A few months ago, I met someone at a festival in Australia who invited me to visit Faerieland, a Radical Faerie sanctuary in New South Wales, where they live long-term with several other residents on a semi-off-grid property.
I had first learned about the Radical Faeries at a countercultural festival in the U.S., but I had never been to a sanctuary before.
This one is located in the Rainbow Region, a subtropical part of Australia known for its permaculture farms and LGBTQ+ festivals. There tends to be a lot of overlap between Radical Faeries and other alternative lifestyles, so I was already familiar with some of their values and practices.
But who exactly are the Radical Fairies, and what can you expect when you go to a gathering or sanctuary? Read on to find out.
Who Are the Radical Faeries?
The Radical Faeries were first formed in the 1970s by Harry Hay, Mitch Walker, Don Kilhefner, and John Burnside, who were active in the gay rights movement and other countercultural movements during the same time period.
They drew from hippie cultural, neopaganism, and ecofeminism to create their own response to more mainstream gay rights activism.
According to RadFae.org, “we tend to be queer people who look for a spiritual dimension to our sexuality; many of us are healers of one kind or another. Our shared values include individual responsibility rather than hierarchy, gender fluidity, feminism, respect for the Earth.”
Since then, the Radical Faeries have expanded to form a loose network of events and communities around the world. Although the group originated among gay men, you’ll find faeries of all genders and LGBTQ+ sexualities.
If you’re seeking a place where you can be yourself and leave the world behind for a while, check out one of these Radical Faerie circles and sanctuaries:
