"Preservation of Seed"

[Jiva]

There are many interesting points in the chapter, but here I will discuss just one theme: the old instruction of the "preservation of seed", viz. semen & the magical essence of it. As you may know, that procedure is considered to be of great importance in many occult systems throughout the world.

After relating some very deep metaphysical & cosmological symbolism in the former chapters, the eighth chapter proceeds to give us practices like –

Not indulging in sexual intercourse, mentally, verbally or physically [---] Women are always to be avoided. One should stay far off from them. A shrew person views them as he views the corpses. He should have the same attitude in the sexual intercourse with his own wife, as when discharging the faeces and urine on the ground. There should be no attitude other than this. Woman is like a burning coal; man is like a vessel of ghee. He should always avoid contact with women therefore. If we ponder of this, we shall know that there is no satiety in sexual pleasures. Hence, one should practice detached attitude mentally, physically and verbally.

– And so on. The usual stuff we know from the most of old traditions, including Blavatsky's theosophy, esoteric Christianity, & other familiar forms of occultism.

The historian in me firstly looks on things like this as a problem to be solved . The most practical answer I can think of is that without access to any serious contraception, the risk of having children and a family would take a huge amount of time and energy up. If society was primarily agricultural this would also essentially make travelling impossible too. This is, of course, to say nothing of sexually transmitted diseases that could have dramatic physical and mental effects.

I think it’s also important to recognise exceptions when celibacy wasn’t much of a concern. Sex between husband and wife in Jewish mysticism seems to have been very important – even in early Hasidism – with some even planning sex around the Sabbath celebrations. Regarding Jewish traditions I’m very much a beginner, but I’m sure I recently read something concerning the word exact word “seed” and it being used to refer to both men and women (I assume semen and ovum, although I can’t remember the era or the location, so perhaps not). Maybe this is due to the insular nature of historic Jewish communities and the generalised existential threat they faced.


Gender and sex are two very different concepts for me though, the former historically being extremely variable – to the point of not really meaning very much when we talk of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ qualities – while the latter essentially relates to biological functions. And so I basically think that what I said above regarding contraception has essentially given us the ability to prevent any major biological repercussion of sex. However, I could see how this could make abstinence more of a struggle and also sexual addiction a greater temptation.

On a personal level though it’s kind of turned to apathy in the last couple of years. In part I think this is due to leaving a university environment, but mostly because it also happened to coincide with actively researching and developing a psychological/occult worldview. Perhaps one of the reasons why this doesn’t mean as much to me is that I haven’t had a girlfriend for years but instead had a series of ‘friends with benefits’ (none of which were monogamous), which is much easier if people are constantly busy and moving all the time. The majority of this was due to egotistical behaviour and creating some sense of self-worth or purpose when I had very little of either, although perhaps some was due to the energy created by the environment (boxing, wrestling etc.). Not that I am abstinent now, I just don’t consider it a major part of my life at the moment.

[Nokkonen]

I've always though that advice as outdated and stemming from the very real -- and cliche -- observation that after sex, men tend to want to go to sleep while women are full of energy of intimacy. I've read from somewhere that there seems to be neural reasons for the energy difference, as it has been found out in recent years, but I'm sure that in earlier days it seemed as if the woman was in fact stealing life energy form the man in form of ejaculation.

Those who are new to the occult world of the magician it is important to learn how to be(come) a person of their own. To copulate like an animal without a second thought would in this stage most likely result in the loss of their higher Egoic intensity & possibilities for advancing further.

This must be the other reason for the preservation of seed -idea! Since lots of the right hand path religions seem to be hung up on being lucidly sober in their lives, eating strict diets, and abstaining from this and that form of intoxication, the total giving of one's self that happens in great sex must have seemed wrong. Indeed, in order to have an orgasm, one has to lose control of themselves to some extent.

Also, I wonder if our undestandings have evolved past the point where abstinence isn't necessary for spiritual development (at least for all the people) but rather balancing our sexual and sensual natures with the spiritual one and trying to unite all of life into one experience.