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The Secret History of Western Sexual Mysticism: Sacred Practices and Spiritual Marriage
The first book to reveal the history of Western sexual mysticism
• Reveals the secret sexual practices that have been used since ancient Greece to achieve mystical union with God
• Details the sects and individuals who transmitted the radical sexual practices that orthodox Christianity never completely silenced
• Distinguishes between sexual magic and sexual mysticism
Beginning with the ancient Greek Mystery traditions, Gnosticism, and the practices in early Christianity, Arthur Versluis uncovers the secret line of Western sexual mysticism that, like the Tantra of the East, seeks transcendence or union with God through sexual practices. Throughout antiquity, and right into the present day, sexuality has played an important, if largely hidden, role in religious traditions and practices. This includes not only Christian but also kabbalistic and hermetic alchemical currents of sexual mysticism, many discussed together here for the first time.
In the Mystery tradition of hieros gamos (sacred marriage) and the Gnostic tradition of spiritual marriage, we see the possibility of divine union in which sexual union is the principal sign or symbol. Key to these practices is the inner or archetypal union of above and below, the intermingling of the revelatory divine world with the mundane earthly one. Versluis shows that these secret currents of sexual mysticism helped fuel the rise of the troubadours and their erotic doctrine, the esoteric teachings of Jacob Böhme in the late 16th century, the 19th-century utopian communities of John Humphrey Noyes and Thomas Lake Harris, the free love movement of the 20th century, and the modern writings of Denis de Rougemont and Alan Watts.
• Reveals the secret sexual practices that have been used since ancient Greece to achieve mystical union with God
• Details the sects and individuals who transmitted the radical sexual practices that orthodox Christianity never completely silenced
• Distinguishes between sexual magic and sexual mysticism
Beginning with the ancient Greek Mystery traditions, Gnosticism, and the practices in early Christianity, Arthur Versluis uncovers the secret line of Western sexual mysticism that, like the Tantra of the East, seeks transcendence or union with God through sexual practices. Throughout antiquity, and right into the present day, sexuality has played an important, if largely hidden, role in religious traditions and practices. This includes not only Christian but also kabbalistic and hermetic alchemical currents of sexual mysticism, many discussed together here for the first time.
In the Mystery tradition of hieros gamos (sacred marriage) and the Gnostic tradition of spiritual marriage, we see the possibility of divine union in which sexual union is the principal sign or symbol. Key to these practices is the inner or archetypal union of above and below, the intermingling of the revelatory divine world with the mundane earthly one. Versluis shows that these secret currents of sexual mysticism helped fuel the rise of the troubadours and their erotic doctrine, the esoteric teachings of Jacob Böhme in the late 16th century, the 19th-century utopian communities of John Humphrey Noyes and Thomas Lake Harris, the free love movement of the 20th century, and the modern writings of Denis de Rougemont and Alan Watts.
176 pages, Paperback
First published March 25, 2008
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About the author
Arthur Versluis
64 books31 followersArthur Versluis, Professor of Religious Studies at Michigan State University, holds a doctorate from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and has published numerous books and articles.
Among his many books are Platonic Mysticism (SUNY Press 2017), American Gurus (Oxford UP, 2014), Magic and Mysticism: An Introduction to Western Esotericism (Rowman Littlefield, 2007), The New Inquisitions: Heretic-hunting and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Totalitarianism (Oxford UP, 2006), Restoring Paradise: Esoteric Transmission through Literature and Art (SUNY: 2004); The Esoteric Origins of the American Renaissance (Oxford UP: 2001); Wisdom’s Book: The Sophia Anthology, (Paragon House, 2000); Island Farm (MSU Press, 2000); Wisdom’s Children: A Christian Esoteric Tradition (SUNY: 1999); and American Transcendentalism and Asian Religions (Oxford UP, 1993).
His family has owned a commercial farm in West Michigan for several generations, and so he also published a book called Island Farm about the family farm, and about family farming in the modern era.
Versluis was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to Germany, and is the editor of JSR: Journal for the Study of Radicalism. He is the founding president of Hieros, a 501c3 nonprofit focused on spirituality and cultural renewal.
Among his many books are Platonic Mysticism (SUNY Press 2017), American Gurus (Oxford UP, 2014), Magic and Mysticism: An Introduction to Western Esotericism (Rowman Littlefield, 2007), The New Inquisitions: Heretic-hunting and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Totalitarianism (Oxford UP, 2006), Restoring Paradise: Esoteric Transmission through Literature and Art (SUNY: 2004); The Esoteric Origins of the American Renaissance (Oxford UP: 2001); Wisdom’s Book: The Sophia Anthology, (Paragon House, 2000); Island Farm (MSU Press, 2000); Wisdom’s Children: A Christian Esoteric Tradition (SUNY: 1999); and American Transcendentalism and Asian Religions (Oxford UP, 1993).
His family has owned a commercial farm in West Michigan for several generations, and so he also published a book called Island Farm about the family farm, and about family farming in the modern era.
Versluis was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to Germany, and is the editor of JSR: Journal for the Study of Radicalism. He is the founding president of Hieros, a 501c3 nonprofit focused on spirituality and cultural renewal.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 1, 2023
first: horrendous title. any "secret x of y" comes across as sappy and frankly quite ridiculous.
that aside: convinced that religious approaches to sexuality could not only be confined to non-European cultures, I was happy to find a book on this topic written by a university professor.
while it started out great, it progressively began to include more and more outright speculation ("this and that has been said about x, but one wonders..."/"it could equally be x, y or z and I'm arbitrarily going with z") which made me question the sometimes uncited sources the author relies on and the credibility of his interpretations.
however, this book was bizarrely inspirational.
the fact that the same dynamics repeat themselves throughout history, and that some people have always rejected the the general consensus on moral behaviour in a positive way is somehow very comforting.
on to reading Böhme and ascending into a permanent state of near-psychosis x
that aside: convinced that religious approaches to sexuality could not only be confined to non-European cultures, I was happy to find a book on this topic written by a university professor.
while it started out great, it progressively began to include more and more outright speculation ("this and that has been said about x, but one wonders..."/"it could equally be x, y or z and I'm arbitrarily going with z") which made me question the sometimes uncited sources the author relies on and the credibility of his interpretations.
however, this book was bizarrely inspirational.
the fact that the same dynamics repeat themselves throughout history, and that some people have always rejected the the general consensus on moral behaviour in a positive way is somehow very comforting.
on to reading Böhme and ascending into a permanent state of near-psychosis x
October 23, 2010
A short but very readable account of the necessarily 'hidden' traditions of sexual mysticism in the West from the open era of classical paganism through to the end of the twentieth century - an excellent counterpoint to Hugh Urban's 'Magia Sexualis', also read and reviewed by us on Goodreads.
Versluis is working in territory that is poorly recorded, in part because mainstream culture has cruelly punished heresies, and has consequently ensured that little survives by way of texts. The self-censorship of practitioners until recent times has had much the same effect on sources as has active and often cruel repression.
His scholarly refusal to speculate beyond the necessary makes one appreciate all the more the moral and sometimes physical courage of those dissidents who have appeared since the Constantinian settlement of the 320s AD placed an effective ban on sexuality as a positive spiritual force - a ban only removed slowly and uncertainly with the opening up of America and the rise of secular liberalism in Europe.
His analyses are sophisticated, showing how Western Christian mysticism owed something to its pagan predecessors. Practices were analogous to those in the worship of Shiva in India in the classical era and they developed (almost certainly independently though with periodic probable inputs from the East) many of the characteristics of the Tantric schools subsequently.
Indeed, he and we are struck by the alternative route that Christianity might have taken if it had not become the play-thing of imperial and papal authority. The story fills one with foreboding at the eventual outcome of the European Project if it is not curtailed and limited before it can become a threat to liberty under the growing economic and strategic pressures developing within and on the West.
Versluis wisely distinguishes sexual mysticism from magic (the more utilitarian and dominant strand of occult sexuality in the West today)and so does not go over the same ground as Urban. And his conclusions, linking the heretical to 'natural' connections in man and nature, to the egalitarian, to gnosis and to the transcendent are wise and thoughtful. Rather than give the game away, I suggest you get the book and come to your own conclusions before you read his.
Highly recommended.
Versluis is working in territory that is poorly recorded, in part because mainstream culture has cruelly punished heresies, and has consequently ensured that little survives by way of texts. The self-censorship of practitioners until recent times has had much the same effect on sources as has active and often cruel repression.
His scholarly refusal to speculate beyond the necessary makes one appreciate all the more the moral and sometimes physical courage of those dissidents who have appeared since the Constantinian settlement of the 320s AD placed an effective ban on sexuality as a positive spiritual force - a ban only removed slowly and uncertainly with the opening up of America and the rise of secular liberalism in Europe.
His analyses are sophisticated, showing how Western Christian mysticism owed something to its pagan predecessors. Practices were analogous to those in the worship of Shiva in India in the classical era and they developed (almost certainly independently though with periodic probable inputs from the East) many of the characteristics of the Tantric schools subsequently.
Indeed, he and we are struck by the alternative route that Christianity might have taken if it had not become the play-thing of imperial and papal authority. The story fills one with foreboding at the eventual outcome of the European Project if it is not curtailed and limited before it can become a threat to liberty under the growing economic and strategic pressures developing within and on the West.
Versluis wisely distinguishes sexual mysticism from magic (the more utilitarian and dominant strand of occult sexuality in the West today)and so does not go over the same ground as Urban. And his conclusions, linking the heretical to 'natural' connections in man and nature, to the egalitarian, to gnosis and to the transcendent are wise and thoughtful. Rather than give the game away, I suggest you get the book and come to your own conclusions before you read his.
Highly recommended.
December 31, 2022
I appreciate what the author was trying to do with this book but felt like it fell short of really penetrating the topic deep enough to uncover or reveal any profound insights other than showing that the West has sexual mysticism traditions too. It felt more like an introduction to what should be a much larger and in depth book. Great overview for anyone not familiar with any of these traditions, it whets the appetite for more.
June 3, 2022
Arthur Versluis writes book-length professorial summaries on almost any esoteric subject Some of them are quite good, but this one fails to deliver anything new, juicy, or engaging regarding hieros gamos and its practices. Sex is an important symbol of liberation and transmission. It deserved better than the dusty and perfunctory treatment given here.
November 3, 2023
Heteronormative survey of much more diverse phenomena
There is huge evidence of single-sex mysticism in monasteries and convents - whether the sexual impulse was sublimated, suppressed, or secretly indulged. Weird that the author has this blind spot
There is huge evidence of single-sex mysticism in monasteries and convents - whether the sexual impulse was sublimated, suppressed, or secretly indulged. Weird that the author has this blind spot
January 2, 2014
Maybe it's because I have read widely on this topic, but I was disappointed by this book. While it is undoubtedly a learned survey, it never digs deeply into any of the documents or practices it discusses. It seems that the author's purpose was to make the case that sexual mysticism is part of the Western religious tradition, but not go into depth and details.
Part of the challenge of providing more detail is, of course, that many of these practices are not well documented and the available materials are often highly symbolic and difficult reading -- but I still felt frustrated at the end of the book, wishing for more.
It's primary value to me is as a pointer to groups or individuals I had not previously seen connected with sacred sexuality, like the poet HD. On the other hand, I was very disappointed that Versluis left out American sacred sexuality activist and martyr Ida Craddock.
Part of the challenge of providing more detail is, of course, that many of these practices are not well documented and the available materials are often highly symbolic and difficult reading -- but I still felt frustrated at the end of the book, wishing for more.
It's primary value to me is as a pointer to groups or individuals I had not previously seen connected with sacred sexuality, like the poet HD. On the other hand, I was very disappointed that Versluis left out American sacred sexuality activist and martyr Ida Craddock.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews