#beyond the binary

[paganravennest]

Bending the Binary: Polarity Magic in a Nonbinary World - A Review

I would like to start by saying that I really enjoyed this book. Deborah Lipp (the author) did a fair job, I feel, in explaining what polarity (in the magical sense) is, where our ideas for it come from, and how it can be done differently.

The gender essentialism that is so prevalent in Western Occultism has long rubbed me the wrong way. Gender is not even a cut and dry thing with people, let alone the divine (who is way beyond our understanding of gender) so why do we make like it is during ritual?

This book does an excellent job of not only providing a basic understanding of the societal/phycological/biological basis for gender but how gender has been historically viewed in the Western world. It also explains the origins of magical polarity. Spoiler: humans love categorizing things, but we are really bad at it!

Through this book I got a crash course in the history of alchemy and Kabbalah, both of which had huge influences on Western Occultism. It also touched on Greek Philosophy which is where the ball really got rolling with the classification of everything into opposites. Deborah even provides some examples from outside the Western Magical traditions on classification to really hammer home that this style of classifying everything as male or female is not universal and is largely based on culture (with different cultures associating different things to masculinity and femininity).

The book offers some guided meditations and different rituals on different polar energies, and while these offer some interesting ideas, I felt they were a bit lacking. This book also has discussion/journaling questions and prompts which I found to be much more useful! I could see this being a great book for an occult book club, or a Coven, Grove, or Circle to read together and even work on some of the rituals or meditations.

Deborah is a Gardnerian Wiccan, and that does shine through in her writing, however I feel that people outside of Wicca will find good use and information in it as well. Speaking of Wicca though, this book helped shed new light (for me as an uninitiated dedicant) on the role of the Hight Priest in Wiccan ritual.

Deborah highlights what she feels are the most important polarities when working magic (Force/Form, Self/Other, Active/Passive, Dominance/Submission, and Night/Day) and while I don't necessarily agree with her list, it did really get me thinking about different polarities and how they could be harnessed in ritual. She also gives ideas on new ways of working with gender polarity besides the tired male+female=magic.

Overall, I recommend this book. I think it's an important read for anyone who is looking to lead more inclusive rituals, find new ways of engaging with polarity outside of gender essentialism, or is just curious about this whole polarity magic thing.

[mxanunnakiraymarquez]

[fae-vixen]

Happy Pride Month to Everyone with Xenogenders and Everyone who's gender is connected to their Nonhuman or Alterhuman Identity!!

[silvershadow1711]

Just thinking in Ray in front of the door just bc he doesn't want MC go to their new job lol, than how he doesn't move thay try to climb him

"Why do you need to go to work? I have money."

"Are you going to work today?"

"Pfft. No."

"Then how are you making money?"

"Stocks. I invested a couple hundred thousand in some company called 'Gamestop' a couple years ago? It was doing pretty good."

*cue MC trying to dive out the window*

[cipheramnesia]

Probably the most heartbreaking thing about my big all any queer gendery wendery sexery wexery donations post is how many people put "i don't know if i count" somewhere in their reblog. I'm just... like, of course you count, ya always count, c'mere lemme hug you.

[cassette-fanfics]

I know that fans commonly hc Vee as genderfluid or a demigirl, and I get why - I love that headcanon, too - but I'm also mildy amused by the alternative

that Vee, the shapeshifting basilisk from the Demon Realm who's free to assume any form she wants at any time, has no qualms whatsoever about being a girl all the time (she tried other forms once, on a whim; wasn't interested)

while her non-magical, completely human joyfriend Masha is the one who challenges your preconceived notions of gender on a daily basis

just makes for a very fun subversion of expectations on the whole "genderfluid shapeshifter" trope

[audhdnight]

⚠️PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT⚠️

The Queer Liberation Library is, as the name suggests, a digital library centered around queer literature. They offer library cards to anyone in any place, all you need in order to sign up is an email address. Then you can access their catalog online or through apps like Libby.

When I signed up I received an email that said there’s sometimes a waitlist, but I should have my card within a week or else someone would get back to me within that timeframe to explain if I had to wait longer. I ended up getting my card after only a couple of days.

Their website is very accessible and easy to use. My favorite features are the button at the bottom of the screen which lets you switch between light and dark mode, and the Quick Exit banner along the top of the page that doesn’t go away regardless of where you navigate on the site.

This is such an incredible resource and I can’t believe I didn’t know about it until very recently. I want every queer person to know about it! They have accounts on most of the major social media sites (such as tiktok, Instagram, even here on tumblr at @queerliblib). There’s also a place on their website where you can suggest books they should add to their catalog.

After you get your card, I’d suggest the first book you read to be Beyond the Gender Binary by Alok Vaid-Menon. It is a short but powerful little book that I think is an incredibly concise analysis of societal gender-based discrimination, and a great place to start a lot of really important discussions. I listened to the audiobook this morning (it was only an hour long, which is a win for my trash attention span) and I couldn’t believe how good it was for so little page time.

I will absolutely be reading the rest of the Pocket Change Collective (the series which Beyond the Gender Binary is part of) and I can’t wait to see what I’ll learn from them.

[usagi-neko-zines]

Sign Ups are Open!

Sign ups for Beyond Your Binary: a Trans Anime Zine are open!

💙🩷🤍Sign Ups Here🤍🩷💙

Questions? Check our Character List and FAQ!

@anizines @zinefeed @all-zine-apps

[duckprintspress]

Back the Aether Beyond the Binary Kickstarter Campaign!

Duck Prints Press is thrilled to announce that the crowdfunding campaign for science-fantasy gender-diverse sixth anthology Aether Beyond the Binary is now live on Kickstarter!

The core concept of Aether Beyond the Binary is simple and compelling: create intriguing main characters outside the gender binary and set them loose to explore the modern world twisted or barely changed, enhanced or destroyed by magical aether. This power source may replace technology, supplement it, or oppose it. These characters may be agender, genderfluid, bigender, or any other non-binary identity. The thread that these tales share is exploration: of the world around them and of the self. We propose no conclusions; instead, we demonstrate how far-reaching the questions are and how expansive the range of possible answers can be, thereby broadening the discussion about the nature of gender and the place of genderqueer characters in science-fantasy fiction. We hope you’ll join us to explore the endless possibilities of these magical worlds.

This anthology includes 17 stories, each up to 7,500 words, by our diverse fancreators-turned-original-fiction-authors, gorgeous artwork by Mar Spragge, Pippin Peacock, Alessa Riel, and Atomic Pixies, amazing merchandise, and awesome add-on extras.

Looking for the perfect post-holiday purchase? Look no further! Get awesome, gorgeous stuff, a fantastic, erudite book, and support queer indie publishing – become a backer of the Aether Beyond the Binary crowdfunding campaign TODAY!

Campaign ends January 25th, 2024.

Patreon backers who support the crowdfunding campaign can also get an excellent extra: the adorable plant-watering backer as a key chain! So there’s no time like the present to back us on Patreon, too!

[rachedurst]

anyways i love you people that are both gay and straight, in whatever way that presents. being nonbinary often can mean a complicated relationship to sexuality and how one perceives it within the societal restrictions of homo and heterosexual, and i think bridging those definitions and having "contradictory" labels like lesboy or whatever is really cool. i support and stan he/him lesbians or butch lesbians or she/her gay men or femme gays or she/he pronoun users and whatever else, be it cis or trans or both. if you feel like youre both cis and trans that also rocks. dont let people force you back into a binary within the queer community, stay strong!

[emmafrostcovercollection]

X-Men #1 (2024) - Koblish Connecting Wraparound Variant

[autism-crime]

Uncanny Vash fanarts : ominously staring, stood awkwardly hunched over, appearing behind people with no warning.

Me, who is autistic: hahaha, I do that.

[the-deca]

in light of recent discourse

[steddielations]

*sighs dreamily* steve being eddie’s queer awakening

[kingxfmischief]

Guys if you're queer, you HAVE to read this, especially if you aren't cisgender. I saw a few posts mentioning it but it is SO much worse than I saw any post mention. This is BAD. Here's just a fucking screenshot of one of the worst parts.

This is bad. This is day one. No one will blame you if you have to go back into the closet for safety. But I know a lot of us will stay out and visible, I'm planning to, but if you're planning to do that you HAVE to be careful. And honestly I wouldn't try it if you dont have a strong support system because it's going to be dangerous. We're in serious trouble.

[queeringclassiclit]

Éowyn

from The Lord of the Rings series by J. R. R. Tolkien (1954-1955)

submitted by anon