Queer Qabala Playlist: Netzach

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 Netzach, where the very concepts of gender and sexuality emerge in the Tree of Life. This is a sphere full of romantic and sexual passion, creative inspiration, and of getting in touch with our inner, primal selves—the “dirty little freaks,” if you will…which is why this playlist starts with “Raise Your Glass” by P!nk. You can listen to the playlist on YouTube and Spotify.

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

Netzach is the third part of the Queer Identity Triangle, and Netzach is responsible for the way you feel your gender or your sexuality. Most of us know our sexuality based on what sexually attracts us, but what does it mean to feel your gender? I think about this question a lot because most of the time, I just don’t feel like any gender at all. Feeling one’s gender goes beyond noticing your genitals and deciding they define you a certain way. It’s about personally identifying with a concept and feeling it in your bones. Ask yourself, particularly if you’re cisgender: Without devolving into gender stereotypes or anatomy, what about you makes you feel like your gender? If your genitals disappeared mysteriously one day, would you still feel like your gender? If so, why? It’s worth pondering, even if you haven’t previously questioned your gender before.

Whatever your gender identity is, and whatever the gender identity of your crush is, Netzach is the burning passion you feel for that person. While the vast majority of the depictions of passionate love in popular culture are heteronormative, part of the toxic underbelly of heteronormativity is society’s muting the expression of those romantic, passionate feelings. Speaking from an America-centric point of view, our Puritan roots show themselves in a general cultural disdain for public displays of affection. We are trained to express love through consumerism: greeting cards and gifts, preferably purchased to drive Valentine’s Day sales. I was acutely aware of this when I worked at a Hallmark store during my college years.

Bucking the cultural repression of expressions of affection is inherently queer, even if you’re straight! In expressing your love in an honest and passionate way, you’re subverting cultural expectations of heteronormativity. This is reflected in the early 2000s slang term “to be gay for someone,” which translates, either ironically or sincerely, as “to be head-over-heels for someone.” To honestly express your deep love for someone is, in many ways, very queer.

Queer Qabala: Nonbinary, Genderfluid, Omnisexual Mysticism & Magick