THE SWORD OF HORUS

Ille Ferrum De Horus

by Frater M.E.D.


LOUIS T. CULLING

Part I

Louis T. Culling

"Too long have the teachings of Magick of this new, yet immature and not fully formed, æon been misrepresented by fools and pretenders who claim to be magicians, ay, even true initiates!  Is it any wonder that the studies and students of magick have received 'bad press' in recent decades?  It is time for the necessary change which will bring about the badly needed stability.  It is time for The Sword of Horus."

                    -from a personal letter by Frater M.E.D.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

Let us now deal with an individual who has been accepted by many as an authority on "Sex Magick".  It is Louis T. Culling's turn to feel the cutting edge of Ille Ferrum De Horus.

In the vulgar era of 1972 Llewellyn Publications published Occult Renaissance 1972-2008 by Culling, reputed to be "The Great Prophecy for the Golden Age of Occultism".  This 56 page booklet begins by stating that this is his official statement made on December 9, 1971.  He prophetizes a "new 'renaissance' of Occultism"--not exactly big, mind blowing, news.  Interest in the "occult" was already booming.  He also wrote that Paul Foster Case, A. E. Waite and Dion Fortune had nothing of importance to add or contribute to this renaissance and that the great contributions were made by Crowley and C. F. Russell.  One out of five is a pretty poor score.  As anyone can clearly see, not only were the contributions of the Beast terribly important to this time, but also important were those made by Case, Fortune and yes, even good old pompous Waite.  As for the contributions of C. F. Russell--well, few people today even know that he is still alive [or was at the time of this writing -ED] and many do not even know that he had ever existed, let alone have his books been much read.  I had to chuckle when I read page 7 where Culling speaks out against the typical trashy occult publications in which nearly 50% of the printed material is made up of advertisements.  Remember who the publisher of this little booklet is...

Page 9 mentions the "Aeon of Matt", but let's put this down as a printer's error in spelling "Maat".  However, we cannot ignore the stupidity of page 18 where he told us that many "good potential candidates" have been scared away from the Path by being told that there is a lot of hard work involved and that the chance of success is minimal.  This, no doubt, appeals to the many ego-trippers pretending to be students of magick, and perhaps this is why Culling wrote it--you know, to sell books.  The fact of the matter is that the study and practice of magick does involve a great deal of hard work, and the chances of most aspirants, at least at this early time of the æon, of reaching the highest attainments is quite minimal.  If this discourages the reader then that reader is certainly not ready to pursue the Magical Path.  However, that reader is definitely cut out for membership in such an order as the G.B.G.!

On page 21 Culling told us that "Crowley was very generous with this permission (to make copies of the O.T.O. IX° papers); after all, the OTO was mostly a 'collection agency' to get money to send to Crowley, and the members had to be kept satisfied."  However, as Culling then quoted from a letter by A.C.:  "Do not be concerned because the Ninth Degree paper has gone to so many unworthy members.  There will be a few who see enough to get help from me.  For those others who stumble around, let them fall by the wayside!"  According to Culling, Crowley also says that the IX° paper was incomplete and loaded with "booby traps", "dust in the eyes", and crypticisms.  It does seem that the O.T.O. did indeed become little more than a 'collection agency' to supply its O.H.O. with a pension in his old age.  That is entirely the fault of the members of the O.T.O. and certainly not what A.C. had in mind for the Order.  What I find most humourous about this part of Culling's book is that after this he claimed that only he is in full possession of the secrets of the IX°, which is misrepresented by him as the 3rd, or "Qodosh Degree".  I can see the dear old Beast now, writing that letter to Culling, a wide grin upon his face, knowing that no matter what he said, Culling would surely be one of those who would stumble and fall by the wayside, not really being in full possession of the IX° teachings as he thought, and too bloody dense and sure of himself to realize it.

I had next intended to deal with A Manual of Sex Magick, but due to the lack of space this will be reviewed at another time.  [See later in this cyber-version of the original article. -ED]

The Complete Magick Curriculum of the Secret Order G.·.B.·.G.·., "Being the Entire Study Curriculum, Magick Rituals, and Initiatory Practices of...The Great Brotherhood of God".  (Llewellyn, 1971 E.V.)

According to this book, the existence of the G.B.G. dates from 1931 to 1938 E.V..  We are told that it was quite extensive and widely established and Mr. Francis King, in two of his books, tells us that there was a financial incentive to membership.  It is more than likely, however, that Culling exaggerated greatly and that those members of the order were more "tea party talkers" rather than sincere magicians.  Culling (Frater Aequila), by the way, was the "Neighborhood Primate" of the San Diego Lodge.  This unexplained title cannot help but to cause the reader to chuckle.  The G.B.G., which Frater Genesthai (Russell) claims, in his most unreadable Znuz is Znees, does not mean Great Brotherood of God, announced itself in 'The Occult Digest' as "A Short-cut to Initiation.  The Choronzon Club".  (Choronzon:  Dispersion.)  The intelligent reader of this book should easily be able to discern that the G.B.G. is indeed typical of most short-cuts.  Following this curriculum the traveller along the Path will either end up going a way longer than the long way, or getting entirely lost along the Way.  Never trust "short-cuts", especially when travelling along the Magical Path.

It was Genesthai who started Culling and the G.B.G., and Aequila speaks highly of him.  As far as Culling was concerned, Russell "was" a "real genius", "an excellent instructor" who was capable of formulating "a system and curriculum leading directly to balanced initiation"; "a prize disciple under Crowley" who "was given sanction to found an independent order based on the fundamental principles of the A.·.A.·."; "he was the greatest and most efficient teacher, and upon this alone it seems sufficient to postulate that he had a dispensation."  Well, it is not sufficient and there is no word from Crowley anywhere that sanctions such a thing.  The absurdity of these words can easily be seen by reading Russell's privately printed books and pages 871-875 of The Confessions of Aleister Crowley (Hill & Wang, 1969 E.V.) in which Russell is referred to as "Godwin".  (See also TNN I.5.)

Page 5 tells us that when Russell ascended the Rock at Cefalu, Jane Wolf (sic.  Wolfe) was the lady that took a rucksack of food up to him.  Russell denied that it was she and The Confessions agree by identifying her as Sister Cypris, Ninette Shumway.  After this blunder Culling continued by telling us that he had known "Jane Wolf" for years, and that she told him "that Crowley recognized the attainment of Russell and had given Russell his blessing for him to found his own Order".  This is as questionable as the hearsay information that Culling based everything upon.  It should be noted that Genesthai did not seem to be too pleased with his "ex-pupil", Culling, and thrust full responsibility for the Curriculum upon him, saying that he did not even get to proof read it (though Russell quoted passages which do not appear, as he quoted them, in the published book) and that Culling even thought that he was dead, which certainly seems true.

The Curriculum is rife with tacky pictures and absurd ritual scenes, and mostly with photos of a relatively lovely (Mexican?) lady in very shabby robes with leather or vinyl boots, incorrectly assuming magical positions.  The few practices given in this book, for the most part, are trite and the few rituals are a hodgepodge of A.·.A.·. and O.T.O. rituals mixed with gibberish and misquotations from The Book of the Law.  The book is full of silly errors such as "ABRA-CADABRA" instead of ABRAHADABRA.  He placed great importance upon "regularity" (which was probably one of the things he had a problem with), but he could not even settle upon which way to spell Qabalah--"Qabala" or "Quaballah", or how to put O.T.O. into print--OTO, O.·.T.·.O.·., and O.T.O. all appear in the book.  His three degrees of "Sex Magick" are somewhat silly, but I will deal with them at a later date.  In pages 53-68 he misquoted Chapter I of Liber AL vel Legis most terribly and did little to enlighten the reader upon the meaning of these verses.  Culling seemed to have a problem of not being able to consider the possibility of a female Sex Magician with a man as an assistant, which is quite possible, as, I am sure, Dion Fortune would have agreed.  What it really comes down to is this:  C.F.Russell, Frater Genesthai, a wild renegade, exiting from the Abbey of Thelema in Cefalu in a fit of uncontrolled anger and in deep shame, made his way to the U.S. where he acted as Culling's mentor.  His authority was fictitious and his ability anything but balanced.  Culling, obviously not the very bright fellow some people seem to think he was, accepted Russell as his teacher and the G.B.G. was given its birth.  The Great Brotherhood of God, a somewhat deficient and retarded "Magical Child".  All of this went into a few books, which are still available, and which are full of half-truths and many misleading statements.  How anyone could take Culling and his books seriously is beyond me.

The Curriculum ends with a couple of photographs, one of them being of a seven-pointed star with the name 'BABALON' inside of it in a circular pattern.  The caption reads:  "A very ancient plaque of Babalon unearthed in Persia..." with "BABALON" written in English characters...

This was Louis T. Culling and the Great Brotherhood of God.

Love is the law, love under will.

POST SCRIPT:

What are the secrets of "Sex Magick"?

Very briefly--you have two participants, either of the opposite or of the same sex, or, if it be an autosexual operation there is only one solitary practicing magician.  Whichever may be the case, the magician/s must gradually build to an ecstatic climax, prolonging the intensifying pleasure as long as possible without actually going beyond the point of no return and restraining one's self to the point of actually missing the peak and losing the ability to climax.  This is quite possible.  During the physical part of the operation, which is relatively easy to master, a certain amount of imagination and visualization is necessary.  The "Magical Child", i.e. the desired result of the magical rite, must be concentrated upon with as much force as is possible.  But now comes the hard part.  During the rite the magician/s must concentrate 100% upon the "Magical Child" and also, at the same time, 100% upon the physical and emotional sensations that are being generated.  The magician/s must feel them as much as possible and experience them and the eventual climax in every nerve of the body.  This is not an operation of "divided concentration" for the attention must be fully given to both "things" at the same time.  In most cases failure comes about because the "Magical Child" is drowned in the sensations and forgotten.  In some, the "Child" becomes such an obsession that the sensations are almost entirely forgotten, negated, and this can, obviously enough, result in a "cooling down" process which will either cause a weak climax or completely inhibit the magician/s to the point of never reaching the climax.  This trick of the "complete dual concentration" is easier to learn than most people realize and it only seems to be difficult because most people never really try to learn how to concentrate upon a single thing for even a few seconds.  It only takes time and determination.

At the point of climax, the "Magical Child" is thrust out of the magicians' field, much the same as the human child is pushed from the mother's womb when in the act of giving birth.  This should be done as forcefully as possible and will if total concentration has been given to the sensations produced during the rite.

Basically this is all there is to it.  Applications are endless.  Variations as numerous as the Stars that are in the Body of Our Lady Nuit.  Naturally, there are many things to be considered, such as the fact that most women are capable of several climaxes during intercourse while men are usually limited to one per session.  In such a case each successive climax for the woman should be more ecstatic than the last, and, if at all possible, the man's climax should coincide with the woman's most forceful climax up to that time.  This is when the "Child" should be thrust forth into being.  Of course, if this rite be an autosexual one this will hardly be a consideration.

NOTE:  Whatever the immediate purpose of the rite is, it should always be for the ultimate purpose of obtaining the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, and the eventual Union with one's Angel, and, naturally, the accomplishment of one's True Will.  Anything else will most surely lead to the aspirant leaving the True Path and becoming a black magician, or even, be that magician so unlucky, one with the Black Brotherhood.

This is but the very briefest of summaries and I had hoped to have no need to add to the volumes of words that have been wasted on the subject.  However, I have been made to realize that this topic, which is so natural to me that I almost take it for granted, is baffling to most.  Most of the books and magazine articles on the subject are written by pen-pushing intellectuals and not true magicians and practitioners, and so there is far too much garbage and gibberish about "Western Tantric Magick".

Your comments and suggestions will tell me if I should continue, in a more detailed and orderly manner upon the subject of "Sex Magick".

(TNN.II.1.6-9, 3/21/79 E.V.)


THE SWORD OF HORUS

Ille Ferrum De Horus

by Frater M.E.D.


LOUIS T. CULLING

Part II

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

In Volume II, Number 1 I dealt with Mr. Louis T. Culling.  In that article I promised to review his book, A Manual of Sex Magick (Llewellyn Publications, 1971 E.V.), and wish to now keep that promise.  I also wish to discuss the subject, in general, as I feel that it is a necessary counter-measure because of the amount of garbage that has been written about it in recent times...so many words of so little worth.

First, let us dispense with as many Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist and Alchemical terms as we can.  They have their place, in their own respective texts, but not here.  Let us keep it simple.  Let us exercise our common sense and come as close to the Truth as possible by being as simple and as uncomplicated as we can.  Truth is, after all, quite simple.  For a time, let us forget the scholarly deceivers who dazzle the aspirant with a multitude of unpronounceable terms which, more than often, leads the aspirant away from the Truth and leads him/her into the desert of Reason and the realms of Qliphothic Confusion, where so many empty words exist.

"Sex Magick" is often called "Tantra" or "Western Tantra".  Fine.  However, this has led many to believe that "Tantra" or "Tantric" means, exclusively, "Sex Magick".  This is not so.  The word "Tantra" simply means an organized body of thoughts and writings upon any given subject.  So much for terms.  When I use the word "Magick" in this brief treatise I will be, of course, referring to "Sex Magick".

Culling's book is full of terms which are helpful to know, but his Manual is also full of other things of little or no value.  His personal love-life, often brought up in the book, is so much Bombastic Somniloquence.

Page v begins typically enough.  In his "APOLOGIA" Culling explained his reasons for breaking his Oaths of Secrecy and telling it all.  Dr. Francis Israel Regardie did the same thing in his very useful book, The Golden Dawn.  What both men have really done was to try and look important by imitating the one man who did challenge "the powers that be" by breaking his Oaths.  I refer, of course, to Our Father Aleister Crowley.  The imitations are pale.  The jestures are empty.  The oaths non-existent or practically so.  The knowledge revealed is partially correct and partially incorrect, and the sources of that knowledge were, to be kind, exaggerated.

One thing that is immediately noticeable is that Culling often prints O.T.O. as "O.·.T.·.O.·.".  This is incorrect.  The O.T.O. was a temporal order and it is correctly abbreviated in the common way.  It was not an Order of the Inner Planes, a Supernal Order, one might say, which is what the series of triangular points used in the abbreviation of A.·.A.·. implies.  One might say that the Supernal Order is the Eternal and Ever-Living Spirit, while the Temporal Order is the Physical Vehicle or Body with its alotted span of life culminating in its eventual and natural death.

Page 8 tells us that "There is only one known method for creating the magical Bud-Will (the controlled complex; the magical child; the objectof the opus), which is the method of Western Sex Magick, as given forth in this book."  This is not true.  There are other methods, albeit not as potent, but they do exist.  Certain forms of mysticism and meditation can create "something" upon the Inner Planes (of Consciousness) and "bring it down" to the so-called material, or outer planes.  Ceremonial magic, properly performed, raising the Kundalini or Serpent Force through various methods of inducing ecstasy and directing this force into creating the child is also effective.  The Dervishes also build this "supra-sexual" force and direct it towards the creation of the "bud-will".  Sex Magick is merely the most direct way of accomplishing the same ends, dispensing with most of the symbols, or symbolic actions, which are, after all, only symbols for the symbols of the inexpressible Truth.  Being the most direct method of creating the magical child, it is also, quite naturally, the most powerful, and, possibly, the most dangerous--dangerous, that is, to anyone not possessing enough "common sense" to be properly prepared for the Work.  It is definitely not the only method, and that method given by Culling in his Manual is not quite the best possible and resembles the O.T.O.'s IX°, somewhat, in only one of the three "Degrees" that Culling gave in his book.

Throughout the volume, Culling told us that Magick should be for the sole purpose of attaining the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel and the magical powers should not be the desired end, but, at best, only a means to an end.  This is quite true and it should be noted that "the end" is not the mere Knowledge and Conversation of the H.G.A., nor is it the eventual Union with the Angel, nor can it really be said that there is an "end".  But to the point:  After repeating himself often about what should and should not be the goals of Magick, Culling also stressed that if you obtain the K. & C. of the H.G.A. you will, naturally, obtain these magical powers.  Behind all of his high-sounding words it is quite obvious that Frater Aequila was really after only one thing:  those bleeding magical powers, siddhis for those of you who simply must have a term or two for nourishment.  The funny thing about this is that even after obtaining the K. & C. of the H.G.A. one may still be unable to obtain and exercise magical powers.  Furthermore, one may be quite adept at true magick "tricks" and then, upon discovering one's True Will, find it simply impossible to accomplish certain magical feats.  Why this apparent loss of power?  Simple.  That which the magician may want may not be exactly what the H.G.A. (True Self) needs to do His Will.  In fact, the magician's wants may be totally contrary to the needs of the Angel and the Will, so that the Angel then interferes with the magick of the magician in the best interests of the True Will.  You will recall how difficult it was for Aleister Crowley, after he had spent his wealth, to obtain large sums of money.  He was obviously a very powerful magician, even more obviously he was doing his Will.  Yet it was forbidden, by his own True Self, that he should have any further wealth.  Why you can discover for yourself.  It is not the subject of this particular paper.

On page 24 Culling went on to tell us that "Western Tantric" is much more "transcendental" than Eastern.  Considering the great number of western "aspirants" I have met, who, like Culling himself, could not even transcend their own petty little desires to gratify the ego, I find this statement to be rather absurd.  At this point I would not venture to say which was more transcendental, but considering the vast number of plastic people with their tinsel dressing in the West, I can hardly imagine that Western "aspirants" are more transcendental in their views and motives.  Perhaps the Eastern aspirants have gone too far in the opposite direction.  It seems that the West gratifies the ego as a glutton eats, whereas the East (all generally speaking, of course) abases the ego, humbling itself in the mud of the earth, to show how great is the non-attachment to the world of the flesh.  This is merely a negative way of gratifying the ego by displaying how "truly" humble they are.  It is spiritual pride.

In the Curriculum, I believe on page 15, Culling told us that the maxim "Know Yourself" does not refer to the "outer personality".  Well, from this we can see where he went wrong in at least one instance.  Actually "Know Thyself" means to first discover, to learn to understand, the perssonality/ego, and by this to discover the True Self--peeling away the layers until the Centre is revealed.  You might say that it means to "Know thyself so that you may eventually come to know your True Self and Its True Will."  (Interestingly, "to know", in the biblical sense, means to have "union with", the implication usually being sexual.)  Obviously, Culling, like so many other aspirants, tried to skip a few basic steps on the Ladder, tried to take a short-cut to initiation, and so, missed the Point altogether.

But enough of Culling and his books.  I refer you to TNN II.1's Sword of Horus article, and let us speak for only a moment more about his Manual.

Aequila broke the formula of Magick into three degrees.  These three degrees, in order, he calls: Alphaism, Dianism, and Quodosch (sic).  The last is, of course, only to be practiced by those who have mastered the first two degrees, and it is the only one that resembles the O.T.O. Magick, the IX°, crudely, and which was quite simply and generally spoken of in the Post Script of TNN II.1.

Alphaism is "magickal chastity".  The aspirant is not permitted to even think of anything sexual before and after the act of magick, but only during it.  This is an almost pointless adaptation of Liber III vel Jugorum.  Simple sexual thoughts and acts should be quite different from magical acts.  And sexual fantasies are, after all, the fuel that feeds the fire.  Furthermore, this could tend to make one's views of sex rather unbalanced.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with good healthy lust and it is just as necessary as a reverential attitude towards sex.  If you approve of the discipline that he proposes it is better to practice Liber III vel Jugorum as given in The Equinox and elsewhere.

Dianism is merely a form of Karezza, despite his denial of this, in which the orgasm (for the man--also for the woman?) is not permitted.  Okay, if this is practiced with the object of learning how to control the body and not give into premature orgasms, i.e., before enough force has been built up, fine.  But persistant work in the VII°, VIII° and IX° will eventually bring about this control.  Dianism/ Karezza performed too long is rather unhealthy anyway--physically (go ask your doctor) and emotionally.  And psychically/magically, can it be any better?

Now let us not talk any more of Mr. Louis T. Culling, for, after all, he is such a very small fish in such a very large pond.

Let us speak briefly of The Hermit, The Lover, and The Man of Earth.

The Hermit is the solitary magician, generally speaking.  The VII° and VIII° of Magick performed by a single participant, whether male or female it does note matter.  (You will notice how Culling cannot conceive of anything other than a male magician with a female assistant, when, in fact, the roles may very well be reversed, or both practitioners may be equal partners...but this refers to the next degree/form of Magick.)  During this autosexual working (yes, that does mean an act of masturbation--as it was said by the Egyptians, Tem created the universe/world) the idea is for the magician to unite, by way of the trained imagination, with some abstract idea, which may be visualized as, say, Nuit, the Queen of Space.  An example of an autosexual working is one which is performed in order to attract shakti, female assistants.  The magician unites with Pan-Eros and becomes Pan-Eros.  This "Image" is, of course, a marriage of Pan, the lusty, rugged side of love, and Eros, the gentle, romantic side or aspect of love.  It also means, quite simply, "All-Love".  First there is the banishing.  The area of working, both without and within, is cleared of any alien and thus "impure" thoughts and forces.  This can be done ceremonially, say, with the ritual of the Star Ruby, or by a simple Act of Will.  (If a heterosexual working with an assistant who is not aware of your magical intent, and who you wish not to inform, this banishing can be a simple, but forceful, mental/imagined pushing out and away all "things" impure.  If this does not work then some ceremony may be called for, if for no other reason but to put you into the right frame of mind.  If alien thoughts and feelings/force are still intruding then you are obviously not ready to perform Magick!)  After the area has been cleared of all that is not directly concerned with the opus, and after a certain amount of solemnity has been established, the magician then begins to build the sexual stimulation to its highest possible peak, while, all the time, "Imagining", "Visualizing", the Image with as many of the senses as possible.  See, hear, smell, touch and taste the Image if you can.  The better you can do this, the better will be your Work.  One might envision the entry of Pan-Eros into one's temple chambers, the various acts of love, and at the point of climax, the Union with Pan-Eros--the two apparently different beings becoming one being.  Pan-Eros, the Image, is absorbed, in a manner of speaking.  This gentle absorption is accomplished at the climactic moment by a forcefull bellow of the words "I am Pan-Eros!"  (It should be noted that the Image of Pan-Eros is Balance in itself, being a union of the strong and the gentle asspects of love.)

The Lover is the image of the IX° of the O.T.O. (and A.·.A.·.) Magick.  (Please see Atu VI of the tarot.)  This is the heterosexual working.  Basically it is the same as the Hermit except that the opus is performed by two magicians of opposite polarities.  The assumption is that the practitioners are male and female, in physical structure.  This is, usually, the case, but it is possible for the magicians to be of the same apparent sex, providing one of them is of the opposite polarity than is reflected to the five mundane senses.  That is, and current findings in psychology will back this up, appearances can be deceiving.  A man may be very yin and a woman may be very yang.  A study of transgenderism will make this more clear.  Our physical forms are merely reflections of the True Self, and sometimes, please do not ask me why, a man may be "trapped" in a woman's body, or vice versa.  But enough of this.  The nature of human sexuality is far more complicated than I have here indicated, and not the subject of this treatise.  The point is that in some cases, apparently the minority of cases, the sex of an individual may not be obvious by the form of that individual.  Sex is not determined by the physical form alone.  Only the expressions of sex, to a certain degree, are determined by the form/vehicle of an individual.  What truly determines the sex of a person is his or her polarity, for lack of a better word, which I will differentiate for the sake of convience as either yin (Negative) or yang (Positive).  At any rate, the operation is the same, and the greatest "trick" is to act with dual concentration and not divided concentration.  That is, full attention must be paid to the physical and emotional sensations that are being produced, and at the same time, and with equally full attention, the object of the opus (the magical child) must be concentrated upon, continually, from beginning to end, without a break in concentration and visualization.  To have Form without Force, or Force without Form, is of absolutely no use at all.  At the moment of orgasm, ideally an orgasm of both magicians in unison, but not necessarily if only one of the participants is the magician and the other an assistant--in this case, at the moment of the magician's orgasm, the magical child, now filled with the accumulated force of the opus, is thrust out into the world, so to speak, to eventually manifest upon the physical, outer planes, or upon the more subtle planes only if this is what is desired.  What is the magical child?  Whatever the object of the magical act is.  Wealth.  A promotion.  An assistant, or further assistants.  An opportunity.  Inspiration to write poetry, music, or a novel.  Inspiration for the magician/s or assistant to become a Seer for some reason.  To charge the Elixir with a specific force to either imbibe or use to anoint, say, a letter to obtain a specific reaction from the person who receives that letter.  The applications are really endless.  However, it should be remembered that all operations of Magick, and all things obtained by Magick, should be for the purpose of discovering and/or doing one's True Will.  Anything else could too easily lead to the mere gratification of the ego, drawing one away from the True Self, thus becoming an act of "black magic".  There is nothing wrong with enjoying the things of the earth, unless the "spiritual" is forsaken for the purely "material".

Naturally, it would be good to follow the climax of the opus with a further banishing, as the momentarily void and passive magicians are at this time particularly susceptible to various kinds of possible obsession and possession.  However, the act itself usually clears the area.  The Force, during the opus, is condensed until eventually it explodes and the concussion of that explosion is usually enough to clear away anything without the magick circle surrounding the magicians.  Still, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Essentially this is all there is to it.  Variations of procedure and results are as numerous as the Stars in the Body of Nuit and the combinations of Light reflected by each Individual Star.

The Man of Earth is, naturally, the representative image of the XI°.  He (or She!) has matured with time and experience and is above and beyond all common ideas of morality.  He can achieve sexual satisfaction either with his own sex, or equally with either sex.  He has found that it is not the physical vehicle that really matters during the act of Love and Sex.  He is free from false moral restrictions.  Of course, more specifically, the Man of Earth is one who unites, for the purpose of Magick, yin with yin, or yang with yang.  It is normally conceived of as homosexual, but can equally be lesbian or bisexual.  Basically the operation is the same as the two previous ones.

I realize that all of this seems rather general, yet it is the essence of all "Sex Magick".  It should be remembered that it is a very personal thing.  What stimulates one person may not stimulate another.

Questions are encouraged and will be answered as well as possible by Newaeon.

But enough of this.  Let us not become as one of those pen-pushing intellectuals that talks, talks, talks, with a never depleted vocabulary of mysterious terms.  A true magician talks not overmuch.  A true magician learns through experience and experiences through practice.  A true magician does not simply talk about his/her Will.  A true magician does his/her Will.  And remember...

Love is the law, love under will.

(TNN.II.2.6-11, 5/22/79 E.V.)


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