In this article I would like to address the issue of sex and magick. I am quite aware of the fact that this is a loaded subject. It is one of the oldest disciplines in occultism and virtually every magick tradition applies it somewhere down the road. Yet it has always been regarded as the innermost secret discipline. Witches, shamans, runesters, yogis and magicians of all varieties work with it in one form or another.
To build up, strengthen, direct and aim this powerful energy is an awesome magical tool, as anyone who has ever worked with it knows. Being limited in time and space, but having such a wonderful and eclectic medium to work with, I want to give you a few unbiased ideas on the subject.
No discipline of magick has attracted as much mumbo jumbo or misinformation as sex magick does. Nothing stirs the mind more than the left and right of the so-called middle path quite as vividly. Nothing is more ancient, powerful and misunderstood as sex magick. Yes, the market on tantra is booming, as a visit to any occult book shop will show you. Yet well researched, practical introductions into sex magick are virtually non-existent. Male sexist tunnel vision abounds.
One of the reasons being that the general approach towards sexuality and women is steeped in Judeo-Christian hang ups. The most common approach seems to be: “Just lay down and be the altar dear, you are going to love it.” Even such revolutionaries as Aleister Crowley have done very little to improve this. Louis Culling even dares to state in his contemporary work (1971), that a frigid woman is more conductive to sex magick practice than a sensual or, mind you, sexually aggressive one. For this would surely disturb ones concentration on the Great Work. No wonder that there are few women attracted to these kinds of partners! You will always get what you want in magick and the so-called true will does reveal itself in strange ways. Doing some soul searching and clarifying your motives is quite effective.
Now, regarding literature on this subject there is hope. My German friend Fra.: U.D.: has written a comprehensive, pragmatic book on sex magic. It’s title is Secrets of the German Sex Magicians (Ed note: New edition published as Secrets of Western Sex Magic.) and he told me last weekend that it is available in the States right now. (I hope he will give me some extracts to post them here) It beats everything that has ever been published on the subject. Get it!
Now let me point out, one more time, that magick is a practical science. Merely reading about it or going to a workshop will not get you anywhere.
The multitude of sexual expressions is just as great and manifold as human behaviour in general. Here, like everywhere in chaos magic, it is useful to keep in mind that if it works for you, use it! Remember, the real sex magicians, male and female, have always known that and discarded social conditioning and taboos, right along with the dos and don’ts of dogma. We do magic to liberate ourselves. So if it is possible for one thing to be sacred we logically conclude that everything else can be sacred too.
Auto-, hetero- and homosexual expressions are equally valid in sex magick. It is more about expanding ones horizons that about finding a certain “right” way, partner or ritual to do it. The chaos magical paradigm kicks right in: Nothing is True, and Everything is Permitted!
The next issue I want to address is the auto-erotic practice. So let me state this loud and clear: Without auto erotic practice it is impossible to achieve anything in sex magick! Auto-eroticism is of central importance because it is the ideal practice and playground. It constitutes a powerful technique in itself, and it makes us independent of partners. Especially in the beginning it is much easier to explore, prolong and amplify orgasmic trance states. For this very same reason it is possible to do effective sex magick with a partner who knows nothing about it but working with a partner who is equally trained in this art is ever so much more effective. Most amateurs believe that sexual magick is something that solely happens between partners in a ritual, but in reality the vast majority of sex magical arts are performed auto-erotically.
Regarding the physical aspects of the sexual magical training first thing to consider is that your body is really your temple. And for it to be your ultimate tool and asset it has to be in peak condition. Physical and mental dependencies, be it alcohol, stimulants or even tobacco, will interfere with your ability to develop and direct this tool. I do not want to project a moral attitude on this, or any other subject, but mind, spirit and body are deeply intertwined. And the more you alter your mind from the outside by using drugs of any sort, the harder it gets to focus your will and physical reaction. If you are in a frizzy condition, you will get frizzy results! Here, as in all magick, the borders are fluid. A good training in practical magick will greatly enhance your sexual magic and vice versa.
A lot of physical exercises in sex magick derive from tantric yoga. The only point of disagreement appears to be the way of using the orgasm. In particular, the “traditional” tantra authors seem to cling to the idea that there is only a limited amount of sperm available to men. Therefore this precious substance is carefully guarded, held back and re-assimilated when spent. Western magick does not agree with this belief. Its approach is rather like: the more you spend — the more you get! This applies to male magicians, women have always been pretty much inexhaustible in their orgasmic capacity. What joins both is that the intent in sex magick is much more result-oriented and concrete than in tantra, where it is mainly transcendental.
The longing for transcendence seems to be inherently natural in human behaviour. Yet being western magicians living in the nineties we know that we have to handle the “real world,” our physical reality first, and then we can move on to the loftier goals.
A good manual for your physical preparation and training is Stalking the Wild Orgasm by Christopher Scott Kilham. His work not only includes some excellent yoga exercises, but also gives you some great clues regarding nutrition and aphrodisiacs. When you get going in this direction you will find that it soon penetrates into many other areas of your magical work. You will be in better physical shape, more relaxed, focused and grounded. Magick is a gut level art. We have to remove it from the intellectual stuff. Trust your own experiences. Strive to conduct your magic work from this part of your body where all magic originates — your loins. Have fun!
With fractalic greetings and laughter *Fra.: Apfelmann*
Image credit: Brad Coy
