- Hardcover: 207 pages
- Publisher: Lyle Stuart (Jun 1972)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0806502894
- ISBN-13: 978-0806502892
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14.5 x 2.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,947,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Synopsis
A Classic Study of Sexuality and Magic; Back in print for the first time in 30 years; When the late, respected British author Francis King first published Sexuality, Magic and Perversion in 1971, the sex cults and fetishistic practices documented were extremely secretive, fearing that any publicity would result in their demise. King's remarkable investigation covers a significant turning point in our sexual history, a time when Tantric sex and the occult dimensions of sexuality were initially being discovered. Sexuality, Magic and Perversion is an amusing but serious examination of the origins and development of the secret traditions of sex. The book begins with the author's description of how his interest in sex cults was aroused by his meeting with a young witch who described to him a perverted ride by which she was initiated into a small occult group. King provides fascinating research into the inter-relationship between sexuality, perversion and magic - East and West, past and present - with clear descriptions of sex magic, left-handed Tantrism, Chinese sexual alchemy and initiates of Aleister Crowley's Order of Oriental Templars.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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4 reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
naughty naughty
22 Feb 2004
Format:Paperback
Feral House is consistent in releasing highly interesting, esoteric works that dabble (or indulge) in controversial subject matter worth reading.
This one takes the magic-meets-sex motif into unique territory; for instance, revealing intimate details about well-known occultists and intriguing tidbits such as the contention that Crowley was the one who introduced Aldous Huxley to mushrooms. The author leaves no rock unturned within this concentrated study.
At times, the author goes on endlessly with heavy passages quoted from other sources (which proves tedious), but this is balanced by an insightful, judicious study of the subject matter that includes humorously exposing frauds whenever possible. The reader definitely feels compelled to keep turning the page.
I recommend this one...
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
A seminal, ground breaking work on human sexuality
12 May 2002
Format:Paperback
Sexuality, Magic & Perversion by Francis King is a controversial, revelatory, highly recommended volume of original research that investigates sexuality in religions and traditions all over the globe, from fertility cults and tantricism to Islamic mysticism and Crowleyan sex magick. A tantalizing study of the mystical aspect of sex, heavily researched and presenting information about the life and work of outspoken yet little-known figures who distinguished themselves, for good or for bad, in the intersecting fields of sex and religion. Sexuality, Magic & Perversion had been out of print and a collector's item for decades. This new Feral House edition will admirably serve to introduce a whole new generation to this seminal, ground breaking work on human sexuality.
13 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Sexuality, Magic and Perversion...
29 April 2003
Format:Paperback
SEXUALITY, MAGIC AND PERVERSION is a short book giving a rough detail of sex-magic from the 19th century to the early 1970s. I gave this book four stars only because it did not go into enough detail and adequately explain the theology behind occult practices of sex-magic.
Sex-magic forms an esoteric element in Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, and is known as Tantra. Tantric texts supplement orthodox Buddhist and Hindu scriptures and form their own cannon of literature. Forms of sex-magic may have been practiced in pre-Christian Europe, and may have continued underground during the rise of the Christianity. The concept figures in primal fertility religions that developed in cultures based on agriculture and the changing of the seasons and the monitoring of the sun, moon and stars to determine the time of the years to plant and harvest crops. This frequently took on sexual imagery, for example spring rains being like the male seed fertilizing the female earth. It is said that the "witches" persecuted by the Church were followers of some such ancient cult. There is some speculation regarding the status of witches during the Middle Ages. Occultists claim that they were practitioners of a pre-Christian universal Goddess religion. Others, such as the noted scholar Rev. Montague Summers, claim that these witches were literally in leage with Satan himself and that the stories of them copulating with [satan] and casting spells to disrupt the Faithful are true. The status of these so-called "witches" is not well understood by either side, pro-, or anti-Christian.
Modern interest in sex-magic originated from the stories brought back to Europe from travelers during the Victorian Era. Various cults sprang up which practiced heterosexual, homosexual and masturbation rites, animal sacrifices, poisons, abortions and black masses. Two of the most well known occult groups from the past 100 years are the Order Templi Orientis (OTO) and the Theosophical society. British occultist Alestier Crowley, rocket scientist Jack Parsons and Madame Blavaksky are among the noted figureheads in those occult groups.
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