“The Healer-Mage places the rope around his neck and his ascension into empty space begins. This is, undoubtedly, a tragic moment, and it is impossible to give an exact picture of it for the profane. Also, the testimo­nies that the Brotherhood keeps in its archives provide different memories concerning this point. Some report strange things, bizarre visions that have noth­ing in common with what is happening on earth. Others tell about hearing astonishing music, still others speak of tears and heartrending moans. But all of those who have obtained a very special enjoyment during initiatic strangulation, which comes from the precipita­tion from top to bottom in the body of the one hanged, of That which we call “Satan” and which is the Force contrary to the manifestation of God(= Life), declare that at the moment when nothing any longer calls the things of daily life to the mind of the one tested, he has the clear impression of suddenly finding himself face to face with what could very improperly be called the Infinite.” – The Hanging Mystery Initiation (Le Mystère de la pendaison) by Maria de Naglowska

Satan here is the unmanifest, or the destructor, like Shiva in the dance of reality. The Hanging Mystery is the very mystery of life and death, the conscious choice to look annihilation in the eyes. It is one form of the limit experience as expressed by Georges Bataille and others.  The breath is central to yogic practices like pranayama, or to erotic practices like autoerotic asphyxiation. The erotic because at the edge of life and death we find the ultimate form of orgasm, and at the height of yogic practice we find the very essence of life itself, the energy that expresses life. Sexual magick then brings both of these together, an initiation that brings us to the potential of death, while also bringing us to the potential for life expressed in orgasm.

The control of the breath, both within ourselves, as well as within a ritual context gives access to our most primary state of awareness. Asphyxiation moves us directly to the point of near death, as well as the symbolic death experienced as a part of initiation. The process of asphyxiation creates an alchemy of the soul, a potential to leave the body and to transform our inner chemistry.

Within a magickal process the adept or initiator can link the genitals and areas of greatest pleasure and the source of life with the mouth and nose, the site of continued life. A hand on both can give pleasure and control the breath. The initiator can incrementally increase the duration of breath control and flows of sexual stimulation. The climax can be the moment that consciousness is finally lost, so the peak of experience will be coupled with the loss of all awareness, a true petite mort.

Maria de Naglowska seemed to grasp the magickal power of both the erotic and the sadomasochistic long before those notions were embedded within counter cultural practice. She envisioned a new aeon of female sexual energy and transformation initiated through her Societe de la Fleches d’Or.

This interplay of sexuality, sadomasochism and initiation are embodied in the Hanging Mystery, but more than that, our consciousness is taken to another level. The near death experience transforms us, heals us, and gives rise to new avenues in our lives. Research into the impact of near death experiences (NDEs) shows this clearly in many forms. However, the NDE is a largely spontaneous occurrence, unlike an act of Willed change, or magick. The choice to enter into a limit experience, to trust, risk everything and be fully responsible for our actions and choices is the highest level of initiation. Like The Fool who is willing to be mocked, ostracised and live away from the norms of society, the initiate knows that it is precisely this choice that gives us access to who we truly are. This is the essence of the Great Work, or even climbing to the heights of the Ipsissimus.