VVF is a superb artist. I wish I had half her talent in my chosen field of endeavor. It turns out she is even a better art critic. This NSFW post is funny and makes a point. You may want to read it first or the rest of this will be a little out of context.
Pan landed on me about a year and half ago. There was no question at all that it was Him. He stayed with me for days. In his lore this is a bad thing. You do not want to be taken over by Pan. For me, it was disconcerting but no harm was done. He did educate me regarding some Pan-like people I know. He did want me to throw orgies in his honor. When Pan is on you, that sounds like a good idea. However, it wasn't my first time around the block. I waited for him to leave and then viewed the idea in the cold light of day.
While perhaps sexually interesting many humans in this culture simply are not ready for an orgy or other wild sexual adventures. I know enough people that may have been up for the experience but I am pretty sure that one or two of them would have bit off a bit more than they could handle. I see little reason to put someone through that sort of trauma for a night of debauchery.The problem was I had no idea who would be fine with the experience and who wouldn't be.
VVF makes the point that there are a lot of people into nudity, not in a healthy sort of way, but in a mental hospital sort of way. She used the art surrounding the modern conception of the horned god to make her point.
In the larger pagan community, I see the same thing. I see a lot of what I perceive to be very very unhealthy sexual attitudes that are in the extremes. These range from people that would never be nude in front of someone that isn't their spouse, not out of the sacredness of sharing such things only with their spouse, but because of huge fear of perceptual body issues and the idea of enjoying the freedom of nudity is somehow 'dirty'. The other end are people that sleep with anyone under the sun or moon in the name of sexual freedom. Freedom isn't the need to boink at every possible opportunity. That is compulsion and is not a sign of personal sovereignty. Sexual freedom and the freedom to be nude is about being able to make a choice given a particular situation. I may want to boink you but is it a good idea right now? I may want to run down to the local strip mall naked but is acting on that wise?
It may have been Mae West that said that in America, sex is an obsession. In Europe it is a fact. The latter seems healthier to me.
Given how obsessed the American culture is about sex on one hand and how Puritan heritage drives home guilt, repression and other unhealthy attitudes, it is easy to see how culturally out of balance we are on the issue.This is reflected in Neo-Pagan culture. The unrealistic, freaky, explosively repressed urges and other things come out in the art*. When these things manifest in sexual behavior, much damage can be done.VVF is pointing out the need in the pagan community for some serious talks about sexuality.
We can not be both free and hang onto outdated mores of our cultural past because that combination is harmful. Given our penchant for sexual experimentation we should educate each other on achieving the self-awareness necessary to make such experimentation healthier. More importantly, we should allow those willing to safely engage in all sorts of behavior the room to do so. While those adventurous souls should give others the freedom to opt out.
I am not an expert on human sexuality nor on how to educate a subculture on personally healthy sexual psychology but I see the need for those educated in those areas within the Neo-Pagan community.
* I think also that Pan and the other horned gods are in resurgence. Given that most people do not have the tools to deal with them, that manifests as some strange and fearsome art and strange sometimes fearsome behavior. Pagan gods are close to earth. It is up to the elders of our faiths to share how such eminent gods can manifest in our behaviors and provide folks with options for healthy outlets of this energy.
4 comments:
D'aww, thanks Robert. :)
In the experience I had with the local community, the conflict between traditional sexual mores and Lord Summerisle's idea of a good time was even more contracted, because while no one was actually boinking, there was this strange pressure to pretend as if we were the sort of people who had orgies. The over-enthusiasm displayed in regard to nudity was a big part of this. They might have told themselves it was harmless flirtation, but it just looked like they were trying very, very hard to convince themselves and everyone else that they were sexually progressive. Like the white ladies who scream for Obama.
Anybody who wasn't interested in doing the same ended up leaving early on. Silly me, I tried my damndest to be a good sport for three years. But at least it can't be said that I didn't give it a fair shake and a lot of thought.
The issue of badly mixed sex and spirituality is worse than even described here, because of the poorly reasoned-out sexual sublimation stuff. I've written a bit about that (though I'm ill-informed):
http://hilberts-thoughts.blogspot.com/2008/06/beatrice-or-succubus-male-authors-muse.html
http://hilberts-thoughts.blogspot.com/2008/08/bio-of-fr-teilhard-de-chardin-following.html
I think that it depends on your current. When the folks who founded your current have serious issues with sex and sexuality, then it tends to carry through. Reactions to sexual fear and repression clothed as freedom, is just wearing a bad dress.
Pan is in the grove and I have never had problems with him. He is in many of our central rituals (in some form or another) and does not cause explosions. I guess it just depends on what unhealthy attitudes towards sex people are hanging on to:)
I have thought about your post for a couple of days now. Although I found VVF's post humorous AND enlightening, it makes me wonder what exactly you mean by sex?
Does that include intimacy? One can have SEX without INTIMACY. In my quest for getting laid every now and again, it's the intimacy I miss most and the actual act of BOINKING is a distant second.
What about sex for procreation? Isn't that what sex is really about, physiologically, procreation? As a woman, I can tell you the desire to bear life can be so compelling, enough to put up with several weeks of morning sickness, swollen feet, backaches, and many hours of labour.
As far as sexual freedom, nudity, and orgies, would you tell your best friend, that perhaps, they had a compulsion. Or, would you want the responsibility for telling them that it was a good idea to partake in such acts?
Just a few thoughts to chew on. Now, pardon me, I have an appointment to streak thru the local McDonald's parking lot.
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