Essence of Indistinction

Quasi-religious cults and spiritual movements have long had a close relatioinship with androgyny. The tree of life adopted by Caballah and other movements represents a spiritual path taken by men and women as they shed their earthly concerns, including sexuality, on their way to enlightenment. Sufism adopts a similar scheme although not in the form of a tree. Rosicrucians, who began developing their philosophy in the middle ages, rely heavily on the idea of alchemy, or the combination of opposite elements to achieve unity or enlightenment. Rosicrucian symbolism even includes images of the physical union of man and woman as representative of this "spiritual alchemy".

Other forms of spirituality with more contemporary origins also adopt androgyny as a symbol of enlightenment. This "new age" philosophy which idealizes lack of gender specificity has been applied not only to spiritual practice, but also to ordinary earthly concerns such as business management.