Eros and the Mysteries of Love: The Metaphysics of Sex

by Julius Evola

Book Overview

A comprehensive work on the metaphysical aspects of sexuality. Julius Evola sheds new light on the mystical and spiritual expression of sexual love. This in-depth study explores the sexual rites of sacred traditions, and shows how religion, mysticism, folklore, and mythology all contain erotic forms in which the deep potentialities of human beings are recognized.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0892813156
• ISBN13: 9780892813155
• Release Date: April 1991
• Publisher: Inner Traditions International
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Sexuality in Religion and Ritual

From back cover: "What is the essence of the power which animates the universe of eros and sex? The author presents us with an in-depth study of the possibilities of sexual energies on their highest level. He verifies that the erotic experience can lead to a displacement of the boundaries of the ego and the emergence of profound states of consciousness. He observes that a different rhythm is established in every intense experience of eros, which invests and transports, or suspends, the normal faculties of an individual and can open vistas onto a different world. Modern research who try to investigate sexuality by studying others rather than themselves are in error; they cannot approach the depths of the metaphysics of sex. Furthermore, since psychoanalysis has emphasized the sub-personal primordialism of sex it is necessary to oppose it with a metaphysical perspective. Only the lost sacred science is able to provide the necessary references for investigating the potential dimensions of the experience of eros. 'The Metaphysics of Sex' is opposed to the established conventional viewpoint which has promoted the spiritual fall of modern man. But the world of eros did not begin today. Religion, mysticism, folklore and mythology point to the existence of erotic forms and sexual experiences in which the deeper possiblities of man are recognized. The author introduces a world of ritual invocations and initiatory experiences and traces their development through time. He reveals the sexual rites of sacred traditions: from teh transmutations of Tantric and Taoist yoga, to the adulation of the female organ at Eleusis, to the erotic rituals described in the Kaballah and the secret and symbolic practices of Islam. Evola also discusses the myth of the androgyne, the Courts of Love of the Middle Ages, Sacred Prostitution and Holy Marriages, the Incubus and Succubus, mystical ecstasy, and the polarity between voluptuousness and suffering. He explains these practices and helps us to understand the vast, universal fresco that is the mystical and spiritual expression of sexual love."

disturbing but thought provoking

I agree with the other reviewer. There are disturbing parts to this book. For example, Evola's take on the Marquis de Sade is that the Marquis was bad not for what he promoted but because he didn't actually live the type of life he describes. I guess I just don't buy into Evola's underlying metaphysical scheme. It is important to note that this book is not a "Tantric sex guide." It is closer to a scholarly investigation of different sexual issues from the perspective of Evola's esotericism. Like Evola's other works, it is well-written and interesting. However, I don't feel as positive about its conclusions as I did with Ride the Tiger.

Sex and esoterism

We can summarize Evola's views through a simple metaphore: use it to go beyond; otherwise leave it. Evola was not only an "erudite", he was also a pragmatic (in opposition to Guenon). In this book, Evola proceed to an exhaustive analysis of the nature of sexuality, exploring its metaphysics, but also its embodyments. Sex can be a source of power, of knowledge, if conditions are there; but it can also be a source of submission, of destruction. A fascinating book, although Evola's views are sometimes striking, disturbing (specially for women).