Wiccan "Great Rite"

The following is from a website for Wiccans:

In Wicca, the Great Rite is a form of sex magic that includes either ritual sexual intercourse or else a ritual symbolic representation of sexual intercourse. Most often it is performed by the High Priest and High Priestess, but other participants can be elected to perform the Rite.

In the symbolic version the High Priest plunges the athame, or ritual knife (the male symbol), into a cup or chalice (the female symbol) which is filled with wine and is held by the High Priestess. The Great Rite symbolizes creation in the union of the Maiden Goddess with the Lover God, and thus is also known as a fertility rite. ....Wikipedia

A brief Googling of the "Great Rite" will reveal an abundance of information. However much of this is stamped with the personal views of the authors. For example gay Neopagans will use "passive" roles by males to reproduce the "High Priestess," and monogamist Neopagans will often condemn the orgiastic sex by other participants which often follows the Rite; polyamorous (many lovers) will also often condemn those who are bound by the sin of monogamy; thus the understanding of the Great Rite is often limited by the personal taboos of the authors.



My personal view on this is that it is important for taboos to be broken. For example, for gay males or lesbians, it is important at some point to break their sexual taboos and have sex with the opposite gender; for heterosexual Neopagans it is important to have same sex relationships; for those still clinging emotionally and morally to the sin of monogamy, it is important to practice polyamory and orgiastic sex with other persons; for those whose lifestyle is totally prosmiscuous to the extreme, it is important to have intimate experiences and develop close personal relationships with particular persons. This, in my view is ultimately how the "New Man" or "New Woman" is magickally created.

Ultimately the combination of sex and spirituality is the ultimate taboo for those still adhering to the slave religions of the past where sexuality has been confined to the "private," or with one's personal sex slave (husband or wife) and never discussed in conjunction with the spiritual; indeed what I am describing here as the "ultimate" magickal process is perhaps what would be considered the "greatest sin" to the various religions who represent the "sin of restriction," and who bind humankind under the yoke of slavery, fear, human misery and the attempt to possess the soul of another person, which is generally the object of the monogamist.

Ultimately in our inner world of the mind, we all seek to be immersed in an ocean of love and lust; this is entirely natural and in accord with the central purpose of life; such a desire is the "opposite of sin" and it's manifestation leads, in simple terms, to "happiness" and to the creation of a sexually and spiritually enlightened soul.

We all think of being stranded alone on an island or being placed in solitary confinement as a "punishment;" this is because we are social and sexual creatures created to be loved and desired and to experience the fulfillment of love and lust with others. Whether we are male or female, we are only one half of the divine creation; our innermost fantasies are usually not about oneness with some discarnate (without a body) entity or god, but with another person who fulfills the role of a passive or active lover. This is as we have been created, and this is why the restrictive morality of the world's religions constitute the "sins of restriction" which binds the human soul to a life of unhappiness and Hell on earth.

The greatest truths of human happiness, of love and lust, are often the most simple truths which we intuitively know anyway, just as a bird knows how to fly.

In Love and Lust.