We’ve seen some weird and strange things coming out of lockdown. From sex with ghosts to genital matchmaking, the list goes on and on.
But a recent story in Refinery29 piqued our interest when clinical sexologist Eva Clay described how she made love to her partner on a bed of money when she decided to sell her house.
Clay was manifesting her dreams by practising sex magick. According to Wikipedia, sex magick is any type of sexual activity used in magical, ritualistic or otherwise religious and spiritual pursuits.
The practice is used by Wiccans, witches, neo-pagan believers, and ceremonial magicians as a manifestation of sexual exploration.
Before you go thinking it’s something dreamt up by new age thinkers, apparently it’s been around since the first millennium and has its roots in in tantra in central Asia.
But as with everything that started with good intentions, sex magick was given a bad rep by infamous author Aleister Crowley.
“His books are still considered required reading for those interested in ceremonial magick," Peg Aloi, a writer and witchcraft scholar explained to Refinary29.
"But he’s what we’d now call a toxic narcissist. I would even say he was a sexual predator. He would practice sex magick on students of his.“
Sex magick’s image has improved somewhat over the years.
In 2016, Vice’s Sophie Saint Thomas spoke to a number of practitioners of the craft. Author Kristen Korvette said she credited landing her first book deal to masturbating under the full moon.
But given the role that it’s played in popular culture, it’s still very much misunderstood.
And according to those who practice the erotic craft, it's just another form of magical manifestation. "You have an intention, and you're using orgasms or sex as a tool to achieve that particular intention," explained Cat Cabral, a Wiccan priestess.
Still confused? In a nutshell, sex magick is done with mindful intentions.
“The couple (they need not be heterosexual…or even only two people) would discuss what their intention is for the magick -aka what goal or outcome they want to achieve.
“This could be directing energy toward someone’s healing from illness, to help one of the participants to find a job, or even simply as an act of devotion to their god or deity,” wrote Stefani Goerlich, a sex and relationship therapist, for Cosmo.