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The Secret History of Western Sexual Mysticism: Sacred Practices and Spiritual Marriage

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The Secret History of Western Sexual Mysticism - Sacred Practices and Spiritual Marriage by Arthur Versluis

Destiny Books, Rochester, VT

Professor Versluis presents in this small tome a remarkable treatment of a subject seldom mentioned in the mainstream media. Within its 167 pages you are taken on a journey beginning with the ancient Greek Mystery traditions, slips into the Gnostic practices, strangely and thankfully not introducing the Essenes into the picture, but dwelling more on the aspect of gnosis itself, the direct spiritual knowledge. A side venture into early Christianity and we find ourselves fully immersed into the secret roots of Western sexual mysticism in such a way that provokes thought and conversation without resorting to the tawdry when one discusses the divine unions that are inherent in the ancient sexual practices discussed within this wonderful little book.

What I enjoyed immensely with this book is that Professor Versluis shows us in precise and deliberate pathways the patterns that criss-cross the essential spirituality of the ancients with a distinct religious history. I especially liked the fact that he brings the reader far into the near-present age of American Sexual Mysticism with introspective thoughts on Thomas Harris, Alice Stockholm, the poet H.D. and into the recent past with Denis de Rougemont, and his seminal work of 1938, Love in the Western World. And into one of my favorites - Alan Watts

What do we find after reading this book? We come to realize that sexual mysticism has incredibly deep roots that go back for thousands of years. And because of and in spite of...it is made clear to us that Christianity introduced a particular dynamic of antimysticism and antisexuality...or at least has tried to.

One of the more valuable insights I have gathered from this reading is that our perceptions of Western Sexual Mysticism are consistently oriented towards the transcendence of the self. I can no longer accept the standard path of others that sexual mysticism is not the rejection of this world as it is seen from the religious and societal fundamentalists but rather a true and pure affirmation of other worlds to us as seen through the beauty of sexual mysticism. I can now see the intertwining of the mysteries of human creativity with the mystery of self-transcendence.

I count this as one of the books to be kept in a prominent spot on my shelf of books read and valued and eventually passed on to the next seeker.

J.E. `Track' McCreary

Versluis pulls some very important, but little known, sacred sex lore out of its academic pigeonholes, boldly ignores entrenched prejudices, and eloquently reconsiders what the actual practitioners of these other approaches to sex might have been up to. He points out, correctly I think, that the mystery of sacred sex has often been dependent upon self-discipline (the ability to have intercourse without orgasm). He also dispels the myth that sacred sex was generally a fertility rite. Across many traditions, it was clearly often geared toward mutual transcendence, not procreation.

As the author of a book [...] that also incorporates bits of sacred sex history (not just from the West), I was very pleased to see Dr. Alice Bunker Stockham's contribution acknowledged. Her inspiring text "Karezza: Ethics of Marriage" can be found here:[...]

One hopes this book signals a changing tide from accelerating emphasis on empty sexual stimulation toward a desire for deeper understanding of the hidden potential in our intimate relationships. As Versluis points out, the best way to heal the destructive extremes of fundamentalism and reckless, risky sex is with a new (or very ancient) understanding--one that puts the mystery back in erotic as we relearn how sex can pleasurably serve a higher end than either procreation or recreation.

For those that wish to see the link between eastern and western sexual mysticism practices, this is an excellent primer.

From the ancient Greeks to Gnosticism and early Christianity, author Arthur Versluis uncovers Western sexual mysticism's secret roots in a survey that examines divine unions inherent in sexual practices. In combining many different elements from Kabbalism to alchemical currents, SECRET HISTORY OF WESTERN SEXUAL MYSTICISM offers up a unique set of cross-connections essential to connecting spirituality with religious history. New age collections, in particular, will find it an exciting survey packed with history and religious examination.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch