In Heaven they make love, on Earth they have sex, but down here in Hell, down here they fuck – David Hopkins
Methods of Sexual Magick
There are two different methods of sexual magick, one based on exploitation and one based on equality. Within the physical realm sex has been degraded from its original purified form as it is performed within the higher realms. As a result sex has been split into two sides, the masculine and the feminine, each of which performs a different function in sexual intercourse. It is the job of the masculine partner to release energy, to pleasure, to dominate, and to generally be in control of sexual intercourse. Meanwhile it is the job of the feminine partner to accept energy, to be pleasured, to submit, and to generally surrender to the act of intercourse. These ideas are expressed in all parts of typical, vanilla male-female sexual relations. The semen is ejaculated from the man, and it is received by the woman. A much greater emphasis is usually put on pleasuring the female partner and bringing her to orgasm. The female orgasm is usually more intense and less inhibited than the more controlled male orgasm. After sex men are typically drained and sleepy where as women are energized and awake. These same inequalities exist within typical homosexual relations, with each partner choosing either a masculine or feminine role for each individual act. Likewise the roles can be reversed within a heterosexual relationship where the female is the masculine partner and the male is the feminine partner.
According to Hebrew folklore the first wife of the proto-man, Adam, was Lilith, who saw herself as Adam’s equal and who Adam turned away because she sometimes wanted to be on top during sex. After Lilith Adam came to be with Eve who was submissive. This act by Adam could be seen as the original choice of mankind to choose its place in the universe. To have sex as it is had in the highest planes, to be genderless, and to be partners of a complete equality, or alternatively to create a duality of gender and to create an inequality of sexual roles. Lilith is often vilified and shown to represent darker aspects of sexuality and the lower realms, but in reality Lilith is a representation of the highest forms of sexual intercourse. Some versions of the lovers card show a man between two women, one a respectful woman and one a slut. This can be seen as a representation as Adam’s original choice between Eve and Lilith, and as an extension the choice given to each of us to choose the path of inequality or equality in our sexual relationships. Typically in the tarot the respectful woman is to the left of the man, the left generally signifying that which belongs to the lower planes, where as the slut is to the right, which signifies the higher planes.
Within the exploitation method of sexual magick the partners seek to exploit the different roles of the genders in order to cause some effect. Because we don’t exist in the lowest planes, or even a plane that is below the center point, the gender split is not absolute or completely defined. Often times the exploitation method involves debasing sex even further and delving into its lower realm forms. This type of sexual magick can be used for a variety of effects, such as transferring power, ability, energy, or knowledge between partners, or using it for healing in order to extract something negative from one partner or to rebalance the energies of both partners. The most basic and common use of exploitation sexual magick is the combination of the masculine ability of creation with the feminine ability of union which results in creating a child in the image of oneself, the supreme act of god. An extreme example of the exploitation method in action on a lower realm would be the Succubi which, like all sexual vampires, acts as a super receptor feeding off of the masculine counterpart until they are sucked completely dry and everything of value is taken from them.
There is the second method of sexual magick, that of equality. Using this method the partners seek not to exploit the natural order of sex in order to unlock its powers, but rather to modify and twist it so that it resembles itself as seen on the higher planes and unlocking the inherent power of those planes. In contrast to exploitation sexual magick, equality magick seeks not to create a child in the image of self, but rather to rather to recreate oneself through union with another.
The four roles of sexual intercourse.
During sexual intercourse there are four distinct roles that a person can take. They can be a woman having sex with a man, a man having sex with a woman, a woman having sex with a woman, and a man having sex with a man. Each of these roles is distinct, each corresponds to an element and one of the four kabbalistic worlds, and each, in the order they are presented, represents a higher and more evolved form of sexual intercourse. Typical homosexual intercourse is a higher form than heterosexual intercourse because it doesn’t seek to produce offspring and is more naturally an equality, although it lacks the completeness of heterosexual intercourse.
A Woman Having Sex With a Man – represented by Earth and belonging to Asiah, this is the lowest and most base role in sexual intercourse. This is the dead fish technique of love making. The woman at this stage is defined as solid and stagnant. She makes no aggressive actions and makes no attempt to heighten the experience of her mate. Any action she takes is reactionary and typically involuntary. She simply lies motionless in a relaxed state as her counterpart attempts to pleasure her and bring her into orgasm. She is a receptacle that waits to receive that which is given to her.
A Man Having Sex With a Woman – Represented by Air and belonging to Yetzirah, this is the level which is usually sought after with what is known in modern times as tantric sex. This stage is defined by techniques, creativity, skill, and sexual know-how. At this stage the goal is to bring ones partner to the highest level of sexual ecstasy possible. This does involve being in control of sexual intercourse, but with the intent of making the experience the best it can be for ones partner, never with the intent of heightening ones own sexual experience. The male orgasm is inconsequential, and almost always guaranteed anyways. The semen from ejaculation, as with every other act and functioned performed by the male, is meant as a gift to be freely received by the female.
A Woman Having Sex With a Woman – Represented by Water and belonging to Beri’ah, this is defined by a double receptacle and a purity of union. In this stage the woman reacts to her partner, anticipating her needs and hoping to both pleasure her partner and receive her partner. A person at this stage must be in synch with her partner and have an intimate knowledge of them. The two are meant to flow effortlessly together as one like water, and completely surrender themselves to becoming one with their mate. Where as the previous stage relied upon knowledge and thought, this stage relies upon emotion and intuition. The woman is neither defined as dominant or submissive, nor does she try to control or submit the sexual union, instead she is what it is necessary for her to be at the moment, and as both are defined as a singular one here, both are at the same time in control and submissive.
A Man Having Sex With a Man – Represented by Fire and belonging to Atziluth, this stage is defined by a double aggressor. In this stage the man seeks only to pleasure himself without any regard to his partner, his pleasure, or his experience. The man attempts to control the situation and seeks only what will please him most at the moment. Because both partners seek to only pleasure themselves at this stage a sort of equality is maintained, although the end result is often times an aggressive and violent fight to control intercourse.
There are a few notes that have to be made. First off, gender of self or of ones partner is not an absolute restriction on which role a person may play in sexual intercourse. In fact, it is not even a determination of the likely role a person will play in sexual intercourse. Secondly, elements almost always exist as an impurity, and as such more often than not a person will find themselves not being a purity in any of the four stages, but rather leaning moreso towards one stage than the other three. And finally, there are not four combinations, but rather sixteen. The first partner may align with any of the four elements as described above, and the second partner may align with any of the four elements independent of which element the first partner is currently aligned with. For example, partner one may be a woman having sex with a man, but partner two may be a man having sex with a man.
The first stage represents ignorance, the second stage requires and represents knowledge of sexual intercourse, the third stage requires and represents knowledge of ones partner, and the fourth stage requires and represents knowledge of self.
Combining The Four Elements and the Fifth Degree
There are not four elements, but five. The fifth element, spirit, is described as being a combination of the four other elements. When a person encompasses all four elements at once they become represented by spirit and are no longer a man or a woman but a hermaphrodite. When both partners engage in sex as true hermaphrodites this leads into the fifth stage, a hermaphrodite having sex with a hermaphrodite, which is represented by spirit, and which does not belong to any of the four kabbalistic worlds, but transcends them, the tree of life, the known universe, ect. and belongs to an entirely higher plane of existence all together.
The basic law of like attracts like comes into play here. Things that are alike are attracted to each other, things that are unalike repel each other. As with all things, this is true of planes of existence. When two partners come together in union as an equality, each being a true hermaphrodite, they momentarily create a state where they repulse this world, in fact all four kabbalistic worlds, and as they are repelled from it are drawn beyond these worlds into that which exists above the four worlds, and for a moment the full ecstasy, majesty, and power of the higher realm is available to them. At the same time though, being of spirit, they encompass all of the lower realms, and their power is not restricted from them. They have what, when seen from this perspective, is absolute power over all things.
Some Notes on Techniques
Many attempts have been made to better understand this puzzle through sexual exercise. Gardner managed to figure out to reverse the common roles of male dominance and female submissiveness, and experimented with the idea of bondage and sado-masochism, however in doing so he only managed to dig himself deeper into the lower realms. Crowley experimented with both homosexuality and heterosexuality which no doubt gave him a deeper understanding of certain roles, although practicing bisexuality isn’t necessary nor does it teach everything.
The process of achieving the fifth stage is not something that one can progress at by themselves. Reaching that goal is a partnership. Crowley’s method of constantly changing sexual partners, for instance, was a major hindrance because every time Crowley changed partners he had to start the process over again almost from scratch, despite any personal growth on his part or the degree of expertise already possessed by his partner. The individuals accomplishments are almost completely meaningless in the final equation, it is the accomplishments of the current partnership that matters.
In order to get to the fifth stage the partners need to get to learn about each other and know each other mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and sexually. They should then experiment with the sixteen combinations until each feels comfortable with every combination. Finally each should work on combining the four stages and achieving the fifth stage.
Sexual Kinks
Sexual acts and kinks typically belonging to the lower realms: dominance-submission, humiliation, bondage, pleasure via pain (spankings, cannings, whippings), degradation, cuckold (submissive or dominant), necrophilia, CFNM and CMNF (not always, but typically, especially with the former), frotteurism, agalmatophilia, secret voyeurism, molestation and age regression, rape and rape fantasy.
Sexual acts and kinks typically belonging to the higher realms: bisexuality, strap-on sex, exhibitionism (dependent on circumstances), gender reversals.
The majority of acts are neither regulated to the higher or lower realms. As a general rule, any act which produces a negative emotion (such as fear, anxiety, or humiliation), even when consensual and when resulting arousal, pleasure, and/or sexual gratification, any act which seeks to create a dominant and submissive or superior and inferior partner, and any act which is forced are regulated to the lower realms, even when such acts are entirely role-playing or fantasy.
As a general rule, any particular fetish or kink that is necessary for sexual arousal, pleasure, and/or gratification or is highly preferred is a major hindrance to achieving a higher state of sexual union. Likewise an aversion to a large number of acceptable kinks and general experimentation is also a major hindrance.
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