Lon Milo DuQuette - Sex Magick

Summary

Lon Milo DuQuette introduces The Best of the Equinox: Sex Magick, explaining the history of Aleister Crowley’s Equinox publications and outlining the ideas Crowley associated with sex magic.

The Equinox Publications

Crowley’s Equinox began as a substantial magazine issued every six months, featuring his magical writings alongside work by other contributors. Its first volume comprised ten numbered issues.

After the original set became difficult and expensive to obtain, Weiser and Llewellyn reprinted it. Israel Regardie later compiled and curated an anthology, Gems of the Equinox. DuQuette says Weiser subsequently asked him to curate a more affordable three-volume series, with the third volume devoted to sex magic.

A Personal Introduction to Crowley

DuQuette recalls buying Gems of the Equinox as a young man. The bookseller challenged his interest in Crowley with accusations tied to Crowley’s infamous reputation and the Abbey of Thelema. The anecdote illustrates how Crowley’s public image could overshadow his writings.

Crowley and the O.T.O.

DuQuette recounts that in 1912, Theodor Reuss confronted Crowley over material in The Book of Lies that Reuss considered a disclosure of the O.T.O.’s sexual-magic secret. Reuss explained the passage, and Crowley, according to DuQuette, recognized its significance.

Reuss then initiated Crowley and his partner, Leila Waddell, into the O.T.O.’s ninth degree and tasked Crowley with developing the order’s British branch and its initiation rituals.

What “Sex Magic” Means in This Account

DuQuette rejects the sensational image of sex magic as merely lurid or theatrical. Instead, he presents it as a demanding physical and meditative discipline.

Its central idea is ecstasy: during orgasm, the ordinary sense of being separate from the divine is temporarily dissolved. In that moment, the self is understood as becoming “the all,” a state Crowley’s system links with magical creation.

Coded Language and Interpretation

Crowley used metaphorical language both to preserve O.T.O. secrecy and to navigate restrictions on publishing sexual material. DuQuette describes symbolic substitutions such as:

• Orgasm as “death” or “sacrifice”
• Sexual fluids as “blood,” “water,” or “the elixir”
• The penis as a “lance,” “wand,” or “cross”
• The vagina as a “cup,” “grail,” or “rose”

Crowley warned that apparently straightforward passages could carry another meaning, and that readers might misinterpret them if selfish motives clouded their judgment.

A Principle of Secrecy

As DuQuette explains it, the ninth-degree obligation was not simply to hide the secret. It was to preserve it and enable worthy people to discover it for themselves. A magical secret is presented as an insight one experiences, rather than information one merely hears.

Scope of the Reading

DuQuette reads the volume’s introduction, not a practical ritual. He says the book continues with discussion of the Gnostic Mass and other Crowley rituals related to sex magic, leaving those subjects for readers to explore.

Speakers and Sources

• Speaker: Lon Milo DuQuette, the sole speaker in the video.
• Texts and sources discussed or quoted: Crowley’s The Book of the Law (Chapter I, verses 29–30 and 51); The Equinox (including Volume III, No. 1); The Book of Lies (Chapter 36, “The Star Sapphire”); Crowley’s Magick in Theory and Practice (Chapter 12, “The Bloody Sacrifice”); Gems of the Equinox; and DuQuette’s The Best of the Equinox: Sex Magick.
• People discussed: Aleister Crowley, Theodor Reuss, Leila Waddell, S. L. MacGregor Mathers, Israel Regardie, and Captain Fuller.