Sex magic
Sex magic is ritual practice that treats sexual activity, arousal, or bodily fluids as a source or focus of magical power.
Sexual energy: A spiritual or esoteric idea that sexual desire and vitality can be cultivated or redirected. Many sex-magic systems treat desire as power that can be focused toward an intention.
Sexual symbolism in religion: The use of sexual images, acts, or reproductive themes to express religious ideas and powers. Sex magic belongs to a broader history of religious and magical meanings attached to sexuality.
Theodor Reuss: A German occultist who led Ordo Templi Orientis before its reorganization under Aleister Crowley. Reuss's leadership connected O.T.O. with sexual teachings circulating in European occultism.
Ceremonial magic: A formal magical practice using prescribed rites, symbols, invocations, and ritual tools. Sex magic can use ceremonial methods, but its defining focus is sexual power or activity.
Consent: Freely given, informed, and revocable agreement to participate in an activity. Any partnered rite depends on clear consent, especially when ritual authority or secrecy is involved.
Ritual: A structured sequence of actions performed according to a community's or practitioner's conventions. Sex magic gives sexual acts ritual structure rather than treating them as ordinary activity.
Tantra: A diverse family of Hindu and Buddhist traditions centered on ritual, mantra, visualization, and disciplined practice. Western occultists often borrowed tantric language, though sex magic is not equivalent to Tantra.
Arnold Krumm-Heller: A German physician and occultist who founded the Fraternitas Rosicruciana Antiqua. His organization transmitted a distinct Latin American current of sexual esotericism.
Chaos magic: A modern magical approach that emphasizes belief as a tool and adapts techniques from diverse traditions. Chaos magic may use sexual arousal in rites, but does not require a sexual foundation.
Occultism: The study or practice of esoteric knowledge and supernatural or hidden forces. Sex magic has helped shape modern occultism's treatment of the body and desire.