Secrets Of Western Sex Magic: Magical Energy & Gnostic Trance (Llewellyn's…

I was actually a bit disappointed by this book. Recommended by a friend, when I mentioned sex magick, but not that fulfilling. The book is good, don't get me wrong, but I found it was more full of ideas than activities, which was what people kept telling me (that it was practical). The book skips the basics of magick, assuming the reader has some familiarity, always a plus, the only really rehashed thing in the book is a relaxation exercise of tensing/relaxing body parts. Frater U∴D∴ suggests several good exercises for becoming aware of your sexual energy, and being able to control it, as well as some good theory behind it. Sadly actually applying those techniques isn't covered too much.

The book did not focus on just male-female relationships, but included same-sex relationships, and auto-erotic magick. While I'm glad the book wasn't heterocentric in an overt mention of sex, I was annoyed by the use of gender/energy and balance. Essentially saying that sex magick isn't effective unless one of the partners is masculine energy, and one is feminine (regardless of sex or gender). Being me, I'm not too big on that binary, I know in magick/energy in general sometimes balance really is a good thing, other times it seems to me like the fact that something is unbalanced is what gives it the strength/force to do what is necessary. As a whole, I think it was a good book, but so far my least favourite of Frater U∴D∴'s writing. ( )