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Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic: The Essential Ida Craddock

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Ida Craddock believed that she was wedded to an angel. In her works of mystical eroticism she discusses how others may also achieve such a wedding and demonstrates that references to such nuptials are found in the traditions of many ancient peoples.

I was first exposed to Ida Craddock in Aleister Crowley's enthusiastic review of her Heavenly Bridegrooms, published only a few years after her death, in his occult periodical, The Equinox. It was not until one of his successors, Marcelo Motta, published two of Ida's works in his much later The Equinox vol. V that I was able to actually read Heavenly Bridegrooms and Psychic Wedlock for myself. While Motta should be commended for having seen the value of these works and having brought them to the attention of his readers, his versions were problematic in several ways. In any event, they are largely unavailable now.

It was, therefore, beyond time for a new edition of these works. Chappell has done an outstanding job of providing it. Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic not only provides the text of her two classic works of erotic mysticism, Heavenly Bridegrooms and Psychic Wedlock, but also a number of other writings, some complete, and a longer one only in excerpt. The first of these writings is a delightful, yet fiery, defense of bellydancing performers at the Chicago World's Fair. Also, Chappell includes two of her practical sexual manuals intended for those who were married or contemplating marriage. While some of the advice in these works may seem quaint, superstitious, or even prudish to most modern readers, they remain valuable reading as important documents in the history of sexual liberation. And, it must be said, much of Craddock's advice rings true even today. Her diary excerpts are also remarkable. They include entries describing her actual experiences with her angelic lover. The accounts of these experiences are as raw, as intimate, as sweet, and as real, as a memoire of any mundane romance.

As well as anthologizing these writings, Chappell also contextualizes them by introducing them through sympathetic biography. Chappell reveals Craddock as a courageous visionary who faced estrangement from her mother, harrassment by Anthony Comstock, imprisonment by the government, and finally death to deliver her message of sexual health for couples and transcendent sexual gnosis for all. Her final letters, written as she prepared to take her own life (in preference to her impending return to incarceration), are a poignant portrayal of a woman still sure of her mission -- and of her place in the world beyond death.

Chappell ends his narrative in a moving account of how she was the ultimate victor over her oppressors, especially the man who hounded her literally to death, Anthony Comstock. This fine volume is a poignant testimony to this saintly woman. As she left life, confidently expecting to be taken up into the arms of her Heavenly Bridegroom -- her love, from whom she no longer need be parted -- I can imagine her spirit signing,

"Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still if Thou abide with me."

This review appeared on The Magical Buffet website on 1/25/11.

Who is Ida Craddock? The photo of Craddock on the cover shows an attractive woman of her era (she was born in 1857 and sadly took her own life in 1902). If not for her claims of having an intimate relationship with an angelic being, she would very much fit the profile of a conservative spinster. However, Craddock's willingness to discuss sex (and the idea that the act may exist for reasons other than procreation), whether you believed her partner was an entity from the "Borderlands" or an elicit, but earthly affair, forever changed the way that people view sex, magical and new thought traditions consider sex, and she ended up dying a martyr in the fight for free speech. She defended the belly dancers of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, championed the idea of sex as a spiritual act, and in the end, faced off with the notorious Anthony Comstock. Craddock lost the battle with Comstock, but the publication of her suicide note certainly turned the tides of the war champions of free speech were waging against him.

When Craddock took her life, her work was packaged away to be kept safe. Despite endorsements from medical professionals, spiritual leaders, and several members of high society, Craddock's persecution led her to determine that society may not be ready for her work. Fortunately, through the diligence of the lawyer Theodore Schroeder her works were preserved, and now author Vere Chappell has polished and compiled them for a culture that may be ready to learn more about Craddock and her writing.

Vere Chappell provides the readers with important unedited Craddock writings, such as "Heavenly Bridegrooms" and "The Danse du Ventre (Dance of the Abdomen) as performed in the Cairo Street Theatre, Midway Plaisance Chicago: Its Value as an Educator in Marital Duties", but more importantly he provides the necessary historical context to understand Craddock's work and life.

"Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic" gives the reader amazing insight into the life and work of woman little mentioned but deserving in recognition.

Wish I'd bought the "Heaven's Bride" book which my sister-in-law read and enjoyed. This felt like a high school essay sandwiching the works of Craddock which are already available elsewhere. I kept falling asleep while reading and ended up skimming the last quarter of the book.

Not the best book - I got this one instead of the other biography (which was featured on NPR) b/c this one was only $10 vs. the $15. I'm not sure if the $15 one is any better, but this one had little biography and was mostly just a re-printing of Craddock's work - which I would say is roughly 80% of the book. Pretty disappointing. I wanted to read how her works affected society, not what her works were - which surely we could get online for free.