The Sacred Androgyne

There are many spiritual traditions that recognize and honor the Sacred Androgyne, a deity or person that represents a blending of male and female energies. This "third gender" as it is sometimes called has interpretive meanings that run the gamut from "gay" to "biological hermaphrodite." This universal concept must always be examined from the specific meaning give to it by the resident culture.

In Plato's "Symposium," he lectures about this theory of man; "The sexes were not two as they are now, but originally three in number; there was man, woman, and the union of the two, having a name corresponding to this double nature, which had once a real existence, but is now lost, and the word "Androgynous" is only preserved as a term of reproach...." The alchemical stage known as rubedo facilitates a fusion of Sol and Luna, allowing for the creation of Hermaphrodite.

The Hindu deity Shiva Ardhanariswara is a manifestation of Shiva and his consort Parvarti together.  The left half of this deity is female and the right half is masculine, seamlessly joined vertically down the middle.  Some people interpret this form as a variation on the Chinese concept of Yin and Yang.

Among the Tungus of Siberia, from whom the word "shaman" derives, both men and women assumed that spiritual role, and shared blended roles, privileges and duties when they did so.  Over one hundred Native American tribes have some sort of reference to this role.  The term most often heard for this is "berdache" however, this is a modern term derived from European language roots and refers to prostitution.  The term "two-spirit" was coined in the early 1990s at a Native American/First Nations conference in Canada and has roots from the Objiwa words "niizh manitoag."  The Zuni word for this role is "lhamana." 

Most often this role in First Nation culture was a blend of men's and women's roles.  Young children and teens were allowed to follow their preferences for work even if it took them outside traditional gender roles.  Boys who wanted to cook and sew would take women's names and wear women's clothing.  Girls who wanted to be warriors would likewise then dress and act like boys.  Many times this person also performed healing work or held a position of spiritual significance within the tribe.  Because of their ability to move across gender roles and knowledge bases, they often worked as healers and mediators for the tribe.