THE OMNIPOTENT OOM

Tantra and Its Impact on Modern Western Esotericism Hugh B. Urban Ohio State Universit
In this day and age, when matters pertaining to the sexes are generally avoided, and we are taught that the sexual appetite is an animal craving that should be subdued and concealed it is not surprising that the great majority of persons are blind to the vast importance of the sexual nature [T]hey fail to realize that not only is the cause of our individual existence, but that it is thewellspring of human life and happiness -!r "ierre #rnold $ernard, %Tantri& 'orship( The $asis of )eligion% *+, -urely few terms in the vocabulary of .astern religions hold such a tantalizing, titillating or controversial place in the contemporary #merican imagination as Tantra # word that instantly conjures up images of exotic eroticism, mystical ecstasy and /riental intrigue, Tantra has entered fully into both contemporary 'estern scholarship and popular discourse as a whole 0ot only are popular entertainers li&e -ting practicing their own varieties of Tantric sex, *1, but Tantra has now become a major commercial enterprise, spawning entire lines of boo&s, tapes, video, and erotic merchandise Indeed, I was rather intrigued to discover recently that the phrase %#merican Tantra% is now a registered trademar&, representing a whole line of boo&s, videos and other %ceremonial sensual% merchandise *2, 3or most #merican readers today, Tantra has come to be defined basically as %spiritual sex% or the use of sexuality as a religious experience4 as the %exotic art of prolonging your passion play% to achieve %noo&y nirvana,% it is praised as much a needed liberation of sexuality for a repressive 'estern world *5, #s it is commonly used in popular discourse, Tantra has come to be used almost interchangeably with the erotic techni6ues described in the 7ama -utra, and fre6uently identified with a range of 'estern esoteric practices, such as the erotic rituals of the /rdo

Templi /rientis and the sex magic of #leister 8rowley #nd yet, rather stri&ingly, any one who carefully reads any of the classic -ans&rit Tantras 6uic&ly realizes that sexual practices play a fairly minor and often very %unsexy% role 'here sexual rituals are discussed it is usually in a very few terse stanzas, which are embedded within hundreds of pages of dry and often dull ritual details *9, In other words, the identification of Tantra with sex and particularly, with scandalous, transgressive and deviant sexuality

+ # bust of "ierre #rnold $ernard *c +:;9-+<99,

is largely a modern #merican preoccupation, not a traditional Indian one -o the 6uestion is( how did Tantra come to be identified primarily as sacred sex in the #merican imagination, and how did it come to be associated with 'estern practices such as 8rowleyian sex magic= "art of the answer, I will argue here, lies in the mysterious life and wor&s of "ierre #rnold $ernard one of the first and most important, yet also today strangely little &nown figures in the transmission of Tantrism to the 'est 7nown in the popular #merican press as %/om the /mnipotent,% $ernard became notorious throughout newspapers and journals as a spiritual leader and philosopher as well as a philanderer, seducer of women and purveyor of scandalous indecencies 0ot only did he found the first %Tantri& /rder% in #merica *+<>?,, but he was also the first in a long line of Tantric gurus who would come under intense criticism and suspicion for their alleged immoral, indecent and illegal sexual practices #s such, he has been a seminal influence on much later esotericism in the @ not only on later traditions of 'estern sexual magic, but also on contemporary 0ew )eligious Aovements, such as the cult of $hagwan -hree )ajneesh, the -iddha Boga -ociety, and more recent developments li&e #merican Tantra,% the 8hurch of Tantra and the 0ew Tantri& /rder in #merica In my discussion of !r $ernard and the transmission of Tantra to #merica, I will borrow some insights from Aichel 3oucault and others who have examined the role of sexuality in modern 'estern culture #s 3oucault suggests, the men and women of the Cictorian era were really not the repressed, puritanical prudes that we commonly imagine them to be today4 on the contrary, the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries witnessed an unprecedented new interest and proliferation of discourse about sexuality, which was not categorized, classified and described in endless detail %'hat is peculiar to modern societies is not that they consigned sex to a shadow existence, but that they dedicated themselves to spea&ing of it ad infinitum, while exploiting it as the secret % *?, #bove all, as we see in new medical and psychological texts li&e Psychopathologia Sexualis, there was a special interest in forms of non-reproductive sexuality that were now categorized as % deviant,%

transgressive and antisocial, now labeled with a whole new lexicon of terminology such as homosexuality, necrophilia, nymphomania, spermatorrhea, and so on #s I will argue, the new fascination with Tantra with its explicit use of non-reproductive sexuality, often in violation of laws of class and purity was a &ey part of this larger obsession with %deviant% forms of sexuality in the Cictorian imagination #fter a brief discussion of the 'estern discovery of Tantra during

the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries *part I,, I will examine the life and wor& of "ierre $ernard, along with all the scandal and controversy that surrounded his mysterious persona *"art II and III, 3inally *part IC, will discuss the larger impact of Tantra on 'estern esotericism in this century, by loo&ing at the gradual synthesis of 'estern esoteric-sexual practices with the newly imported Tantric techni6ues that has ta&en place over the last one hundred years I. !"OM #B$%&' %"T O! THE &"U(EST %N( !I$THIEST 'IN(# TO #THE %"T O! SPI"ITU%$ E&ST%S)*# Tantra+s &omp,e.ourne to the West The Tantras [exert] great influence in later days The worship assumes wild, extravagant forms, generally obscene, sometimes bloody 'e cannot go further into detail It is profoundly saddening to thin& that such abominations are are performed as part of divine worship 8onscience, however, is so far alive that these detestable rites are practiced only in secret -D Aurray Aitchell and -ir 'illiam Auir, Two Old Faiths *;, #drenalin sex, li6uid sex, hard sex, flowing sex, expanded sex, Tantric sex, sacred sex, wet sex, slow sex, ecstatic sex, we want it #EEF In expressing sexual energy, we experience the human bodyGs potential for awareness and feelingsF 'e channel the creative life force flowing through us -"aul )amana !as and Aarilena -ilbey, %#merican Tantra% *:, Tantra, it would seem, lies at a pivotal intersection between Indian and #merican imaginations, at the nexus of a complex play of representations and misrepresentations between .ast and 'est ta&ing place over the last two hundred years 0ot only was it a crucial part of the 'estern %imagining of India,% particularly during the colonial era4 but it has been no less crucial a part of the %reimagining of #merica,% particularly during the eras of sexual liberation, feminism, gay rights and sexual politics at the turn of the new millennium In most contemporary #merican imaginations, both popular and scholarly, the word Tantra is almost always associated with the word sex !efined as the oath of ecstasy, the yoga of sex, Tantra is usually identified as that religious path which combines the physical experience of sexual pleasure with the spiritual experience of

liberation Bet anyone who reads the classic Tantric texts 6uic&ly realizes that it often ta&es 6uite some time to get to the juicy sexy stuff In fact, most -ans&rit tantras are remar&ably dull, dry boring

1 $ernard the -hastri

ritual manuals, and when they do happen to deal with the infamous %fifth A% of Aaithuna or sexual intercourse, it is usually just a couple of verses, surrounded by hundreds of pages of technical details *<, In many Tantric schools, maithuna is to be ta&en strictly symbolically, as the union of the individual self with the -upreme -elf of Eord -hiva4 and when it is ta&en literally, it is generally hedged around with strict moral injunctions and ritual safeguards *+>, Aost traditions, moreover, insist that the semen must absolutely not be released in the act of intercourse, but instead retained and withdrawn bac& into the body of the male practitioner 3ar from hedonistic abandon, Tantric maithuna is in a sense sex in reverse, in which the goal is not orgasmic release, but on the contrary, controlled withdrawal and sublimation *++, 'hat is most important to the authors of the Indian Tantric literature, I would argue, is not sex, but rather power -- power on all levels of reality, spiritual cosmic, physical and socio-political ali&e Aost Hindu Tantric traditions center around the Ioddess -ha&ti power or energy which circulates throughout all of the manifest universe4 she is the creative energy or force which radiates out o the supreme consciousness of Eord -iva, generating the myriad forms of the phenomenal universe %[T]he Tantric conceives of the world as power *Shakti, #s the goddessG own selfeffulgence, he believes the world is nothing but power to be harnessed% *+1, Thus the tas& for the Tantric is to arouse and channel the flow of shakti or creative energy that circulates through out the universe, the human body and the social order #s !ouglas $roo&s argues in his study of -outh Indian Tantra, the primary concern for the Tantri&a is how one might harness and actualize the power perceived to be inherent in all things, including social relations The dichotomies of impureJpure, and auspiciousJ inauspicious are mechanisms for the expression of episodic forms of power *+2, -ex may in some traditions be one means of awa&ening and harnessing power, or one form of its expression in the physical universe4 but it is by no means the only or even the most important one In fact, if one examines most popular vernacular texts on Tantra today, it would seem that by far the most attention is given not to matters of sexual pleasure, but rather to the

ac6uisition of supernatural abilities and achieving all oneGs worldly desires *+5, -o how, then, did %Tantrism% come to be defined primarily as %spiritual sex=% This shift begins, I thin&, during the early colonial era, with the first discovery of Indian religions by 8hristian missionaries and /rientalist scholars in the early nineteenth

century The /rientalist interest in the Tantras, I would argue, was a part of the much broader concern with sexuality and its aberrations during the Cictorian era #s 3oucault and others have argued, the men and women of the Cictorian era were by no means simply the puritanical prudes they are commonly imagined to be4 on the contrary, the Cictorian era witnessed an unprecedented proliferation of discourse about sexuality particularly in its most disturbing, deviant and perverse forms, which were now categorized and classified in intricate detail %"aradoxically, it was during the nineteenth century that the debate about sexuality exploded 3ar from the age of silence and suppression, sexuality became a major issue in Cictorian social and political practice% *+9, The first /rientalist authors, such as -ir 'illiam Dones and H T 8olebroo&e, actually had relatively little to say about the Tantras It was really not until the early nineteenth century, with the arrival of 8hristian missionaries li&e the $aptist 'illiam 'ard and the -cotsman, #lexander !uff, that Tantras became objects of intense interest and morbid fascination #bove all, the missionaries singled out the sexual element particularly transgressive and illicit sexuality as the most horrific aspect of the Tantras and the clearest evidence of their complete depravity The Tantras, as 'ard put it, involve %a most shoc&ing mode of worship% centered around the worship of a na&ed woman *preferably a prostitute or outcast, and rites %too abominable to enter the ears of man and impossible to be revealed to a 8hristian public% *+?, 3or later $ritish authors li&e H H 'ilson, -ir Aonier 'illiams and many others, the Tantras were then 6uic&ly adapted to the larger /rientalist narrative of Indo-.uropean history and the decadence of modern India #ccording to most /rientalist accounts, the history of Indian culture was a long steady decline from a golden age comparable to ancient Ireece and )ome, embodied in the texts of the Cedas, down to a modern era of licentiousness and superstition, embodied in the perverse secret rituals of the Tantras *+;, )epeatedly throughout nineteenth century /rientalist literature, we find the Tantras described in the most vivid language as %lust mummery and blac& magic% *$rian Hodgson,, %nonsensical extravagance and absurd

gesticulation% *H H 'ilson,, and %blac& art of the crudest and filthiest &ind% in which % a veritable devilGs mass is purveyed in various forms% *! E $arnett, *+:, This e6uation of Tantra with sex was only compounded with the 'estern discovery of the Kama Sutra and other erotic manuals The leading figure in this new interest in Indian erotica was the famous Cictorian /rientalist and explorer -ir )ichard 3rancis $urton *+:1+-+:<>, 0ot only did $urton found a small secretive group called the

7ama -hastra -ociety, but he also privately published the Kama Sutra *+::2, and the Ananga Ranga *+::9,, the first Hindu treatises on love to be translated into .nglish *texts which could not be officially translated until the mid +<?>Gs, *+<, 3rom $urtonGs time on, it seems, Tantra came to be increasingly associated and often hopelessly confused with the sexual positions of the Kama Sutra In the first decades of the twentieth century, a few brave scholars made an effort to defend and revalorize the Tantras, arguing that there is far more to this ancient tradition than mere illicit sexuality The most important figure in this moralizing reform of Tantra was -ir Dohn 'oodroffe, a & a #rthur #valon, the enigmatic High 8ourt Dudge and secret Tantri&a, who made it is his lifeGs wor& to defend the Tantras against their many critics In 'oodroffeGs rather sanitized and rationalized account, Tantra is a noble philosophical tradition, basically in line with the Cedas, and even comparable in its symbolism to the liturgy of the 8atholic 8hurch *1>, !espite 'oodroffeGs valiant attempt to present a sanitized and rationalized version of Tantra, however, the mista&en e6uation of Tantra with sex would persist throughout the 'estern imagination, both popular and scholarly #nd it was soon also identified and mixed with 'estern sexual-magical traditions, such as the teachings of the mysterious #merican )osicrucian and %sexoriented occultist,% "aschal $everly )andolph, and of course the self-proclaimed %Ireat $east, ???,% #leister 8rowley, who, many believe, actually had been involved in Tantric practices in India *see below, part IC, /ne of the &ey figures in the transmission of Tantra to the 'est and in the transformation of Tantra into something sexy, scandalous, scintillating and exotic, was the enigmatic !r "ierre #rnold $ernard II. THE S&%N(%$ O! OMNIPOTENT OOM* (r. Bernard and the Tantri/ Order in %merica 'ily con man, yogi, athlete, ban& president, founder of the Tantri& /rder in #merica and the 8lar&estown 8ountry 8lub the remar&able %!octor% $ernard was all of these He was also the /mnipotent /om, whose devoted followers included some of the most famous names in #merica -8harles $oswell, %The Ireat 3uss and 3ume

/ver the /mnipotent /om% *1+, IGm a curious combination of the businessman and the religious scholar -"ierre #rnold $ernard *11,

2 "ierre $ernard simulating his own death

"ierre $ernard was not only the first man to bring Tantra to #merica, but was also surely one of the most colorful, unusual and controversial figures in early twentieth century #merican history *see fig +, !escribed as %both a prophet and showman,% $ernard was a man %who could lecture on religion with singular penetration and with e6ual facility stage a big circus, manage a winning ball team or put on an exhibition of magic which rivaled Houdini% *12, Infamous throughout the press as %the /mnipotent /om,% $ernard claimed to have traveled throughout the mystic /rient in order to bring the secret teachings of Tantra to this country and so found the first %Tantri& /rder in #merica% in +<>? -urrounded by controversy and slander regarding the sexual freedom he and his largely female followers were said to enjoy, $ernard is in many ways an epitome of Tantra in its uni6uely #merican incarnations Cirtually nothing is &nown about the enigmatic $ernardGs early life and bac&ground in fact, he seems to have gone to some lengths to conceal his real bac&ground behind a strange veil of fictitious identities and false biography, often using the fa&e persona of %"eter 8oons% from Iowa *15, "robably born in +:;9 to a middle class family from 8alifornia, $ernard left home in his teens to wor& his way to India in order to study the %ancient -ans&rit writings and age old methods of curing diseases of mind and body % #fter studying in 7ashmir and $engal, he won the title of %-hastri% and was supposedly initiated into the inner mysteries of Tantric practice *see fig 1, @pon returning to #merica and now introducing himself with the title of %!r % he wor&ed at various odd jobs in 8alifornia and began to study hypnotism $y +<>>, in fact, he had become moderately famous as a master of self-hypnosis who could use yogic techni6ue to place himself in a state simulating death *fig 2, #ccording to 0i& !ouglas, it is also li&ely the $ernard received some instruction in Tantric practice from one -wami )am Tirath, a young Indian yogi who had come to 8alifornia in the early +<>>s, and who praised $ernard as a man of %profound learning,% comparable %with the $rahminical Tantri& High "riests of India% *19, $eginning in +<>5, $ernard had established a clinic in -an 3rancisco where he taught his own versions of self-hypnosis and yoga, which

eventually became &nown as the %$acchante #cademy % .ven then, $ernard had become something of a scandal in the 8alifornia press, who charged that the #cademy %catered to young women interested in learning hypnotism and soul charming by which they meant the mysteries of the relations between the sexes% *1?, -ometime in the years +<>?-;, $ernard also founded the first Tantri& order in #merica, with an accompanying journal the International ournal! Tantrik Order whose charter document for initiation reads as follows *see figs 5-?,(

5 3ront page of the International ournal o" the Tantrik Order

#s a tear from heaven he has been dropped into the /cean of the T#0T)I7 $)/TH.)H//! upon earth and is moored forevermore in the harbor of contentment, at the door to the temple of wisdom wherein are experienced all things4 and to him will be unveiled the &nowledge of the Aost High #rmed with the &ey to the sanctuary of divine symbolism wherein are stored the secrets of wisdom and power, he has proven himself worthy to be entrusted with the &nowledge to soar above the world and loo& down upon it4 to exalt the passions and 6uic&en the imagination to treat all things with indifference4 to &now that religion is the worship of manGs invisible power to enjoy well-being, generosity, and popularity He has learned to love life and &now death *1;, #fter the -an 3rancisco earth6ua&e in +<>?, $ernard left 8alifornia and eventually relocated to 0ew Bor& 8ity, where he would open his %/riental -anctum% in +<+> Teaching Hatha Boga in the downstairs room and offering secret Tantric initiation upstairs, the /riental sanctum 6uic&ly became an object of scandal in the 0ew Bor& press( the notorious %/mnipotent /om% was charged with &idnapping and briefly imprisoned, though the charges were later dropped %I cannot tell you how $ernard got control over me or how he gets it over other people,% said one of the alleged &idnapees, Kella Hopp, %He is the most wonderful man in the world 0o women seem able to resist him *1:, -imilar controversy surrounded the %0ew Bor& -ans&rit 8ollege,% which $ernard founded a few years later in 0ew Bor& The press reported %wild /riental music and womenGs cries, but not those of distress% *1<, $y +<+: $ernard and his followers had moved out to a large seventy-two acre estate in @pper 0yac&, 0ew Bor&, a former young girlsG academy which he renamed the %8lar&stown 8ountry 8lub% and made the site of his own %utopian Tantric community% *fig +>, # sumptuous property with a 2>-roomed Ieorgian mansion rounded by a wooded mountain and river, the 8lub was designed to be %a place where the philosopher may dance, and the fool be provided with a thin&ing capF% *2>, .ventually, he would also purchase a huge property &nown as the Aooring, with old .nglish country house, and then later open a whole chain of Tantric clinics, including

centers in 8leveland, "hiladelphia, 8hicago and .ast 92rd -treet, 0ew Bor& 8ity, as well as a Tantric summer camp for men in 'esthampton, Eong Island His clinics were well &nown for attracting the wealthiest, most affluent clients, %mostly professional and business men and women from 0ew Bor&,% including #nn Canderbilt, -ir "aul !u&es, composer 8yril -cott and conductor Eepold -to&ows&i, among many others *2+,

9 Inside cover of $ernardGs Tantric journal

#ccording to Town and #ountry magazine of +<5+, %.very hour of the day limousines and taxies drove up to the entrance of the !octorGs 0ew Bor& clinic In the marble foyer behind the wrought-iron portal of +? .ast 92rd -treet, a pretty secretary handled appointments% *21, Hence, it is not surprising that $ernard 6uic&ly achieved a remar&able degree of wealth, fame and status( #lmost overnight, /om found himself showered with more money than he had ever dreamed of and chieftain of a tribe of both male and female followers This tribe at the outset consisted of no more than a dozen members, but eventually it would number well over 1>>, and would carry on its roster some of the best-&nown names in #merica *22, #nd much of the appeal of $ernardGs teachings L as well as the scandal and controvery they generated L centered around his views of love and sexuality III. Se-0 Secrec 0 S,ander %nd &ensorship* Bernard+s Tantric Teachings and their "eception in the %merican Popu,ar Imagination Eove, a manifestation of sexual instinct, is the animating spirit of the world -$ernard, %Tantri& 'orship( The $asis of )eligion% *25, $ernardGs Tantric teachings were, however, also surrounded with a certain aura of secrecy and elitism, teachings so profound and potentially dangerous they had to be reserved for the initiated few Thus the International ournal$ Tantrik Order 6uotes the words of #rthur -chopenhauer( %"hilosophy should be li&e the .leusinian mysteries4 for the few, the elite,% *29, and it also warns the disciple that %whoever has been initiated, no matter what may be the degree to which he may belong, and shall reveal the sacred formulae, shall be put to death% *2?, #ccording to the police reports of a raid of $ernardGs clinic, entry involved a secret signal and complex series of taps on the bell There also seems to have been a certain hierarchy of disciples, with the lower level initiates performing yoga and physical exercises downstairs, while the %inner circle% called the %-ecret /rder of Tantri&s% engaged in the more esoteric Tantric rituals in the upstairs(

!ownstairs, they found a bare room where /omGs physical culture clients, paying a M+>> bite, toiled through exercises designed to produce the body beautiful @pstairs, it got more interesting( There,

on canvas-covered mattresses, /omGs inner-circle clients participated in secret rites of some &ind [T]he upstairs customers, following physical examinations, had to pay large sums and then sign their names in blood before they could be initiated into the cult *2;, The popular press offers us some fairly vivid and probably rather imaginative accounts of $ernardGs secret Tantric rituals and the occult initiations into arcane esoteric techni6ues !uring Tantri& ceremonies, /om sat on his throne wearing a turban, a sil&en robe and baggy Tur&ish pants, and flourished a scepter 'hile so engaged, he invariably smo&ed one of the long blac& cigars to which he was addicted # fre6uent Tantri& ceremony involved the initiation of new members %To join the order,% an /omite later disclosed, %the novitiate must first have confessed all sins, all secret desires, all inner thoughts4 must then promise to abide by !octor $ernardGs orders and must finally ta&e the Tantri& vow % The novitiate loo&s upon !octor $ernard as a high priest - indeed, as a sort of man-god He &neels before !octor $ernard and recites( %$e to me a living guru4 be a loving Tantri& guru % Then all present bow their heads as though in church and repeat in unison( G/om man na padma /om G It is sung over and over in a chanting monotone, li&e the beating of drums in a forest, and is supposed to induce a state of ecstasy *2:, There does appear to have been some real need for the secrecy in $ernardGs Tantri& practice L particularly in the context of Cictorian attitudes of early twentieth century #merica *2<, #ccording to most of the accounts that came out of $ernardGs 0yac& country club, much of the spiritual practice there centered around the full enjoyment of the physical body and the complete liberation of sexual pleasure #s we read in the International ournal$ Tantrik Order, the human body is the supreme creation in this universe and the most perfect place of worship L a truly embodied, sensual worship that re6uires no churches of stone or external priesthood( The trained imagination no longer worships before the shrines of churches, pagodas and mos6ues or there would be blaspheming the greatest, grandest and most sublime temple in the universe, the miracle of miracles, the human body *5>,

Ei&e dance or yoga or any other forms of physical expression, sex was, for $ernard, a spiritual discipline and means of both manifesting and attaining the divine within the physical body %The secret of $ernardGs powers,% as one observer comments,

? $ernardGs Tantric /ath

; The word %Tantra,% spelled in devanagari characters using little heart icons, from $ernardGs journal

was %to give his followers a new conception of love $ernardGs aims are Gto teach men and women to love, and ma&e women feel li&e 6ueensG% *5+, Indeed, in his Tantri& journal $ernard spells the word tantra in devanagari characters comprised of tiny hearts [F] *see fig ;, above, *51, #s we read in the article, %Tantri& 'orship,% the sex drive is in fact %the animating spirit of the world4% The animating impulse of all organic life is the sexual instinct It is that which underlies the struggle for existence in the animal world and is the source of all human endeavor That affinity which draws the two sexes together for the production of a new being, that overmastering universal impulse, is the most powerful factor in the human race and has ever been the cause of manGs most exalted thought *52, #ccording to Tantri& metaphysics, the physical universe itself is conceived in the sexual union of the great Iod -hiva and his consort -ha&ti L respectively the divine light of pure 8onsciousness and the 8reative "ower which manifests that radiance In turn, the union of the male and female in sacramental act of Tantric intercourse is a replication of this divine union, which returns us to the primordial origin of all things This, $ernard suggests, is the essence of Tantri& worship, embodied in the notorious %fifth A% of maithuna or sexual intercourse( The fifth act of the Tantri& ceremony, the union of the actual man and woman, is held to be the most important of all It is supposed to symbolize a great cosmic mystery, the production of the universe through the union of purusha and pra&riti, a mystery constantly &ept before the mind by the worship of the two symbols Einga and Boni *55, Bet in modern 'estern culture, the profound mysteries of sexual love have been brutally and stupidly repressed, relegated by self-righteous ignorant prudes to the realm of depravity and immorality Today, %matters pertaining to the sexes are generally avoided, and we are taught that the sexual appetite is an animal craving that should be concealed,% such that most #mericans now %are blind to the vast importance of the sexual nature% and fail to realize that it is in fact the %well-spring of human life and happiness% *59, #ccording to one discipleGs account, $ernard

is among the only teachers today who recognizes the natural, spontaneous beauty and power of sex, which is nothing other than an expression of our re-uniting with the !ivine( -ex is discussed naturally !octor $ernard believes that men and

: Tantric stages of progress according to $ernard

women can learn a lot about living by learning a lot about playing and loving He teaches the /riental view of love as opposed to the restrained 'estern idea Eove, in its physical aspects, is a&in to music and poetry It unites men and women with the infinite *5?, $ernardGs wife, $lanche de Cries, also became a student, and eventually a teacher in her own right, of oriental dance, Hatha Boga and a %watered down version of Tantrism % -he would eventually develop her own sort of %Tantric health system,% which she mar&eted very profitably to the wealthy 0ew Bor& upper class society who were increasingly obsessed by matters of physical health and beauty *5;, #mong her more affluent patrons, for example, was Ars /gden E Aills, a stepdaughter of the Canderbilt family #s Ars $ernard commented, the Tantric teaching of love is the most-needed remedy to modern #mericaGs social ills, most of which derive from repression, prudery and self-denial( Half the domestic tragedies and not a few suicides and murders in #merica are due to the inherent stupidity of the average #nglo--axon man or woman on the subject of love 'e will teach them, and ma&e our adventure a great success *5:, #pparently, $ernard also believed that for certain individuals *particularly overly-repressed women of the Cictorian era, more drastic surgical measures might be needed to liberate their sexual potential -exually unresponsive or %desensitized women% could be helped by a form of partial circumcision in which the clitoral hood was surgically removed an operation believed to improve female receptivity by exposing the clitoral gland to direct stimulation *5<, The popular press of the day, of course, too& no end of delight in discussing and sensationalizing $ernardGs scandalous Tantric practices, and soon dubbed him the %Eoving Iuru % Indeed, $ernardGs clinics seem to have represent something terribly shoc&ing yet somehow strangely tantalizing in the Cictorian imagination something deliciously transgressive in a world where sex for the sa&e of procreation within heterosexual marriage is the unassailable pillar of decent society( *9>, The rites are grossly licentious and are most often invo&ed in veneration of the -a&ti, the Hindu goddesses of female energy $ut sometimes /riental men with a yen for one another invo&e

them just for &ic&s # couple s&illed in the rites are supposedly able to ma&e love hour after hour without diminution of male potency and female desire *9+, Hence it seems inevitable that $ernardGs Tantric clinics should have

elicited some complaints from his neighbors and also attracted the attention of the authorities /ne 3 H Ians, who occupied an apartment across the way, summed up the neighborhood grievance( 'hat my wife and I have seen through the windows of that place is scandalous 'e saw men and women in various stages of dishabille 'omenGs screams mingled with wild /riental music *91, In 0yac&, where $ernard was an affluent and respected citizen, the authorities apparently received a host of complaints about this scandalous Tantric clinic4 reluctantly, the police were forced to investigate and rode into the estate on horsebac&( 0yac& concluded /om was running a love cult The local prudes cluc&ed and gasped their alarm /om, obviously, was a danger to the young of the community and would have to be run out of town $ut the 0yac& police refused to act /om was a big taxpayer -o the prudes complained to the 0ew Bor& -tate "olice, then a recently formed, eager-beaver organization mounted on horse The night they received the complaint, a s6uad of troopers galloped to /omGs estate and swung down from their saddles near the main building *92, #fter his brief rise to celebrity, soon followed by his rapid descent into infamy and scandal, $ernard seems to have retired into a relatively 6uiet and comfortable later life .njoying an affluent lifestyle, $ernard was &nown for his lavish wedding and anniversary celebrations, his generous patronage of professional baseball and boxing, his investment in sporting venues li&e a baseball stadiums and dog trac&s, as well as his building of an airport .ventually he would assume a more respectable position in 0yac& society, becoming president of the -tate $an& of "earl )iver in +<2+ 'ith a fondness for collecting fine automobiles, such as )olls )oyces, -tutzes and Eincolns, $ernard is said to have been worth over twelve million dollars at his pea& %IGm a curious combination of the businessman and the religious scholar,% as $ernard once described himself *95, He died in 0ew Bor& 8ity in +<99, at the age of :> In sum, we might say that the enigmatic and wonderfully colorful character of "ierre $ernard is of vital importance to the history of #merican Tantra for at least three reasons 3irst, he was a

bold pioneer in the early transmission of Tantra to #merica, where it 6uic&ly too& root and flourished4 second, he was one of the first figures in the larger reinterpretation of Tantra as something primarily concerned with sex, physical pleasure and bodily ecstasy4 and finally, li&e so many later #merican Tantric gurus, he also generated

intense scandal, slander and censorship from the surrounding #merican society, foreshadowing TantraGs role in the #merican imagination as something wonderfully seductive, tantalizing and transgressive #s such, /omGs popular brand of Tantra would help lay the foundation for a new synthesis of Indian Tantric teachni6ues and 'estern sexual magic which emerged in the early twentieth century I1. SE2 M%3I&' %N( THE )O3% O! SE2* Tantra+s $egac in Modern Western Esotericism [T]rue -ex-power is Iod-power -"aschal $everly )andolph, The Ansairetic %ystery *99, -ex is a sacrament -#leister 8rowley, The &ook o" 'ies *9?, The Eove of Eiber Eegis is always bold, virile, ecstatic, even orgiastic Aighty and terrible and glorious as it is, however, it is but the pennon upon the sacred lance of 'ill -%Aessage from Aaster Therion,% #onstitution o" the Ancient Order o" Oriental Templars *9;, /nce the seeds of Tantra had been sown in this country, it would seem, they soon began not only to proliferate wildly in the fertile soil of the #merican imagination, but also to intermingle with a number of existing 'estern esoteric traditions Aost modern forms of sexual magic, I would argue, are largely the complex fusion of Indian Tantric techni6ues, as re-interpreted by figures li&e $ernard, and 'estern occult movements emerging from the Aasonic, )osicrucian and magical traditions -ex, magic and secrecy had, of course, long been associated in the 'estern religious imagination( from the early Inostics to the 7nights Templar to the 8athars of late medieval .urope, esoteric orders had long been accused of using sexual rituals as part of their secret magical arts *9:, However, perhaps the first evidence of a sophisticated and well-documented use of sexual magical techni6ues cannot be found any earlier than the mid-nineteenth century, with the mysterious figure of "aschal $everly )andolph *+:19-;9, # mulatto born of a wealthy Cirginian father and a slave form Aadagascar, )andolph was raised a poor, self-taught free blac& in 0ew Bor& city #fter running away from home at age sixteen, he traveled the world and eventually emerged as one of the leading figures in the

nineteenth century -piritualist movements, the most famous scryer of his times, as well as #mericaGs foremost exponent of magical eroticism or %#ffectional #lchemy %

In sexual love, %he saw the greatest hope for the regeneration of the world, the &ey to personal fulfillment as well as social transformation and the basis of a non-repressive civilization% *9<, In the course of his wanderings through .urope, the Aiddle .ast and #sia, )andolph encountered a wide variety of esoteric traditions not just .uropean -piritualist, Aasonic and )oscicrucian orders, but also a range of -ufis lineages In fact, he claims to have derived much of his &nowledge from a group of 3a&irs in the areas of Derusalem and $ethlehem, which may have been a branch of the unorthodox Auslim mystical order of the 0usaGiri, a group long persecuted by orthodox Islam because of their alleged Inostic sexual rituals *?>, 'hatever his primary inspiration, )andolph began to teach a form of sexual magic that would have a profound impact on much of later 'estern esotericism 3or )andolph, the experience of sexual orgasm is in fact the critical moment in human consciousness and the &ey to magical power #s the moment of procreation, when new life is infused from the spiritual realm into the material, it is crucial moment one the soul is suddenly opened up to the spiritual energies of the cosmos( %at the instant of intense mutual orgasm the souls of the partners are opened to the powers of the cosmos and anything then truly willed is accomplished% *?+, #s such, the experience of sexual climax has the potential to lead the soul either upward or downward, to higher states of spiritual transcendence or to lower, more depraved states of corruption( The moment when a man discharges his seed, his essential self into a womb is the most solemn, energetic and powerful moment he can ever &now on earth4 if under the influence of mere lust it be done, the discharge is suicidal #t the moment his seminal glands open, his nostrils expand, and while the seed is going from his soul to her womb he breathes one of two atmospheres, either fetid damnation from the border spaces or !ivine .nergy from heavens 'hatsoever he shall truly will and internally pray for when Eove is in the ascendant, that moment the prayerGs response comes down *?1, The power of sex, then, can be deployed for a wide range of both spiritual and material ends If one can harness the creative energy aroused by sexual contact, he can realize virtually any

worldly or otherworldly goal /ne can not only achieve the spiritual aims of divine insight, but also attain the mundane goals of physical health, financial success or regaining the passions of a straying lover #ccording to )andolph, the major uses of sex magic are(

< #n #merican Tantric yogi( illustration from $ernardGs journal

I 3or purposes of increasing the brain and body power of an unborn child, II Influencing oneGs wife or husband and magnetically controlling them, III regaining youthful beauty, energy, vivacity, affectional and magnetic power, IC prolonging the life of either the subject or actor or either at will, C attainment of -upreme white magic of will, affection or Eove, CI 3or the furtherance of financial interests, schemes, lotteries, etc CII The attainment of the loftiest insight possible to the earthly soul *?2, /ne of the most stri&ing features of )andolphGs sexual magic, however, is his insistence that both male and female partners must have an active role in the process, and in fact, that both must achieve orgasm L ideally a simultaneous orgasm L in order for the magical operation to successful( %3or the prayer to be effective the paroxysm of both is necessary[T]he womanGs orgasms should coincide with manGs emission, for only in this way will the magic be fulfilled% *?5, #nd the resulting pleasure that both partners feel in this union is nothing less than the overflowing joy of the divine emanating from above li&e the breath of Iod himself( 'hen pleasure results from the meeting of the electric currents of the male with the magnetic flow of the female, in the nerves of each, as in the touch of loving lips, the two currents spread out into waves, which flow all over the nervous networ& of both until they die out upon the foot of the throne whereon each souls sits in voluptuous expectancy [T]he joy is diffused over both beings and each is based in the celestial and divine aura - the breath of Iod, suffusing both bodies, refreshing both soulsF *?9, #s we can see here, )andolphGs practice of sexual magic is 6uite fundamentally different from most Indian Tantric traditions *and also, we will see, from the later sex magic of the / T / , 8rowley and their disciples, -ex, for )andolph, sex is strictly for married couples, in contrast to the explicit violations of caste and marital laws that one often finds in Tantric maithuna *??, Aoreover, Tantric sexual rituals are generally directed toward the retention of the semen, which is to be reversed and drawn bac& into the body of the male Aost Tantrics have little if anything at all to say about the female body, but describe spiritual union as something to be achieved within the maleGs divinized consciousness *?;,

)andolphGs sexual magic, conversely, is aimed specifically at the emission of the semen in a moment of mutual climax between both male and female, which releases their combined creative powers 3inally, whereas Tantric union is designed to re-enact the divine union of -hiva and -ha&ti, the eternal male and female principles

of the universe, )andolphGs sexual magic is intended primarily to achieve certain more realistic aims in this world( to influence the nature of unborn child, to insure good health, and even to attain more mundane material and financial benefits $ut in any case, )andolphGs sexual teachings were to have a lasting impact on later 'estern occult traditions, introducing sexual magic into the mainstream of #merican esotericism( %Eargely through )andolphGs influence, the genie had been released from the bottle4 the notion that sex provided the lost &ey to scattered elements of mythology had ta&en on a practical side # multitude of sexual mysticism[s] flourished% *?:, 'hile it seems fairly unli&ely that )andolph had any direct &nowledge of Tantra, it seems more plausible that several later 'estern occultists did in particular, the organizers of the highly esoteric movement of the /rdo Templi /rientis 3ounded in the late nineteenth century by 8arl 7ellner *d +<>9, and Theordor )euss *d +<12,, the / T / became the main conduit through which 'estern sexual magic began to merge with a *somewhat deformed, version of Indian Tantric practices # wealthy #ustrian chemist and industrialist, 7ellner claims to have been initiated into Indian sexual techni6ues in the course of his own /riental travels, citing three masters L one -ufi and two Indian yogis, one of whom may have been a $engali Tantri&a )euss, too, seems to have had some &nowledge of left-hand Tantra, which he cites in his wor& *?<, However, other authors have suggested that 7ellnerGs true inspiration may have been )andolph, whose sexual-magical teachings had been spread to .urope by a group of disciples in the late nineteenth century Aany of )andolphGs ideas on sex magic were transmitted to Iermany through a little &nown but extremely influential occult group &nown as the Hermetic $rotherhood of Euxor, begun by Aax Theon *d +<1;, and "eter !avidson *d +<+?, probably sometime in the +::>Gs *;>, 'hatever their origins, much of the / T / ritual appears to have centered around the %inner &ernel% of sexual magic L though one already 6uite different from the more conservative system of )andolph #s the / T / proclaimed in the Aasonic journal Ori"lamme in +<>5, /ne of the secrets which our order possesses in its

highest grades is that it gives members the means to re-erect the temple of -olomon in men, to refind the lost 'ord /ur /rder possesses the 7ey which unloc&s all Aasonic and Hermetic secrets, it is the teaching of sexual magic and this teaching explains all the riddles of nature, all Aasonic symbolism and all religious systems *;+,

The / T / developed a system of nine degrees *later expanded to eleven,, the first six of which were more conventional Aasonic initiations The seventh, eight and ninth, however, focused respectively upon the theory of sex magic and on the techni6ues of auto- and hetero-sexual magic Homosexual intercourse also appears to have played a central role in the rituals *;1, Through the magical act of intercourse, by focusing all oneGs will and imagination upon a desired goal in the moment of orgasm, one is said to achieve success in any occult operation, from the invocation of a god to the finding of hidden treasure % /ne may, for example, use these techni6ues to magically empower a talisman or other magical object( by focusing oneGs entire will upon the desired object during the act of auto- or heterosexual orgasm, and then afterwards anointing that object with the semen, one can use that empowered object to achieve virtually any desired end -imilarly, the power of controlled imagination and sexuality can be used to incarnate a god within oneGs consciousness, by concentrating all oneGs will on the deity at the moment of orgasm and so %blending their personalities into one% *;2, Bet although the sex magic of the / T / may have found some of its inspiration in the techni6ues of )andolph and his disciples, there would seem to be many fundamental differences between the two #s Iodwin points out, the auto-erotic and homosexual techni6ues developed by 7ellner and )euss would have horrified the far more reserved )andolph, for whom sex was a sacrament between married couples, strictly guarded by ritual sanctity and moral injunctions *;5, -urely the most infamous member of the / T / was the notorious magician and self-proclaimed Ireat $east, ???, #leister 8rowley *+:;9-+<5;, #nd it is with 8rowley that we find the first clear examples of 'estern sexual magic being combined *and perhaps hopelessly confused, with Indian Tantric practices $orn the son of a minister in the highly puritanical "lymouth $rethren sect, 8rowley is in many ways an exemplar of the Cictorian age as a whole raised in prudish repression and turning later to extremes of sexual excess 3ollowing 0ietszche in his fierce rejection of 8hristianity as emasculated and wea&, he %declared that all orthodox religions are rubbish, and that the sole true gods are the sun and

his vice-regent, the penis% *;9, # poet, novelist, and accomplished mountain-climber, 8rowley would also become one of the most reviled characters of the early twentieth century #nd much li&e $ernardGs, 8rowley infamy and scandal would center above all around his sexual practices His most recent biographer, Eawrence -utin, suggests that 8rowley may have first learned Tantric Camachara practices in 8eylon as early +<>+ while studying $uddhism4 yet he seems to have been initially 6uite repulsed by them, describing %these follies of Camacharya *debauchery,% as %evocations of the evil ones, things

unlawful to write of, dangerous even to thin& of% *;?, His attitudes toward such rituals appear to have changed dramatically in the next few years, however, when he began to experiment in sexual magic of his own #lready in +<>1, 8rowley and his partner )ose had begun to engage in a series of what -utin calls %secret rites, of a sexual nature *and related to Tantric practices, such as the emulation of the passive -hiva in cosmic coupling with the mounted energetic -ha&ti,% *;;, /ther authors thin& 8rowley may been even more deeply involved in left-hand Tantric rituals during his travels in India In +<2?, .lizabeth -harpe published a semi-fictional, semi-autobiographical account entitled Secrets o" the Kaula #ircle, which describes a mysterious .nglishman calling himself by the number %???,% who engages in a variety of the most esoteric Tantric rites 0i& !ouglas concludes that this is clearly a reference to 8rowley and is evidence that he had extensive &nowledge of Tantric techni6ues *;:, *though it seems e6ually li&ely that -harpe has wor&ed the infamous $east ??? as a fictional character into her own imaginative narrative, Bet whatever their precise origin, sexual practices clearly formed an integral part of 8rowleyGs magical repertoire #nd they appear to have become particularly central during the years of his involvement with the / T / #fter reading his &ook o" 'ies in +<+1, Theodor )euss allegedly contacted 8rowley and accused him of revealing the innermost secret of the / T / L namely, the secret of sexual magic Though 8rowley had apparently done so unintentionally, the story goes, he was named the -overeign Irand Aaster Ieneral of Ireland, Ioana and all the $ritains In his #on"essions, 8rowley discusses the nine degrees of the / T / Gs initiations, together with the two he later added, and also pointed to this innermost &ernel of sexual magic which lay at the heart of the higher degrees( [I]f this secret [of sexual magic] which is a scientific secret were perfectly understood, as it is not by me after more than twelve yearsG almost constant study and experiment, there would be nothing which the human imagination can conceive that could not be realized in practice If it were desired to have an element of atomic weight six times that of uranium that element could be produced *;<, Thus in his magical rites, 8rowley calls not for

any ascetic withdrawal or denial of the flesh, but rather for the fullest celebration of the body, with all its desires, in the ceremony of Eove( Then comes the call of the Ireat Ioddess, 0uit, Eady of the -tarry Heaven G8ome forth, / children under the stars and ta&e your fill of

loveF I am above you and in you Ay ecstasy is in yours - 3or I am divided for loveGs sa&e, for the chance of unionG Is ours the gloomy asceticism of the 8hristian and the $uddhist and the Hindu= #re we wal&ing in eternal fear lest some GsinG should cut us off from GgraceG= $y no means( !ress ye all in fine apparel, eat rich foods and drin& sweet wines that foamF #lso ta&e your fill of and will of love as ye will when, where and with whom ye willF% *:>, 8rowleyGs most intense period of experimentation in sexual magic appears to have begun in +<+5, during his %"aris 'or&ings % Together with his homosexual lover, the poet Cictor 0euberg, 8rowley engaged in a variety of sexual rites intended to achieve both spiritual and material ends L both the primary goal of %invo&ing the gods Dupiter and Aercury and the secondary one of getting these gods to supply 8rowley and 0euberg with money% *:+, #s Dulius .vola suggests, 8rowley saw in orgasm *as in drug experience, a means to create %openings or brea&ages of consciousness% that give the soul access to supersensual and ecstatic states *:1, However, as others point out, 8rowley was perhaps more often concerned with the efficacy of sexual techni6ues in %obtaining wealth or anything else the magician might desire% *:2, 3or example, 8rowley suggests that one might use sexual magic to %perform an operation to have M1>,>>>4% by focusing all oneGs will upon an object at the moment of orgasm, one can powerfully influence the course of events and achieve the desired goal The purpose of these operations of High Aagic& #rt was to obtain priestly power and, on a lower plane, money It would be a mista&e to thin& that the celebrants were performing the rites for sexual pleasure The aim was congress with gods 'hen signs of success began to appear, 8rowley too& pains to record, Git is to be noted that since the beginning of this operation the $an& rate has fallen to 2 percent and 8onsols improved from ;+ +J1 to ;? +J5, a gain of over +5>> pounds to /-C /n -aturday /-C received a letter which should bring in 9>> pounds within the next 1 monthsG *:5, However, the ultimate goal that 8rowley sought through his sexual magical practices seems to have gone far beyond the mundane desire for material wealth4 indeed, in his most exalted

moments, 8rowley appears to have believed that he could achieve the birth of a divine child a spiritual, immortal, godli&e being, who would transcend the moral failings of the body born of mere woman This goal of creating an inner immortal fetus, 8rowley suggests, lies at the heart of many esoteric traditions, from ancient Aesopotamia to India to the #rab world(

This is the great idea of magicians in all times To obtain a Aessiah by some adaptation of the sexual process In #ssyria they tried incest Iree&s and -yrians mostly bestiality This idea came from India The Aohammedans tried homosexuality4 medieval philosophers tried to produce homunculi by ma&ing chemical experiments with semen $ut the root idea is that any form of procreation other than normal is li&ely produce results of a magical character *:9, 0ow, if it is possible that 8rowley did indeed have some contact with Indian Tantra and that he did drawn some of his sexual practice from .astern sources, we must as&, to what degree is his magic genuinely based on Hindu Tantra and to what degree is it his own creative reinterpretation= #s 3rancis 7ing suggests, many of 8rowleyGs ideas regarding the creative power of Ienius do bear some resemblance to Tantric ideas of the semen *(indu, as a creative power, operative on both the spiritual and physical planes *:?, Bet as others point out, there also profound differences between 8rowleyian sex magic and Indian Tantric techni6ues 0ot only did 8rowleyGs magic involve homosexual intercourse L something almost never found in Tantric rituals *:;,4 but more importantly, as we have already noted, Tantric maithuna is based on the retention of the semen, whereas 8rowleyGs, li&e that of )andolph and the / T / before him, is based on the release of semen and the creative power of the emitted seed Tantrism and 8hinese Taoist tradition call for retention of semen by the male, even in the heights of sexual union 8rowley followed the alchemical tradition which regarded the fluidic commingling as an elixir which could heighten both oneGs physical and spiritual state *::, -econdly, whereas the ultimate aim of Tantric yoga is the union of -hiva and -ha&ti within the body of the practitioner, the ultimate aim of 8rowleyGs sexual magic was not simply divine union, but the conception of a &ind of magical fetus or spiritual child( The principal difference between 8rowleyGs sexual magic and traditional Tantric techni6ues now becomes clear 3or 8rowley, the object of the ritual was not limited to mystic union with the goddess - but could further involve the creation of a new spiritual form L a magical child This magical child could be any form of concentrated

inspiration, or it could manifest physically as a talisman or even within human being L as in a newborn baby or a newly spiritually

transformed adult man *:<, NNNNN Thus, we might say that the magical and sexual career of #leister 8rowley was in many ways parallel to that of the founder of the Tantri& /rder in #merica, !r "ierre #rnold $ernard L and in fact, the two did also briefly intersect 0ot only do many of 8rowleyGs teachings on sexual magic do seem to bear some superficial resemblance to those of $ernardGs #merican Tantra, but it would seem that 8rowley also had some direct contact with the members of the Tantri& /rder in the +<1>Gs 8rowley was first introduced to his infamous %-carlet 'oman,% Eeah Hirsig, in 0ew Bor& in +<+: by her sister #lma, #lma, it seems, was a direct disciple of $ernard and deeply involved in his Tantri& /rder in 0ew Bor&4 however, she would later go on to publish her own exposO of $ernardGs group, under the pseudonym of Aarion !oc&erill, entitled, %y 'i"e in a 'o)e #ult! a *arning to All +oung ,irls *+<1:, #lma was intensely interested in the occult and would go on L in the +<1>s Lto become a disciple of a master named "ierre $ernard, who called himself /om the /mniponent and taught the members of his G-ecret /rder of Tantri&sG a form of sexual magic #lma served for a time as the High "riestess of /om, but later recantedThere areobvious parallels in the paths of #lma as High "riestess and Eeah as -carlet 'oman *<>, This parallel between the sister-consorts of 8rowley and $ernard is 6uite fitting( after all, +> $ernardGs %8lar&stown 8ountry 8lub% both 8rowley and $ernard were to become notorious in the #merican popular imagination as High "riests of secret Tantric rituals4 and both would soon face intense scandal, slander and media attac&, largely because of their illicit and immoral sexual practices Together, 8rowley and $ernard were instrumental in the transmission of Tantra to the 'est and in its profound transformation as it became increasingly confused with 'estern sexual magic The influence of 8rowley and $ernard has been at least threefold 3irst, they were both &ey figures in the sensationali-ation of Tantra in the popular imagination, as it became an increasing object of scandal and media exploitation during the Cictorian era -econd, both were &ey figures in the re- .or mis-/ interpretation of Tantra In its transmission to the 'est, Tantra was transformed

from a tradition concerned primarily with secrecy and power to one focused on the optimization of sexual orgasm #nd finally, the combined influence of 8rowley and $ernard led to the increasing fusion L and arguably gross confusion of 'estern

+> $ernardGs %8lar&stown 8ountry 8lub%

esoteric traditions with Indian Tantra Today, one need only browse the shelves of any 0ew #ge boo& store to find a range of magazines, videos and texts bearing titles li&e Tantra without Tears$ Sex$ %agic$ Tantra and Tarot, and Secrets o" *estern Tantra L most of which are based on the fundamental e6uation of Indian Tantric techni6ues and 8rowleyian-style sexual magic *<+, EPI$O3UE %N( &ON&$USIONS* Tantra0 %merican St ,e [T]he sexual instinct is the source of all human endeavor -"ierre #rnold $ernard *<1, In the orgasmal moment there is no middleground4 for we either rise toward heaven or descend hellward #t its close we are either better or worse generally worse than before The ejective moment is the most tremendously important one in the human career for not only may we launch Ienius, "ower, $eauty, !eformity, 8rime , Idiocy, -hame or Ilory on the great sea of lifebut we may plunge our own souls nec& deep in HellGs horrid slime, or mount the #zure as associate Iods -"aschal $everly )andolph *<2, -ex is one of the most *some say TH. most, powerful energies on the planet 'ithin our loins lies an energy that has the potential to create #0B reality we want )eligion has done much to suppress our divine sexual nature and has &ept the masses ignorant of the potential uses of sexual energy -ex Aagic is based on the belief that the most powerful moment of human existence is the orgasm -ex Aagic is the art of utilizing sexual orgasm to create a reality andJor expand consciousness It is a moment when a window opens to the unlimited abundance of the unlimited universe -Deffrey Tye, %Tantra( -ex Aagic% *<5, To conclude, I would just li&e to ma&e a few comments on the legacy of $ernard, 8rowley and their disciples in later twentieth century 'estern esotericism, occultism and 0ew #ge traditions In the course of its transmission to the @ - , the Tantric tradition appears to have undergone a number of profound transformations This highly esoteric traditon, concerned primarily with the ac6uisition of supernatural power, has been progressively redefined as a techni6ue to optimize sensual pleasure and sexual potency #t the same time, this same tradition that was once reviled by

the early .uropean /rientalists has now come to be celebrated by contemporary scholars and 0ew #ge enthusiasts ali&e

0o longer dismissed as %Hinduism at its last and worst stage of development,% Tantra is now conceived as a much-needed liberation of the body, femininity and sexuality which will provide the cure to a repressive modern 'estern world #bove all, since the so-called sexual revolution of the +<?>s, both India Tantra and 'estern sexual magical traditions have entered in full force into the #merican popular imagination %[C]iolence, drugs and sex, three major preoccupations of the +<?>s and ;>s, blended in the image of youth in revolt% *<9,4 and the literature on Tantra was a &ey element in the new rhetoric of sexual freedom Thus in +<?5 , we see the publication of /mar IarrisonGs widely read Tantra! the +oga o" Sex, which advocates Tantric techni6ues as the surest means to achieve extended orgasm and optimal sexual pleasure( %Through the principles of Tantra Boga, man can achieve the sexual potency which enables him to extend the ecstasy crowning sexual union for an hour or more, rather than for the brief seconds he now &nows *<?, #t the same time, Tantra began to enter into the 'estern popular imagination in a huge way, as popular entertainers, musicians and poets began to ta&e an active interest in this exotic erotic brand of .astern spirituality This had already begun with the beat poets li&e #llen Iinsberg L one of the first 'estern hippies to begin to flood into India in the ?>s who saw Tantra as one of many ways of brea&ing through the repressive morality of middle class #merican society *<;, #nd in +<?:, even Aic& Dagger would ma&e a film called %Tantra,% as a psychedelic journey through the five AGs $y the +<;>s, Tantra had come to be more or less synonymous with liberation and freedom on every level spiritual, social and political ali&e #ccording to a common narrative, repeated ad nauseam by advocates of alternative spirituality, our natural sexual instincts have long been repressed by the distorted morality of 'estern society and the 8hurch %3or centuries organized religions have used guilt about sex as a way of exploiting people and the recent liberalization of sexuality has not yet succeeded in erasing this cruel legacy4% therefore, Tantra is the most needed spiritual path for our age, the path which will help to liberate our repressed sexuality and re-reintegrate our bodies and spirits( %-exual liberation implies the liberation of the whole being( body, mind and spirit% *<:, Thus from the

+<;>s on, we see the rise of a whole series of %0eo-Tantric% Iurus, such as -wami Au&tananda, 8hogyam Trungpa, !a 3ree Dohn and others, who explicitly wedded Indian sexual practices with 'estern spiritual ideals "erhaps the most famous of these was $hagwan -hree )ajneesh, the notorious sex Iuru and Iuru of the )ich, who mar&eted an extremely lucrative brand of 0eo-Tantrism through his ranch in #ntelope, /regon *<<, 3inally, in our own generation, Tantra appears to have come full

circle, as we find an even more explicit identification of Indian Tantric traditions with 'estern sexual magic %-ex magic is what we now call #merican Tantra,% as one enthusiastic couple proclaims *+>>, 0ot only may we peruse any number of texts on the Secrets o" *estern Tantra, but we may also learn the techni6ues of Tantric sex magic on-line, through websites such as the %8hurch of Tantra% and %Tantra com % #s 3ra Ieh Aad exhorts in his %!evelopmental Techni6ues for TantraJ -ex Aagic,% %Thou #rt Iod*des, TH.). #). 0/ EIAIT-F "E#B H#)! #0! $. -#3.F% *+>+, /ne is thus tempted to agree with "eter 7oenig that what we are witnessing is a &ind of %Ac!onaldisation of occultism,% transmitting a form of %AcInosis% based on 8rowleyian %illumination through sexmagic % %It is only a matter of time before we see the G8aliphateG not only selling T-shirts with the / T / -lamen and [at one time via www venus com] pornography but also frozen G#mritaG *a sexual-secretion coc&tail, over the Internet *+>1, The most stri&ing illustration of this contemporary revival of Tantra as sex magic is 0i& !ouglasG recreation of the Tantri& /rder in #merica originally begun by "ierre $ernard Indeed, !ouglas now offers on-line initiations into the %-ecret% teachings of his 0ew Tantric /rder, providing an %@"!#T.! 0.' T#0T)I8 /)!.) !/8@A.0T *+<<?,,% which brings $ernardGs own +<>? document somewhat more into line with contemporary #merican concerns( Tantra'or&s offers membership in the %0ew Tantric /rder%, which will offer participants the opportunity to advance through personalized Tantra initiations and allow access to all the Tantra database, on this 'eb -ite *+>2, In this sense, Tantra would seem to play much the same role in the modern imagination as did %sexuality% itself during the Cictorian era, as 3oucault has so insightfully described it 3ar from simply prudish and repressive, the Cictorian era was in fact pervaded by a deeper interest in and endless discourse about sexuality, which was exploited as %the secret % 8onversely, our own generation the generation of we %other Cictorians% is seemingly obsessed with the rhetoric of %liberation,% coming out of the closet and freeing ourselves from the prudish bonds of the Cictorian era 3oucault wrote(

If sex is repressed, that is, condemned to prohibition then the mere fact that one is spea&ing about it has the appearance of a deliberate transgression # person who holds forth in such language places himself outside the reach of power 'e are conscious of

defying established power 'e &now we are being subversive 'hat stimulates our eagerness to spea& of sex in terms of repression is doubtless this opportunity to spea& out against the powers that be, to utter truths and promise bliss, to lin& together enlightenment, liberation and manifold pleasures *+>5, -o too, I would argue, much of the contemporary rhetoric about the repression or censorship of both Tantra and -ex Aagic reflects a similar obsession with sexuality and a similar claim to %liberate% it from the prudish Cictorian biases of our scholarly forefathers @nfortunately, it would seem that in our enthusiasm for %liberation,% we have not only increasingly confused Indian Tantra with 'estern magical practices, but probably also grossly misunderstood both traditions in the process /ur #merican fascination with sex magic seems to have less to do with any actual .astern tradition than it does with our own uni6uely #merican fantasies, obsessions and repressed desires -ex, so far as I can tell, is really not a central preoccupation in most Tantric texts, where secrecy

and the ac6uisition of power are typically far more important GTantricG sex and its li&e is largely a twentieth century #merican preoccupation, and one that continues to drive us in our own %primitive passion% for the elusive ideal of bodily and spiritual ecstasy

.0!0/T.+

$ernard, %Tantri& 'orship( The $asis of )eligion,% International ournal$ Tantrik Order 9, no + *+<>?,( ;+ 1 8osmo 6uotes -ting on his own Tantric practices, %[/ur sex lasts] seven hours and includes dinner and a movie% *Eynn 8ollins, %The -ecret to Tantric -ex,% #osmopolitan [Aay, 1>>>]( 152, 2 "aul )amana !as and Aarilena -ilbey, %8elebrating -acred -exuality,% reprinted on the 8hurch of Tantra web-site * http(JJwww tantra orgJamertan html , /n contemporary 0ew #ge appropriations of Tantra, see Hugh $ @rban, %The 8ult of .cstasy( Tantra, the 0ew #ge and the -piritual Eogic of Eate 8apitalism,% 0istory o" Religions 2< *1>>>,( 1?:2>5 5 8ollins, %The -ecret to Tantric -ex,% p 15> #s "hillip )awson enthusiastically proclaims, %in complete contrast to the strenuous G0oG that official $rahmin tradition said to the world, Tantra says an emphatic GBesFG Instead of suppressing pleasure and ecstasy, they should be cultivated and used% *The Art o" Tantra [Ireenwich( 0ew Bor& Iraphic -ociety, +<;2], p +>, 9 -ee for example the useful definition provided by !ouglas $roo&s, The Secret o" the Three #ities! An Introduction to 0indu Sakta Tantra *8hicago( @niversity of 8hicago "ress, +<<>,, 99;1 #s 0 0 $hattacharya comments, %Aost modern writers on this subject insist solely on its sexual elements, minimal though they are and popularize modern ideas pertaining to sex problems in the name of Tantra The historical study of Tantrism has been handicapped by the preoccupation of those wor&ing in the field% *0istory o" the Tantric Religion! A 0istorical$ Ritualistic and Philosophical study [!elhi( Aanohar, +<:1], p v, ? 3oucault, The 0istory o" Sexuality$ )olume I$ an Introduction *0ew Bor&( "antheon, +<:>,, p 29 8f 3oucault, Religion and #ulture, D ) 8arrette, ed *0ew Bor&( )outledge, +<<<,, p ++;f4 #ngus AcEaren, Twentieth #entury Sexuality! A 0istory *Eondon( $lac&well +<<<,4 Deffrey 'ee&s, Sex$ Politics

and Society! the Regulation o" Sexuality Since 1233 *Eondon( Eongon, +<:+, ; D Aurray Aitchell and -ir 'illiam Auir, Two Old Faiths! 4ssays on the Religion o" the 0indus ad the %ohammednans$ *0ew Bor&, 8hautau6ua "ress, +:<+,, pp 92-5 : 3rom the %Third Aillennium Aagic% web-site *http(JJwww 2mmagic comJatPmain html, < %The so-called sexual revolution of the last two decades in .urope and 0orth #merica has brought about a renewed interest in the Tantric tradition 0otwithstanding the publications of sumptuously illustrated boo&s it would not be untrue to apply a $engali saying to the state of Tantric studies( that it has remained in the same dar&ness in which it always was 'e have gone from one extreme to the other 'hile early scholars were unnecessarily apologetic about the sexual practices of Tantra, modern scholars revel in the sexual aspects and have coined such colorful expressions as Gcult of ecstasyG% *"ratapaditya "al, 0indu Religion and Iconology According to the Tantrasara [Eos #ngeles( Cichitra "ress, +<:+], p vi, +> Thus the Kularna)a Tantra states that %true sexual union is the union of the "arasha&ti with the #tman [-elf]4 other unions represent only carnal relations with women% *9 +++-1, in Aircea .liade, +oga! Immortality and Freedom ["rinceton( "rinceton @niversity "ress, +<;+], p 1?1, ++ /n the techni6ue of )a5roli or the retention and sublimation of the semen, see !avid Iordon 'hite, The Alchemical &ody! Siddha Traditions in %edie)al India*8hicago( @niversity of 8hicago "ress, +<<?,, pp +<<-1>+ %maithuna is never allowed to terminate in an emission of semen /therwise the yogin falls under the law of time and death li&e any common libertine% *.liade, +oga$ p 1?;-:, Aany Tantric techni6ues also involve, not just retention of semen, but the actual extraction of the vaginal fluids from the partner into the male body #ccording to the 0atha +oga Pradipika$ %The semen that is about to fall into the womanGs vagina should be drawn bac& up If already fallen he should draw up his own semen [together with the womanGs secretions] and preserve it 'hen the semen drops death ensues $y holding the semen there is life% *Ieorg 3euerstein, Tantra! The Path o" 4cstasy [$oston( -hambhala,

+<<:], p 122, +1 -ee $roo&s, Auspicious *isdom! The Texts and Traditions o" Sri)idya Sakta Tantrism in South India *#lbany( -@0B +<<1,, p xix4 cf -ir Dohn 'oodroffe, Shakti and Shakta *Aadras( Ianesh Q 8o , +<;9,, p +9:f4 #lexis -anderson, %"urity and "ower among the $rahmins of 7ashmir,% in The #ategory o" the Person! Anthropological and Philosophical Perspecti)es, eds A 8arrithers, 8ollins and - Eu&es *8ambridge( 8ambridge @niversity "ress, +<:9, +2 $roo&s, Auspicious *isdom, p +5< +5 -ee Hugh $ @rban and Ilen # Hayes, eds , In the Flesh! 4ros$ Secrecy and Power in the 6ernacular Tantras o" India*#lbany( -@0B, forthcoming,4 Hugh $ @rban, %The )emnants of !esire( -acrificial Ciolence and -exual .xcess in the 8ult of the 7apali&as and in the 'ritings of Ieorges $ataille,% Religion 19 *+<<9,( ;?-<> +9 'ee&s, Sex$ Politics and Society$ p ?-;4 cf 3oucault, The 0istory o" Sexuality$ )7I$ pp 59ff +? 'ard, A 6iew o" the 0istory$ 'iterature and Religion o" the 0indoos *Eondon( 7insbury, "arbury and #llen +:+;,, v I, p 15; /n the genealogy of Tantra during this period, see Hugh $ @rban, %The .xtreme /rient( The 8onstruction of GTantrismG as a 8ategory in the /rientalist Imagination,% Religion 1< *+<<<,( +12-5? +; -ee @rban, %The .xtreme /rient,% pp +12-5? %Tantra was regarded as an extreme example of the degeneration believed to have affected Hindu religion since its glorious classical past in the #ryan civilization% *7athleen Taylor, %#rthur #valon( The 8reation of a Eegendary /rientalist,% in Dulia Eeslie, ed %yth and %ythmaking [)ichmond( 8urzon, +<<?], p +9+, +: Ruoted in 'oodroffe, ed , Principles o" Tantra! The Tantratatt)a o" Sriyukta Si)a #andra 6idyarna)a &hattacarya %ahodaya *Aadras( Ianesh Q 8o, +<?>,, pp 2-9 +< 0i& !ouglas, Spiritual Sex! Secrets o" Tantra "rom the Ice Age to the 8ew %illennium *0ew Bor&( "oc&et $oo&s, +<<;,, p +:2-5

1>

/n 'oodroffe, see Taylor, %#rthur #valon,% pp +9>ff, and @rban, %The .xtreme /rient,% pp +25-; #ccording to 'oodroffe, %The -a&ta Tantra simply present the Cedanti& teachings in a symbolic form for the worshipper, to whom it prescribes the means whereby they may be realized in fact% *Shakti and Shakta, pp 9:;, In his Principles o" Tantra$ for example, 'oodroffeG provides a detailed, point-for-point comparison of the liturgy of the 8atholic Aass and a Tantric ritual *p ?2f, 1+ $oswell, %The Ireat 3uss and 3ume /ver the /mnipotent /om,% True! The %an9s %aga-ine$ *Danuary +<?9,( 2+ 11 $ernard, 6uoted in !ouglas Spiritual Sex, p 1>5 12 !r 8harles "otter, *orld Telegram *Aay ;, +<2+,, cited in 'illiam -eabroo&, *itchcra"t! Its Power in the *orld Today*0ew Bor&( Harcourt $race, +<5>,, p 29< #s Aonica )andall comments, "the new media followed his every move He was a showman an occultist with psychic abilities that were astonishing He delighted in bizarre publicity stunts[0]eighbors accused him of hosting orgies and abducting virgins to sacrifice to his elephants% *Phantoms o" the 0udson 6alley! the ,lorious 4states o" a 'ost 4ra ['oodstoc&( /verloo& "ress, +<<9], p ;:, 15 The few studies of $ernardGs life and wor&s include 0i& !ouglasG discussion in Spiritual Sex, pp +<+ff and the web-site devoted to him at www vanderbilt eduJSstringerJpab htm The latter includes a fairly extensive bibliography of all the published materials on $ernard The most interesting of these include contemporary newspaper reports, such as( %/om( /mnipotent !octor $ernard Aa&es 0ews #gain,% 8ewsweek *Duly +, +<22,( 114 Dohn Eardner, %/ut of a $oo&,% 8ewsweek *Aay +<, +<2<,( 154 .c&ert Ioodman, %The Iuru of 0yac&( The True -tory of 3ather India, the /mnipotent /om,% Town : #ountry *#pril, +<5+,( 9>, 92,<1-2 ,<:-+>>4 %/omGs #nimals( 0yac& -ummer Theater "erforms in Boga !iscipleGs "rivate Koo,% 'i"e %aga-ine +; *+<51,( %The #scent of "eter 8oon,% 8ewsweek 5? */ctober +>, +<99,( 5?ff4 92-?4 7enneth ) Aac8alman %Impressions of !r $ernard and the 8 8 8 as Ciewed by a 0yac& /n Eoo&er,% South o" the %ountains +5, no 5 *+<;>,( 1-: There is also some recent scholarly literature which deals briefly

with $ernard, such as( D Iordon Aelton, %"ierre $ernard % In &iographical ;ictionary o" American #ult and Sect 'eaders *0ew Bor&( Iarland "ublishing, Inc , +<:?,, pp 21-2, +2:4 %"ierre $ernard,% in 8ew Age Almanac$ D Iordon Aelton, ed *!etroit( Cisible In& "ress, +<<+, pp +9> +924 %Tantri& /rder in #merica,% in 4ncyclopedia o" American Religions, D Iordon Aelton, ed *!etroit( Iale )esearch, Inc , +<:<,, p +?54 Iary E 'ard, %"ierre #rnold $ernard *Tantri& /rder in #merica,,% in Religious 'eaders o" America! A &iographical ,uide to Founders and 'eaders o" Religious &odies$ #hurches$ and Spiritual ,roups in 8orth America, ed D Iordon Aelton *!etroit( Iale )esearch, Inc , +<<+,, pp 2<-5>4 %$ernard, "ierre,% in The 4ncyclopedia o" Occultism and Parapsychology, ed Eeslie -hepard *!etroit( Iale )esearch Inc , +<<+,, pp +;9-?4 'illiam -eabroo&, *itchcra"t! It9s Power in the *orld Today *0ew Bor&( Harcourt, $race and 8ompany, +<5>,, pp 295-29<4 3rancis 7ing, Sexuality$ %agic and Per)ersion *-ecacus( 8itadel, +<;+,, pp +99-;4 "aul -ann, %-uccess -tory( The /mnipotent /om,% in Fads$ Follies and ;elusions o" the American People *0ew Bor&( $onanza $oo&s, +<?;, 19 !ouglas, Spiritual Sex, pp +<1-24 cf %The #scent of "eter 8oon,% p 5?-; 1? Ruoted in !ouglas, Spiritual Sex, p +<94 cf %The #scent of "eter 8oon,% p 5?-; 1; %8harter !ocument of the Tantri& /rder in #merica,% International ournal o" the Tantrik Order 9, no + *+<>?,, pp <?-; 1: Ruoted in -ann, Fads$ Follies and ;elusions o" the American People, p +<> 1< !ouglas, Spiritual Sex, p +<9 2> $ernard, 'i"e! at the #larkstown #ountry #lu( *0yac&( 8lar&stown 8ountry 8lub, +<29, $ernardGs estate contained some thirty-four buildings including a temple and a theater, dancing elephants, a gorilla named Ionzo, a tiger, a leopard, and enough exotic birds to fill an aviary *)andall, Phantoms o" the 0udson 6alley$ pp :+f, 2+ -hepherd, ed , %$ernard, "ierre,% p +>54 'ard, %"ierre #rnold $ernard,% p 2<

21

Town and #ountry *#pril +<5+,, 6uoted in !ouglas, Spiritual Sex, p +<: 22 $oswell, %The Ireat 3uss and 3ume,% p 21 25 %Tantri& 'orship( The $asis of )eligion,% p ;+ 29 -chopenhauer, 6uoted in International ournal$ Tantrik Order, 9, no + *+<>?,, p ;+ %/f course the principal rites of Tantri& worshippers ta&e place in secret and with closed doors This secrecy is in accordance with the Tantri& preceptG/ne should guard the 7aula system from uninitiated beastsjust as one guards moneyfrom thievesG [7ularnava Tantra]% *%In )e 3ifth Ceda( Theory and "ractice of Tantra,% International ournal$ Tantrik Order, 9, no + [+<>?]( 1;, 2? International ournal$ Tantrik Order, 6uoted in -ann, Fads$ Follies and ;elusions, p +<> 2; "aul -ann, Fad$ Follies and ;elusions, p +:<4 cf -hepherd, %$ernard, "ierre,% p +>5 2: $oswell, %The Ireat 3uss and 3ume,% p 214 see also -eabroo&, *itchcra"t, p 29? 2< 3oucault, The 0istory o" Sexuality$ )7 I$ p 594 'ee&s, Sex$ Politics and Society$ p ?-; However, as "eter Iay points out, discussions of sexuality had to ta&e place in the proper contexts either privately, in the closed realms of secrecy or, publicly, through the proper social conventions and scientific discourse *The &ourgeois 4xperience! 6ictoria to Freud$ 6olume I! 4ducation o" the Senses [0ew Bor&, /xford @niversity "ress +<:5], pp 2?ff 5> International ournal$ Tantrik Order 9, no + *+<>?,( +>9 5+ -eabroo&, *itchcra"t, p 29?-; 51 International ournal$ Tantrik Order 9, no + *+<>?,( <+ 52 %Tantri& 'orship( The $asis of )eligion,% International ournal$ Tantrik Order 9, no + *+<>?,( ;+ %The whole world is embodied in the woman -ex worship as a religion constitutes the basis of all that is sacred, holy

and beautiful% *%In )e 3ifth Ceda,% pp 29-?, 55 -ir Aonier monier 'illiams, Religious Thought and 'i"e in India, p +<?, 6uoted in %In )e 3ifth Ceda,% p 59 59 %Tantri& 'orship( The $asis of )eligion,% p ;+ 5? $oswell, The Ireat 3uss and 3ume,% p 22 5; 7ing, Sexuality$ %agic and Per)ersion, p +994 'ard, %"ierre #rnold $ernard,% p 2< 5: Ruoted in 7ing, Sexuality$ %agic and Per)ersion, p +99 5< !ouglas, Spiritual Sex, p +<; 9> #s Dohn Aaynard comments, the respectable classes of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries came to regard only one form of sexual relation to be proper and healthy namely heterosexual marriage %/nly the married life offered the via media between celibacy and licentiousness, which Grepairs the 3all and leads us from earth to heaven% *%Cictorian !iscourses on -exuality and )eligionG, <ni)ersity o" 0art"ord Studies in 'iterature +< [+<:;]( ?+, 9+ $oswell, %The Ireat 3uss and 3ume /ver the /mnipotent /om,% p :9 %/om the /mnipotent, the Eoving Iuru of the Tantri&s is 6uite a fellow[H]e spea&s Hindustani without an accent and dabbles in yoga, real estate, politics and purification% *Eardner, %/ut of a $oo&,% p 15, 91 -ann, Fad$ Follies and ;elusions$ p +<> 92 $oswell, %The Ireat 3uss and 3ume /ver the /mnipotent /om,% p <+ 95 !ouglas Spiritual Sex, p 1>5 99 )andolph, The Ansairetic %ystery! A 8ew Re)elation #oncerning Sex= *Toledo( Toledo -un, Eiberal "rinting House, n d [c +:;2],, reprinted in !eveney, Paschal &e)erly Randolph, p 2+;

9?

8rowley, 'i(er ###>>>III! The &ook o" lies$ which is also "alsely called$ &reaks! the wanderings or "alsi"ications o" the one thought o" Frater Perdura(o$ which thought is itsel" untrue *Eondon( 'ieland and 8o , +<+2,, p +2> 9; %Aessage from Aaster Therion *#leister 8rowley,, #onstitution o" the Ancient Order o" Oriental Templars .O7T7O/ *+<+;,, reproduced in ) -winburne 8lymer, The Rosicrucian Fraternity in America! Authentic and Spurious Organi-ations *Rua&ertown( The )osicrucian 3oundation, n d,, v II, p ?>> 9: /n the charges of sex magic brought against the 8athars and later the Templars, see 7ing, Sex$ %agic and Per)ersion$ pp +;>-+ 9< 3ran&lin )osemont, 3oreward to Dohn "atric& !eveney, Paschal &e)erly Randolph! A 8ineteenth #entury American Spiritualist$ Rosicrucian and Sex %agician *#lbany( -@0B +<<;,, p xv ?> !eveney, Paschal &e)erly Randolph, p 1++ff %The 0usaGiri of #nsairreh are a nominally Auslim group living in isolated areas in the mountains of northwest -yria and Eata&ia 'hat has mainly set the 0usarGis apart and made them the object of persecution and massacre by the orthodox Auslims and by !ruses, Ismailis and 8rusaders ali&e is the belief that they practiced pagan and Inostic sexual rites% *ibid , p 1++, -ome speculate that )andolph may have encountered Tantric practices in the course of his wanderings though there is no real evidence of this *!ouglas, Spiritual Sex$ p :9, ?+ !eveney, Paschal &e)erly Randolph$ p 1+:-< ?1 )andolph, The %ysteries o" 4ulis *manuscript +:?>, reproduced in !eveney, Paschal &e)erly Randolph$ pp 22<-5> -ee also 4ulis= The 0istory o" 'o)e! Its *ondrous %agic$ #hemistry$ Rules$ 'aws$ %odes and Rationale? &eing the Third Re)elation o" Soul and Sex *Toledo( )andolph "ublishing 8o , +<;5,4 %agia Seuxalis *"aris( )obert Telin, +<2+, ?2 )andolph The %ysteries o" 4ulis, p 22; )andolph lists over a hundred uses for sexual magic, which include( 3rustrating bad plans of others4 )elating to money dealings, losses, gains and

to forecast them4 The grand secret of domestic happiness4 To render a false husband, lover or wife sexively cold to others4 To secretly penetrate othersG designs *AachiavelliGs power,, The power of influencing others, solely financially , To derange the love relations of those not oneGs lover4 The power of preparing amulets, and charging them with #ethae4 To become immersed in business spheres, to reliably direct others4 The grand secret of life prolongation *pp 2+<-219, ?5 )andolph, %agia Sexualis, pp ;?-:4 cf !eveney, Paschal &e)erly Randolph$ p +:2-5 ?9 )andolph, 4ulis=$ p +1?4 cf !eveney, Paschal &e)erly Randolph$ p +:; %0o real magic power can or will descend into the soul of either except in the mighty moment, the orgasmal instant of $/TH not one aloneF for then and then only do the mystic doors of the -/@E /".0 T/ TH. -"#8.- The eternal spar& within us *and which never flashes except when the loving female brings to her feet the loving man in their mutual infiltration of -oul, in the sexive death of both that intense moment when woman proves herself the superior of man mutual demiseF, was created by #EE#H Iod himself% *The Ansairetic %ystery$ in !eveney, Paschal &e)erly Randolph, p 2+5, ?? "art of the power of Tantric ritual derives from its deliberate violation of laws of caste and purity4 thus many rituals call for intercourse with prostitutes and outcasts *see .liade, +oga, p 1?+, /n the deliberate use of impurity as a means of ac6uiring esoteric power, see $roo&s, Auspicious *isdom, pp +5<ff /n )andolphGs sex magic, see also Dulius .vola, The %etaphysics o" Sex *0ew Bor&( Inner Traditions, +<:2,, p 1;1 ?; /n the techni6ues of semen retention, see 'hite, The Alchemical &ody, pp +<<ff, and .liade, +oga, pp 1?;ff Aany scholars have argued that women are by no means empowered or liberated in Tantric ritual, but are used primarily as tools for optimizing the power of the male practitioner /utside the confines of Tantric ritual, their subordinate place in the social order is seldom 6uestioned %'omen are made subordinate to males, and their ritual role is limited to being a partner for male adepts% *$roo&s, The Secret o" the Three #ities$ pp 19-?,

?: ?<

!eveney, Paschal &e)erly Randolph, p 191 7ellner claims to have been initiated by the #rab fa&ir, -oliman ben #ifha and the Indian yogis $hima -en "ratap and -ri Aahatma #gamya Iuru "aramahamsa, from whom he learned %the mysteries of yoga and the philosophy of the left hand path which he called sexual magic% *Dohn -ymonds, The %agic o" Aleister #rowley [ Eondon( 3rederic& Auller, +<9:], p <9, /n )euss and his &nowledge of Tantra, see # ) 0aylor, ed7$ Theodor Reuss and Aleister #rowley$ O7T7O7 Rituals and Sexmagick *Thames( .ssex House, +<<<, "eter 7oenig argues that the / T / was not founded by 7ellner but only formed after his death under )eussG leadership 7ellner was the head of a small group &nown as the %Inner Triangle% and did practice some 6uasiTantric rites in which his wife acted as %the Ireat Ioddess% and he as a %$abylonian "riest%, in the attempt to create the %elixir, that is( male and female sexual fluids% *%-permo Inostics and the /T/,% available on line at http(JJwww cyberlin& chJS&oenigJspermo htm /n the / T / generally, see .llic Howe and Helmut Aoller, %Theodor )euss( Irregular 3reemasonry in Iermany, +<>>-+<12,% Ars @uator #oronatorum <+*+<;:,( 1:-5?4 "eter)obert 7oenig, %The /T/ "henomenon,% Theosophical 0istory 5, no 2 *+<<1,( <1-:4 %Theodor )euss as 3ounder of .soteric /rders,%Theosophical 0istory 5, nos ?-; *+<<2,( +:;-<2 ;> /n the Hermetic $rotherhood of Euxor and its connections to )andolph and the /T/, see Doscelyn Iodwin, The Theosophical 4nlightenment *#lbany( -@0B, +<<5,, pp 19:ff, 25;-?+ Though drawing heavily on )andolphGs sexual teaching, the Hermetic $rotherhood of Euxor warned against the dangerous excesses of sexual magic, which can lead men to madness and suicide( %The doctrines of .ulis as set forth by )andolph, teach that the concentration of the will at the moment of seminal emission calls down the divine germs of spiritual powers and that these become planted in the souls of those who call them'hen ta&en literally, the teachings of .ulis are an awful delusion and mean ruin to all who practice them since they call down powers into the soul which fasten upon its vitality-uch practices rear a swarm of vipers which will terminate the physical existence of their victims

by suicide or drive them ashowling maniacs to the madhouse% *%The

Aysteries of .ros,% in Doscelyn Iodwin, 8hristian 8hanel, Dohn "atric& !eveney, The 0ermetic &rotherhood o" 'uxor! Initiatic and 0istorical ;ocuments o" an Order o" Practical Occultism [0ew Bor&( -amuel 'eiser, +<<9], p 1+2-;:, ;+ Ori"lamme *+<>5,( +:, in 8lymer, The Rosicrucian Fraternity in America, v II, p 95+ 3or a good discussion of )eussG techni6ues of sex magic, see 7oenig, %-permo-Inostics and the /T/(% %The whole body was considered !ivine and the sexual organs were meant to fulfill a peculiar function( a Holy Aass was the symbolic act of re-creating the universe -exually joining is a shadow of the cosmic act of creation "erformed by adepts, the union of male and female approaches the primal act and parta&es of its divine nature The sensations that form within Aan and 'oman sexually joined come not from the conjunction of the physical parts, but from the male and female sexual polarities in contact% *-ee also Theodor )eussG translation of 8rowleyGs Inostic Aass( %!ie Inostische Aesse,% reproduced in( " ) 7oenig, ;er ,rosse Theodor Reuss Reader [Auenchen +<<; ]4 and )euss( %Aysterica Aystica Aaxima,% u(ilaeums-Ausga(e der Ori"lamme 1A1B [$aumann, $erlin und Eondon +<+1], ;1 7ing, The %agical *orld o" Aleister #rowley *0ew Bor&( 8oward, Ac8ann Q Ieoghegan, +<;:,, p ;< /n homosexual rites, see "eter 7oenigGs chapter %#nal Intercourse and the / T / ,% in ;as OTO-Phaenomen! An Agony in BB "its, translated on line at *http(JJhome sunrise chJSpr&oenigJphenomen htm, 7oenig summarizes the higher degrees follows( %CIIT #doration of the phallus as $aphomet, both within and without4 CIIIT Interaction with something outside the closed vessels of the vagina and the anus4 IUT Interaction inside the vagina with either the blood or the secretions of a woman when excited4 UT Impregnation V fertilisation of an egg V the act of creation4 UIT Two-fold( i, Isolation in the anus where it is considered unable to interact with anything4 ii, interaction with excrement and small amounts of blood and the mucous membranes that lead into the blood supply % ;2 7ing, The %agical *orld$ p ;< %To invo&e a god into themselves and set into flaming activity all the subjective psychological factors

symbolized by a particular deity, the practitioners mentally concentrated on the form of the god through intercourse, building up a creative

visualization of his or her form and imagining that it had a life of its own #t orgasm they attempted to transfer their own consciousness to that of the image, blending their personalities into one% *ibid , pp ;<-:>, ;5 %-ex, for )andolph, was a sacrament and nothing less than a means to a holy communion of souls He hedges it round with taboos( it should not be enjoyed fre6uently or promiscuously, never with any corm of contraception, and absolutely never with the same sex 0othing could be further from the sexual magic later developed by the /rdo Templi /rientis% *Iodwin, The Theosophical 4nlightenment$ p 199-?4 cf p 2?+, ;9 7ing, The %agical *orld$ p +>> 8rowleyGs main texts on sex magic include( O" the 8ature o" the ,ods? 'i(er Agape C the &ook o" the <n)eiling o" the Sangraal de Arte %agica? and O" the 0omunculus$ most of which are included in 3rancis 7ing, ed The Secret Rituals o" the O7T7O7 *0ew Bor&( -amuel 'eiser, +<;2, ;? 8rowley, %The Temple of -olomon the 7ing,% in 4Duinox I *5, *Eondon +<+>,, p +9> /n 8rowleyGs possible Tantric influences, see Eawrence -utin, ;o *hat Thou *ilt! A 'i"e o" Aleister #rowley *0ew Bor&( -t AartinGs "ress, 1>>>,, pp <1, +1;, +5+, +:: #s .vola suggests, %#part from satanic, heathen and deliberate scandalizing elements, the Eaw of Thelema was in fact inspired by Tantrism% *The %etaphysics o" Sex, p 1?5, ;; -utin, ;o *hat Thou *ilt, p +5+ ;: !ouglas, Spiritual Sex, p 1>:4 .lizabeth -harpe, The Secrets o" the Kaula #ircle *Eondon( Euzac Q 8o , +<2?,( %I met a .uropean who was one of U B K Gs pupils He called himself by a number In the beginning he was extremely handsome, afterwards he grew gross He had many women at his disposal He learnt many magical processes by which he drew into his circle great phantoms He had with him a pupil, a thin longnosed boy I wondered why he had followed the man whose number was ??? ??? wore a ceremonial robe, had a pentacle, a wand a sword and a cup I watched that day the spirits he evo&ed with the help of the Eamas I saw ??? fall to the ground frothing at the mouth% *pp 5:<, ;< 8rowley, The #on"essions o" Aleister #rowley$ p ;?;4 parenthetical words supplied by -utin, ;o *hat Thou *ilt, p 1+? /n 8rowleyGs sex magic

and its relation to the /T/, see 7oenig, %-permoInostics and the /T/( %8rowleyGs CIIIth degree unveiled that masturbating on a sigil of a demon or meditating upon the image of a phallus would bring power or communication with a divine being The IUth degree labelled heterosexual intercourse where the sexual secrets were suc&ed out of the vagina and when not consumed put on a sigil to attract this or that demon to fulfill the pertinent wish In his %.mblems and Aode of @se% 8rowley describes the method of how to smear sperm on a talisman in order to attract for example money % :> 8rowley, %The Eaw of Eiberty( # Tract of Therion, Issued by the /rdo Templi /rientis,% reproduced in 8lymer, The Rosicrucian Fraternity in America, v II, p 9;1 #s 8rowley writes in his #on"essions, %Aan&ind must learn that the sexual instinct is ennobling The shoc&ing evils which we all deplore are due to perversions produced by suppressions The feeling that it is shameful and the sense of sin cause concealmentcreates neurosis and ends in explosion 'e produce an abscess and wonder why it bursts in stench and corruptionThe $oo& of the Eaw solves the sexual problem completely .ach individual has an absolute right to satisfy his sexual instinct The one injunction is to treat al such acts as sacraments% *pp :;5-9, :+ 7ing, The %agical *orld o" Aleister #rowley, p :1 # detailed record of the "aris wor&ings is contained in two manuscripts, The &ook o" 0igh %agick Art and the 4soteric Record, compiled by 0euberg #s -ymonds comments, %-ex became for him the means to reach Iod It was his vehicle of consecration In his eyes every sex act was a sacred magical act, a sacrament # prolonged orgy in honor of the great god "an% *The ,reat &east$ p +29, :1 %8rowley indicated both women and drugs as the means to cause openings or brea&ages of ordinary consciousness and to enter into relations with supersensual beings The orgasm of coitus *as also the effect of drugs, led to openings of consciousness toward the supersensual The techni6ue was that of excess4 through pain or pleasure, sex or intoxication, it was necessary to attain condition of exhaustion ta&en to the extreme limit% *.vola, The

%etaphysics o" Sex, pp 1?5, 1??4cf -ymonds, The %agic o" Aleister #rowley$ pp +5;ffl 5:, +2>+,

:2 :5

-utin, ;o *hat Thou *ilt, p 155ff -ymonds, The %agic o" Aleister #rowley, pp +5+-1 :9 8rowley, The 6ision and the 6oice *Eondon( -imp&in, Aarshall, Hamilton, 7ent, +<++,, p 2:9? /n the creation of alchemical androgynes, see @rban, %$irth !one $etter( 8onceiving the Immortal 3etus in India, 8hina and )enaissance .urope,% in 8otes "rom a %andala! 4ssays in 0onor o" *endy ;oniger, ed Eaurie "atton *0ew Bor&( -even $ridges "ress, 1>>>, :? %There was some close connection between sexuality and geniusThe divine consciousness which is reflected in the wor&s of Ienius feeds upon a certain secretion analogous to semen This point of view bears a relationship to certain Tantric teachings according to which o5as, a subtle essence derived fromsemen, fills the lower centers of the adept, rises through subtle passagesto the top of the spine and goes through a transformation which results in the physical body being flooded with a divine essence% *7ing, The %agical *orld$ pp <;-:, :; -ee -ymonds, The %agic o" Aleister #rowley$ pp <<-+>> :: -utin, ;o *hat Thou *ilt pp 152-5 :< -utin, ;o *hat Thou *ilt, p 12< <> -utin, ;o *hat Thou *ilt, p 1;5 <+ There is a vast array of such boo&s4 see for starters, 8hristopher - Hyatt, and Eon Ailo !u6uette, Sex %agic$ Tantra and Tarot! The *ay o" the Secret 'o)er *0ew 3alcon "ub , +<<+,4 8hristopher - Hyatt, - Dason $lac&, Tantra *ithout Tears *0ew 3alcon "ub , 1>>>,4 !onald Aichael 7raig, Einda 3alorio, Tara 0ema, %odern Sex %agick ! Secrets o" 4rotic Spirituality *-t "aul( Elewellyn "ub , +<<:,4 !olores #shcroft-0owic&i$ The Tree o" 4cstasy ! An Ad)anced %anual o" Sexual %agic *0ew Bor&( -amuel 'eiser, +<<<, <1 $ernard, %Tantri& 'orship( The $asis of )eligion,% p ;+

<2

)andolph$ The Ansairetic %ystery, in !eveney, Paschal &e)erly Randolph$ pp 2+?-; <5 Deffrey Tye, %Tantra( -ex Aagic -ex Aagic )eality 8reation "rocess,% available on the %8hurch of Tantra% web-site *http(JJwww tantra orgJsexmagic html , <9 'ee&s, Sex$ Politics and Society, p 199 <? Iarrison, The +oga o" Sex *0ew Bor&( Dulian "ress,, 6uoted in !ouglas, Spiritual Sex, p 111 3or a similar celebration of Tantra, see )awson, The Art o" Tantra( %Tantra is a cult of ecstasy, focused on a vision of cosmic sexuality% *p <, <; Iinsberg, Indian ournals, %arch 1AEB-%ay 1AEF *-an 3rancisco( 8ity Eights, +<;>,, p <2 <: Aargo #nand, The Art o" Sexual 4cstasy! The Path o" Sacred Sexuality "or *estern 'o)ers *Eos #ngeles( Deremy " Tarcher, Inc , +<:<,, pp 55, 5+ << /n )ajneesh and Trungpa, see @rban, %The 8ult of .cstasy,% and %Korba the $uddha( 8apitalism, 8harisma and the 8ult of $hagwan -hree )ajneesh,% Religion 1? *+<<?,( +?+-:1 !ecrying modern 'estern civilization as hypocritical and repressed, )ajneesh proclaimed Tantra as a new-religionless religion based on absolute liberation of the body and sexuality( %Tantra says everything has to be absorbed, e)erything=777without any condition -ex has to be absorbed, then it becomes a tremendous force in you # $uddha a Desus, they have such a magnetic force around what is that= -ex absorbed% *Tantra! the Supreme <nderstanding ["oona, )ajneesh 3oundation, +<;9],p +>>, +>> !as and -ilbey, %#merican Tantra,% *http(JJwww tantra orgJamertan html , +>+ 3ra Ieh Aad, %!evelopmental Techni6ue for TantraJ-ex Aagic,% on the web-site http(JJwww greendome orgJarchivesJtantraJtantra html +>1 7oenig, %The Ac!onaldisation of /cculture% *http(JJwww cyberlin& chJS&oenigJmcdonald htm ,

+>2

3rom the %Tantra 'or&s% website *http(JJwww tantrawor&s comJtantrausa1 htmlW0T/ , %ItGs wondrous, exhilarating and true4 you can use sexual pleasure as a guide to spiritual fulfillment 0ot only is the sensual path enriching and joyful, but itGs delightfully accessible with Tantra [-]piritual sex liberates body and soul # revolutionary movement sure to be a watershed in the coming millennium, spiritual sex celebrates the mystical aspects of sexuality while revealing the secrets that allow men and women to reach a zenith