THE MYSTERY OF SEX/PART 1

 

The Mystery of Sex

CHAPTER I

THE UNIVERSALITY OF SEX

All the ancient occult and esoteric fraternities, organizations, and schools agreed upon one point-the Universality of Sex. They realized that the Sex principle was manifest through all the Cosmos, and that it was in activity throughout all the universe. The Phallic Cross symbol is found in use in nearly every occult organization or body, and signifies the teaching that the male and female principles are immanent in each and every form of nature's activities and manifestations.

It will be noticed in many of the older writings that the term "gender" is used in preference to sex. This arises from the fact that the primal idea of Sex, as understood in occultism, is that of begetting; bringing forth; procreating, etc.; of which the term "gender" is peculiarly significant and expressive. Occultists realize that the work of procreation is manifest on every plane, physical, mental, and spiritual, and that the "gender" principle is active everywhere, at all times, in all ways. But in this little book we shall use the term "sex" in preference to "gender," for several reasons, the understanding being of course that the term is employed in its widest and most universal sense, rather than as referring to the particular sex manifestation of living things, or the human race in particular.

The Arcane Teaching embraces the well-established occult doctrine of the Universality of Sex. It holds that not only on the physical plane, but also on the mental and spiritual planes, is Sex apparent; that not only in the living, organic forms, but also in the so-called "lifeless" and inorganic forms, is the principle of Sex in evidence. The principle of Sex is bound up with the law of the Opposites, of which we have spoken at length in our other works. Sex is a manifestation of the great Law of Polarity which is in evidence throughout the Cosmos. The sexes are counterparts, opposites, contrasting poles of Being. There is always to be found the Male Principle which energizes, procreates, and stirs into activity; and there is always to be found the Female Principle which produces, conceives, and brings forth.

In fact, the ancient Arcane Teachers directed the attention of their neophytes to the fact that even in the fundamental activities of the creation of the Cosmos the principle of Sex was apparent. The LAW was held to represent the Male Principle, acting and moving upon the Infinity of Nothingness and causing the latter to conceive, bear and bring forth the activities, shapes and forms of the universe. It will be remembered that The LAW in itself does not conceive, bear and bring forth, but acts merely as the controlling, energizing spirit which incites into activity the creative powers inherent in the Infinity of Nothingness. The latter is distinctively the Female Principle, for it is acted upon by the energies of The LAW, goes through a period of Cosmic conception, bears in its body the new Cosmos, and finally brings forth the new world in all its youthful vigor and activity. The LAW is the Absolute; the Cosmos is the Infinite. The Absolute is the moving and energizing power ; the Infinite contains within itself the "possibility" of all things -the creative properties which conceive, bear, and bring forth the Cosmos.

This idea of the manifestation of the Sex Principle in the Cosmic activities is carried out in the symbology of the ages, and the figurative terms of even our own age show the insistent desire of the mind to express the thought. We always speak and think of "Nature" as the feminine principle, containing in her womb the seed of all shapes and forms and things, and bringing forth all the forms of life that fill the world. "Mother Nature" is the term embodying the idea. How ridiculous it would seem to speak or think of "Father Nature!" And yet the mind instinctively recognizes that there can be no Mother without a Father, and seeks to find the Paternal principle above Nature.

It will be noticed that in all the religions, past, present, living or dead, the Sovereign Power or Supreme Deity is always Male. But, at the same time, this Supreme Male Principle is never pictured or thought of as producing the universe of individuals, shapes and forms, as in the case of our ideas of Nature. The Male Deific Principle is always pictured as performing a creative act of some sort, by word, thought or will, which in some way acts upon another vague and nebulous Something, or a Nothing, and causes it to produce, bear and bring forth. In the ancient religions there was always a recognition of 'the Male and Female Deific Principles’. In some cases these were symbolized by Deities, male and female, as for instance the male Osiris, and the female Isis, in the Egyptian mythology. In others there was a personification of God and Nature, male and female in principle. The Hindu religions all recognize this principle of Deific Sex, and their male gods are always pictured as having female counterparts, or mates. Even when their gods are recognized as being principles instead of persons, the female principle will always be found accompanying the male. To the Oriental there is always the Divine Mother, as well as the Divine Father; whether regarded as principle or person.

Sex is manifest in all material forms, from the atom to the highest organized living being. In the particles composing Matter -the atoms, and the smaller particles which go to form the atom- we find the polarity of Sex, manifesting in the activities of attraction and repulsion; love and hate. The atom itself is now held by the leading scientific authorities to be composed of thousands of infinitesimal particles called electrons, or corpuscles. These electrons are held to be of two kinds, so far as quality is concerned, namely, "positive" and "negative." These positive and negative electrons whirl around each other, never coming in actual contact but always exerting an attractive or repulsive effect upon each other. The best authorities hold that the atom is formed by the action of numerous negative particles which cluster around a single positive particle, the latter seemingly exerting some kind of energy or force upon the negative particles, causing them to group themselves in certain ways, to form certain combinations, the result of which is the creation of the atom. The various elements, of different fundamental kinds of matter, are held to obtain their special varieties of elemental nature by reason of the various groupings and combinations of these negative electrons around the one positive electron.

This action of the electrons, of which matter is formed, is in close accordance with the ancient Arcane Teaching regarding the male and female particles of matter, which by action and reaction tend to build up the more complex forms. The moment we recognize that the "positive" is the male principle, and 'the "negative" the female, we may read the modern scientific teachings in the light of the Ancient Wisdom. The word "negative" is a poor one, however, with which to describe the principle of generative activity. But the actions and properties of this "negative" aspect of matter prove that it is really the female principle masquerading under a poor name. The negative, pole of an electrical battery is really the "generative" pole. Many of the best authorities are now using the term "cathode" to designate the "negative" pole of the battery, the new term arising from a Greek word meaning "descent; the path of generation," etc. From this cathode or female pole of the battery swarm the corpuscles or electrons; the new "rays" recently discovered by science; and the strange and little understood energies which are tending to revolutionize scientific thought. Always from the negative, cathode, or female pole or element of the battery, come these strange things. The positive, or male pole or element never "brings forth," although it is needed to energize and vivify the complementary element or pole. Is not the feminine nature proven by the strongest kind of analogy, is not the male element likewise seen to be in evidence? This cannot arise from mere coincidence -particularly when we may see that the Sex Principle is manifest throughout all of Nature's activities.

The detached electrons which compose the various "rays” and strange energies which are engaging the attention of modern science, are 'negative" or female. The negative electron travels through space, either being cast off by its male ruler, or else leaving of its own accord, and flying through space. It repels, and is repelled by, other female particles or electrons, and this action of repulsion creates certain disturbances or activities in 'the field of force’. When it comes into the near neighborhood of a male or positive electron, an attractive force is manifested, each being attracted to the other, and leaving their orbits in order to meet the other. Scientists hold that this attraction and repulsion -these unitings and separations- these marriages and divorces -among the electrons-, are the cause of the greater manifestations of energy or force, and the creation of matter. When the female electron comes within the influence of the male, it begins to vibrate and circle around the latter, in company with its sister particles. This movement and vibration is held to be the vibration from which arises all forms of matter, and all varieties of force or energy on the material plane. Light, heat, magnetism, electricity, chemical affinity, cohesion, and the other forms of energy, arise from the vibrations caused by the action and reaction of the male and female principles of the electrons.

The polarity to be observed in the phenomena of magnetism and electricity is distinctively a sex manifestation, as we have said a little further back. The attraction and repulsion manifested by the several poles of the battery, or magnet, is seen to be closely related to sex phenomena on other planes of activity. A leading dictionary gives the following definition of "Polarity: "The disposition of a body to exhibit opposite or contrasted properties or powers in opposite of contrasted directions; the existence of two points, called poles, possessing contrary tendencies: for example; the attraction or repulsion at the opposite ends of a magnet; opposite tendencies in polarized light, etc."