Magia Sexualis: Sex, Magic, and Liberation in Modern Western Esotericism

Notes

Notes preface 1. Douglas Brooks, The Secret of the Three Cities:An Introduction to Hindu Sakta Tantrism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990), p. ix. See also Hugh B. Urban, Tantra:Sex,Secrecy,Politics,and Power in the Study of Religion (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003); David Gordon White, Kiss of the Yogini: “Tantric Sex” in Its South Asian Contexts (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003). 2. JeffreyWeeks,Sexuality and Its Discontents:Meanings,Myths,and Modern Sexualities (London: Routledge, 1985), p. 4. 3. Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, vol. 1, An Introduction (New York: Vintage, 1978), p. 33. 4. Dan Brown, The DaVinci Code (New York: Doubleday, 2003), pp. 124–25, 311–12. 5. Paschal Beverly Randolph, Magia Sexualis, translated by Maria de Naglowska (Paris: Robert Telin, 1931). There is also an English translation by Robert North (Sexual Magic [New York: Magickal Childe, 1988]). Some have claimed that de Naglowska fabricated the entire text; however, it is clear that most of the book is taken from Randolph’s various writings and that only a few portions were added from other sources. See John Patrick Deveney, Paschal Beverly Randolph: A Nineteenth-Century Spiritualist, Rosicrucian, and Sex Magician (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1997), p. 364. introduction 1. Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Psychopathia Sexualis: With Especial Reference to Contrary Sexual Instinct: A Medico-Legal Study (London: F.A. Davis, 1892 [1886]). For discussions of Krafft-Ebing and similar works of the period, see Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, vol. 1, An Introduction (New York:Vintage,1978);and Peter Gay,The Bourgeois Experience:Victoria to Freud, vol. 2, The Tender Passion (New York: Oxford, 1986), pp. 223ff. 267 2. Foucault,History of Sexuality,vol.1;cf.JeffreyWeeks,Sex,Politics,and Society: The Regulation of Sexuality since 1800 (London: Longman, 1981); Michael Mason, The Making of Victorian Sexuality (New York: Oxford University , 1994). 3. See Francis King, Sexuality, Magic, and Perversion (Secaucus, NJ: Citadel, 1971); Ioan P. Coulianu, Eros and Magic in the Renaissance (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,1987);Walter Stephens,Demon Lovers:Witchcraft, Sex, and the Crisis of Belief (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002). 4. On sexual imagery in Kabbalah, see Elliot R. Wolfson, Circle in the Square: Studies in the Use of Gender in Kabbalistic Symbolism (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1995); Moshe Idel, “Sexual Metaphors and Practice in the Kabbalah ,” in The Jewish Family: Metaphor and Memory (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989). On Swedenborg, see Marsha Keith Schuchard, “Why Mrs. Blake Cried: Swedenborg, Blake, and the Sexual Basis of Spiritual Vision,” Esoterica 2 (2000): 45–93; and Schuchard, “Emanuel Swedenborg: Deciphering the Codes of a Celestial and Terrestrial Intelligencer,” in Rending the Veil: Concealment and Secrecy in the History of Religions, edited by Elliot R.Wolfson (New York: Seven Bridges Press, 1999), pp. 177–208. 5. On Randolph, see John Patrick Deveney, Paschal Beverly Randolph: A Nineteenth-Century American Spiritualist, Rosicrucian, and Sex Magician (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1997); Joscelyn Godwin, Christian Chanel, and John Deveney,The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor (York Beach,ME:SamuelWeiser, 1995); see also Hugh B. Urban, “The Omnipotent Oom: Tantra and Its Impact on ModernWestern Esotericism.” Esoterica:Journal of Esoteric Studies 3 (2001): 218–259. 6. See Hugh B. Urban, “The Cult of Ecstasy: Tantrism, the New Age, and the Spiritual Logic of Late Capitalism,” History of Religions 39 (2000):268–304; and Urban, Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Politics, and Power in the Study of Religion (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003). 7. See Jon Hughes, Celtic Sex Magic: For Couples, Groups, and Solitary Practitioners (Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 2002); Jennifer Hunter, Wicca for Lovers:Spells and Rituals for Romance and Seduction (NewYork:Viking Press, 2001); Judy Kuriansky, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Tantric Sex (Indianapolis : Alpha Books, 2001). 8. Donald Michael Kraig, Modern Sex Magick: Secrets of Erotic Spirituality (St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1998), p. xvii. Another recent example of this melding of Western magic and Tantra is Nikolas and Zeena Schreck, Demons of the Flesh:The Complete Guide to Left Hand Path Sex Magic (NewYork:Creation Books, 2002). 9. Margo Anand, The Art of Sexual Magic: Cultivating Energy to Transform Your Life (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1996), p. 1. 10. Paschal Beverly Randolph, The Ansairetic Mystery: A New Revelation Concerning Sex! (Toledo,OH:Toledo Sun,Liberal Printing House,n.d.[ca.1873]), in Deveney, Paschal Beverly Randolph, pp. 315–16. 268 / Notes 11. Aleister Crowley...