"Temple of Set Reading List:
Category 13 - Sex in Religion and Magic" (2/5/90CE)
Reprinted from: _The Crystal Tablet of Set_
(c) Temple of Set 1989 CE
Weirdbase file version by TS permission

by Michael A. Aquino, Ipsissimus VI* Temple of Set
Electronic mail: MCI-Mail 278-4041

Sex and magic have never been very far apart. This is both because
sorcerers and sorceresses tend to be rather hedonistic individuals,
and because the sexual drives can be used for purposes of ritual
magic. Historically Black Magical societies have been accused of being
obsessed with sex; a Black Magician (like Wicked Wanda, shown above)
might well retort that his/hers is the rational approach and that the
critic is suffering from a bad case of Judaic/Christian repressed/sex
neurosis. A problem with sex-magic has been that many practitioners,
suffering from the aforementioned neurosis, have plunged into sex in
the most animalistic way possible - as an indulgence for its own
sake. This, for example, was the presumption of the Church of Satan.
Aleister Crowley, however, mixed his sex-magical practices with
aesthetic mysticism - a fact almost totally lost on his latter-day
disciples, who more often than not either ignore the sexual component
in his Workings or become obsessed with it. The Temple of Set proposes
an integral, non-compulsive, comfortable, and relaxed inter-
relationship between sex, aesthetics, and love - the neglect of any
one of which will inhibit the efficacy of whatever magical Working is
involved.

13A. _Eros and Evil_ by R.E.L. Masters. NY: Julian Press, 1962 [later
paperback edition published]. (TS-3) MA: "The definitive reference
work on the subject. Basically oriented towards a classical Christian
concept of Daemonology, but encyclopaedic in its coverage
nevertheless."

13B. _The Sacred Fire_ by B.Z. Goldberg. NY: University Books,
1958. (TS-3) MA: "A history of sex in religion, valuable primarily as
an in-depth supplement to #13A - the main differences being that
Goldberg seems a little less obsessed with the subject, and that there
is an interesting section dealing with the concept of revolt (sexual
and otherwise) against repressive religious environments."

13C. _Sexuality, Magic, and Perversion_ by Francis King. Secaucus, New
Jersey: Citadel Press, 1971. (TS-3) MA: "You have to hand it to King
for picking a catchy title! Yet this is a rather thorough survey of
the influence of sex in a number of contemporary cults, religions, and
magical societies around the world - the Wiccan 'great rite', the
auto/hetero/homosexual magic of the O.T.O. VIII*/IX*/XI*, etc. A good
update to #13A and #13B. The data dealing with the Church of Satan are
so fragmentary and misleading, however, that the author's care in
researching other environments must be doubted as well. Use more as a
starting point for further research than as a definitive source."

13D. _The Compleat Witch_ by Anton Szandor LaVey. NY: Dodd, Mead &
Company, 1970. (CS-1) (TS-3) [Note: This book has been republished in
paperback under the name _The Satanic Witch_ in 1989 CE.] MA:
"Although the more earthy passages in this book put off many readers
who were expecting 'more of the _Satanic Bible_', LaVey often
maintained that it was the best of his three books because it
contained the most Lesser Magic. [It could just as well be included in
category 23.] Tucked away amidst the pages are some very incisive
comments concerning human traits and motivations and how both may be
recognized and manipulated in day-to-day contexts. By no means 'just a
sex book', though a background in Church of Satan history is necessary
to understand the author's point of perspective. Chapter 8 of #6N
reviews #13D in detail."

13E. _Odoratus Sexualis_ by Iwan Block. North Hollywood: Brandon
House, 1967. (CS-3) AL: "The use of odors in magic."

13F. _Magica Sexualis_ by Emile Laurent and Paul Nagour. North
Hollywood: Brandon House, 1966. (CS-3) AL: "Contains some little-known
lore."