Netzach: The very concepts of gender and sexuality

This post is the fourth in a series highlighting each sphere in the Tree of Life. For additional background on the Qabala, see Guided Meditation: Introduction to the Tree of Life, Learning Qabala through story, Learning Qabala: Where to start?, and Qabala is queer, and it isn’t even sneaky about it.

Netzach is the seventh sphere on the tree, sitting directly across from Hod and at the base of the “masculine” pillar, also known as the pillar of mercy or the pillar of force.

The dark green color of Netzach brings to mind wild, hot jungles, as well as wild, hot passion. It is a lower reflection of the endlessly-producing energy of Chokmah, at the top of the pillar, and as such, it is wild and untamed in nature. It represents emotion, particularly passionate, romantic love: its planetary correspondence is Venus.

Are you an artist, writer, or musician? You know that spark that hits you, that moment of inspiration? That’s Netzach, too.

On a more cosmic level, Netzach is where the single force of divine power differentiates into different streams and flavors of energy, like light hitting a prism. When those individuated streams get to Hod, they are anthropomorphized, named, and made accessible for us to work with. We call these streams of energy gods, goddesses, divine beings, elementals, and spirits.

As I noted in the previous post, Netzach works with its neighbor Hod to produce magic. Hod provides the structure, but Nezach provides the wild force of energy that brings things into manifestation. In my view, magic simply isn’t possible without both these spheres at work.

What makes Netzach queer?

The concept of “queerness” wouldn’t exist without Netzach, because Netzach is the home of the concepts of both gender and sexuality. Doesn’t get much queerer than that! Netzach is the burning passion you feel for your partner, whatever their gender and identity may be. It’s the moment energy becomes differentiated, including the energies of all the different genders and gender expressions. (They get their labels in Hod.) The way you “feel” your gender or your sexuality…that feeling comes from Netzach.

In addition to that, Netzach’s magical image is that of a beautiful, naked woman and its planetary attribution is Venus, the ultimate and idealized feminine; yet it sits at the base of the “masculine” pillar, is a lower reflection of the endlessly-ejaculating Chokmah, and has a masculine Hebrew name.

Pathworking to experience Netzach

Below is a recording and text of a pathworking to help you experience Netzach. If you wish to subscribe to future pathworkings, you can do so on Soundcloud, Google Play, TuneIn, Stitcher, and Spotify.

Welcome to the Netzach pathworking, from Major Arqueerna. Please ensure you are seated comfortably and won’t be disturbed for the next fifteen minutes while you do this pathworking.

Close your eyes. Take three deep breaths, slowly, in and out. With each exhalation, let go any tension you find in your body.

Without opening your eyes, visualize the room around you. Now picture it filling with a gray mist, starting at the floor and working its way up to the ceiling, until the only thing you can see is grayness. As the mist dissipates, you find yourself in a field, sitting on a small, wooden platform colored olive, citrine, russet, and black. It’s early evening, with the sun just setting.

In the sky, towards the horizon, you can see a bright dot, like a star – but you know it to be the planet Venus. As you gaze at it, the platform you’re sitting on begins to move toward it. The field and its sounds and smells fade into the distance as you ride the platform, slowly rising higher in the air, flying over forests and hills, until you gradually leave the atmosphere and are flying in space. You can breathe normally and are unafraid of the height – the platform feels stable and secure.

As Venus grows larger in your sight, you begin to feel the heat of passion rise within you. A range of wild, strong emotions unfurl near your navel and your heart as you travel. Suddenly, you find yourself surrounded by a green mist, obscuring your view of the planet.

When the mist dissipates, you find yourself in a rainforest. It’s humid, and you begin to sweat instantly. The air feels as though it’s full of steam, but also life. The light is dim, as the canopy blocks most of the sunlight. You hear a variety of insects and animals around you and smell damp earth and vegetation rotting and fermenting in the heat. Colorful birds fly around and call to each other from the dense treetops. You begin to pick your way through the huge trees and lush ferns to get a better look around.

“Hello,” says a husky, seductive voice near you, and you turn to see a beautiful, smiling, naked person lounging against a tree a few meters away. They are extremely in their element here, with long, wild, cascading hair and a look of bliss and satisfaction on their face. You’re reminded of woodland spirits in Renaissance paintings. The person beckons you to come closer. As you approach, they gently reach out to brush your cheek and gaze into your eyes lovingly. “Welcome. You’ve met my sibling in Hod, who had many questions and things for you to analyze. Here, I ask no questions. I don’t want you to think. I simply want you to feel, to reconnect with the primal forces within yourself.”

“Sit down,” they say, gesturing at a tree stump nearby. You sit. They stare at you for a moment, then hold their hands in front of you, as if projecting energy towards your lower abdomen. After a moment, you suddenly become aware of a strong, pulsing, warm energy emanating from your tailbone. You feel the building heat of the energy rise in your body, slowly filling the lower half of your torso. You feel a strong urge to laugh, or cry, or shout – perhaps all at the same time! – and then that sensation eases and you simply feel…passion, coursing throughout your body. Feelings of yearning and confidence and excitement build within you, along with a primal wildness, the desire to run, to chase. You’re extremely conscious of the feeling of your heart beating, of the blood pulsing through your veins. It’s the most alive you’ve felt in ages.

(pause)

Your host then shifts their hand slightly to point toward your heart. All that passion melts and deepens, and you feel as though feathery wings were tenderly wrapped around you, pouring into you feelings of deep, unconditional, compassionate love and acceptance. You feel safe and cherished and confident that no matter what you do, you will always be loved and understood like this. You feel tears in your eyes, tears of relief and joy and release for being so loved. You want to feel this way forever.

(pause)

As you bask in this tender, loving feeling, you realize you wish to share it. You look at your host, who understands the question in your eyes and nods, gesturing you to hold your hands out. “Imagine the person you wish to send love to,” your host instructs. “And visualize that feeling as clear green light flowing out of you, from your heart, through your hands, and send it to a bright white ball just above that person’s head.” You do as instructed.

(pause)

When you have finished sending the energy, your host grasps your hands gently in theirs and looks deeply into your eyes. You notice their eyes are an extraordinary, deep green that dances and sparkles in the light. 

“My gift to you is this,” they say, reaching one hand up to lightly touch the middle of your forehead with their finger. You shiver slightly at a delicious sensation that trickles all down your body. It feels as if a tiny, bright little star bursts into existence where they are touching you, and bright, shimmery stardust is coursing through your veins. “This is a spark of inspiration,” they say. “Use it well. And remember that which you have felt here, and know you can call those feelings to yourself again.”

You blink, and your host has vanished. You realize you are now sitting on the same wooden platform that brought you here, and you are once again surrounded by a green mist. When the mist dissipates, you are flying through space, heading back towards Earth. You zoom faster and faster until you break through the atmosphere and then ease back down onto the field where you began your journey. You step off the platform, gazing at Venus one last time, and shivering slightly at the memory of your experience there.

Eventually, the air around you begins to fill with a pearly-gray mist, until you can no longer see the field. When the mist dissipates, you find yourself seated comfortably once more. Take a deep breath, wiggle your fingers and your toes, and when you are ready, open your eyes.   

Thank you for listening to this pathworking from Major Arqueerna. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to subscribe and share it with a friend. More content can be found at majorarqueerna.com.