When people ask Kristen Korvette how she landed her first book deal, she normally responds with a predictable platitude: She achieved her dream through a combination of hard work and luck. In private, however, she attributes her success to masturbating under the full moon.
Korvette, the editrix of Slutist and a professor of the New School's class "The Legacy of the Witch," is a practitioner of sex magic, using sexual energy (often orgasm) for manifestation."It happened to be a full moon on the evening I submitted my proposal, so I engaged in my usual practice"— which consists of "listening to my favorite erotically-charged music (which is always glam metal: Motley Crue mostly), lighting a candle that has been carved to symbolize my goal, and unsheathing my crystal dildo to consummate the spell"—"and exactly one month later, on the full moon, I received word that I was in," she says.
Given the preponderance of love spells and evil-yet-seductive witches in pop culture, it's understandable that sex magic is so often misunderstood. But according to those who practice the erotic craft, it's just another form of magical manifestation. "You have an intention, and you're using orgasms or sex as a tool to achieve that particular intention," explains Cat Cabral, a Wiccan priestess who managed the East Village occult shop Enchantments for more than a decade. Bri Luna, owner of The Hood Witch, agrees with this characterization. "We're not talking about how to be sexy or have an enhanced libido. We're getting down to manifesting, talking about harnessing sexual energy to make very real results," she says. "Sexual energy is just energy. It's neutral."
Neutral, maybe, but extremely powerful nonetheless. "With sex magick, all you need is to reach orgasm and you can change your world," writes Damon Brand in Adventures in Sex Magick.
Some techniques involve repeating mantras during orgasm, focusing on sigils (a magical symbol) to help focus your energy, and invoking certain deities. Hathor, Isis, and Aphrodite are common goddess to invoke, but you can use whatever deity appeals most to you since sex magic is so personalized and intuitional. "I think everybody needs to find deities or mythology or archetypes that relate to them. So for some people that's staying within their own heritage or culture," says Cabral. "Personally, I love working with Venus or Aphrodite." Intuition, she adds, is "the most important thing."
Indeed, most witches will say that sex magic is one of the most intuitive practices. "I came to sex magic pretty intuitively," recalls Korvett. "As a young girl, my mother taught me the power of manifestation, but in a G-rated way, of course. Somehow I made the connection between that and all the self-pleasure I was engaging in, and realized it could be used in a more powerful and productive way."
For many practitioners, the fact that sex magic can be practiced alone is one of its main draws. "Although I've experimented with partnered sex magic, I find the solo spells have worked better for me thus far," says Korvette. In a world that's traditionally punished women for freely enjoying both sex and magic, combining the two can feel revolutionary—and taking matters into one's own hands only heightens that sense.
"Witchcraft in and of itself if very empowering for women... you know that all of your power is just innately within yourself," says Luna. "One of the most powerful aspects any women can have is owning her sexuality, and not being afraid of that power, and not being afraid to use that power."