Education United States Grand Lodge

Pride Not Prejudice

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. 

Happy Pride Month! 

This month marks the 52nd anniversary of the first Pride parade in San Francisco on June 27, 1970. The event was attended by about 30 members of the LGBTQIA+ community and followed the 1965 Compton’s Cafeteria riot, the Dewey Counter Sit-ins, and the 1969 Stonewall riots. Rights slowly began to appear, and in 2015, the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. While our community has seen rights and regional protections expanded to cover housing, employment, and civil status, those protections are not guaranteed in every location in the US or the world. Currently, we are seeing legislation passed in different states, and local policies adopted that limit the visibility and freedoms of our community. 

When the Thelema for All diversity module’s LGBTQIA+ team met to discuss the development of twelve modules, a theme began to emerge. Our motto quickly became, “We are already here, and this is who we are.” The topics of the modules include language used to describe different types of sexual attraction, romantic attraction, gender, and our history and pronouns.

We are excited to announce that the first two modules in the LGBTQIA+ series have been published. The first, “Queer Language 101 – Attraction”, explores different types of sexual and romantic attraction and introduces the terms used in the LGBTQIA+ community. The discussion prompts help underline the importance of self-identification. The self-reflection question reviews the material in light of Liber Librae

The second, “Queer Language 102” – Gender, explores past and current vocabulary used to describe gender and gender identity. Go beyond the binary with a special gender adventure feature included with the slides. Learn how and when to ask about gender identity and what to do when a mistake is made. The self-reflection question reviews the material in light of the Commentary on Liber AL vel Legis I:51. Thank you to our Siblings who contributed to creating, editing, and publishing these materials. 

More about the Thelema for All Diversity Module Series

The modules are created by a subgroup of the Diversity Task Force and were guided by the U.S.G.L. Values Statements, in particular:

“We advocate the principles of Scientific Religion and Universal Brotherhood, and oppose tyranny, superstition, and oppression.” – U.S.G.L. Values Statement #4

“We believe that a membership free from unfair discrimination is essential to accomplishing our Mission, and reject doctrines that promote bigotry, prejudice, and intolerance.” – U.S.G.L. Values Statement #6 

The Thelema for All diversity modules are designed to be a tool for local leadership to provide space to have hard discussions, increase awareness of underrepresented populations, and challenge participants to self-reflect on the module topic related to Thelema. The modules also allow those who wish to complete them alone. In either case, the Diversity team’s desire is to give each individual the knowledge and confidence to talk about these topics, whether with other siblings or other parts of their lives. 

The Thelema for All diversity modules were birthed with the idea that our physical spaces and online events should be welcoming. They must be free of ignorance and the bias that discourages many members of underserved populations. If individuals want to embrace Thelema, take initiation, attend Liber XV, and participate in classes or ritual events, then race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability should not be the limiting factor. The Law must truly be for all! 

Love is the law, love under will.