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LGBTQ+ Companion to Symbol, Mythology, Folklore, and Spirituality is a revised and expanded edition of Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol, and Spirit (Cassell, 1997). It remains an unprecedented reference source on the theme of same sex desire, gender variance and the sacred with a multicultural, transhistorical focus. Useful for general readers and essential for scholars, the Companion is highly informative, entertaining and empowering.

The result of more than 30 years of research, the Companion is a collection of LGBTQ+ related deities, spiritual/symbolic figures, mythological stories and folklore (ancient and modern), symbols (such as sacred animals, flowers, colors, designs, and motifs), language/terms/slang (such as Polari, a linguistic code or “cant” employed primarily by marginal persons since the Middle Ages), and literature and the arts (authors, artists, texts, and artefacts). This variety is extensively researched and presented from a range of historic evidence and perspectives in written records, from personal interviews, oral histories, the treasured folklore of our communities, from the Ancient Mediterranean, Africa and Asia, to Europe and the Americas.

Entries and longer articles often include the analysis of, and approaches from, various LGBTQ+ and LGBTQ+ positive scholars of linguistics, religion, anthropology, philosophy, sociology, politics and popular culture. Negative and homophobic critiques and analysis of spiritual leaders and academics, especially from the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, are also examined.

Published: Nov 1, 2025

Book Contributors

• Author - Randy P. Conner† ([email protected] - rpconner) 'Professor, researcher, and author'
• Author - David Hatfield Sparks ([email protected] - dsparks) 'M.L.I.S. Teacher, author, and ethnomusicologist'
• Author - Mariah Sparks ([email protected] - msparks) 'Singer, storyteller and librarian'

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Section	Chapter	Authors
Introduction
	Introduction	David Sparks, Randy P. Conner, Mariah Sparks
Dictionary of Terms
	Dictionary of Terms	David Sparks, Randy P. Conner, Mariah Sparks
Bibliography
	Bibliography	David Sparks, Randy P. Conner, Mariah Sparks
Index
	Subject Index	David Sparks, Randy P. Conner, Mariah Sparks

Reviews

Reviews of the first edition

It's invaluable!
Clive Barker, writer and filmmaker

A unified romp through queer spiritualia ... accessible notes ... impressive bibliography.
HARVARD GAY & LESBIAN REVIEW

The lives of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgendered people, the two-spirited, transsexuals and others ... are equally detailed .. this is not just an encyclopedia of European-derived experiences.
Susan Raffo, LESBIAN REVIEW of BOOKS