Major Arqueerna

Queer Qabala Playlist: Kether

View of a crowd at a musical event, overlaid with rainbow colors. "Kether" is at the top, and at the bottom is written "Queer Qabala Playlists."

Each week between now and the publication of Queer Qabala: Nonbinary, Genderfluid, Omnisexual Mysticism & Magick (pre-order now!), I’ll be sharing a playlist I made about one of the spheres on the Tree of Life, and will be giving you a tiny sneak preview of that sphere’s chapter in the book.

This week’s playlist is for Kether, the first sphere on the Tree of Life, which represents ultimate unity and pure potential. The vibe of this playlist is one of hope, togetherness, and looking forward. It kicks off with a fantastic remix of astronomer Carl Sagan, called “A Glorious Dawn.” You can listen to the Kether playlist on YouTube and Spotify.

“Queer Magic: LGBT+ Spirituality and Culture From Around the World” (review)

In 2018, I was perusing shelves at my local pagan bookstore when I was delighted to find not one, but two books titled Queer Magic, each with bright rainbow designs on dark-colored covers. They’d even been released within slightly more than a month of each other, albeit by different publishers. At the time, I bought the anthology called Queer Magic: Power Beyond Boundaries (review), but I vowed I would return for the other title, Queer Magic: LGBT+ Spirituality and Culture From Around the World by Tomás Prower.

I took longer than I should have, but a few years later, I’ve finally read Tomás’ book, and I’m now kicking myself for not having read it sooner. Tomás guides the reader on a worldwide tour, making stops at various points throughout history and modern day, to examine the role of queerness within spiritual systems all around the globe. Better still, he frequently passes the mic to queer people practicing different types of spirituality in different places, so they can tell their own stories and, in some cases, share their own magickal workings.

Queer Qabala Playlist: Chokmah

View of a crowd at a musical event, overlaid with rainbow colors. "Chokmah" is at the top, and at the bottom is written "Queer Qabala Playlists."

This week’s playlist is for Chokmah, a truly bombastic sphere of endless, overflowing energy without limit. The song from my high school years that embodied that kind of endless, rushing, get-super-hyped energy is “Ready To Go” by Republica, so that’s the first song of the playlist this week. You can listen to the Chokmah playlist on YouTube and Spotify.

4 Quick Q’s: Book Talk with Enfys Episode 9: Christopher Penczak

Soft rainbow gradient background with various pagan symbols and a book, overlaid with text: "4 Quick Q's: Book Talk with Enfys" and a photo of Enfys Book, a pale-skinned nonbinary person with short pink hair, a rainbow necklace, and cat-eye purple glasses. In the corner, it says "Episode 9: Christopher Penczak" and has a circle-cropped photo of Christopher.

In 4 Quick Q’s, I ask pagan authors four questions determined at random, by rolling a D20!

This episode features Christopher Penczak, author of many books, including the new 20th anniversary edition of The Inner Temple of Witchcraft. We talk about his favorite place to write, what other pagan author leaves him in awe, and more.

Queer Qabala Playlist: Binah

View of a crowd at a musical event, overlaid with rainbow colors. "Binah" is at the top, and at the bottom is written "Queer Qabala Playlists."

This week’s playlist is for Binah, a sphere about sorrow, compassion, and hidden mysteries. While I try to keep these playlists fairly light and full of songs to get you pumped up, there are a few “downer” songs in this playlist because they fit the vibe of Binah better than upbeat songs. I kick things off with the most viscerally-sad song I know, Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up.” But that song, along with the others on this playlist, also include flashes of the hope that can be created by first acknowledging our pain. You can listen to the Binah playlist on YouTube and Spotify.

Queer Qabala Playlist: Chesed

View of a crowd at a musical event, overlaid with rainbow colors. "Chesed" is at the top, and at the bottom is written "Queer Qabala Playlists."

This week’s playlist is for Chesed, a sphere about claiming our personal power and creating a vision of who we can become. This playlist demands a personal-empowerment song to kick it off, and “Wings” by Little Mix fits the bill. One of my favorite songs for connecting with Chesed is not available on Spotify, but I will link you to the YouTube version of it here, separately: Bob Ross Remixed. You can listen to the Chesed playlist on YouTube and Spotify.

4 Quick Q’s: Book Talk with Enfys Episode 8: Irene Glasse and Caine Dreamwalker

In 4 Quick Q’s, I ask pagan authors four questions determined at random, by rolling a D20!

This episode features Irene Glasse and Caine Dreamwalker, authors of Blackfeather Mystery School: Magpie Training (coming May 23). We talk about their favorite places to write, how they beat writer’s block, and we even have some friendly kitties briefly making an appearance on camera!

Queer Qabala Playlist: Geburah

View of a crowd at a musical event, overlaid with rainbow colors. "Geburah" is at the top, and at the bottom is written "Queer Qabala Playlists."

This week’s playlist is for Geburah, the sphere most often associated with destruction, but that destruction serves to improve things by removing that which is unneeded. Dion Fortune calls Geburah the “celestial surgeon,” an apt metaphor for a painful process that ultimately serves to heal. You can also think of Geburah as a personal trainer, pushing you towards your goals, or as a protestor speaking out to create a better, more just world. It is also the sphere that stops us from being what we’re not and moves us towards a more authentic life, which inspired me to choose the song “Grace Kelly,” by MIKA as the first track. You can listen to the playlist on YouTube and Spotify.

“Blackfeather Mystery School: Magpie Training” (review)

The cover of the book, "Blackfeather Mystery School: Magpie Training" by Irene Glasse and Caine Dreamwalker, set against a background of black feathers.

There are a lot of introductory magickal training books out there, but few that I would highly recommend to just about any magickal practitioner. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. Some are highly accessible, but lack depth. Others are too deep and intimidating. But Blackfeather Mystery School: Magpie Training is accessible, comprehensive, and life-changing, and I highly recommend it.

What makes this book particularly great is that it is an immersive experience. Rather than just explaining things to the reader and then offering a lightweight exercise or two, Blackfeather Mystery School: Magpie Training is a comprehensive, highly-interactive, solo curriculum built upon 20 years of magickal development and a very successful, year-long magickal training series, one with over 60 regular participants showing up in person (pre-pandemic). The very first lesson has readers building a personal altar and beginning a simple daily practice of self-reflection and empowerment. Readers are guided to create sacred space before reading each lesson, each of which has an audio pathworking structure available at blackfeathermystery.com to encompass the lesson.

Queer Qabala Playlist: Tiphareth

View of a crowd at a musical event, overlaid with rainbow colors. "Tiphareth" is at the top, and at the bottom is written "Queer Qabala Playlists."

This week’s playlist is for Tiphareth, the sphere aligned with the sun and the concept of absolute balance on the Tree of Life. The temple in the Tiphareth pathworking has many prisms set into windows, casting rainbows all around, which inspired me to start the playlist with “Kaleidoscope” by A Great Big World. You can listen to the playlist on YouTube and Spotify.