Is Sexuality In Witchcraft Is Harmful?

[AncientWays]

My question is " Is sexuailty in witchcraft harmful? Especially during the preparation of the dedication ritual and the following week?" I mean can sexual activities harm the energy that we gathered during the preparation of the dedication and the following week?

[SkySamuelle]

My question is " Is sexuailty in witchcraft harmful? Especially during the preparation of the dedication ritual and the following week?" I mean can sexual activities harm the energy that we gathered during the preparation of the dedication and the following week?

 
Are we talking about a dedication ritual to your path in generic terms or about dedication to a specific deity?

The one situation where I can imagine sexual energies interfering with your 'preparation' is a situation where you are dedicating yourself to a deity who places particular value on castity... like, let's say, Artemis.

[HeartShadow]

My question is " Is sexuailty in witchcraft harmful? Especially during the preparation of the dedication ritual and the following week?" I mean can sexual activities harm the energy that we gathered during the preparation of the dedication and the following week?

 
Honestly, this question seems .. upside down to me.

Wicca, at least, has sexuality at its CORE.  So if you're doing something Wicca-derived, it would only make sense to abstain if sex was somehow part of the ritual in a major major way.

Honestly, it would depend on what system you're working with.  In general, I'd say IF there's a problem it would be leading up to the ritual, not after.  But even then, without context I'm just lost.

[Fier]

My question is " Is sexuailty in witchcraft harmful? Especially during the preparation of the dedication ritual and the following week?" I mean can sexual activities harm the energy that we gathered during the preparation of the dedication and the following week?

 
There are a couple different theories as to why one might abstain from sex leading up to a ritual. The ones I've heard are either that A., sex is dirty and the practitioner should be clean before doing a ritual, or B., that the energy released during sex is now gone and not available for the ritual.

For A, this may be true in the cases of certain deities, like SkySam mentioned. You'll want to research the deities you are working with to find out their views on sex.

For B, I think it really depends on the individual. If being sexually frustrated helps make the ritual better, abstain away. If there will be sex in the ritual, you may want to abstain a bit beforehand, to make the ritual more powerful. But for a lot of people most of the time, it probably doesn't matter. I think most people can raise the same amount of energy whether or not they've had sex in the past few days.

As for abstaining after the ritual, I haven't heard anything like that. I'm not sure what purpose it would serve.

[Nachtigall]

My question is " Is sexuailty in witchcraft harmful? Especially during the preparation of the dedication ritual and the following week?" I mean can sexual activities harm the energy that we gathered during the preparation of the dedication and the following week?

 
I agree with others. You haven't mentioned the purpose of the ritual, the tradition and/or the deity that you will be dedicating yourself to - the preparation guidelines may be very different, depending on that.
Another point of view is, that in order to make your magical workings more powerful, it may be useful to put some restrictions upon yourself beforehand - this doesn't have to be sex, it may be just stop drinking coffee for a week, or wear only certain colors of clothes etc - something unusual for you, so that you will be focusing on it, and as such, on your magical purpose as well. So, if your tradition uses the same sort of reasoning, this may very well be something you consider to do.

[Darkhawk]

My question is " Is sexuailty in witchcraft harmful? Especially during the preparation of the dedication ritual and the following week?" I mean can sexual activities harm the energy that we gathered during the preparation of the dedication and the following week?

 
If sexuality in witchcraft were harmful, the tradition in which I am training would vanish in a puff of logic.

[tihana]

My question is " Is sexuailty in witchcraft harmful? Especially during the preparation of the dedication ritual and the following week?" I mean can sexual activities harm the energy that we gathered during the preparation of the dedication and the following week?

 
There really are two separate ways of thinking here; or, it all depends on the person you ask or book you read. Sex is natural and beautiful and nothing to be ashamed of, but in the next paragraph before ritual you must be "pure" or "clean" for a day. But it also says to fast so honestly, it's up to the person.

Ritual isn't like the big basketball game where you have to be celibate for a few days prior because if you don't you'll lose motivation. To me it almost seems petty. But sometimes, if you're like me, getting rid of excess energy via sexual activities is a good thing, lol. I'd rather "disturb the balance" of energy than have it build up and get antsy like I can do sometimes. I need all the help with focusing I can get.

[Jenett]

My question is " Is sexuailty in witchcraft harmful? Especially during the preparation of the dedication ritual and the following week?" I mean can sexual activities harm the energy that we gathered during the preparation of the dedication and the following week?

Joining with the other people.

I think the thing to keep in mind is that most human activities - sex, eating, company, learning, creating - can be used to focus our intention and energy. Or they can be used to distract us, or disperse the energy we want for something else.

Sex itself is not a problem. But agreeing to sex because you feel cajoled into it might be a disruption of your focus of will - a problem if you're about to go do something like a dedication or initiation that relies on that. On the other hand, choosing to have sex because it'd make someone you love happy might be a perfectly fine thing. Mindless sex might not be a good thing to have in your recent history going into some rituals, but passionate, intentional sex might be.

Same way that food is neither good nor evil - but mindless eating to soothe emotions might be something that shows you something you need to pay attention to, where cooking and enjoying a really great meal with friends might feed your intention and goals for an important ritual. (Or just plain having a meal of your favourite foods, as a way to anchor your sense of self and history.)

[PlaceboArtist]

My question is " Is sexuailty in witchcraft harmful? Especially during the preparation of the dedication ritual and the following week?" I mean can sexual activities harm the energy that we gathered during the preparation of the dedication and the following week?

 
Just to agree with the other people here. Wicca is a fertility religion, and the Great Rite (ritual sex) is a part of it. Even outside of Wicca, sex can be used to raise energy for a magical purpose - so you could see it as a ritual in and of itself.

However, if you need energy for a specific thing like a dedication, you might find it beneficial to save the energy you would otherwise dissipate during sex, from a few days before the ritual. Or, you might not. It's a personal thing, so figure out what's right for you.

After the ritual, you may find you don't have any energy for sex for a little while anyway. I find that major rituals such as a dedication tend to leave me quite drained. Or, again, you might not. Still, after the ritual, how much sex you do or do not have shouldn't make any difference to the dedication.

[Owl]

My question is " Is sexuailty in witchcraft harmful? Especially during the preparation of the dedication ritual and the following week?" I mean can sexual activities harm the energy that we gathered during the preparation of the dedication and the following week?

Have to agree with Jenett and others here.  Sex, when it is freely given and enjoyed, does not drain energy.  In fact, I find it quite the opposite.  And as someone pointed out, abstaining can leave you antsy, which could be bad.  Beyond that, what does your tradition have to say about it?

[AncientWays]

I ran into many ideas about that and I wondered if it is harmful for the energy or not. And now I could find out the problem in my head with the help of you. Thanks all of you to share your ideas.

[Valentine]

My question is " Is sexuailty in witchcraft harmful? Especially during the preparation of the dedication ritual and the following week?" I mean can sexual activities harm the energy that we gathered during the preparation of the dedication and the following week?

 
I think the more important frame is to acknowledge that sexuality will always affect your energy--not harm, but affect, in many of the same ways that eating, or exercise, or meditation, or ritual preparation might.  Sexuality is a powerful mover and changer of energy.  For some rituals, it is important preparation, or important during; for others, it's not a good idea, or dangerous.  

For instance, I know many healing workers who ask those they work with to refrain from sex for a few days afterward, and on the day of the healing work--but also request abstinence from alcohol, spicy food, and caffeine, and request lots of rest.  The idea isn't that any of these things are bad or harmful; it's to let the new patterns of energy settle in before stirring up the water again.  Traditional Taoist magicians refrain from masturbation, in order to keep the energy they might release with orgasm bottled up to use for other things.  On another note, I remember, as a former competitive runner, that there were differing opinions on whether or not it was a good idea to have sex before a race.  (Most people told me that it would have a negative effect on male runners, and a positive effect on female runners.  Go figure.  It might've just been classic athlete superstition.)  Different traditions have different ideas about it.  

It's a good idea to observe how your body, and your energy, are affected by sex, and take that into account when you do magic or ritual work.  It shifts stuff around, and affects your connections to other people, and that's worth knowing about when you're doing any kind of intensive magical or ritual work--but it's not inherently bad or good.

[Owl]

I think the more important frame is to acknowledge that sexuality will always affect your energy--not harm, but affect, in many of the same ways that eating, or exercise, or meditation, or ritual preparation might.  Sexuality is a powerful mover and changer of energy.  For some rituals, it is important preparation, or important during; for others, it's not a good idea, or dangerous.  

For instance, I know many healing workers who ask those they work with to refrain from sex for a few days afterward, and on the day of the healing work--but also request abstinence from alcohol, spicy food, and caffeine, and request lots of rest.  The idea isn't that any of these things are bad or harmful; it's to let the new patterns of energy settle in before stirring up the water again.  Traditional Taoist magicians refrain from masturbation, in order to keep the energy they might release with orgasm bottled up to use for other things.  On another note, I remember, as a former competitive runner, that there were differing opinions on whether or not it was a good idea to have sex before a race.  (Most people told me that it would have a negative effect on male runners, and a positive effect on female runners.  Go figure.  It might've just been classic athlete superstition.)  Different traditions have different ideas about it.  

It's a good idea to observe how your body, and your energy, are affected by sex, and take that into account when you do magic or ritual work.  It shifts stuff around, and affects your connections to other people, and that's worth knowing about when you're doing any kind of intensive magical or ritual work--but it's not inherently bad or good.

I have heard several times over the years, from different people who did not know each other, the males lose energy when ejaculating during sex.  I have always felt that while the energy used in the physical activity makes a short term difference, that the psychic energy would make little or no difference - mostly because sex is usually relaxing and enjoyable.  Which is a good place to be if you want to get something done.  Especially if we are talking sex Monday night and marathon or ritual on Tuesday with plenty of sleep between.  This is based on life experience, and since I'm a woman I could be wrong about men - but my SO agrees with me and he is male.

[Rhyshadow]

I have heard several times over the years, from different people who did not know each other, the males lose energy when ejaculating during sex.  I have always felt that while the energy used in the physical activity makes a short term difference, that the psychic energy would make little or no difference - mostly because sex is usually relaxing and enjoyable.  Which is a good place to be if you want to get something done.  Especially if we are talking sex Monday night and marathon or ritual on Tuesday with plenty of sleep between.  This is based on life experience, and since I'm a woman I could be wrong about men - but my SO agrees with me and he is male.

 
Let me toss in my perspective as a het-male

While there is a loss of physical energy during orgasm, the influx of psychological and emotional energy that comes from making your partner feel 'Oh so good' more than balances that.  Part of this is the basis for Tantra, you build up the psych/emot energy in a synergistic fashion, holding that energy and increasing it through restraint of the actual orgasm.  When this energy reaches it peak, you send it out via the mutual physical release.

By the same token, you can hold onto that energy; revitalizing your psych/emot reserves.

YMMV of course, but to me, the entire act is about giving my partner those wonderful feelings and it increases my own psych/emot energy.  The physical release is a side effect of that and does not decrease the overall energy that I have; though I might be a bit physically tired afterwards :whis:

[Owl]

; though I might be a bit physically tired afterwards :whis:

 
Hence my thought that it would be good, rather than bad especially if the event you are preparing for is hours or a sleep period away.  The OP was talking about days before and maybe after.  I can understand right before - that would be nap time - but days before?  No.