Paschal Beverly Randolph

His most enduring claim to fame is the crucial role he played in the transformation of spiritualism, a medium's passive reception of messages from the spirits of the dead, into occultism, the active search for personal spiritual realization and inner vision.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1871. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

An excerpt from the beginning of PART I.Reader, mine, I am about to treat herein the grandest subject that ever engaged or challenged human thought. In doing so it is likely that I may repeat some things elsewhere, by myself or others, said before; but even if so, I have struck upon many things now given to the race for the first time.A vast amount of "physiological" chaff is current in the world, originating in the pulpy brains of certain people with "M.D" after their names; folks who eke out a good living by putting medicines, of which they know little, into bodies whereof they know less.A still larger amount of "chaff" labeled "philosophy" is afloat, generated for the most part in the angular heads of people, whom a chronic prostatitis or ovarian fever has so deranged that they really imagine themselves philosophers, - being only shams, - who propose to revolutionize the world, especially the domain of Marriage-land, by inculcating pudacious sophistries, better calculated to kill than to cure the victims, on either side. One thing is certain: Light is needed; and this work (originally intended to be called by a different title, but which intent was abandoned, owing to the vastly larger scope of the completed and rewritten volume) is meant to afford exactly what is required; andI. What a tremendous deal of suffering, horror, crime, wretchedness and despair there is in this beautiful, but badly misused world of ours! - most of which might be prevented in the first instance, or remedied in the second, were there less consummate and confounded ignorance afloat up and down the earth's strong tides of human life, with its strangely, wildly surging ebbs and flows, heats and snows, in reference to matters pertaining to, and concerning the, relations, wise and otherwise, subsisting between the separate genders of the human race; especially that portion of it located in the so-called "civilized" lands, and particularly in the cis-Atlantic portion of the Lord's exceedingly immoral vineyard.Now, whoever supposes that the ignorance alluded to is confined solely to the masses, -sometimes spellable as " them asses," according to Carlyle, - or that the sum total of non-knowledge must be looked for among the unread, unlettered and unwashed crowds that throng the great highways of the world, and whose struggles for life, and clamors for bread, occupy most of their time and attention, - will find him or herself most woefully mistaken; for a far less dense and conglobate ignorance upon matters of vital import to every human being exists among the people - the rude crowd who jostle each other everywhere, and which is the plastic material that the brainful few mould into voters, hero-worshippers, or send to fight their battles against each other, armed with ploughs or rifles, pitchforks or bayonets, cannons or spades - than is to be found in circles making very lofty pretensions, not only to knowledge, but to morality also, from its geologic base to its astronomic summit.

A step-by-step guide to the occult science of sex magic • Based on the practices of P. B. Randolph, occult rival of H. P. Blavatsky • Reveals how to perform sex magic rituals for specific real-world results, such as greater strength or enhancement of the senses • Explains how to create magical talismans, such as rings with specific planetary forces, how to enliven a painting, and how to charge an effigy Conceived by Paschal Beverly Randolph, Magia Sexualis has been heralded as the most influential book about sex magic ever written, surviving to the present day solely through Maria de Naglowska’s French translation. Published more than 50 years after Randolph’s death, the authorship of this “translation” has been repeatedly called into question: While the greater part of the content can be traced to Randolph’s known works, a very significant portion cannot--leading to the conclusion that this work was supplemented by Naglowska’s own sex magic work and extensive occult teachings. Magia Sexualis explains Randolph’s meticulous science of sex magic, practiced by the Brotherhood of Eulis and the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light. Beginning with exercises to develop essential skills, the book explains in step-by-step detail how to perform sex magic rituals for specific results, such as greater strength or enhancement of the senses, how to charge and use a “volt”--an effigy of a specific person you want to influence or protect, how to enliven a painting in order to influence those around it, and how to create magical talismans with specific planetary forces, using what Randolph calls “fluid condensers.” This work from two great occult minds shows that true power of the spirit is acquired in conjunction with the power of sex--affirming that “sex is the fundamental force in every being, the most powerful force in Nature, and the most characteristic evidence of God.”

• Explores the background and sexual magical beliefs of Paschal Beverly Randolph, Ida Craddock, Aleister Crowley, Maria de Naglowska, Austin Osman Spare, Julius Evola, Franz Bardon, Jack Parsons, William S. Burroughs, Marjorie Cameron, Anton LaVey, and Genesis P-Orridge • Details the life of each sex magician, how they came to uncover their occult practice, and, most importantly, how the practice of sex magic affected their lives Offering a fascinating introduction to the occult practice of sex magic in the Western esoteric tradition, Michael William West explores its history from its reintroduction in the early 19th century via Paschal Beverly Randolph to the practices, influence, and figureheads of the 20th and 21st century such as Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, and Genesis P-Orridge, founder of Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth. Focusing on 12 influential sex magicians, some well-known and some who have remained in obscurity, West details the life of each sex magician and how the practice of sex magic affected their lives. He explains how most of the figures presented in the book used sex magic as a means rather than an end, utilizing their practice to enhance and enrich their life’s work, whether in the arts, sciences, or as a spiritual leader. He examines what is known about Paschal Beverly Randolph, the founding father of modern sex magic, explores the tragic and mystical life of Ida Craddock, and discusses, in depth, iconic figures like Aleister Crowley and Austin Osman Spare, who saw sex magic as a source of artistic power and is now seen as a prophet of the chaos magick movement. Other sex magicians explored deployed magic to drive themselves to the highest echelons of achievement: in literature, William S. Burroughs; in music, Genesis P-Orridge; and in science, Jack Parsons, who openly used magic while making unconventional breakthroughs in rocket science. The author also examines Maria de Naglowska, Julius Evola, Franz Bardon, Marjorie Cameron, and Anton Szandor LaVey. While these sex magicians each followed a different spiritual path and had varying degrees of notoriety and infamy, one common thread emerges from looking at their interesting lives: utilizing magic to know thyself and change your reality is a journey that requires imagination, creativity, and self-awareness to the quest for enlightenment.