Ascetism and Sexuality

I've noticed that many novices and candidates for initiation think that ascetism is necessary for success in the magical arts and thereby busy themselves e.g. with not drinking alcohol anymore or suppressing their sexual drive. I think this is a mistake. On one hand it is surely healthy to stop wasting the body with poisonous substances like alcohol and tobacco, seeing that the body is the physical temple of the Lower Will and Higher Self.
On the other hand there arises a great danger of developing some sort of spiritual heroism or egotism, which may be a far greater sin than enjoying worldly pleasures from time to time.
One of the keywords to success in Magic is Balance. Amongst other things, this means to be moderate in all things human. One should neither practise vice, nor strict ascetism.
Especially regarding the sexual drive this is very important. I have heard from many students that they try to suppress it to the point of having no sex at all anymore, only to find themselves "tortured" by sexual dreams and obsessions.
There is the diffuse notion throughout the esoteric camps that the sexual drive has to be sublimated, that its energy has to be directed towards the higher chakras in order to reach enlightenment.
This may be true for some eastern practises, but surely not for hermetic Magic.
I think a healthy attitude towards sexuality is really necessary. To suppress sexuality over a long time can only result in obsession and perversion. A fact that the current scandals with german catholic priests can attest.
The sexual impulse is a creative expression of the Divine Life-force that saturates all the Universe, and as such it should be treated. To suppress sexuality means to deny this fact, and to contaminate it by unconsciously viewing it as something impure.
Instead we should consider sexuality, may it be straight, homo- or bisexual, as something sacred and rejoice when we have a partner with whom we can enjoy this sacred act of union.
Unfortunately the whole so-called sophisticated western civilisation is in a crooked situation in regards to sexuality. The media, at least in Germany, nearly explodes with sexual images. Sex sells everywhere, may it be in movies, fine arts or advertisements.
But at the same time i always get the feeling that sex still is viewed as something dirty, something that one has to be ashamed of.
Maybe iam over-sensitive to this fact because iam gay. You can find the mandatory gay couple in every soap opera on TV, but at the same time the teachers of every primary school confirm that "gay asshole" and "faggot" are the most used swearwords on the schoolyard. This is pretty sad.

But I want to come back to ascetism. I think Israel Regardie once wrote that many students of the occult fall into the trap of confusing the voice of their infantile ego with the voice of their Higher Self. To be more plain, many tend to think that "when i dont drink alcohol anymore or when i dont do this or that anymore, i will reach my Higher Self". I think this is not true. The Angel is not reached by good deeds or virtues, instead virtue is the outcome of communion with the Angel, but then virtues may have another connotation, and may not be measured by common moral standards anymore, instead taking on an alltogether different meaning.
Desires do not have to be suppressed, but instead purified. And purification means to analyse the true impact of every desire, seeing if it is necessary to fulfill it in order to be satisfied or if its just another escapist tendency.
Eliphas Levi once wrote that only he can enjoy the lust of love who has overcome the love for lust.
We all have to handle our saturnian appetites. In fact, we are all human and equipped with physical bodies that have certain appetites. We have to see that we dont overfeed them, but give them moderate nutrition.
When it comes to semiluxury food we have to see that we dont become slaves of our passions but instead become masters over our desires.
This may be a hard task, but its the only way to the golden palace.
The attitude of temperance in all things human is what distinguishes the hermetic path from the eastern paths. I think the roscicrucian claim that none of the posterity should be constrained to wear one certain kind of habit but therein to follow the custom of the country points in the same direction.
And also it is to be considered that the path that leads to Tiphareth is the path of Samekh, the path of Temperance, which is the straight and narrow path, and only few are able to find it.

In L.V.X.,
Frater L.e.N.e.