Let me introduce myself. I'm Minos Alexias from the Netherlands. In December 2017 I've been initiated into the tradition of the Minoan Brotherhood, a witchcraft tradition for men who love men. Maybe you've heard of it, maybe you haven't. The name evokes scenes of ancient civilizations, great palaces, religious events, a Snake Goddess from the Cretan island, and a Minotaur at the center of a labyrinth build by Daedalus.

 

These images from times long past exude an atmosphere of holiness, of deep devotion, and of a people who lived off trade with their neighboring civilizations. Also likely to surface in your mind, if you know something of Crete's history, is the archaeologist Sir Arthur John Evans, the man who uncovered the puzzle pieces of this lost society connected to the palace of Knossos. Named after King Minos, this society was called the Minoan civilization. The Minoan Brotherhood is an heir to those ancient puzzle pieces, a mystery and initiatory tradition that brings together the old and the new in a tradition especially for men who love men. Are you a man over 21 years of age, and are you gay or bisexual, and interested in paganism, or are you already on a pagan path? Then this tradition could be very interesting for you.

 

Let me state first that we are not reconstructionists. We are not copying the Minoans, or piecing together their practices in every detail. I would even go as far stating that reconstructionism does not exist, because we will never have the same state of mind that people in ancient times had. But that's a totally different discussion entirely. Instead the Minoan Brotherhood is an amalgam of old and new influences which is the case with so many current pagan paths. Working with age old images of Gods and, yes, of Goddesses too, we meet the needs of contemporary men who love men. Providing a path that's relevant in the world of today where we face judgment, exclusion or even worse.

 

n the Minoan Brotherhood we work from our present day consciousness, but are inspired by the beauty and holiness that can be found in the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean, and the interpretation of their customs and ways of living. So I state we are a syncretistic tradition. If you delve into the Minoan Brotherhood, learning and exploring, you will come across elements of symbolism and mythology from Minoan and the Ancient Greek culture from the Mycenaean to the Hellenistic times, but also from the civilizations of the Near-East.

Mix this with modern western magical techniques and the structure of Gardnerian Wicca, and you get a pretty good idea of the scope of the Minoan Brotherhood and what it has to offer.

 

However, what makes the Minoan Brotherhood truly unique, is putting central a homosexual Godhead. He is the patron God of men who love men. He's the true and Divine Teacher, Initiator and Lover. We can imagine him as the Minotaur; a naked man, with the head of a bull, representing a strong masculine power. He is definitely not the bloodthirsty monster he later became in Greek mythology, rather he's a representation of all existing male power and potency, on the Earth as well as in the Heavens. He's not destruction, but constructive, loving, and healing; he's animal and human; body and mind; united in one being. In this way, his balanced force can be brought together and focused. How? Simply by attuning to his power which is part of every man and always within his reach. Getting in touch with that image of power opens a way to healing and celebration. Healing of wounds caused by division and judgment, and a celebration of life, of Nature, of beauty, and of love and sexuality. The Minoan God has different forms that you learn about after initiation and he will appear different to any initiate based on what they may find beautiful and desirable in another male. So the Minoan path is truly a personal journey for each.

 

But first let me tell you a little about myself. After a journey of over 2 years, trying to find my way within the paths of witchcraft, I came into contact with Alexandrian Wicca in 2002, a tradition for men and women, and a coven is led by a High Priestess and a High Priest. It's a wonderful tradition, in which I was able to enjoy eight years of training which taught me all the important basics, about the path of Wicca, but also about myself. After receiving my Third Degree I started my own coven, which has been around for more than 12 years now. In many ways this has been a beautiful and fulfilling experience that continues to this day on.

 

Still, I've always played with the idea of starting a Wiccan group just for men. I even thought about setting up my own, and explored all sorts of ideas, but I wasn't quite sure how to make it all authentic, because I did not just want a version of Wicca for men. How would a coven of men work? Who leads, who initiates, etc. It didn't really click yet. Then 'a new day' arrived.

 

When I first heard about the Minoan Brotherhood in 2014 through acquaintances of mine, I felt a shiver down my spine. Apparently someone beat me to it, and did all the work for me! A witchcraft tradition especially for men who love men already existed, and since the 1970's! I felt instinctively that this was it. This tradition was founded by a man, and open only to men who love men.

 

A deep and old longing was touched in me, my interest was sparked big time!Like so many who discover and are drawn to a pagan path, I began reading about this tradition. I learned that Eddie Buczynski (1947-1989) was an American with Polish heritage, living in New York City, and an initiated Gardnerian High Priest.

He experienced a difficult time as a gay man in the pagan and Wiccan circles when he started to explore them from 1971 on. He was often rejected from formal training in covens, and, according to the Wiccan structure, he had to work with a High Priestess. As a gay man this was hard for him, and he felt that because of his sexual orientation he was not accepted, and more often even excluded or treated like an inferior being as opposed to the heterosexual man. When he got into a conflict because he was not allowed to initiate his then lover (in a traditional Wicca coven the man initiates a woman, and the woman a man), he had enough.

He wanted a safe space, a witchcraft tradition where men like him - a man who loves men - could experience both their love and spirituality, without having to adapt to other standards that does not fit them.

Thus same-sex love and spirituality were brought together by Eddie, and in 1976 he began to build a new tradition upon the foundation of Gardnerian Wicca. This new tradition would connect with a time long gone when an all-male Priesthood was the most natural and accepted thing in the world. Eddie found the anchor for his ideas in the Minoan civilization of Bronze Age Crete.

This would become the framework and symbolic language now central to the Minoan Brotherhood. It is my opinion that the Gods looked favorably upon his labor. As the Goddess says in the Charge of the Goddess: “All acts of love and pleasure are my rituals”. The Gods don't judge people, humans do, and it was time to rise above that. This is what Eddie realized and wanted to establish.

 

Although I personally have not experienced the judgment against homosexuality on my own path in Alexandrian Wicca (of course this was a completely different time, and the Netherlands is less conservative), I must admit that a certain longing in me remained unanswered. I longed for a spiritual Brotherhood, and so my quest began to find my own place of training.

 

As with anything of real value, it was not an easy road. There were no initiates of the Minoan Brotherhood in the Netherlands yet, so I had to look abroad. I had found the right tradition, now I had to find the right place where I could start my training towards initiation.

I decided to look further and go back to the source, to where Eddie came from; the USA. There I met Minos Leonidas (a Minos is a High Priest of a men's group, in the Minoan Brotherhood called "Grove") who could transfer the energy and teachings in such a way that I could completely take it in, and make it my own.

I learned all the ins and outs of the tradition, and after a period of study I traveled to the USA for my initiations and I was elevated to being a High Priest, a Minos.  That all together was a wonderful journey that is etched in my memory. Finally, that long-cherished wish came true and I was then able to found a Grove of the Minoan Brotherhood in the Netherlands in 2020: Temenos Eromenos was born.

 

A "temenos" is Greek for a sacred enclosed space. "Eromenos" means beloved; in the Minoan Brotherhood you are a beloved of the Divine, and in that unity you may rejoice. What a privilege!

What do I think is the most important thing about this tradition? Do we truly need a witchcraft tradition for men only? I would say yes! There is a total acceptance of who you are as a man who loves men, there is no shame, no judgment, and no taboo, as long as the integrity of the body, mind and spirit remains intact.

The Minoan Brotherhood celebrates same-sex love and we heal all those aspects in us that were damaged growing up in a judgmental world. And we take responsibility for that path of healing and the necessary techniques are given to accomplish that.

In a Grove we are each other's Brothers, with a capital!

 

A homosexual God is central? So are we neglecting the feminine aspect? No, certainly not, the Goddess in her aspects of Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether also plays a very important role. Wholeness always requires a balance of light and dark, of giving and receiving, and this is very present in the rituals and techniques of the Minoan Brotherhood. Even being a group consisting of only men, we give and receive and bring down the Heavens to the Earth, polarity is not dependent on our sex. Each circle has a periphery and a center, that doesn't change just because a group consists of only men or women. Because we are men among each other, there's a safe space where we understand and support one another.

We know everyone's struggle, and together we embrace the light in our lives. I know and understand that a male-only group can raise some eyebrows. But I want to ask you not to judge the wishes and desires of others. Give everyone their right to exist, there is literally something for everyone, and if I've learned something in life, it's that you must not conform to other people's wishes and opinions, you have to be who you are, and expand on that. That's what we learn in the Minoan Brotherhood.

For women with the same desire, there's also the Minoan Sisterhood.

 

The Minoan Brotherhood celebrates life, and the homosexual mysteries are central to it, we celebrate our love and lust in rituals that have a solemn, playful and ecstatic character

. It's not for everyone, and yes there is a selection, not based on appearance, but on who you are, what lives in your heart, and how devoted you are. Techniques such as meditation, visualization, seasonal celebrations, rituals, magic and inner journeys are a big part of it, and you as a man are always the kernel of each experience.