Author: Yasmine Galenorn
Trade Paperback, 220 pages
Publisher: Crossing Press
Publication date: March 2003
ISBN: 1580911137
Price & More Info: Click Here
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In the introduction to Sexual Ecstasy and the Divine, the author writes "Sex is a loaded gun. We use it to sell products, to win friends and influence people. We wallow in it, yet call it sinful. We crave it, yet we fear it." In these few words Yasmine Galenorn sums up the problem of sex in American society. She spends the rest of the book trying to provide a sensible treatment of sex within a Pagan (well, mainly Wiccan) spiritual view. This book is part sex manual and part spiritual guide, written in Galenorn's usual style which makes the reader feel like he or she was sitting at the kitchen table chatting with the author.
The book opens with a chapter on the history of sex, or more correctly, a brief history of the place of sex in western culture. The second chapter discusses the practical aspects of sex: the obvious physical ones and the less obvious ones that deal with human nature, like how to discuss sexual problems with your partner. The next chapters deal with masturbation, including its use in raising the kundalini force and in magick, and with the use of sex toys and fantasy.
The following two chapters provide each gender with a detailed "meditation ritual": a sacred harlot ritual for woman and a stag king ritual for men. Chapters seven and eight talk about how a couple can commune with the divine or work magick through sexual intercourse. Alternative practices like BDSM and polyamory are addressed in the next chapter. The tenth chapter deals with the aftermath of rape: how to move from victim to survivor. The final chapter talks about the gods and goddesses of sex and provides an "interview with yourself" to help the reader determine his or her feelings about sexual issues.
In Sexual Ecstasy and the Divine Galenorn has done an excellent job in presenting subjects that many authors and publishers carefully step around. Her willingness to talk about her personal experiences make the book far more readable than many books which only discuss sex in the abstract or in third person clinical accounts. This book is a nice sex manual for Pagans. I recommend it to any Pagan interested in sex. Although those with less experience will get more out of it, there is something in this book for everyone. However, if you are looking for a manual concentrating on Tantra or sex magick, this is probably not the book you are looking for.
Reviewed by Randall
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