abuot wrote:tremegorn, did abstaining from sex really contributed to your success?
I knew this was going to come up eventually. It may have a lot more to do with my 'upbringing' being in Bardonic / Golden Dawn type ceremonial magic, but I will provide a (hopefully) adequate explanation.
In popular Grimores, sexual activity is listed as a 'taboo', essentially. For instance:
"Let the man who receive an oracle from a spirit be chaste, pure and sanctified"
- Sacred Magic of Abramelin
"...The third species is chastity;he that would operate in this Art, let him be clean and chast by the space of
nine dayes at least.."
- Lesser Key of Solomon
These are just a few, it's repeated in many more, as well as holy texts the world over. In the Hindu paradigm, abstinence and devotion to spiritual goals builds up Kudanlini(a form of energy working, if my understanding is correct), which then can be directed.
Now I understand this is an extremely unpopular view among many magicians, and a great deal abhore the idea of being abstinent for a time (myself included, I absolutely LOVE the animal side of me
) however it's not without reason. I'm not talking about lifetime celibacy here either, it's only for a period while you're attempting a specific working.
By practicing, getting inflamed with prayer, and repeating the incantations; you're building up dynamic tension within yourself. Essentially, you're rising above your animal passions and focusing on only those passions that will fulfill your intent. At that point, you've become a 'battery' of sorts, 'charging' yourself with the raised energy so you can complete your magical goals. Vibrating divine names, for instance, you're raising yourself out of the day-to day 'animalistic' and passion driven mindset and toward that of a divine one. (in the NAP for instance, at the very beginning of every ritual- It's "Ankar YHVH", -"I am YHVH", this is an extremely critical part of the ritual, as i'm sure you see.)
Now say you have been doing this for days on end toward a goal, and then decide to proceed in masturbation, or some sort of other sexual activity. You're immediately undoing that raising of yourself toward a higher purpose you did, as you're giving into base desires (descending back to an animal, instead of a higher being worthy of commanding any number of beings in creation); as well as clouding your mind with images from your sexual fantasies, among other things. It could easily get in the way of contacting the entities you're attempting to ask for help from.
Putting that into simpler terms, if I get a neatly written email asking for some help, I am likely to reply or assist if I can; if I get one that is a collection of pornographic images with the same title; I might wonder how seriously to take the person who sent it and be much more reluctant to email them back, or simply discard it and go on with my business.
Again, this isn't to say that you should abstain permanently from sex- I'm sure everyone here has seen someone who was irritable and restless, and probably thought of them 'wow, they really need to get laid'. At that point you're essentially a spiritual lighting rod; but unless you're directing the built up energy, it simply gets dissipated into the other passions of the moment.
On the flip side, by descending completely into animalistic desires and passions, you can also work effective magic; such as charging a sigil. This is also likely the source of the stories about mythical orgies and sexual rites of some pagan groups. Sexual magic can be extremely powerful, but the energies involved and staying focused on the intent instead of descending into passion is trying even for experienced mages.
