"Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul."
Oscar Wilde

Sex magick means using your sexuality in order to work magick. This technique is not new nor outrageous; although usually kept secret many esoteric systems use sexuality for spiritual and magical aims. Examples of such traditions are witchcraft, shamanism, alchemy, Buddhist and Hinduist tantra and ancient Egyptian religion. A probably more known form of sex magick is the ceremonial sexual union of man and woman on the land to ensure a good crop. Their fertility act should encourage the land to deliver a rich harvest. Western sex magick has its roots in Hebrew kabbalah and is spread further through several occult doctrines like the knights Templar and the free masons. Nowadays sex magick is a beautiful way of giving sex back its rightful place of sacred sexuality. It is a firm invitation to leave the trail of the sneaky, hidden-in-the-dark and 'sinful' sex most of us have grown up with. It is a call to stop fighting this most powerful human force and to make use of its possibilities. Since sexuality is a gift from God/the Goddess it has to be divine. Within an open and respectful sexual relationship we can experience ourselves in all our aspects: the animal part, the human part and the divine flame within. Thus the beast-man-God is connected, as well as the beast-woman-Goddess. During sexual arousal an enormous amount of energy can be channeled upwards from the genitals along the spine to the top of the head. On its way up this energy fills and cleans blockages in the chakras, caused by emotional and psychological wounds. This explains why several spiritual paths view sexual yoga as a shortcut to enlightenment.

Kiss of the whole World, wall painting by Gustav Klimt

Why use sex for magical aims?
Simply because the creative force itself creates very powerful magick. Secondly because it is the most pleasurable magick one can do. The strong sexual force is the 'raw oil of our body' as Lama Yeshe stated. Several practitioners of sex magick reported that this form of magick turned out to be much stronger then the ceremonial magick they had practiced before. Sex magick does not require previous knowledge of ceremonial magick. Anyone who is dedicated to controlling and directing his or her sexual energies for magickal work, and who has a reasonable physical condition, is able to perform sex magick.

However, if you don't feel attracted to sex magick simply don't do it! And never let someone force you into sex magick against your will.

Practicing sex magick neither implies that you have to give up sex for pleasure. It is up to you to decide how much sex you wish to use for magical rituals and how much for purely having a good time with yourself or your partner.

What is the theory behind sex magick?
In magick we manipulate a certain amount of energy into a desired direction; for that we specify a goal, raise energy and point it into the wished direction (release the energy) to achieve a manifestation in our physical reality. In sex magick we basically focus on a goal by affirmation, visualization etc.; we raise much energy through prolonged sexual arousal and we release the energy at the moment of orgasm. The goal in sex magick can be the achievement or attraction of anything wished in the physical world, like a new house, a better relationship or a healing. It can also be the charging of magickal tools or talismans. And the goal can be spiritual development.
This controlled form of love-making for higher purposes is often mentioned as the ultimate explanation of Crowley's famous statement "Love is the Law, Love under Will." By love Crowley meant the uniting of the opposites masculine and feminine, active and receptive, and not so much romantic love. Orgasm is considered to be the moment when 'the gates of heaven open up'; for a while the barriers between the restricted physical world and the limitless heavens dissolve. During the precious orgasmic moments we swing away our magical desire into the universe with enormous power and a 'magickal child' is born. This magickal child is the astral effect of our magical action that will result in manifestation. The sexual fluids of man and woman are charged with powerful qualities because of their magick and they can be used for several purposes.

Sexual spirituality depicted on the Khajuraho Temple, India

What types of sex can be used for sex magick?
In fact any sexual activity can be used to work sex magick. It can be practiced alone, it can be practiced with a partner of the same sex or of the opposite sex, and in advanced sex magick it is also possible to work with more people. But: a group sex magick ritual is never an excuse for a sexual orgy! It is a strong ritual in which several people dedicate their sexual forces towards a mutual goal. Magick is synergistic, what means that the power conjured up is geometric (1,2,4,8,16, etc., so a ritual with four people gives the energy of eight separate people!) Please remember that in no way this is an invitation to ever do a group ritual in your life unwanted, nor does it mean that joining a group ritual implies that you should also have sex with more than one partner in your personal love life. You can include all forms of sex in your ritual; it can be genital, oral or anal sex; it can be bondage, bizarre sex or whatever; as long as all partners included enjoy it and agree it's okay.

Does sex magick feel different from regular sex?
In sex magick we concentrate on the ritual, while in regular sex we concentrate on the fantastic physical sensations and intimate togetherness. Sex magick rituals feel very pleasurable but they do feel different. They are simply intenser. A much greater amount of sexual energy is built up due to mainly two reasons:

• When you reach the brink of orgasm you back off to later on resume arousing. This leads to a stronger felt orgasm.
• While repeating the chosen affirmation during intercourse you send up energy from the genitals to the head, so you constantly send bits of genital excitement 'away' upwards along your spine to be stored till the moment of orgasm. By concentrating on your goal you extend the moment of orgasm and reach some sort of trance.

Sometimes I notice that halfway the ritual I can already feel the magical energy working. I feel a large amount of hot energy along my spine and the chakras in my head, while the crown chakra feels like a wide opened chalice or lotus flower. The energy can cause big shiverings or emotional unloads like crying, mostly after orgasm (be prepared for this and let it happen to yourself or your partner, it clears blockages). Sex magick orgasms will be intense. And after a ritual with a partner I feel reverent and grateful, realizing that we have shared something truly meaningful. Once you know the depths and values of sex magick I wonder if a partner who would prefer to stick to 'normal' sex could any longer satisfy your needs.

Bond of Union, Escher

What about safe sex?
I have never heard of anyone who liked condoms, but they do have their effect on preventing sexual transferrable diseases. So in case you do magick with a partner you're not sure of his/her physical sexual health, or in case you have several partners or alternating partners - do yourself a favour and use a rubber (with favour). Please also be very careful with oral sex in case you or your partner have a bleeding wound or an ulcer in the mouth or on the genital area, or in case of an unusual looking or smelling sexual fluid. Take care of your body and see a doctor. Several sex magick authors emphasize the importance of the mingling of male and female sexual fluids; in case you have a partner who carries no sexual transferrable disease it is great to (also) physically mingle sexual fluids; but in case you're not sure please know that magick goes beyond matter, what means that on astral level sexual fluids are mingled anyway, condom or not.