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ironwoodwitch's review against another edition
4.0
This book found me in a funny way – I had seen it in a book store and took a photo to remember to buy it when I had the extra money. A few weeks later, a friend who had just bought it brought it over to loan it to me since he thought I’d find it interesting. What I had assumed would be a standard biography, however, actually included copies of many of her essays as well, so one has the opportunity to learn about her life and work at the same time.
Ida Craddock is an unsung hero of the Comstock years – I had honestly never heard of her, despite being quite interested in the history of sex in this country. Perhaps she was a little too far to the woo side of things to be of interest to sexologists and sexuality experts. When I showed the book to my therapist, she had never heard of her either! (My day to day therapist is a sex therapist as well, as BSDM and polyamory are factors in my life that a therapist needs to take into consideration.) . Ida Craddock was personally targeted by Anthony Comstock for sending ‘obscene’ information via mail; despite being lauded by pastors and physicians of the time as right, correct and moral. She was, considering the day and age we’re in now, remarkably conservative.
Mrs. Craddock, while in some ways utterly wrong, was still on the cutting edge of sexual politics for her day. She was a proponent of a healthy, consensual martial sex life at a time when rape within marriage was par for the course. She felt that sex was meant to be both enjoyable AND procreative, and taught couples male continence – that is, the ability for a man to withhold his seed during sex to both heighten the experience and prevent unwanted children without violating what was considered ethically, medically and legally permissible at the time; and female continence (withholding the orgasm until they could be achieved together). She felt the female orgasm was vital to fertility. She wrote several pamphlet guides for her pupils (which, when sent through the mail, were what violated the Comstock laws) and had office hours where she would have frank discussions with couples and individuals on how to improve their marital relations, and felt very much that the woman was, by nature, the partner who should initiate sex.
On the other hand, she felt any non penis in vagina sex act to be masturbatory and as such immoral and unhealthy, that clitoral orgasms were to be avoided (as she considered the clitoris to be a proto-male orgasm that released male sexual magnetism), that children conceived when a man was drunk would be drunkards themselves, that male sperm was reabsorbed in to the body and induced health and vitality, and that sexual continence could indeed prevent pregnancy. (Pre-ejaculate in men does contain sperm, and can cause pregnancy, though I would assume with less of likelihood than a full emission). However, these feelings were common for the time.
She was institutionalized once by her mother, and sent to Blackwell Island for three months following her first trial. The day before sentencing for her second trial, she took her own life by disconnecting the gas from her stove, as well as slitting her right wrist.
Now, Mrs. Craddock was more than meets the eye. Not only was she a sexologist, but she was a mystic as well. She acquired all her sexual knowledge from her husband – and angelic being named Soph. Mrs. Craddock was also in contact with her spirit guides, who along with Soph helped her research her pamphlets and polish her prose.
Along with standard sexual advice, Mrs. Craddock felt she was on divinely inspired mission to teach people about the mystical sex practices she had discovered; the third and ultimate degree of which was inviting the divine to be a partner in your lovemaking; or, as also described, offering a portion of your earthly pleasure up to the creator. Her suicide was the ultimate ‘fuck you’ to Comstock, and her intention (which was met) was to show the world how much of a bully he was, and how wrong he was. Public support was in Ida’s favour, particularly after the publishing of her lengthy public, condemning suicide note and from what I understand of the reading, he never did get the wind back in his sails, and suffered a nervous breakdown 1-2 years after her death. (Consider this – in his later years, he tried to go after Margaret Sanger…who founded the American Birth Control League, which later became the Planned Parenthood. So I’d like to think we should thank Ida for that, no matter how much she would disagree with their policies! (Ida felt that birth control was immoral and unhealthy))
Fascinating, as well, her angelic husband, when within the past few years, the presence of god spouses has become more visible in our communities. One of her included papers, “Heavenly Bridegrooms” extensively discusses these spiritual partners and their history, though through a Judeo-Christian perspective. As did others of her time, her opinion of “Heathens” wasn’t very high.
Needless to say, that was the other aspect of her work that appealed to me, as someone who has found sexuality and spirituality to be very intertwined, at least for me. I do find I disagree with a fair portion of her feelings on what is considered moral/healthy, what with my living now and all, but her work is an invaluable read. Aleister Crowley was highly complementary of her work in his review, and considered it a must read; high praise indeed considering there was absolutely no way Crowley lived up to her standards of ‘Right Living’! I would have to agree that this is a must read for sexual magic practitioners, and I’m planning to get a copy for myself once I have to return this one!
Ida Craddock is an unsung hero of the Comstock years – I had honestly never heard of her, despite being quite interested in the history of sex in this country. Perhaps she was a little too far to the woo side of things to be of interest to sexologists and sexuality experts. When I showed the book to my therapist, she had never heard of her either! (My day to day therapist is a sex therapist as well, as BSDM and polyamory are factors in my life that a therapist needs to take into consideration.) . Ida Craddock was personally targeted by Anthony Comstock for sending ‘obscene’ information via mail; despite being lauded by pastors and physicians of the time as right, correct and moral. She was, considering the day and age we’re in now, remarkably conservative.
Mrs. Craddock, while in some ways utterly wrong, was still on the cutting edge of sexual politics for her day. She was a proponent of a healthy, consensual martial sex life at a time when rape within marriage was par for the course. She felt that sex was meant to be both enjoyable AND procreative, and taught couples male continence – that is, the ability for a man to withhold his seed during sex to both heighten the experience and prevent unwanted children without violating what was considered ethically, medically and legally permissible at the time; and female continence (withholding the orgasm until they could be achieved together). She felt the female orgasm was vital to fertility. She wrote several pamphlet guides for her pupils (which, when sent through the mail, were what violated the Comstock laws) and had office hours where she would have frank discussions with couples and individuals on how to improve their marital relations, and felt very much that the woman was, by nature, the partner who should initiate sex.
On the other hand, she felt any non penis in vagina sex act to be masturbatory and as such immoral and unhealthy, that clitoral orgasms were to be avoided (as she considered the clitoris to be a proto-male orgasm that released male sexual magnetism), that children conceived when a man was drunk would be drunkards themselves, that male sperm was reabsorbed in to the body and induced health and vitality, and that sexual continence could indeed prevent pregnancy. (Pre-ejaculate in men does contain sperm, and can cause pregnancy, though I would assume with less of likelihood than a full emission). However, these feelings were common for the time.
She was institutionalized once by her mother, and sent to Blackwell Island for three months following her first trial. The day before sentencing for her second trial, she took her own life by disconnecting the gas from her stove, as well as slitting her right wrist.
Now, Mrs. Craddock was more than meets the eye. Not only was she a sexologist, but she was a mystic as well. She acquired all her sexual knowledge from her husband – and angelic being named Soph. Mrs. Craddock was also in contact with her spirit guides, who along with Soph helped her research her pamphlets and polish her prose.
Along with standard sexual advice, Mrs. Craddock felt she was on divinely inspired mission to teach people about the mystical sex practices she had discovered; the third and ultimate degree of which was inviting the divine to be a partner in your lovemaking; or, as also described, offering a portion of your earthly pleasure up to the creator. Her suicide was the ultimate ‘fuck you’ to Comstock, and her intention (which was met) was to show the world how much of a bully he was, and how wrong he was. Public support was in Ida’s favour, particularly after the publishing of her lengthy public, condemning suicide note and from what I understand of the reading, he never did get the wind back in his sails, and suffered a nervous breakdown 1-2 years after her death. (Consider this – in his later years, he tried to go after Margaret Sanger…who founded the American Birth Control League, which later became the Planned Parenthood. So I’d like to think we should thank Ida for that, no matter how much she would disagree with their policies! (Ida felt that birth control was immoral and unhealthy))
Fascinating, as well, her angelic husband, when within the past few years, the presence of god spouses has become more visible in our communities. One of her included papers, “Heavenly Bridegrooms” extensively discusses these spiritual partners and their history, though through a Judeo-Christian perspective. As did others of her time, her opinion of “Heathens” wasn’t very high.
Needless to say, that was the other aspect of her work that appealed to me, as someone who has found sexuality and spirituality to be very intertwined, at least for me. I do find I disagree with a fair portion of her feelings on what is considered moral/healthy, what with my living now and all, but her work is an invaluable read. Aleister Crowley was highly complementary of her work in his review, and considered it a must read; high praise indeed considering there was absolutely no way Crowley lived up to her standards of ‘Right Living’! I would have to agree that this is a must read for sexual magic practitioners, and I’m planning to get a copy for myself once I have to return this one!
colleenc13's review against another edition
5.0
I found this at a bookstore in London that has an eclectic selection of texts and spiritual products. Love me some spiritualism and 'outsider' characters from the 1800s. The author didn't insert herself too much and was generous with the amount of primary text she placed in the book. Incredibly interesting topic and fascinating woman.
gnostalgia's review against another edition
4.0
Ida Craddock was a “Freethinker” and an advocate for women’s rights. Miss Craddock turned her attention to the study of religious eroticism, and she developed a deep understanding of the occult. She wrote several tracts on sexuality, and it is those writings that brought her into conflict with the Comstock Law.
I suppose that you can not tell the tale of Ida Craddock without mentioning Anthony Comstock, and “comstockery.” Anthony Comstock managed to push through a law that forbid the transportation of ”obscene, lewd, or lascivious” material. The vague law gave Comstock an amazing amount of power. ”Comstock boasted that he was responsible for 4,000 arrests and fifteen suicides over his career.” How can a man, who claimed to support morality, boast about driving fifteen people to suicide?
At any rate, Ida Craddock was one of those driven to suicide. While some of her writings clearly showed her to be the product of her time, I was impressed with her knowledge of comparative religions. Miss Craddock believed that she was the wife of an angel named Soph.
In a strange moment of synchronicity, I was reading Craddock’s thoughts of angelic visitations, while the History channel covered much of the same thing in a show about ancient astronauts.
In short, I really enjoyed the book. I give it a solid 4 stars out of 5.
I suppose that you can not tell the tale of Ida Craddock without mentioning Anthony Comstock, and “comstockery.” Anthony Comstock managed to push through a law that forbid the transportation of ”obscene, lewd, or lascivious” material. The vague law gave Comstock an amazing amount of power. ”Comstock boasted that he was responsible for 4,000 arrests and fifteen suicides over his career.” How can a man, who claimed to support morality, boast about driving fifteen people to suicide?
At any rate, Ida Craddock was one of those driven to suicide. While some of her writings clearly showed her to be the product of her time, I was impressed with her knowledge of comparative religions. Miss Craddock believed that she was the wife of an angel named Soph.
In a strange moment of synchronicity, I was reading Craddock’s thoughts of angelic visitations, while the History channel covered much of the same thing in a show about ancient astronauts.
In short, I really enjoyed the book. I give it a solid 4 stars out of 5.
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