Major Arqueerna

Crosspost: 5 Ways Qabala Affirms My Nonbinary, Bisexual Identity

In honor of Queer Qabala’s release Wednesday, I have a post on the Llewellyn blog! Here’s a teaser, followed by a link to read the rest of the post.

My identity journey as a nonbinary, bisexual person is intertwined with my spiritual journey with Hermetic Qabala. In my book, Queer Qabala: Nonbinary, Genderfluid, Omnisexual Mysticism & Magick, I show several ways Qabala is inherently queer, and how to use the Tree of Life as an authentic, queer lens and spiritual tool for queer experiences and rites of passage.
Here are five ways the Qabala has helped me personally, in affirming my nonbinary, bisexual identity.

Keep reading at Llewellyn.com

🌈 Guess what? I wrote a book on Queer Qabala, and you can buy it now! 🌈

Like this post? Subscribe to my monthly-ish e-newsletter to get 11 free audio pathworkings and other exclusive content!

Processing…

Success! You're on the list.

Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

Crosspost: “Why Qabala Is an Inherently Queer Spiritual Tool”

In honor of Queer Qabala‘s launch yesterday, I’ve got an article on the Llewellyn Journal today! Here’s a brief teaser with a link to the full article.

Be honest: When you hear the word, “Qabala,” what comes to mind?
Hermetic Qabala is a spiritual framework for understanding ourselves and the universe, using a glyph called the Tree of Life. It has tons of practical, magickal uses, but it’s not uncommon for someone to take a quick look at Qabala and decide it isn’t for them, for any number of reasons. Many people see Qabala as an antiquated spiritual tool bogged down with undesirable concepts like patriarchy, hierarchy, and monotheism.
But I’m one of those weirdos who started digging into Qabala early in my Pagan spiritual journey, and then just couldn’t stop. From the moment I read my first Qabala book, The Witches Qabala by Ellen Cannon Reed, I was hooked. And about five years ago, I began to understand the Tree of Life as a deeply queer-inclusive spiritual tool.
I’m not the first person to think of Qabala as innately queer, but written content on the subject is scarce, which is a big reason why I decided to start a blog, and eventually write a book about Queer Qabala, called Queer Qabala: Nonbinary, Genderfluid, Omnisexual Mysticism & Magick. Finding connections between my queer identity and my spirituality has been a deeply empowering experience, and I want to share that with other people.
What Makes Qabala Queer
Surprisingly, it doesn’t take a ton of digging to find queer representation in the Tree of Life…

Keep reading at Llewellyn.com

🌈 Guess what? I wrote a book on Queer Qabala, and you can buy it now! 🌈

Like this post? Subscribe to my monthly-ish e-newsletter to get 11 free audio pathworkings and other exclusive content!

Processing…

Success! You're on the list.

Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

“Queer Qabala” is out TODAY!

Happy book birthday to Queer Qabala: Nonbinary, Genderfluid, Omnisexual Mysticism & Magick! As of today, the book is out, and you can find it all sorts of places online and IRL. If you can’t wait to get your hands on it but are short on funds or don’t like buying books, you can request it at your local library.

I started writing this book before I thought it was a book, back in early 2020. I wrote a series of posts on this blog examining each of the spheres on the Tree of Life and how to relate them to queer experiences, and created audio pathworkings to go with them. One of my mentors suggested I had the makings of a book, and when I added it all up, sure enough, I had about 17,000 words written between all the posts and pathworkings, and I was pretty confident I could expand that to over 50,000 words within a few months. And I did! The initial draft took about 6 months to write, and many more months to edit into something I was really proud of. Llewellyn was kind enough to accept my book proposal, and after lots of hard work with their stellar team of editors, designers, and marketers, the book became a reality. I still can’t quite believe it.

4 Quick Q’s: Book Talk with Enfys Episode 11: Mhara Starling

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

This episode features Mhara Starling, author of Welsh Witchcraft. We talked about the inspirations behind her book, the complex dynamics of antiquity vs. authenticity, and how her younger self would’ve reacted to her book.

4 Quick Q’s: Book Talk with Enfys Episode 10: Tomás Prower

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

This episode features Tomás Prower, the award-winning author of books on multicultural magic and mysticism, including Queer Magic (my review), Warrior Magic, La Santa Muerte, and Morbid Magic. We talk about “Xena: Warrior Princess,” magickal books he returns to again and again, and what book he’s loving reading right now.

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.