How Storm Got Me Into Sex Magick
by Taylor Ellwood
Despite the somewhat humorous and perhaps shocking title I can
honestly say it's true that Storm Constantine got me into sex
magick. Now I should explain that she didn't do this through any
other means than her writing. I bring this up because recently
I received an email about my
first article in Inception and the person mentioned
how I'd clued her into the spirituality of Storm's writing. I
figure this time around I'd show all of you how I got clued into
the spirituality of Storm's writing.
To be completely honest it was the sex magick in the books that
showed me the spirituality of Storm's writing. And this really
shouldn't be a surprise because in pretty much all of her writing
that's what you find, a spirituality reached through sex. Not
a bad way to find it either. All glib comments aside, let's take
a trip down my lane of memory.
At the time I started reading Storm I was also reading about
Tantra, specifically Andres
Van Lyesbeth's book Tantra:
Cult of the Feminine, an excellent book to be introduced
to the ideology of tantra. But though I enjoyed Van Lyesbeth's
book and found it useful as a way of getting into the techniques
involved in sex magick, what really interested me was the vivid
descriptions that Storm had written. Let me give you an example
of one such description from Bewitchments of Love and Hate,
the second book of the Wraeththu trilogy:
I took Seel in my arms and pierced him and carried
him with me to the higher spheres. We were in a world of lemon-colored
light and long fields of pale yellow grass stretched away from
us on all sides. As Thiede had told me, on the horizon shimmered
the vague shapes of the spectral pyramids, which made our eyes
ache to look on. Seel and I sat down upon the sward, joined only
by my hand in his hand. His skin was shining and his hair moved
like feathers. He lay back and spread out his arms and I entered
him through the body and the mind and we called together to the
spirit world, and presently a funnel of light appeared above us,
rotating slowly. It drifted down to us and we were filled with
the presence of our child to be. Within Seel's body, I nudged
so softly the special seal that would open him up, and with utter
compliance the muscles relaxed and I sought the star of his being,
where life could begin. Nothing could part us now; nothing. We
were joined inextricably, in convolutions of shining flesh; almost
unbearable and light shimmered around us. Then I was lying across
him in a room of silvery drapes that was filled with the pale
glow that presages dawn, and our skins were cool and damp against
each other. We both knew, in our hearts, that we were the makers
of true magic, that gift from the Creator, unparalleled, incomparable,
the gift of life. (Constantine 442)
I apologize for the long passage, but take a close look at the
language, at the ecstacy that is conveyed in this act of sex magick,
an act of love as well. The language here is very powerful and
the reader is privileged a rare glimpse into a world of magick.
For me, reading this passage signified so much of what I wanted
in sex magick. I didn't want just techniques, but I also wanted
esctacy, and the intimacy of the spirit as well as the body. Storm
showed me in this passage that this was possible, that in fact
this could occur.
Now naturally you might scoff and say something along the line
of the idea that this is just a fantasy book, but regardless of
whether this book is fantasy or not, what matters most is that
a reader can draw inspiration from a writing such as this and
use that inspiration within his or her personal spiritual practices.
What's important is how receptive a reader is to the message or
messages within the text. One of those messages, for me, was that
sex magick could be a highly ecstatic and intimate act. Sure,
the book on Tantra had mentioned that, but the difference was
presentation. I wasn't just reading about what happened with Seel
and Swift, I was in a way experiencing it as well. And though
that experience was vicarious I could still feel an appreciation
and desire for a similar act within myself. Consequently, in part
due to Storm's writing I found a lot of my spirituality being
centered around learning more about sex magick and what it could
do for me.
Another example of Storm's writing, not so much on sex magick,
but nontheless about magick also shows the kind of passion I'm
talking about, the kind of passion that makes you identify with
and understand not just what the characters feel, but also what
you feel. Here is the passage, from Crown of Silence:
Yes that was the way. Clear the mind. Concentrate.
With great effort, Shan visualized pushing the primal fear from
his mind. It was an obscuring cloud that must be banished. He
concentrated his physical energy into his solar plexus, forcing
all of his will into the thought of rising to the surface. This,
he fed with the energy of his will. He clove the water with his
hands. His legs kicked against the current. His were the limbs
of a god, unstoppable. As it pushed from beneath, his body arrowed
upward. He had conquered the fear. He was free. (Constantine
369)
This passage shows the reader how Shan overcomes his fear, how
he uses his spiritual essence to move past the fear and make him
stronger. It can be inspiring to a reader in the sense that the
reader might come to know that it is the power within us that
allows us to overcome the difficulties in our life, as opposed
to any external power. When we can feel what Shan felt in the
passage, how it made him feel, we can begin to appreciate some
of the subtle nuances of the spirituality that can be found in
Storm's work. She'll never come out and entirely and say this
is how you do this, but Storm does provide a reader a key to the
temple of his or her own essence. The reader, of course, must
find the courage to turn the key and open the door.
It's been three years now and I've read a lot of books on sex
magick and magick, but the passage from Wraethu above still electrifies
me and reminds me of why I am still so interested in magick. I've
also read more Storm's writings and each time I've found more
to inspire me onward in my studies of magick. What I find more
and more is that it's not just a matter of learning technique,
but also a matter of enflaming your soul with passion for what
you do. The means of doing that can come in many forms and in
my case Storm is one of those writers who continues to show me
the spiritual side of magick. So pick up a book of hers and read
it and don't read it just for enjoyment. Instead read it as well
to see how it makes you feel, how it affects your view of life
and reality. I think you'll find quite a lot in her words to inflame
you with a passion about what you hold dear to your heart.
Works Cited
Constantine, Storm. Wraeththu: The Enchantments of Flesh and
Spirit, The Bewitchments of Love and Hate, The Fulfilments of
Fate and Desire. New York (Tom Doherty Associates, Inc.),
1993.
---. The Crown of Silence. New York (Tom Doherty Associates,
Inc.), 2001.
About the Author
Taylor Ellwood is currently pursuing his ph.d in Literacy, Rhetoric, and
Social Practice at Kent State University. He is the co-author of Creating
Magickal Entities from Egregore
Publishing. His first solo book Pop Culture Magick will be published
by Immanion Press in 2004. He is
currently working on several other writing projects. He can be contacted at ashmage@hotmail.com
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