Breeding Devils in Chaos: Homosexuality & the Occult by Phil Hine
CONTENT • • • • • • • •
ex!Demons exual "agic# The exual $ringe Brea#ing a%ay rom Polarity The 'Demonisation' o Homosexuality (ncluding the )Other) Nature vs Nurture Beyond the label
"Thus the blasphemy of the homosexual formula, for it denies Babalon and breeds devils in chaos." Kenneth Grant Like any other arena of o f human exploration, occultism generates theories for explaining/understanding the myriad facets of human behaviour. behaviou r. For some, these theories are no more than signposts, concepts to be discarded as the individuals kno!ledge and insight develops. For others, the various theories become dogmas - fixed beliefs !hich become firmly entrenched in the individuals psyche as manifestations of pre"udice# attitudes perpetuated by ignorance. $ccult conc epts of sexuality are no different to those from any other angle of society - they can be used to confirm pre"udice, and elevate it to a spiritual or traditional plane of received !isdom. %his becomes clear !h en one sees occultists attempting to explain homosexuality. %here is much invocation of chakra imbalances, reverse kundalini, feminine souls in male bodies, and so forth. %he level of sophistication can range from the simplistic &its not natural& to extremely in-depth discussions about chakras, kundalini, and da maged auras. ' !riter in a pagan maga(ine recently put it that "homosexuality is anathema to the symbolism and tradition of the Craft of the Wise, which is firmly based on the polarity of man (the Horned od! as a consort of woman (the oddess!. odd ess!. or two men to i#nore the oddess is a defilement of the ea rth herself$" )omosexuality and magick have, since the beginning of the great occult revival of the last century, been uneasy bedfello!s, and there have been fe! attempts to develop a gay approach to sex-magick !ith any thoroughness, at least, that are available in the public domain. %his is in part due to entrenched attitudes about the magical magical nature of homosexuality. ' great deal of
occult memes *viral ideas+ currently in circulation !ere spa!ned in the heyday of the %heosophical ociety, for example the identification of Left )and ath *bad+ 0ight )and ath *good+ stems from the %heosophists re"ection of sexuality and its active role in %antra. 1hen a leading member of the %heosophist movement !as implicated in a sex-scandal involving pu bescent boys, the resulting furore not only damaged the %heosophical movement as a !hole, but also gave rise to the rumours that there existed groups of 2lack 3agicians !ho obtained occult po!er by psychically vampiri(ing young boys. uch rumours !ere given a substantial boost by 4ion Fortune, !ho throughout the t!enties thirties alleged that there !as a conspiracy of male occultists !ho used homosexual techni5ues to build up !hat she called dark astral po!er. he also blamed the decline of the Greek and 0oman empires on those cultures relaxed attitude to homosexuality. 'lthough she never named any of these black adepts, it is clear that she !as probably referring to 6.1. Leadbeater, and perhaps, also 'leister 6ro!ley. 6ro!leys attitude to homosexuality is ambivalent, to say the least. 'n active and enthusiastic bisexual, he had several male lovers, the most notable of !hich !as the poet 7ictor 8euburg, his partner in a series of homosexual sex-magick operations kno!n as %he aris 1orking, !here 8euburg 6ro!ley performed a series of invocations using anal intercourse as the means of achieving gnosis. %he results of this series of magical operations demonstrated to 6ro!ley the po!er of sexual magick as a means of obtaining results, and he !rote magical papers on the value of 7999: *'utosexual+ 9;: *)eterosexual+ and ;9: *)omosexual+ magick !hich !ere incorporated into his re!orking of the $rdo %emplis $rientis magical $rder. 6ro!ley also !rote a book of poems devoted to love bet!een men, or more accurately, a man and a boy# 2agh-9-3uttar# %he cented Garden of 'bdullah the atirist of hira(, published in <=<>. 1hilst a !orthy addition to any collection of 6ro!leys !ork, the 2agh-9-3uttar is not a book of practical instruction. ?xponents of 6ro!leys !ork such as Kenneth Grant an d the late 9srael 0egardie have sought to excuse his use of !hat Kenneth Grant delicately ca lls the homosexual formula. 3odern textbooks of sexual magick tend to either ignore male homosexuality, or take the position that the gender of partners makes no difference !hen it comes to raising energy. %hey do, ho!ever, tend to stress the importance of sexual magick taking place bet!een an established couple, and there are no references to the areas of gay sexual culture that straight society finds so hard to handle - group sex, 3, or anonymous sex. 6learly, any !riter able to overcome the general occult phobias over homosexuality *particularly male homosexuality - some occult sexual manuals sa y that Lesbianism is okay - after all, its a turn-on, isnt it@+ is valuable, compared to the blocked chakras brigade, but by saying that the energies are essentially the same and then going on to describe practices purely in heterosexual terms is missing out that there might possibly be something different about homosexual magick. robably the most available source for ideas an d inspiration related to gay sexual magick is the !ork of the 'merican !riter, 1illiam 2urroughs. 2urroughs fiction non-fiction contains many references to homosexual acts for magical purposes, and an appraisal of these themes follo!s.
ex!Demons %he sub"ect of incubi and succubi and their visitations is rarely brought up by contempary magical !riters, although they have been used time and time again by the varied hacks of the cheap horror genre, as a plot device upon !hich to hang the standard fare of blood and lust. ex-4emons have been banished -either explained a!ay as hallucination by psychlogists, or "unked as "ust a manifestation of the antisexual masturbatory mythos. 6hristian priests of course, maintain that such encounters are visitations from the 4evil.
'ny occultists this side of the t!entieth-century that do mention them, usually do so in the context of !arning against having &traffick& !ith such entities, believing that loss of vitality or obsession is the inevitable result. 3icheal 2ertiaux for example, in a g rade paper of &%he 3onastery of the even 0ays& !rites of the sexual vampires attracted by the release of $dic energy in orgasm, and recommends that a psychic barrier be erected *A+ prior to engaging in any sexual magick, to prevent them from sucking on your orgones. 's regards sex-demons *as indeed many other sub"ects+, !estern magick remains shot through !ith the anti-sexual frothings of the %heosophical ociety, 6hristian Babalah and other such organisations !hich call themselves &0ight-)and path&. 2asically, the 0) syndrome seems to attract those !ho have an extreme devotional bias to their !orld-vie!, are into &service& in a big !ay, also ideas such as cosmic sin or karmaC divide mind, body and spirit and !ho re"ect sexuality at some level. $n the other hand, the L)-ers are definitely not into bending the knee, suspicious of service, and into getting bonkedA 9n contrast to the prevailing mores, 2urroughs has a much !ider, ob"ective approach to incubi and succubi# &...an incubus or succubus can be harmless, or it can be destructive. Like any sexual situation, the danger depends on ho! you handle it. 'll sex is potentially dangerous...$ur sexual feelings make us vunerable. )o! many people have been ruined by a sexual partner@ ex does provide a point of invasion and the incubi and succubi simply make us intensely a!are of this.& from ' 0eport from the 2unker *7.2ockris+ 9n %he lace of 4ead 0oads, protagonist Kim 6arsons en"oys several encounters !ith sex-demons# &)e kne! that the horror of these 4emon Lovers !as a gloomy 6hristian thing. 9n Dapan there are phantom lovers kno!n as fox maidens !ho are highly pri(ed, and the man can get his hands on a fox maiden is considered lucky. )e felt sure that there !ere fox boys as !ell. u ch creatures could assume the form of either sex.& 'ccording to 2urroughs, peoples attitudes to!ards these beings may change, but such visitations are probably more fre5uent than most people suppose. )e classes them as a type of &familiar& *they certainly areA+ and notes that, like animal or ele mental familiars, they are dependant on a relationship !ith a human host for their o!n development. imilar ideas may be found in the Kaula school of %antrika, and there are numerous rites for contacting such beings. %he general idea is that you fuck them and they do you a favour in return. %he negative aspect of such an encounter is basically that a succubus or incubus can be a good servant but a bad master, and repeated encounters !ith sex-demons can lead to the reduction of physical sexual encounters. 2urroughs speculates on the possibilities of increased fre5uency of contact bet!een humans and sex-demons# &ex is physics. 9f anyone could push a button and receive an incubus or succubus, 9 believe that most people !ould prefer a phantom partner than the all-too dreary real thing&. - 0eport from the 2unker $f particular interest is 2urroughs exploration of such contacts during dream-states. 7ivid !aking dreams, hypnogogic states and lucid dreams can all be a medium for contacting sex-demons *82# the use of sigils before sleep can be particularly effective+. )e postulates that contacts !ith such beings in dream-states may be &training& for space travel. 2urroughs fiction is littered !ith elemental progeny -li(ard and crab boys, !inged youths, symbiotic plants, amphibian venusians and the &(imbu&, 1ild 2oy clones produced by both technology and sexual rites. Dust as some feminist !riters are exploring the possibility of male redundancy as regards reproduction *for example, parthenogenesis by 48' splicing+, 2urroughs is generating fictional !orlds of entirely male societies, !here &the human artifact& can evolve# &sex forms the matrix of a dualistic and therefore solid and real universe. 9t is possible *i.e.C sex
bet!een males+ to resolve the dualistic conflict in a sex act !here dualism does not exist.&%he lace $f 4ead 0oads 2urroughs does not appear to be an advocate of androgyny -the fusion of masculine and feminine 5ualities and energies - but proposes divergence bet!een the sexesC separate biological evolution. )e is not concerned !ith the recovery or maintainance of archetypes of the past, but in biological adaptations to!ards future living....&actual beings designed for space travel.& 'nother closely related theme is his usage of sex as a modus for time-travel. 2urroughs protagonists often use some form of sexual shape-shifting to enter different time-space (ones# &;olotl !as explaining to me that only one body is left in the s!itch they !ere going to hang me and !hen 9 shot my load and died 9 !ould pass into his body.& %he oft 3achine ?lse!here, 2urroughs notes that sexual conditioning is &...one of the most po!erful anchors for rooting ones ego in present time.& everal of his disorienting cut-up se5uences demonstrate methods of scrambling sexual images so as to &loosen& the individual from the addictive cyclicity of time. ' similar techni5ue is the use of 'stral ro"ection !hich he describes *follo!ing the !ork of 0obert 3unroe+ as &sex in the second state.& %!o characters learn to have sex in the second state during one of the navy scenes in 6ities of the 0ed 8ight# "%ne twin lets out an eerie hi#h&pitched wolf howl and turns bri#ht red all over as the hairs on his head and body stand up and crac'le. Then, as if struc' by li#htnin#, he falls to the floor in an erotic seiure e)aculatin# repeatedly in front of the appalled and salacious tars." 'stral pro"ection, like dreaming, is another route into space, and again such "ourneys into the imagination are preparations for the real thing.
exual "agic# "We are the children of the underworld, the bitter venoms of the ods." The *lace of +ead oads 9n addition to the modes of psychic sexuality already discussed, several other uses of sexual magick crop up throughout 2urroughss !ork. For example, in %he place of 4ead 0oads, Kim 6arsons performs an act of magical masturbation to pro"ect a thought-formC he uses ecstacy to mould the astral light to his !ill, hurling the image of his desire at the moment of orgasm. exual magick is used to invoke various dark Gods such as )um!a!a, the lord of 'bominations. )e describes the appropriate smell *incense designers take noteA+ as# "...stale sweat, rectal mucus and adolescent #enitals rubs out with mus' and hyacinth and rose oil" %he lace of 4ead 0oads 9n 6ities of the 0ed 8ight, private investigator 6lem nide and his assistant try some sex magick to help further investigation of a bi(arre case. Esing sexual magick they perform an invocation of et# "- bend over and im rubs the ointment up my ass and slides his coc' in. / roarin# sound in my ears as pictures and tapes swirl in my brain. 0hadowy fi#ures rise beyond the candleli#ht1 the #oddess -x Tab, patroness of those who han# themselves.. a vista of #allows and burnin# cities from Bosch.. 0et.. %siris.. smell of the sea. erry han#in# na'ed from the beam." 't a later point in the book, Derrys spirit gets into nides assistant, and the aid of Derrys ex-lover is enlisted to call the spirit out. Derrys spirit must obey this boy, as he is the one !ho fucked him &the best&. %he description of these rites does not linger over the erotic aspects, but the images - visions,
smells, sounds - desire pro"ected in the flash-bulb of orgasm. 'lso in 6ities of the 0ed 8ight, the link bet!een sex and creativity is explored. 'dolescent pirates design ne! explosive !eapons by fucking half-grasped ideas into reality. 9n trying to struggle !ith a ne! concept, they are sei(ed by spontaneous lust, the outcome of !hich is the ne! idea. %he orgasm-death gimmick is probably the best-kno!n of 2urroughss sexual the mes. 9t has been described as a form of alchemy, in !hich the ego is transferred to another bo dy at the moment of e"aculation. )anging rituals take place again and again throughout 2urroughs !ork. %he link bet!een sex and death *Freud called orgasm &la petite mort& - the little death+ is a !ell-kno!n magical formula, and has inspired the title of the chaos magick order - the 9lluminates of %hanateros - the sex an d death gnosis. $rgasm-death transfer se5uences occur throughout both %he oft 3achine and 6ities of the 0ed 8ight, !here the elite &transmigrants& orchestrate careful orgasm-death rites so that their egos may be transferred into the bodies of the class kno!n as the &receptacles&. %he techni5ue is increasingly refined so that the spirit can be directly transferred into an adolescent receptacle, thus circumventing the process of birth and infancy. 'ccording to 2urroughs, our kno!ledge of sexuality and its possibilities for human evolution is very limited. %his is mainly because sexuality is a po!erful means of psychocontrol. 1e tend to regard the sexual aspect of our experience as the most private and intimate part of our lives, yet it is sub"ect to immense interference and control from external agencies. 9n his fiction and non-fiction, 2urroughs is exploring the !ays in !hich sex may become an escape vehicle to pull free of the crushing, smothering embrace of the control-programs that maintain society. )e explores the use of sexual magick for obtaining specific results, for pro"ecting the !ill to create thought-forms, and for inspiration and drea m control.
The exual $ringe 's the recent court case from the polices $peration panner sho!s, there is a great dea l of "udicial unease over the implications of ado-3asochistic sexual practices. 6ourt rulings follo!ing the polices busting of an 3 ring imprisoned men !ho had consented to 3 practices - there !as no coercion or under-age sex involved, yet 3 practices - including body piercings, !ere "udged to constitute assault. %he 5uestion of 3 as a sexual practice h as for a long time been a sub"ect of heated debate !ithin the Lesbian Gay community. 'dvocates of 3 say that it is about enacting fantasies and is a good deal safer than penetrative sex, !hile its critics point to the symbolism of 3 gear handcuffs, !hips, chains etc., as perpetuating symbols of oppression. Dohn 0echy, author ofCity of 2i#ht gives an example of this !hen he discusses the psychodynamics of 3 fantasies !herein Ga y men dress up as policemen or soldiers. 4oubtless the forging of a link bet!een 3 and magical practices !ill upset some of the more orthodox magi, yet elements of bondage and flagellation can be discerned !ithin many magical traditions, from the 8orth 'merican 9ndian undance rite *!here participants have leather thongs strung through the pectoral muscles and are suspended in mid-air in the full heat of the sun+ to 0evivalist 1itchcraft, in !hich cords, knots, and ritual scourging take place. $f course, !e are informed that the latter is done for a spiritual reason, rather than mere healthy hedonism, but pain and restraint are common forms of inducing an altered state of consciousness, particularly !ithin shamanic cultures - a fact !hich the ne!-age exponents of boil-in-a-bag shamanism have passed over, together !ith body piercing and scarification. art of the problem !hen trying to examine possible sources for developing a Ga y approach to sexual magick is that there are not many options for Gay men !ho !ish to become involved in occult practices - most magical paths *at least in the EK+ are biased from the heterosexist vie!point, and arguments against the spiritual validity of homosexual rites can be found in the !ritings of modern
exponents of 1icca, %helema, Babalah, and the 1estern ?soteric %radition in general. ' possible exception to this general trend is the 'merican-based 3onastery of the even 0ays - a net!ork of 7oudoun groups led by 3ichael 2ertiaux, in !hich special courses on mag ical practice for gay men are available. )o!ever, its not "ust a 5uestion of techni5ues and accepting the validity of gay sexual magick. 1e need to address the issue of magick and sexuality head-on. 'bove all, magick is a process of adaptation to changes in our environment. 's the 8ineties spin us faster into a ne! !orld, !e are left, increasingly breathless !ith a sense of future shock. 1eve hardly begun to adapt ourselves to the facts of city-life, let alone the pluralistic sexuality !hich our post-industrial culture has thro!n up. 1e need to understand sexuality, and ho! sexuality relates to the po!er-plays !hich t!itch and gibber behind the facade of social reality. exual magick is dangerous, as it subverts the conditioned value that sex procreation nuclear family *!here man o!ns !oman, o!ns children+. 9t subverts the conditioned value that good sex x amount of orgasms !rung from the partner. $rgasm has become one more marketplace commodity to be bought, sold, and advertised. exual magick might offer the chance to find out that there is something beyond the !alls. %he magick is in our bodies and minds. Lets try and find it. ' recent %7 debate on censorship discussed the taboo of screening an erect penis. 1hy@ 9ts vunerable. omeone might laugh at it.
Brea#ing *%ay rom Polarity 3using over this brings me to look at the !hole sub"ect of olarity. 9 !orked for a fe! years !ith an 'lexandrian 6oven, !here polarity !as an important issue. ou kno!, all the stuff about male female, positive negative, bright dark, lo! high active passive. %he male female bit !as especially strong, and every riestess had to have her riest, and vice versa. 3en reflect the )orned $ne, and 1omen reflect the %riune Goddess and any suggestion that things could be other!ise, !ell it "ust !asnt done. o 9 learned to !ork !ith the GoddessesC being in a 1iccan coven meant having a magical partner to !ork !ith a riestess. lo!ly the subversive little thought crept in &1h y cant men !ork !ith the Goddesses directly, and !omen invoke the )orned *or any other God+ u pon themselves@ $kay, so 9 !as naive at the time, but !e tried it no problems. 2y that time 9d read all the Dung 9 ever !anted to and !as !ell into his concept of male female natures !ithin. %he )igh riestesses said that men needed to get in touch !ith their feminine natures, so this !as okay. 9n the midst of !orking through a cycle of 4evotional 3agicks to different Goddesses *Kali, 9sis, ?ris, 2abalon, 3aat+ 9 started to have trouble !ith the !hole concept of polarity. $kay, so !e have masculine and feminine 5ualities. 3en are logical, !omen are intuitive, men are intellectual, !omen are emotional. ays !ho@ atriarchy, thats !ho *yes, 9d learnt a ne! !ord and begun to grasp a ne! politics+. $ur social conditioning sets up these distinctions. %ry and gro! a!ay from our conditioning, and !e might learn that logic, intuition, intellect, and emotions are 5ualities that !e can all share, no matter !hat our gender orientation is. 'nd so another occult la! comes tumbling do!n . o too 9 began to 5uestion the Dungian concept of 'nima 'nimus. 9f !e dont need to polarise 5ualities and traits into masculine and feminine, then do !e need to have 'nima 'nimus !ithin@ Dungs theories have been ably trashed by others, over the years, and 9 dont feel the need to do it here.
The )Demoni+ation) o Homosexuality 9f some occultists find )omosexuality problematic, !e should not be surprised, since our culture as a !hole has difficulty !ith same sex relations. %his is a part of the cultural heritage of 6hristianity, !hich remains as the root of much of our conditioning, although this might not be apparent on the surface,
and is as prevalent !ithin occult circles as it is ever y!here else. %here are 5uite a fe! parallels bet!een coming out as lesbian, gay or bisexual and becoming an occultist, particularly because the core 6hristian attitude to both groups is to stigmatise them as deviant. 'lthough Desus had nothing to say about )omosexuality, his follo!ers made their vie!s 5uite clear# "3now ye not that the unri#hteous shall not inherit the 3in#dom of od4 Be not deceived5 neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers. nor the effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with man'ind ... shall inherit the 3in#dom of od. t. aul, 6orinthians t. auls vie!s on sex !ere that celibacy is best, and if not that, then heterosexual marriage. 'll other forms of sex are illicit. ex, according to 6hristian teaching, !as given to man solely for the purposes of reproduction, and therefore any kind of non reproductive sexual behaviour !as a sin against nature. ex for pleasure and fun forget itA 6hristian vie!s of sexuality !ere to some extent fashioned as a re"ection of the moral values of the agan 'ncients, !here attitudes to sexuality !ere culturally determined, rather than being moral absolutes. %he early 6hurch fathers developed the c omprehensive code of sexual ethics !hich 6hrist himself did not provide. 6lement, Derome, $rigen and 'ugustine laid do!n the principle that sex for any other purpose than procreation !as a sin against nature. uch vie!s !ere enforced in the 0oman ?mpire once 6hristianity !as adopted as the official religion. %he emperor Dustinian took the literal vie! that violations of nature caused nature to retaliate, and that sodomy therefore caused famines, earth5uakes, and pestilence. %his link bet!een unnatural sex and plague remained popular in the 3iddle 'ges, and !as taken as evidence of righteousness by the panish in their con5uest of the aboriginal 9ndians. For the panish, the 9ndians acceptance of homosexual behaviour provided a ma"or "ustification for their con5uest and sub"ugation of the 8e! 1orld. 1hen the 9ndians began to die from the microbes brought over by the invaders, the panish sa! this as confirmation from God o f the inherent virtue of their acts. $f course, no!ada ys !e hear that '94 is Gods punishment upon the Bueers and the increasing incidence of '94 amongst heterosexuals is their fault too and the fault of 2isexuals, of course. %he 6hurchs attitude to homosexuality in the early 3iddle 'ges can been found in the enitentials, the handbooks for confessors. $ne of the most influential of these !orks !as the &4ecretum& of 2urchard of 1orms. )ere the penalties for homosexual sodomy !ere# 9f the penitent !ere single seven years of fasting abstinence 9f the penitent !ere married <> years penance 9f the offence !as habitual < years penance 9f the offender !as a youth <>> da ys on bread and !ater. )omosexual sodomy !as rated as the most serious offence. $ther homosexual acts ho!ever, !ere seen as far less serious. 3utual masturbation, for example, carried a penance of thirty days the same as challenging someone to a drinking bout or having sex !ith the !ife during Lent. %hree groups !ere regularly said to be involved in homosexual activity the nobility, the clergy, and students. %he %hirteenth 6entury marked the beginnings of the 6hurch e5uating homosexual acts !ith demonic impulse. )omosexuality !as not seen as something innate to individuals, but rather as a habit deliberately taken up as an act of !ickedness. 9t !as declared that )omosexuality led to leprosy and insanity, and !as linked to paganism and idolatry. 9nevitably, homosexual acts became linked to
accusations of heresy and !itchcraft, of !hich the most spectacular case !as probably the Knights %emplars !ho !ere accused of devil !orship, heresy and sodomy. 2y the
(ncluding the )Other) Enderlying this kind of behaviour in both cases is the 6hristian rooted reaction to stigmatise and re"ect any manifestations of $therness, and at the same time, reinforce ones o!n sense of self by exclusion of difference. %his reaction to the different or atypical is very much a product of 6hristian based culture. 9n other cultures, ho!ever, those !ho are different are sometimes seen as especially gifted. %ake for example the attitude to gender variance in the 'merican 9ndian religions. $ne of the core principles of 'merican 9ndian religions is that all things in the universe are related. 'll
things that exist are seen as having a counterpart# sky and earthC plant and animalC !ater and fire. 9n all polarities there exist mediators, the role of !hich is to hold the polarities together. %he most important category in 'merindian society is gender. 1omen are gatherers and farmers *earth+ !hilst men are hunters *sky+. the mediator bet!een man and !oman is the role !hich combines elements of both genders - the 2erdacheC a morphological male !ho has a non-masculine character, and can be characterised as Gynandrous. 2erdaches have a clearly recognised accepted social status, often based on a secure place !ithin tribal myth. 2erdaches may have distinct ceremonial roles and important status !ithin their family kinship net!orks. %hey serve a mediating role bet!een 1omen and 3en because their character is seen as distinct from either sex. %hey are not seen as men, yet they are not seen as !omen, either. 9n 'merindian cultures, gender classification is rooted in an individuals spirit - their personal desire, rather than physical biology. %his is a sharp contrast to our o!n 6hristian derived approach, !here atypical individuals are demoni(ed. 3any tribes associate the assumption of the 2erdache role !ith dreams or gifts from spirits. %he Lakota, for example, understand that 2erdaches are guided by spirits, and so are not bound to the usual rules of conduct. %heir unusualness is thus a reflection of their sacredness, and, they are seen as offering advantages to society precisely because they see beyond the restrictions of the normal.
Nature vs Nurture 9n the 1est, the debate bet!een exponents of sexuality as innate predisposition and those of sexuality as learned experience has polarised into the ocial 6onstructionist and ?ssentialist positions. 9n the early years of the Gay Liberation 3ovement, Lesbians Gay 3en took up an ethnic model of oppression and counterculture. )ere, Lesbians Ga y men defined themselves as an ethnic minority !ith sexuality as the determining factor, and homophobia as the oppression. Lesbian Gay activists took the insight of experiencing sexuality as beyond choice that there are people !ho are essentially heterosexual or essentially homosexual. %hus, for an ?ssentialist, a !oman !ho comes o ut at > !ould be perceived as being a Lesbian 'll along !ho had not been in touch !ith her true sexuality. %he occult e5uivalent of this !ould be a 6hristian !oman !ho, upon "oining a coven, declares that she !as a !itch in her past life. 9n opposition to the ?ssentialist argument arose the ocial 6onstructionist vie! that the categories for defining sexuality are socially constructed, rather than discovered, an d that our enculturation socialisation affects us tremendously, including the !ay in !hich !e think that nature shapes us. %hey argue that sexual orientation is learned, relational, contingent, and unpredictable, that different sexual scripts appear !ithin different societies and that there are variations !ithin those scripts !ithin different societies. 8eedless to say, the 6onstructionist paradigm, !ith its implication of fluidity and choice over sexual preferences, threatened some Lesbian Gay activists as soon as it appeared. 9t called into 5uestion the &oppressed ethnic minority& approach by arguing that sexuality !as not a constant, and could therefore not be compared on the same level as skin colour. %he reaction to this !as not favourable those claiming social rights on the basis of group identity do not, on the !hole, appreciate being told that identity is a social construct.
Beyond the label %he sense of identity in our postmodern culture is becoming increasingly fragile and all the indications, as far as 9 can see, are that this trend !ill continue. 9ncreasingly, people are recognising that !hatever labels they use to define themselves, that those labels are inade5uate and incomplete, yet necessary for
political action. %he range of any individuals chosen sexual repertoire can be much !ider than any accepted stereotypes, creating a be!ildering array o f terms# &gay married men, heterodykes, s!ingers, lesbians !ith toy bo ys, lesbians gay men !ho sports fuck !ith the opposite sex, men !ho have sex !ith men *!ho dont identify as 2i or Gay+, 2isexual identified Lesbians Gays, etc.& 0igid definitions of sexuality gender variance are becoming increasingly inada5uate to deal !ith our experiences. 1hich neatly brings us to 6haos 3agic. ome of the uneasiness !hich other agans $ccultists vie! the 6haos approach is, in part in my experience, due to the absence of any rigid parameters and the emphasis on individual freedom of choice in any sphere of activity. 1e are beginning to discover that !e all too easily chain ourselves into limitations by internalising restrictive concepts. o too, !e are discovering that sexual expression chafes at being restricted. From looking at other cultures !e discover that attitudes to gender variance are often more relaxed that sexuality is conceptualised as pleasurable and choice centered, rather than sinful and beyond choice. %he problem !ith the ?ssentialist position is for me, t!ofold. %he first is that it accepts the gender dichotomies !hich have already been established in our culture. ince at the root of this dichotomy, )omosexuality is perceived to be deviant, then attempts to change the social status of )omosexuals are already at a disadvantage. %he ghettoisation of Lesbian Gay subculture is already !ell advanced. ersonally, 5uoting the band %oxic hock &9 dont !ant to live in an alternative ghetto, 9 !ant to live in an alternative !orld&. 'gain, this is a very complex issue, so 9 !ont go into it at length. 'ccepting the )etero-)omo dualism also means that those !ho dont feel themselves as secure in either category, for example, bisexuals trans-gendered people, have to struggle even harder to establish their identity. %he Gay subculture can be as oppressive to bisexuals and others as the mainstream culture can be to homosexuals perpetuating the cycle of demoni(ation. 3y other argument against the ?ssentialist position is - going back to the > year old !oman !ho comes out as a Lesbian. 9f she is only no! fulfilling her true sexuality, this devalues her previous sexual experiences, as they !ere not true. ersonally, before coming out as Gay, 9 had several happ y and fulfilling relationships !ith !omen. 9n fact, some of my partners greatly encouraged me to explore my sexual preferences, and !ere it not for them, 9 might not have explored the other facets of my sexuality. 9n no !ay do 9 feel that my present sexual orientation invalidates my past experiences. 9n the same !ay, 9 have met Gay men !ho, after a sexual encounter !ith a !oman *from mere fancying to sexual intercourse+ feel their entire identity to be under threat, and terrified that their friends !ould find out, and ostracise them for sleeping !ith the Mother. ' key !ay to understand the social tensions involved in maintaining identity can be found in 9rving Goffmanns book, 'sylums, that# "%ur sense of bein# a person can come from bein# drawn into a wider social unit5 our sense of selfhood can arise throu#h the little ways in which we resist the pull. %ur status is bac'ed by the solid buildin#s of the world, while our sense of personal identity resides in the crac's." %he Buantum revolution dealt a death blo! to the dualistic perception of the universe, and 6haos hysics !ill more or less finish it off *eventually+. 1e kno! that the Eniverse is much too complex *and !onderful+ to be neatly labelled into opposites, and ho! !e too easily chain ourselves into limitation by taking on board restrictive concepts. 'nything might be possible, if !e allo! ourselves ne! possibilities. %ake sexuality for instance. For safetys sake !e define our sexuality according to labels, images, roles, politics, etc. 2ut increasingly, !e are discovering that sexuality chafes at being trapped in one mould. 1hich isnt to say that !e are all androgynous or bisexual. Dust that those !ho feel able can explore aspects of their sexuality that goes beyond their immediate perception of their orientation. Last night 9 read a book called 6acho 0luts, a collection of Lesbian 3 erotica. 9t didnt do anything for me, as it !ere, but 9 !as extremely impressed by the !riters ability to be ho nest and truthful about her fantasies - refusing to censor herself "ust because it !asnt politically correct to h ave
such images in her head. %he best kind of magick, 9 find, is the magick that liberates us from the chains of oppression, be they ideas, feelings, conditioning, or the very real oppression of being made to feel po!erless and unimportant.
