Casting a Queer Circle: Non-binary Witchcraft

by Thista Minai

Many people come to traditional Wicca or Witchcraft seeking the benefits of shared ritual, spiritual community, and formalized training, but the inherent sex and gender binaries that permeate modern Wicca can make anyone who exists outside of that polarity feel unimportant or excluded. Even people who identify within a gender binary but want their spiritual or religious practice to reflect a spectrum of life experiences can feel stifled and smothered in the biases of Wicca-based Paganism. Thista Minai has created an alternative. Casting a Queer Circle describes Spectrum Gate Mysteries, a new ritual system conceived as a direct answer to those of us who appreciate the wisdom and power of traditional Wicca, yet need something more inclusive. Here you'll find the fundamentals of queering witchcraft, from casting a Circle and celebrating the Wheel of the Year, to Rites of Passage and creating a coven. Bring your identity into your sacred work, and worship on your own terms.

Genres: Witchcraft, Spirituality, Queer, LGBT, Wicca, Nonfiction, Crafts

187 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 9, 2017

Reviews

[Yvonne Aburrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aimed at everyone who finds that binary and heterocentric approaches to witchcraft do not fit actual lived reality, this book is an outstanding guide to crafting an inclusive, non-binary approach to ritual. It contains a complete system of magic, ritual, symbolism, festivals, and ritual roles, all designed to be inclusive, safe, creative, and genuinely transformative.

What makes the Spectrum Gate Mysteries (the system described in this book) different from Wicca is that they use a distinct and fresh approach to the tools, symbolism, the creation of sacred space, and ritual roles. There is much here that I recognise from my approach to magic and witchcraft, but the author and their coven have created a genuinely new, cohesive, and satisfying system of magic and symbolism.

There are several things I love about this book. Thista Minai is a polytheist, which means that their rituals are designed from the ground up to be respectful to the deities and spirits of place. I am also a polytheist, so this aspect of ritual is really important to me. It also means that they dispense with the version of the Wheel of the Year where the festivals are tied to a mythical cycle of “the God” and “the Goddess” (which was not in the Book of Shadows that I was handed down).

I also really like their thinking about ritual roles. Instead of focusing on who does what, they have focused on what needs doing, and what type of skills would be best to enable those tasks to be performed effectively. So the roles in ritual are allotted to people with the skills that best fit those roles (instead of trying to match tasks to outdated ideas of gender).

The section on why we cast a circle is outstanding, and covered physical and psychological safety in the circle, among other things. The symbolism and magical purpose of the tools used in circle are covered in depth, with consideration of safety – which included things like consenting to sharing a cup (what with the risk of sharing germs and infections), what to do to make sure recovering alcoholics are included, and the potential for incense to cause problems for asthmatics. This section also included environmental considerations, and some really interesting ideas about how to set up a circular altar as a microcosm of the sacred cosmos, oriented to the four elements and combinations of elements – for instance, the idea that cooked food is a combination of Earth and Fire (something that had never occurred to me).

Although the starting-point for exploring new ways of doing ritual was the need to expand concepts beyond a binary model of gender, Thista Minai has included other considerations like consent, accessibility, safety, respect for the powers, spirits, deities with whom we work, and an approach to ritual that is grounded in an embodied understanding of magic, and an awareness of the need for community, dedication, and commitment. They also state that it is quite possible for atheists, archetypalists, monists, duotheists, and polytheists to work together in the same circle, as long as they can respect each other’s perspectives. (Quite right too, I have been saying that for years.)

The section on the festivals covers the Pagan/Wiccan wheel of the year from a queer and polytheist perspective, and how the festivals can be expanded and adapted to reflect queer concerns and affirm queer lives and identities. There are some excellent ideas for rituals and magical activities in this section. There are suggestions for dealing with homophobic and transphobic families and ancestors; how to make connections with ancestors of spirit. There are suggestions for rituals to let go of old baggage and embrace new identities. Each festival is examined for its lore and mythology, and how it specifically applies to Queer people. The practice of consent culture is central to the way the festivals are celebrated, whether it’s consent for cuddles at Beltane, or spirits and deities consenting to work with you. I particularly loved the ideas for Beltane and Samhain described here. The Beltane ritual sounds like a lot of fun.

I will definitely be adding this book to my list of recommended reading for my students, and have already added it to the recommended reading page on the inclusive Wicca website.

[jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

when i saw that a book like this existed -- the topic being queer/non-binary witchcraft amongst the enormous pile of gender-essentialist witchcraft books laying about -- i got my hands on it as quick as i could.

the system minai puts forth is fantastically inclusive, and a great and comprehensive resource for anyone looking for anything similar and being turned off by wicca's traditional binary/heteronormative approach. you get a complete picture of the spectrum gate mysteries, from rituals to interpretations to how to use it with your own queer group of witches.

they did an awesome job and i applaud them for it, but it simply wasn't for me.

i tend to work solo, whereas this book is very much focused on a coven-based practice, with different roles for different people. in that sense, it really still is similar to the more rules-based approach of, for example, wicca -- which isn't my thing, either.

i suppose i was looking for something going into discussing what queer interpretations of existing/prevailing (belief) systems in the pagan community could be, including how to reinterpret binary systems. that assumption, however, is entirely on me, and this is genuinely a good book.

✎ 3.0 stars.

[BookMoss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book on witchcraft and I found the language very approachable. It was neat having the opportunity to read about the process of creating a circle, and the ritual use of all the different items. I also thought the author of this book did a fantastic job making this text inclusive to nonbinary and trans readers and that was very refreshing because the perceived binary nature of magic has been offputting.
This book is very handy as a reference text, when creating rituals or when one has a question about how they would create an inclusive coven. I can see myself referencing it back when I want to write realistic seeming rituals. =)

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly what I needed. The heavy emphasis on a binary view of gender I've consistently seen in introductory texts on Wicca was beginning to wear very thin. I know one of the great things about the Craft is that you get to decide what parts work for you and what parts don't, but even knowing that, seeing how some people are approaching these issues really helped a lot. Even if I end up doing something completely different, this helped. A lot. And I think I needed something like this to help keep my enthusiasm up. Really glad I read this.

[Toria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not pagan and not queer, I just picked this up because I was learning about paganism for academic reasons and the subtitle caught me. There's a lot of emphasis on the god and goddess binary in paganism, with so much sexual imagery, and I was curious what a non-binary perspective looked like.

To be honest I was expecting a trainwreck of a self-published manifesto but was hoping to nevertheless pick up something from the different perspective. I was surprised to find that the book is... good! Really good!

It's not just written well, it's written carefully and lovingly. It's organized, and effectively communicates a great deal of ideas and perspectives. If the topic interests you, I'd call this the authoritative text.

[Sidney Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book when I was researching ways to approach a fully gender and gender-inclusive pagan or witchy practice, and I was not disappointed. My solitary practice is, and always has been, free of the constrains of gender binary practice, but when I decided to embark on a journey leading public ritual, I needed something more structured and predictable without hearkening to the gender-binary Wiccan-derived structure so often seen in public ritual. I was developing my own way of calling an elemental circle, but felt I would benefit greatly from reading about other peoples' approaches and methods in expanding my rituals so they would be more complete and understandable for attendees.

In Casting Queer Circle, Thista Minai outlines and explains the meaning and methodology for her coven's structure of practice (The Spectrum Gate Mysteries). Due to her and many of her coven-mates' backgrounds in Wicca, many of the practices are clearly inspired by Wicca, making them inherently familiar in methodology for anyone who also has a background in Wicca, or other ceremonially structured practice. At the same time, she does a fantastic job of describing a system that is free of gender binary bias, and is also highly adaptable to suit the needs of the individuals involved in the practice. She continually recognizes that what works for one person may not work for another, and any practice (coven or solitary) should be adapted so it best suits the needs and natures of those practicing. She also spends a great deal of time writing about the philosophy and symbology behind each piece of the system, fostering an understanding of not just what, but also why , placing the reader in a stronger position to be able to find the path that works best for them.

All in all, Casting a Queer Circle outlines a coherent system of group practice that is usable without being bogged down in a potentially overwhelming volume of detail. It also beautifully balances providing enough structure to guide a practice, while prompting the reader to question how best to personalize it. I truly appreciate the acknowledgement that this is one system, and other systems are just as valid.

This may not be the system I want to use for my practice, public or private, but it is a good system, and it provides the bones of a formal practice that is fully inclusive from its core philosophy and symbolism out. If this idea appeals to you, or if you simply want to learn more about how other people are solving the problem of implicit inclusiveness, I very highly recommend this book.

[K Kriesel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for anyone wanting to learn more about Wicca, Paganism, and/or witchcraft. Chapters go through altar construction, traditional sabbats (Beltane, Litha, etc), the basics of magic, and other aspects of Wicca-adjacent practices. This will now be among the top 3 books I recommend to self-proclaimed baby witches.

The queer points were secondary, very well done, and much appreciated. I wish race had been mentioned though, and this book comes off as very white.