriarchy and masculine monotheism (among other processes) which can be connected in European history but do not align for example in China or Mesoamerica (where patriarchy developed just fine in a mostly rural non-monotheistic societies). Furthermore even in European history, the trends are not as straightforward as Evans suggests: for example he dwells at some length on the growth of Christianity in the transition from late antiquity to the middle ages but doesn't acknowledge that this time period was also characterized by a huge amount of *de*urbanization.
Evans also seems simplistic at times in his portrayal of "nature societies". While it's welcome to expose myths and reverse cultural stereotypes about "savage" cultures, it's important in an enterprise like this to acknowledge the diversity and complexity that prevailed among and within those historical (and contemporary cultures). The fact that severe forms of patriarchy developed and were maintained in many "nature societies" that still practiced magic and had tolerant views about homosexuality is something that really needs to be addressed in a book like this. To buy Evans' claim that the best hope for the future is to recreate rural nature Gay magic communes, it's necessary to explain why these will be liberating and not develop into the seeds of new patriarchal or oppressive systems. In my opinion this is a missing linchpin for making Evans' case and the book would be an absolute unmissable classic if he had tackled this as well.
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