HIS69-253 Devil’s Phallus

FOREWORD

Since the beginning of time, Man’s sexuality and his religious practices have been closely intertwined. In the primitive stages of religious exploration, the deities Man worshipped were often sexually ambiguous, if not actually hermaphroditic. As the name hermaphrodite implies, Hermes and Aphrodite once shared the same body. Kwan Yin, the goddess of Mercy in the Chinese pantheon, was originally known as Kwan She Yim, an hermaphroditic deity.

In many cultures this kind of sexual ambiguity was also attributed to the celebrants of the religious ceremonies. It was not uncommon for female attire to be worn by priests, a means by which the mysterious sexual ambiguity of the gods was expressed in the affairs of men. Even today, in some so-called “primitive” cultures, homosexuality is a priestly requirement, for the homosexual is seen to have precisely that sexual ambiguity which marks the most ancient deities of Man. In the homosexual priest, the duality of masculine and feminine which separates the social structures of Man is once again resolved in the unity of the divine.

In Western society, the practice of magic has been separated from the practice of religion. However, in many cultures the practice of magic goes hand in hand with the practice of religion. From time to time Western society has experienced persons or groups of people who have rejected this separation of religion and magic. Because all magic is seen to be “evil” by dogmatic religion, all “magicians” are, by definition, Satanists. Yet throughout history we find numerous groups of people willing to undergo immense suffering and even death to practice magical religion. Despite centuries of persecution, the cult of Wica is still functioning in the British Isles, Voodoo and the cult of Dhambala still flourish in the South. From Salem to Los Angeles you can now find groups of practicing “magicians” in the United States. Most of us tend to scoff at them. We have been taught to treat with scorn this kind of “unscientific” superstition.

Jordan Grant was one of those people who carried his scorn of such things on his sleeve. Even after he met handsome young slave of a magician who was to become his lover, he failed to realize the awesome power of the young man’s Master. His first test of Avery Daemonides’ power resulted in the terrifying punishment of his young lover. In order to avoid further punishment of Andrija, Jordan must subjugate his will and desires to those of the Master Magician, Avery Daemonides. Still he does not accept the possibility that Daemonides’ power is supernatural. He accepts the magician only as a superb hypnotist, a charismatic individual who, with fear and suggestion, rules both his and Andrija’s life, subjecting them both to every whim.

Jordan is determined to discover the secret of the magician’s power, the weakness in his authority, that he knows must exist. In his attempt to defeat the magician, he discovers his own ability to manipulate the domain of the arcane. In doing so, he destroys Avery Daemonides, but at a cost he is unable to pay.