I. VAMA MARGA Foundations Of The Left-Hand Path - staticfly.net

sorcery practiced in the "barbarian" Nordic and Celtic regions – were almost
completely annihilated by the conquering armies of the Cross. Christianity's
destruction of the ancient sex-magical traditions of Europe has left Western
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magicians with no living native practice of erotic initiation to learn.
Although some neo-heathens have tried admirably to resurrect these
shattered relics to their former vibrancy, even the best results are inevitably
lacking in historical continuity. Western sex magicians have had to do their
best to overcome Christianity's devastating impact on erotic magic by
piecing together fragments from the ruins. Despite their efforts, many of
these attempts to reconstitute a pre-Christian approach to sexual magic are
often mired in idealization, romanticism, and fanciful wishful thinking – not
the best tools with which to forge a viable system of sexual initiation.
As we have already illustrated, sex-magical practices roughly
analogous to the left-hand path have emerged now and again throughout the
Western world, apparently independent of Tantric influence. If left-hand path
initiation is actually a universal neurophysical phenomenon, rooted in the
body, rather than in the peculiarities of any particular culture, this should not
be surprising. However, in attempting to sketch a concise outline of the lefthand
path in the West, we observe two different streams of the sinister
current. The eldest of these is an indigenous tradition of sex magic in the
West that not infrequently parallels what we have already described as the
essential principles of the Eastern Vama Marga. The more recent
manifestation, less than 150 years old, is the latter-day effort to actually
import the Tantric teachings of the left-hand path from India and Tibet to
Europe and the New World. Both of these tributaries of the left-hand path's
westward flow can prove problematic for the pragmatic sinister current sex
magician.
In the case of left-hand path compatible sex magic as practiced in
Western antiquity, so much of the genuine teachings have been lost or
misreported through later Christian distortions that it is nearly impossible to
study the original techniques in an undiluted form. As for the more recent
introduction of authentic Vama Marga initiation to Europe and America, this
effort has also been considerably hampered by the quandary of fitting a
radically sex-positive doctrine like the sinister current into minds shaped by
the body-denying creed permeating Christian culture. The casual observer
might be perplexed by this last assertion. Surely, one might speculate, in the
porno-saturated modern world of the industrialized West, where almost every
form of sexual expression is openly celebrated, the left-hand path would
hardly raise an eyebrow?
It is true, of course, that many modern Westerners are intrigued by
the idea of Tantra's sexual practices. However, unless the Western adept is
totally deprogrammed of the mainstream Christian attitude to sexuality,
progress on the left-hand path is all but impossible. One can lead a life of
absolute sexual license but still suffer from the Eros-crippling impact of
Christian conditioning. And to our experience, the Biblical notion of sex as
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sin can infect the Western approach to the body even if an individual has
never touched a Bible, or consciously considered Christian morality.
To counter this psychic contagion, many Westerners have taken up
sex magic merely to demonstrate their break with the pervasive Christian
anti-sexual conditioning. If sex is "sinful', they will dutifully commit every
sin in the book. Assuming such a reactionary stance can only be a very
preliminary step in one's initiation on the left-hand path. Sadly, many
Western sex magicians remain stuck in this rut, expending so much valuable
energy fighting the inner demon of Christian sinfulness that they never
progress into higher states of initiation.
It could be argued that even Aleister Crowley – the most influential