Queer Qabala Playlist: Binah

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 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.

Here’s a snippet from the Binah chapter of Queer Qabala: Nonbinary, Genderfluid, Omnisexual Mysticism & Magick:

In addition to being one half of the lesbian power couple atop the Tree of Life, Binah is also queer because much of what it represents is forbidden and taboo. Binah is associated with the dark and mysterious aspects of that which has been often ascribed to the feminine: childbirth (and, by extension, sexuality), the womb, death, the near-infinite depths of the sea, darkness, and silence. And as a sphere of birth and death, Binah is often associated with the underworld as well.

Why are these things considered taboo? Because our society fears that which it does not understand. So yes, though Binah’s aspects are largely aligned with things ascribed to the feminine and it sits atop the Feminine Pillar, which makes it seem very cisheteronormative at first glance, the taboo experience of Binah has strong parallels with the queer experience.

The queer experience of Binah and Chokmah together is a more meta version of that which occurred between Geburah and Chesed. Geburah was about letting go of parts of your old self and life that no longer fit after you come out, and building the courage to come out at all. Chesed was about exploring the possibilities of who you can become after you come out. Binah and Chokmah are those experiences on a higher arc: our communal experiences of sorrow and exuberance within the queer community.

Queer Qabala: Nonbinary, Genderfluid, Omnisexual Mysticism & Magick