The Canadian Journal of Theology Mental Health and Disability 1 no. 1, Spring 2021 Research Article Enchanted Suffering: Queer Magick as Educated Hope Jasper Jay Bryan BA, MPS, Expressive Arts Therapist Student Emmanuel College, Toronto, Canada
[email protected] Abstract: Is there magick in suffering? Moreover, how can an enchanted worldview assist care providers in expanding horizons of hope for their clients, patients, congregations, or communities? Using a magickal hermeneutics, case studies of self-identified “queer witches” have much to teach us about hope. Following José Esteban Muñoz's conception of Queer Utopia and Ernst Bloch's docta spes, these individuals demonstrate a hope that is rooted in adversity, tended by enchantedness. As spiritual care providers, we can learn to purposefully integrate magickal principles into our work with marginalized individuals, and all of those who are experiencing suffering. We can hold magickal space---an enchanted, educated utopia---to cultivate our clients’ inner power and expand horizons of hope. Keywords: queer, magick, spiritual care, LGBTQ, queer utopia, hope, suffering Introduction Loki, the Norse trickster god, was known for weaving clever schemes, trapping other gods in precarious situations. He was a shapeshifter. Loki changed his form, gender, and sex in service of these tricks, playfully challenging whatever the Vikings (and their gods) considered “normal.” He was a web spinner. His name, translated, means knot or tangle, and indeed he tied many knots in Norse mythology’s threads, often bringing about a god’s downfall – if not provoking a good laugh with his outlandish antics.1 Other pantheons have similar irreverent figures.