Bacchanal: A Frenzied Sex Ritual

The Bacchanal was a religious rite associated with worship of the Roman God Bacchus, also known by the Greek name of Dionysus. Bacchus is often euphemistically referred to as the “God of Wine”, which makes him sound genteel and sophisticated, but in fact he was the God of drunkenness, self-indulgence and decadent sexuality. Accordingly, the Bacchanal took the form of an uninhibited, drunken orgy. The Roman historian Livy wrote that “More uncleanness was committed by men with men than with women. To regard nothing as impious or criminal was the sum total of their religion.”

Over the years, many artists have chosen to depict Bacchanalian revels in their paintings. The one shown here is the work of the Belgian painter Auguste Levêque.

The Black Mass

The Satanic rite known as the Black Mass is replete with sexual imagery and orgiastic debauchery, as described in this quotation from Dennis Wheatley: “The salient feature is that the representative of the Power of Light should be abjured and the Power of Darkness invoked by the offering up of blood and semen. To be of maximum potency a Black Mass should be performed by a priest, and, should he have been unfrocked, this makes no difference to the power inherent in him. But anyone sufficiently debased can perform a ritual of this kind. At a black mass everything possible is done the opposite way to the correct procedure. The cross on the altar is upside down, crooked or broken. The acolytes should be young men who readily give themselves to anal intercourse. The celebrant wears a cape embroidered with serpents and other Satanic emblems. He is naked beneath it, and it is open down the front, exposing his erect penis. The congregation should, preferably, be wearing animal costumes and masks. The litany and prayers are recited backwards. The ceremony is performed over the naked body of a young woman, who lies on the altar. The celebrant sacrifices an offering by cutting its throat and catching its blood in a chalice. Finally the priest copulates with the woman on the altar, plunging his lust-hardened penis in and out of her lissome young vagina. The congregation, as though possessed by demons, frantically slake their lust on one another in every way possible.”

The image above shows a depiction of the Black Mass by the early 20th century artist, Martin van Maële.

Circle Sex Ritual

The Sanskrit term Chakra Puja refers to a sex ritual undertaken by a group of participants. The word Chakra literally means “wheel”, and the ritual takes the form of a circle in which sexual energy is transmitted from one participant to the next.

The picture above shows a group of men engaged in a circular sex ritual. This particular ritual is known as Trenecito.