Fucking Magic: Sex Magic and Ritual Lovemaking

daev waves his wand and comes clean about ritual sex…

(First published as ‘Could it be Magic?’ in The Yoke #5)
“Every man and woman is a star” – Aleister Crowley
Sex magic? Sex Magick? I got caught bandying about the phrase, like I knew what it meant. That got me landed with writing and researching this article. Disclaimer – I may not know what I’m talking about… but lets start with defining magic as a way of perceiving experiences in a way that goes beyond the mundane. And assume that we are all, or can be, magicians.

Long before the 1960s or the rise of popular new age culture, the occultist Aleister Crowley published plenty of literature on ritual sex, but disguised his thoughts in obtuse prose and verse. At the same time, artist and magician Austin Osman Spare also engaged the same subject, somewhat more lucidly than Crowley. Ahead of their time, they were vilified by early 20th century society for their attempts to elevate analysis and exploration of human sexuality from the merely scientific to a more spiritual realm. Both writers were drawing on the legacy of ritual sex, used in ancient civilizations to ensure the blessing of the Gods for whatever purpose the participants in the ceremonies intended.

In pagan Ireland, childless women would apparently spent the eve of Lughnasa (August 1st) on the summit of Croagh Patrick, to encourage fertility by spending a symbolic night with the god Lug. This demonstrates the main thrust of sex magick – the intensity of the real, simulated or symbolic fucking or masturbation is used to focus on the object of desire. Spare’s legacy includes the concept of sigil magic -‘magically charged’ symbols, used to reach specific desires or intents, drawn or otherwise created by the magician. These sigils can be best absorbed via a state of euphoria attained through drugs, extreme fatigue, pain, or sex.

Grant Morrison, best known as for having written comics like Doom Patrol, Arkham Asylum and The Invisibles, has authored an hilarious essay on the use of sigils. He argues that masturbating is a damned good way to focus the mind into an altered state of perception:

“The human body has various mechanisms for inducing brief ‘no-mind’ states. Fasting, spinning, intense exhaustion, fear, sex, the fight-or-flight response will all do the trick.I have charged sigils while bungee-jumping, lying dying in a hospital bed, experiencing a total solar eclipse and dancing to Techno. All of these methods proved to be highly effective but for the eager beginner nothing beats the wank technique.”

Another method of accessing sex magick involves the inner world. Rather than promoting change in the external world, sex is used a form of meditation, a method of exploring the inner self, or to draw two or more people closer together. This type of exploration is the essence of Tantra. In our been-there-humped-that culture, a mention of Tantric sex usually provokes ribald commentary about Sting’s love life, 12-hour shagging sessions with no climaxes, buckets of lubricant, skin grafts and first degree burns.

At its simplest, Tantra is an offspring of Hinduism, a reactionary strand incorporating Buddhist teachings, recorded in Sanskrit. It’s concerned with inclusiveness and seeing all parts of the body and mind as potentially good.
It deals with much more than sex but as we are talking about sex, it’s worth noting that Tantric practices aim to use sensuality and orgasmic ecstasy in order to expand consciousness.
Sounds like a pile of old hippyshit, doesn’t it? But before we started drowning in new age gobbledygook or start attempting to pinpoint our chakras, let?s get back to basics. I suspect any consensual sexual encounter has magical potential. I’m not talking about spells and broomsticks. It’s a matter of finding what works, whatever gets us beyond the mundane. On a practical level, there’s little point in getting naked to chant Crowleyian or Sanksrit texts at your untutored lover, in the hope that you’ll both reach an altered stage of conciousness. Well, she or he might, but it’ll probably mean they’ve fallen asleep.

In conventional sex, even in long term relationships, we tend to be steered by our self-consciousness. “Am I going to come too soon?” “What if he gets scared if I scream during my orgasm, and thinks I’m a nutter?” This kind of rational thought, regardless of how irrational its content, inhibits the flow of true sensuality. We just can’t let go fully and so withhold commitment, or are unable to communicate our feelings or thoughts. This isn’t to say that this is bad sex, not at all. It can involve explosive orgasms, still mean intimacy between lovers, and is the cornerstone of many a relationship.

But when two lovers trust each other, and feel comfortable with one other, they can transcend their egos, forget who they are, and become one, existing in the moment. For example, it’s no secret that the less we worry about our orgasms, the less of a need to worry about coming or not coming. It happens to some of us, some of the time. On a good day, it might not even be clear to either partner which one of them is having the orgasm. Now tell me this isn’t magic.

We can do better for ourselves than just shagging like dumb animals. Sex, for most of us, tends to be orgasm-oriented. Take a broader view and embrace sex magick. Use sex to cast spells, truly give it up and abandon yourself to the adventures of the inner world. It doesn’t matter what methods are used. It’s the attitude and perspective of the lovers – the magicians – that matter. Whatever it is that turns you on; just remember to treat your whole being as a sexual organ. Blow your minds.

Some Light Reading:
Austin Osman Spare and Ritual Sex and Sabbaths »
Grant Morrison: Pop Magic »
Austin Osman Spare and His Theory of Sigils »
The Biological Basis of Sacred Sex by Catherine Yronwode »
Sacred Sex: Karezza, Tantra, and Sex Magic »
Sex & Drugs: A Journey Beyond Limits by Robert Anton Wilson »
Magical Connections: Richard Metzger in Conversation with R.U. Sirius »

daev

Chief Bottle Washer at Blather

Writer, photographer, environmental campaigner and "known troublemaker" Dave Walsh is the founder of Blather.net, described both as "possibly the most arrogant and depraved website to be found either side of the majestic Shannon River", and "the nicest website circulating in Ireland". Half Irishman, half-bicycle. He lives in southern Irish city of Barcelona.