Taoist Sex: Two Dancing Phoenixes

Taoist Sex is the ancient Chinese equivalent of Tantric Sex. But whereas Tantra is the Way of the Goddess, Taoist Sex is focused more on enhancing the health and longevity of the male participant. While the sexual positions of the Kama Sutra are designed to heighten and prolong the pleasures of the female, their Taoist equivalents are aimed more at the pleasure of the male. This is particularly apparent in the position illustrated here (in a Japaneseshunga print of the late eighteenth century), in which a man is copulating simultaneously with two female partners. In this position, called “two dancing phoenixes”, one female lies on top of the other, both spreading their legs so that their vaginas (referred to in Taoism as “yin gates”) are easily accessible to alternate thrusts of the man’s erect penis (“yang spear”).

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.

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.