DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?

- part 6 -

In the last newsletter we identified three key components to effective magicianship: clarity of intent, the ability to visualize and the ability to remain lucid while in a state of trance. We established that it is easier to develop these skills in a shallow trance rather than a deep trance. In this segment we will look at some safe and pleasant ways to enter shallow trance.

It is not a coincidence that words associated with magic, such as 'incantation', or 'enchanted', and the word 'chant' are derived from the same root. The use in English literature of words such as 'abracadabra', are testament to the idea that certain sounds have always been associated with magic - incantations, mantras and power sounds. The effective use of these types of sound have to do with something one could call 'the mantra effect'. (see my article -'The Power of Mantra' on the 'newsletter' page of my website - whyislife.com) Aside from this effect, the use of sound in a variety of ways to achieve mild trance is well known. The acts of chanting, repeating mantras, toning or overtoning, or making music in almost any capacity has the potential to mesmerize and entrance. Listening to certain sounds also has this effect. Some sounds are more effective than others; ie crystal bowls, Peruvian whistling vessels, overtone singing, etc. Dancing, Tai Chi, yoga and other forms of movement are also great methods.

There is one very pleasant way to achieve a mild trance - a methodology that is seldom spoken of - something called 'sex magic'.  Again, this knowledge and these practices were more common in the millennia before the Christian era, and were written about in ancient mystical texts like the Tantras and the Qaballa. The Egyptian and Greek Mystery schools also had much to say about it, as did the Gnostics. The suppressive doctrine of the Christian Church drove it underground where it was preserved by the secret societies mentioned earlier. In more modern times, like other bodies of knowledge, sex magic is making a comeback and this information is becoming available to the common people. Such movements as Wicca and Neo-shamanism, which recognize some forms of sex magic, came about after World War II and have been growing steadily.

         Sex magic, in its more focused forms, started taking a foothold in the late 1800s, due to the efforts of men such as Pascal Beverly Randall (USA) and Edward Sellon (England). Circa 1900, an organization dedicated to the principles and methodology of sex magic was formed, called the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO). Two very colorful figures were instrumental to its conception. The great spiritualist and educator (and one of my personal heroes), Rudolph Steiner was head of the German branch for nine years until he dissociated himself from it just before the outbreak of World War I. It is said that, according to his wishes, Steiner was buried in his OTO regalia.

         The leader of the English branch was a very controversial man named Aleister Crowley. Probably the most well known sex-magician, he is referred to by some people as the most evil man that has ever lived, and by others as a hero and genius. He and a man named Austin Osman Spare did much to develop the OTO, including extensive writing on the subject of sex magic. After Crowley's death in 1947, the OTO broke up into several factions.

        Put simply, if two people are united in sex and allow themselves to sink into a dream-like reverie, while holding onto the same intention and visualization, it becomes a very powerful act with great magical potential.During the sex act, depending on the degree of relaxation and other factors, one can achieve a mild form of trance, especially at the point of orgasm. Crowley has named this sexually induced trance 'eroto-comatose lucidity'. A strong intention or desired outcome, if held in the mind and visualized throughout the sex act and especially at orgasm, has an increased likelihood of realizing. Again, a deeper trance, a clearer visualization and a stronger will results in greater magic potential.

          Perhaps the best way of intensifying the trance is to develop the ability to have extended, full-body orgasms. With much practice, one can learn to come to the very brink of orgasm and to prolong that state indefinitely, without going over the edge and ejaculating. One can also learn to spread the sensation of the orgasm throughout the body, rather than confining it to the groin region. As well as considerably heightening the level of bliss, it is easy to see that this would greatly increase the depth of the trance and thus greatly increase the magical potential. (A much more complete discussion of this type of orgasm, sometimes called a 'valley orgasm', can be found in the works of Mantak Chia - 'Tao Yoga' and 'Tao Yoga of Love'.)