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A Brief History of Sexual Magic groups that call themselves Gnostics
Paschal Beverly Randolph
Modern
sexual magic was initiated through the teachings of Paschal Beverly
Randolph (Deveney, 1997, p. xxi; Urban, 2006, p. 36), a "trance
speaker" and "clairvoyant physician." In 1857 he traveled to Europe and
from there to Epypt and Syria. It is on this trip that he writes of
encounters that change the course of his career.
One night -
it was in far-off Jerusalem or Bethlehem, I really forget which - I
made love to, and was loved by, a dusky maiden of Arabic blood. I of
her, and the experience, learned - not directly, but by suggestion -
the fundamental principle of the White Magick of Love; subsequently I
became affiliated with some dervishes and fakirs of who, by suggestion
still, I found the road to other knowledges; and of these devout
practicers of a sublime and holy magic, I obtained additional clues -
little threads of suggestion, which, being persistently followed, led
my soul into labyrinths of knowledge themselves did not even suspect
the existence of. (Randolph, 1874, p. 48; cited in Urban, 2006, p. 66)
The essence of sexual magic in Randolph's view is as follows:
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 know
on earth; if under the influence of mere lust it be done, the discharge
is suicidal. ... At 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 Divine Energy from heavens. Whatsoever he shall truly will
and internally pray for when Love ... is in the ascendant, that moment
the prayer's response comes down. (Randolph, 1874, p. 339-40; cited in
Urban, 2004, p. 68)
The association and subsequent use of,
and identification with, the term 'Gnosticism' by sexual magic groups
is of twentieth century origin. In his book length study of the
phenomenon, Hugh Urban concludes that, "despite the very common use of
sexual symbolism throughout Gnostic texts, there is little evidence
(apart from the accusations of the early church) that the Gnostics
engaged in any actual performance of sexual rituals, and certainly not
anything resembling modern sexual magic" (Urban, 2006, p. 36, note 68).
The Ordo Templi Orientis
At
first associated with the Middle East, and then with Tantric traditions
of the East, the association of sexual magic with Gnosticism came by
way of Theodor Reuss and his interaction with leaders of the French
Gnostic Church, with its close ties to Masonry, Martinism, and the
strong esoteric current of the time. It is from that highly
interconnected milieu of esoteric societies and orders which the most
influential of sex magic orders arose, the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO,
'Order of Oriental Templars').
The individual primarily
responsible for associating sexual magic with Gnosticism was German
Occultist Theodor Reuss, who was interested in the accusations of
sexual impropriety made against the Gnostics and the Templars. Such
charges brought against these groups were most probably politically
motivated fictions, yet, "they would reappear in striking new form in
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with the foundation
of a new Templar order--the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO)..." (Urban,
2006, p. 36).
The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor (HB of L)
propagated sexual magic teachings derived from Paschal Beverly Randolph
through its correspondence course on occultism (Deveney, 1997, p.
xxiii; Greer, 2003, p. 348). It is likely that this was the primary
source on sexual magic for Theodor Reuss, a member of the HB of L. In
1906, inspired by co-member and practitioner Carl Kellner, and assisted
by Franz Hartmann, Reuss founded the OTO as an umbrella occult
organization with sexual magic as its core (Greer, 2003, p. 221-2). It
initially consisted of nine grades, the first six being along masonic
lines and the last three focusing on sexual magic. For Reuss sexual
magic was the "key" that explains "all the riddles of nature, all the
secrets of Freemasonry, and all systems of religion" (Urban, 2006, p.
98).
The French Gnostic Connection
In
1908 Reuss came into contact with Gerard Encause and Jean Bricaud at a
Masonic and Spiritualist conference organized by Encause. Further ties
were established with Reuss and Encause exchanging charters for the OTO
and Martinist Orders. A similar exchange is claimed by some sources,
with Reuss granting charters in the Memphis Mizarim Rite of Freemasonry
to Bricaud in return for a grant concerning the Eglise Catholique Gnostique (EGC, 'the Gnostic Catholic Church'). Sources infer this because Reuss subsequently founded Die Gnostische Katholische Kirche
(GKK, 'the Gnostic Catholic Church'), under the auspices of the OTO
(Pearson, 2007, p. 47). However, it is unclear whether there was any
formal tie to the ECG, or the nature of such a connection. It should
also be noted that there is a significant difference between
ecclesiastical and esoteric bodies, it would not constitute a simple
reciprocal exchange like that between Reuss and Encause.
When the OTO went public 1912, Reuss recruited Aleister Crowley and quickly raised him to the then highest degree of the order.
By
1918 the GKK certainly had no ties to the EGC/EGU, as Reuss proclaimed
himself "Sovereign Patriarch and Primate" of the church, having
dedicated the OTO to the promulgation of Crowley's philosophy of
Thelema. It is for this church body, called in Latin the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (EGC), that Aleister Crowley wrote the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica Canon Missa
('the Canon Mass of the Gnostic Catholic Church'), the central ritual
of the OTO that is now commonly called the "Gnostic Mass." Although it
is generally referred to as the "Gnostic Mass," that name refers to its
status as the official "mass" of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica.
In 1919 Bricaud named Reuss as a Gnostic Legate of the Eglise Gnostique Universelle
(EGU) to Switzerland (Pearson, 2007, p. 47). Although it was a title
conferred on many individuals in esoteric circles beginning in 1912,
its conference on Reuss and his use of it at that time indicate that
Reuss's church (GKK/EGC) had not officially been affiliated with, and
so did not actually break away from Bricaud's (ECG/EGU). The Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica
remains an active arm of the Ordo Templi Orientis, and the mass that
Crowley wrote for it remains the central ritual of the OTO.
Krumm-Heller and the FRA
Arnoldo
Krumm-Heller traveled in occult circles at the turn of the century
where he studied with notable figures such as Gerard Encause of the
Martinist Order and Franz Hartmann of the OTO.
Krumm-Heller moved back to Germany in 1920, where he made contact with Aleister Crowley. He founded the Iglesia Gnostica
(Gnostic Church) in Mexico. Not finding as much success as he hoped
for, he moved through Latin America before settling in Brazil. In 1929
he founded the Fraternitas Rosicruciana Antiqua (FRA, 'Fraternity of the Ancient Rosicrucians') and took the name Huiracocha.
He
kept a low profile through WWII, but when he was able to travel again
after the war, he resumed contact with his Latin America students.
Between the end of WWII and his death in 1949, Krumm-Heller encountered
and subsequently mentored Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez who would
subsequently take the name Samael Aun Weor (Dawson, 2007, p. 55-57).
Rodríguez states that Krumm-Heller taught a form of sexual magic
without ejaculation that would become the core of his own teachings.
Samael Aun Weor and the "International Gnostic Movement"
Víctor
Rodríguez left the FRA after the death of Krumm-Heller. He also reports
an experience of being called to his new mission by the "venerable
white lodge" (associated with Theosophy). Sexual Magic without
ejaculation (called the Arcanum AZF) became the core of Weor's
"New Gnosis", calling it "the synthesis of all religions, schools and
sects." Moving through Latin America, he finally settled in Mexico
where he founded the Movimiento Gnostico Cristiano Universal (MGCU, 'Universal Gnostic Christian Movement'), then subsequently founded the Iglesia Gnostica Cristiana Universal ('Universal Gnostic Christian Church') and the Associacion Gnostica de Estudios Antropologicos Culturales y Cientificos
(AGEAC, 'Gnostic Association of Scientific, Cultural and
Anthropological Studies') to spread his teachings (Dawson, 2007, p.
54-60).
The MGCU became defunct by the time of Weor's death in
December 1977. However, his disciples subsequently formed new
organizations to spread Weor's teachings, under the umbrella term "the
International Gnostic Movement". These organizations are currently very
active via the Internet and have centers established in Latin America,
the US, Australia, and Europe (Dawson, 2007, p. 60-65).
References:
Dawson, Andrew (2007). New era, new religions: religious transformation in contemporary Brazil. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
Deveney, John Patrick (1997). Paschal Beverly Randolph: a nineteenth-century Black American spiritualist. Albany: State University of New York.
Greer, John Micheal (2003). The New Encyclopedia of the Occult. St. Paul: Llewellyn.
Pearson, Joanne (2007). Wicca and the Christian Heritage. New York: Routledge.
Urban, Hugh B. (2006). Magia Sexualis: Sex, Magic, and Liberation in modern Western esotericism. University of California.
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