Secrets of Sex Magick

The term Sex Magick brings to mind images of naked witches and warlocks in orgy, or scenes from Stanley Kubrick’s forgettable film Eyes Wide Shut that showed hooded men fornicating with nude women, or the paintings and sculptures of the Kama Sutra.

Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut (above)

Tom Cruise and others in Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut

In the Kubrick film, the men were simply enjoying an orgy with elaborate costume and roduction set design. The Kama Sutra is more the enjoyment of the magic of sex than sex magick. Sex Magick may be practiced in witch’s covens although the sex act is usually limited to the High Priest and High Priestess.

Can ordinary men and women, who are neither witches nor warlocks, practice Sex Magick? And what good would it bring them?

Aleister Crowley, the most famous or notorious magus of the 20th century, defined Magick as “the Science and Art of Causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.” This is the very essence of Magick. Crowley popularized the new spelling – with a K – so as to distinguish ceremonial magic from showbiz or carnival magic or even from the connotations of the word Magic. For many people, magic implies supernatural causes.

For practitioners of Magick, something is magical if it was caused by the magus’s will according to the forces of Nature. Thus, magic is causal and natural.

One very powerful force that a magus can harness is Sexual Energy. The science and art of harnessing sexual energy for manifesting one’s Will or desire is known as Sex Magick.

(Western) Sex Magick vs. (Eastern) Magic of Sex

Sex Magick is a Western concept. Some people might be surprised with that statement because the East has practiced the Sexual Arts – Hindu, Buddhist, Tibetan, and Japanese varieties – for centuries, if not millennia. The Eastern esoteric sexual practices are concerned about the total enjoyment of the sexual act – physically, mentally and spiritually. Sex is the end-all and be-all of the Eastern tradition. But performing the 99 or so positions of the Kama Sutra is not Sex Magick although it can introduce the couple to the magic of Sex. Any change brought about by the exercise is limited to personal transcendental transformation. In one Taoist tradition, as popularized today by Mantak Chia, various maladies like headaches and stomach aches can be cured by sex using specific sexual positions.

In the Western tradition, sex magick is simply one approach or method of Wicca or witchcraft or the pagan religions of pre-Christian Europe. Books and movies like the Harry Potter series or the TV program Charmed portray the romanticized versions of this tradition.

But there is another western tradition which also uses sex magick. This is the more esoteric version called Ceremonial or High Magick. This tradition came from the Middle East or West Asia. Egyptian Magic, the Qaballah and Alchemy were introduced to Europe in the Middle Ages by the Jews and Muslims. Later, in the 18th and 19th centuries, many Western magi traveled to East Asia. There, they learned the Kama Sutra, Tantra and other esoteric sexual traditions.

These magi like PB Randolph incorporated the sexual techniques of Tantric, Taoist and other traditions into Western (or West Asian) ceremonial magic. This merging of East Asian sexual techniques and West Asian ceremonial magick has become known as Sex Magick. Randolph created the first Rosicrucian temple in the US, established magical orders and societies and greatly influenced succeeding magi like Franz Bardon and Aleister Crowley

Energy

Magic, whether Western or Eastern, is basically the manipulation of energy. Energy goes by different names – Chi or Qi, Prana, Manna, Frequency, Orgone, Inner Fire, Sacred Flame, etc. It is the adept’s lifelong purpose to study, analyze, scrutinize, and manipulate energy in its various operations and transformations. In the Hindu /Buddhist/ Taoist traditions, the monks or practitioners are more concerned with the balance of the polarities of energy (the yin and the yang) in the body or in the environment (feng shui).

In Western High Magick traditions (Rosicrucian, Masonry, Hermetic, etc.), the magi study the various operations of energy not only in the human body but in all objects, including celestial bodies and the chemical elements. In doing a High Magick ritual, all energies are considered – the position of the planets, the sun, the moon, the fragrances in the incense, the materials of the magickal instruments, etc.

Sexual Energy

In the East Asian tradition, emphasis is on the conservation of sexual energy, its manipulation and circulation within the body. The end result is the body’s (individual’s or couple’s) well-being or the achievement of a state of ecstasy. In the West Asian / Western tradition, focus is on the production and use of the sexual energy to bring about change in things or events.

In other words, in the East Asian traditions, the sexual energy is manipulated to bring about ecstatic orgasms and the general well-being of the practitioners. In the West Asian / European traditions, sexual energy is used by the magi to get what they desire -- such as wealth, fame, knowledge or power. For the latter, sexual enjoyment is not even an issue.

The Secret of Sex Magick

For the ordinary man/woman of the 21st century with no desire to learn esoteric rites and rituals nor join mystical orders or covens, the best way is to do Sex Magick the New Age way, i.e., learn the principles and do it yourself. For New Age practitioners, sex magick is willing what you desire to happen and at the same time enjoying the process.

If you and your partner desire, for example, to buy or build your dream house but lack the resources to do so, you might want to try Sex Magick. First and foremost, you must build up enough sexual energy. This means that it won’t be a 3-minute affair. There must be prolonged foreplay. Therefore, the proper ambience and materials must be set – aromatic candles, incense, massage oils, mood music, kama sutra instructional videos or even adult movies on DVD’s.

Bathe yourselves as a symbol of purification. The intention (Will) must then be declared by both parties - in this case, buying or building your dream house. Proceed gradually – kissing, stroking, necking, etc. Prolong the act as much as possible by experimenting with various positions. At the onset of orgasm, silently declare what you want and during the process of orgasm, will what you desire with all your being. Afterwards, thank God or the Universe for giving you (in the present tense) what you desire. Then close your eyes and visualize that you already got what you want; i.e., see yourselves already living happily in your dream house.

In 1872, PB Randolph wrote Magia Sexualis (in French) and tried to popularize Sex Magick in America. Here are excerpts from the book to guide you further:

Sexual union is like a prayer…For when the sexual act is perfect, the union of man and woman succeeds in all spheres of their respective beings, and their force increases tenfold in the higher worlds. The prayer, this prayer, is always exhausting. But, it is necessary that the demand, the vow, the object of the prayer be formulated and imagined clearly… Before, during and after the act of love, hold a clear image of that which you wish… Love is the root of life…Through your love, you unite with God!...The instant that the semen of the man passes into the body of the woman who accepts it, is the instant of greatest fecundity, the greatest power, the greatest emotion of the life of man.


When PB Randolph tried to bring Sex Magick to the consciousness of ordinary Americans, he got the ire of both the legal authorities and magic practitioners like HP Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society. But with the New Age movement, ordinary mortals like us can study and practice Sex Magick in the privacy of our homes without fear of censure from anyone. (end)

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Published in Mr. & Ms. Magazine the Supermonthly of the Body, Mind and Spirit December 2005