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Robert Anton Wilson
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Sex, Drugs & Magick: A Journey Beyond Limits Paperback – January 1, 2004

by Robert Anton Wilson (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 86 ratings
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This book can be considered a "scholarly" appraisal of both the historical and modern use (and misuse) of drugs in conjunction with sex and "occult" practices. But don't let the word "scholarly" put you off. Done in Wilson's inimitable style, this is a book filled with humor, cynicism, wonder and essential information for those who would pursue what can be an immensely rewarding path, potholed with an array of social and physical dangers.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    186 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    New Falcon Pubns
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2004
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1561840017
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1561840014
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A potentially explosive book if it catches on. It is remarkably free from the Alice-in-Freakland logic so popular among drug scene apologists; concurrently it has enormous built-in appeal for those we lump--for want of a more explicit term--into the "counterculture." Wilson's major concern--the causal relationship between the "real" sex drugs (marijuana, hashish, cocaine, the psychedelics) and sexual pleasure and performance--is pursued via case histories, consideration of the medical and social scientific evidence, and personal formulations (e.g., a tabular comparison of "ordinary" sex and sex on varieties of dope). All of this is accomplished in an easy spirit of author-reader camaraderie. But Wilson's turn-on goes well beyond examination of the sensate drug-sex experience: he analyzes historically and cross-culturally the use of stimulants in Christian and Oriental societies, finding parallels, for instance, between Masters and Johnson's recent findings and Hindu practices. More important, he sees the drug-sex equation (or "revolution") as precipitating a "holy war" within the hitherto repressed "Christian" (or puritan) soul--"the crisis in Christian culture is mainly sexual [and] we should not be surprised that sexual elements are very prominent in the unconscious channels opened by the Drug Revolution." Wilson recognizes the hazardous side of the drug milieu and includes a risk-warning glossary which emphasizes moderation and small doses ("I write as a war correspondent, awash in a deluge of propaganda from both sides."), but his sympathies are openly pro-liberation--Timothy Leary, he says, made the "second most important scientific-political decision of our century" (the first was Einstein's resolve to help the U.S. obtain the A-bomb) when he decided that LSD "was too important to be monopolized by any government, or any scientific committee, or any other elite; that it should be available to all." To reiterate: if this essay gets the attention it should, psycho-sexual consciousness could be expanded by, what?, a decade, an orgiastic eruption, one person's victory over frigidity? Who knows? The only sure thing is, "the future will be much wilder and hairier than the immediate past." --Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Novelist, teacher and former Playboy editor, Robert Anton Wilson is the author of the Cosmic Trigger trilogy; the Illuminatus! trilogy (with Robert Shea); the Schrodinger's Cat trilogy; the Historical Illuminatus series; TSOG: The Thing That Ate The Constitution; Prometheus Rising; Quantum Psychology; Coincidance; Email to the Universe; and many other works.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Falcon Pubns; 2nd edition (January 1, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 186 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1561840017
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1561840014
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 86 ratings

About the author

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Robert Anton Wilson

Robert Anton Wilson

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Author of some 35 books including Cosmic Trigger, Prometheus Rising, Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy, and co-author of the Illuminatus! Trilogy, Robert Anton Wilson (RAW or Bob) was a futurist, author, lecturer, stand-up comic, guerrilla ontologist, psychedelic magician, outer head of the Illuminati, quantum psychologist, Taoist sage, Discordian Pope, Struthian politician . . . maybe. Bob described his work as an "attempt to break down conditioned associations, to look at the world in a new way, with different perspectives recognized as models or maps, and no one model elevated to the truth". His goal being "to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone but agnosticism about everything." His "Maybe Logic" inspired the creation of the Maybe Logic Academy. Google "Robert Anton Wilson" for mosbunall info.

~~~

The Berkeley mob once called Leary and me “the counter-culture of the counter-culture.” I’m some kind of antibody in the New Age movement. My function is to raise the possibility, “Hey, you know, some of this stuff might be bullshit.”

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
86 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kyle
5.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly and Informative
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book is a very different style from RAW's other work.

If you're used to Wilson's writing style, you know he typically uses a trippy, informal tone, moving from one topic to another and touching on tangents without fully developing them. This book is not written in the same style at all. Although his characteristic charm still shines through, this book is much more literal and historical with its analysis. He ties together multiple phenomena and provides, in my view, a very useful perspective for understanding the human pursuit of altered states, and the cultural backlash that inevitably follows it.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in Sex, Drugs, or Magick and curious about the long history of these practices across cultures.
13 people found this helpful
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AntonLogic
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2012
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Just read this book, even though it is decades old it will still invigorate the bohemian in you (if you have one) and/or season your personal philosophy. I really enjoy RAWs non-fiction.
One person found this helpful
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dirnt3X
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2018
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Love this guy’s writing style
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Allan B. Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2015
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Had a lot of fun with this one
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James French
4.0 out of 5 stars A serious look at the New Holy War
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2002
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In Sex and Drugs, Wilson shows how drugs have been used along with sex through the ages as paths to mystical experience. He then demonstrates how the current "war on drugs", is really a holy war between different factions of drug users. He details many experiences of people whose lifes have been changed, for good and bad, by the use of drugs.
This book is a bit more sober than Wilson's other works, and suffers from having had updates to the current edition inserted into the texts without revising the context to fit it. Otherwise, a good look at sex and drugs as something other than a reason to shred what's left of the Constitution.
25 people found this helpful
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Zach VW
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2019
Great writer.
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Stephen
5.0 out of 5 stars Sex and Drugs: A Journey Beyond Limits
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2003
This book takes a rather interesting point of view that will not sit well with those who do not think... To do the quality and type of work pointed out here is well beyond the capabilities of the average. Instead of believing what the media shamans tell you or the scientistic-priests ( you know, the so-called credible scientists that tell the world with a straight face that they know, a priori, that anything beyond their personal experience cannot possibly be true... ), an intelligent reviewer might find themselves practicing sex, pranyama and the ingestion of THC while keeping strict and accurate journals that may be peer reviewed.
As an aside, WHO THE ... CAN TELL ANOTHER WHAT ENLIGHTENMENT IS? Wilson points at "Higher Consciousness", if you will forgive the play on words there, but does not preach WHAT it will be for anyone. Hmmm... Seems strange that people seeking enlightenment still sound as if they KNOW what it IS. Some reviewers crack me up.
8 people found this helpful
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Stefan Isaksson
4.0 out of 5 stars Robert A. Wilson for President
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2005
The title: Sex, Drugs & Magick, sure is eye-catching. Not only that, but the book is written by none other than Robert Anton Wilson, known for writing interesting things about controversial topics. And on top of that, the publisher is New Falcon Publications, known for its desire to publish books that really has something to say.

The original title of the book (and its first edition name) was Sex, Drugs, and the Occult, and these are the topics dealt with. Now "occult", however, has been changed into "magick", since Wilson is of the opinion that the word "occult" never really fit the rest of the book.

But, the title is still somewhat misleading, if you ask me. Wilson himself says he focuses on the combination sex and drugs; different drugs, taken during different circumstances, and how these can affect - for better or worse - any sexual stimulation.

And sure, in the beginning this is indeed what the book is all about. But, when looked at from a larger perspective one get the feeling that it's really a story about different drugs and how they affect the way the user relates to world around him or her. Most of the time the sex is there, in one way or another, but the book is not only about sex and drugs.

But I don't think that matters very much. Wilson has, as always, created something great, and I sure had a good time reading it. And it's arranged in quite an interesting way: every other chapter is called an interlude, where Wilson offers very interesting portraits of people he's met during his long and fascinating life, the different drugs these people used, and how the drugs came to affect their lives. In between these interludes you'll find purely non-fictional essays, and the combination of the non-fiction with something subjective descriptive works perfectly.

It's important to point out, however, that it's not a book arguing for the legalization of all drugs known to man. It's written for responsible adults, and Wilson, while never hesitating in admitting how he's tested most drugs out there, is still keen to make sure to the reader that drugs are drugs; dangerous substances that easily can be abused, overdosed, and result in both physical and psychical suffering and death. He's not saying you should try them, but he's also not saying you shouldn't: the use of a drug does not equal abuse of a drug. He's simply trying to be neutral, and chooses to focus on descriptions, instead debating whether or not they should made legal.

All in all the book is just as good as I thought it would be. Just as the title says, if you read it you'll learn a lot about sex, drugs, and magick, and I have no choice but to recommend it to you.

And, it can be quite interesting having it around when your fiends are coming over. The title will definitely get a lot of attention.
20 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

wendy felstead
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2022
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The second reading of this book, & I got a lot more from it this time! Especially with the extras from other friends & authors! A great read. Love RAW!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2017
Verified Purchase
Perfect!
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Jim H
3.0 out of 5 stars Prometheus Rising...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2014
Verified Purchase
Interesting book, would recommend to anyone, though if you are already familiar with RAW's work then you wont find that much new information, though still worth the read.

However, if you are purchasing this book after reading Prometheus Rising because you are interesting in trying the consciousness expanding 'Tantric Exercises' that he alludes to in chapter 11 then don't bother. All he says are a few sentences to the affect of 'tantrists prolong sex for longer than normal'. That is literally all. There are no exercises described and includes no practices or techniques that you can undertake to further your understanding of what he is talking about.

Love Robert Anton Wilson but disappointed in him for suggesting to us in Prometheus Rising that we buy this book and attempt the 'exercises described'. There is none.
10 people found this helpful
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