Pagan Book Reviews

Sexual Ecstasy and the Divine: The Passions and Pain of Our Bodies
Yasmine Galenorn
Crossing Press, 2003
274 pages

I first picked this book up because I’d heard the author talked about BDSM and sacred sexuality; plus I liked what she’d done with Totem Magic. Once again I found myself really enjoying this unique work.

The main theme is learning to be comfortable with your sexuality. Galenorn writes frankly and openly about sex; if you find yourself blushing, you’re probably not very sexually comfortable. On the other hand, her anecdotes and examples don’t plunge into erotica. She’s got a good balanced way of explaining things, and I found this to be a definite plus.

Her magical theory is mixed in with some really well-crafted rituals. I normally don’t really care for books that have a lot of pre-crafted magic in them, but in this case we’re offered a number of pathworking exercises that get us in touch with our bodies and our sexuality, as wlel as our partners. They’re well-written, and have good variety to them.

She doesn’t shy away from controversy, either. There’s a chapter on rape (and what to do if you’ve survived one), and as mentioned earlier she’s not afriad to talk about kink, either. She’s also poly and non-hetero friendly for the most part, though I strongly disagree with her assertion on p. 99 that “the strongest connection is made through the pairing of male and female”. Masculine and feminine energies can be very strong in people of any sex, and this also doesn’t take into account transgendered people, genderqueer folk, intersexed, spiritual androgyne, etc.

Still, one hetero-biased comment in a sea of excellent material doesn’t ruin the book; it’s merely her perspective. Overall, it’s a really good offering for anyone who wants sex-positive magic that isn’t afraid of the fringes.

Five pawprints out of five.

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