Sanger Brown

“ The above outline of the changes and evolution of early religions is most schematic. It enables us, however, to see that sex worship was entirely out of place during the middle ages, in a civilization which had long before discarded matriarchy. The questions of the food supply, and of children, were no longer so immediately pressing, and the faith in magical performances had been shaken. Man had emerged from the group as a definite personality, and the development of a new religion which expressed other feelings and desires had taken place. ”

“ The decadence of sex worship is observed during the early centuries of Christianity and traces of it are seen throughout the middle ages. In the decadence [Pg 80] of sex worship we are able to observe how an important motive in the race finds expression in the thoughts and conduct of people after the underlying promptings which originated it have long since ceased to be dynamic. This decadent stage of a motive is therefore of considerable importance; we shall return to its interpretation in the discussion of analogies of development between motives in the individual and motives in the race. ”

“ He has been the great men in the history in the development of the human race; he himself created the human race. It took him three hundred million years to perfect the first fully developed human being; he is both male and female and identifies all the different parts of the Universe with his own body ”

“ These origins, found associated especially in art and religious usages, have not been generally understood. Yet when we reflect upon the fact that many religious customs are of great antiquity; that when once a certain form or custom becomes established, it is well nigh ineffaceable, although subject to great change or disguise throughout the centuries; when we reflect upon these conditions, and realize the fact that sex worship with its accompanying symbolism is found throughout primitive religions, we may then more readily appreciate the entire significance of the above interpretations. ”

“ In fact, reproductive attributes of both nature and man were often worshipped at the same ceremony.
While we should not as a rule expect to find phallic rites associated with the earlier forms of nature worship, since sex worship developed at a somewhat later period, still in this connection we cannot be too dogmatic; the primitive Australians appear to be at the stage of [Pg 120] mental development when simple nature worship predominated, yet, from Mutter Erde [38] we learn that with the Australians a ceremony consisting of the throwing of a spear into the earth was of phallic significance. ”

“ These primitive people exhibit many of the qualities of the child. They are quite without sex consciousness. Their motives are at once both simple and direct, and they are doubtless sincere. Much misunderstanding has arisen by judging such primitive people by the standards of our present day civilization. Sex worship, while it held sway was probably quite as seriously entertained as many other beliefs; it only became degraded during a decadent age, when civilization had advanced beyond such simple conceptions of a deity, but had not evolved a satisfactory substitute. ”

“ As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. ”

“ John Newton made a study of tree worship, especially the Ancient Grove Worship of Assyria. He shows that the object of veneration was a male date palm, which represented the Assyrian god Baal. Sex was worshipped under this deity, and it is shown that the tree of the Assyrian grove was a phallic symbol. Palm Sunday appears to be a relic of this worship. In France, until comparatively recent times, there was a festival, “La Fête des Pinnes,” in which palms were carried in procession, and with the palms were carried phalli of bread which had been blessed by the priests. ”

“ A custom which shows even more clearly that prostitution was held as a sacred duty to women was that in Babylonia every woman, of high rank or low, must at one time in her life prostitute herself to any stranger who offered money. In Ancient Sex Worship we read: “There was a temple in Babylonia where every female had to perform once in her life a (to us) strange act of religion, namely, prostitution with a stranger. ”

“ As civilization advanced, the gross symbols of creative power were cast aside, and priestly ingenuity was taxed to the utmost in inventing a crowd of less obvious emblems, which should represent the ancient ideas in a decorous manner. The old belief was retained, but in a mysterious or sublimated form. As symbols of the male, or active element in creation, the sun, light, fire, a torch, the phallus or lingam, [Pg 40] an erect serpent, a tall straight tree, especially the palm or fir or pine, were adopted. ”

“ Psychiatrists during recent years have come to believe that in certain mental states we see a reversion to a more primitive type of reaction,—a tendency to utilize earlier adaptations, the reactions of infancy and childhood in meeting situations which arise in adult life. If this assumption is correct it is seen that a reversion to something more primitive is an undesirable reaction in the individual as well as in the race. Here too we find that the emotions and feelings associated with the reproductive instinct may be inadequately developed. ”

“ CHAPTER I Simple Sex Worship Psychiatry, during recent years, has found it to its advantage to turn to related sciences and allied branches of study for the explanation of a number of the peculiar symptoms of abnormal mental states. Of these related studies, none have been of greater value than those which throw light on the mental development of either the individual or the race. In primitive races we discover a number of inherent motives which are of interest from the standpoint of mental evolution. ”

“ As stated above, just as in the early mental evolution of the race, we find that the question of reproduction comes prominently to the fore, so with the individual we find that at the adolescent period of life the sexual instinct is very fully elaborated. Just as with the race reproduction is necessary for the continuation of the race, so with the individual, elaboration of sexual instinct is necessary in order that adult sexual responsibilities may be assumed. This consists of much more than mere physical development. ”

“ We may now return to the interpretation of decadent sex worship. When we understand the setting in which sex worship was practiced in the middle ages we are better able to appreciate its significance. As stated above, it was the attempt by certain elements of the race to return to more primitive motives, and to derive satisfaction from beliefs which had long been outgrown by advancing civilization. This clinging to an early type of reaction, or the return to more primitive feelings, must be regarded as an unhealthy tendency. ”

“ A similar emblem is the lingam standing in the centre of the yoni, the adoration of which is to this day characteristic of the leading dogma of Hindu religion. There is scarcely a temple in India which has not its lingam, and in numerous instances this symbol is the only form under which the god Siva is worshipped.”
In Ancient Sex Worship we read, “As the male genital organs were held in early times to exemplify the actual male creative power, various natural objects were seized upon to express the theistic idea and at the same time point to those points of the human form. ”

“ This tendency is frequently observed and the symbolism is often very elaborate. A knowledge of the interpretation of racial symbolism is doubtless of value in the case of the individual. When men’s thoughts deal with the same subject and when they tend to symbolize, they are likely to express themselves in much the same way symbolically. If in abnormal mental states thoughts are entertained which have to do with the motives we have been discussing, it is reasonable to suppose that the racial and individual symbolism will show certain analogies. ”

“ His instruments of worship are so fashioned that his magic may surpass the magic of these gods, and compel them to loosen their stores, full to overflowing. Take any one of the great Hopi ceremonies, analyze the paraphernalia worn by the men, dissect the various components of the altar or sand paintings, examine the offerings made to the Spring and those placed upon the shrines, and in everything and everywhere we see prayers for rain. ”

“ It has only been during comparatively recent times that the importance of primitive beliefs and practices, from the standpoint of mental evolution, has been appreciated. Formerly, primitive man was regarded merely as a curiosity, and not as an individual from whom anything of any value whatever was to be learned. ”

“ Fundamental as they are in our mental development, they enter into our general personality and become a part of our makeup. How is the motive expressed in sex worship a part of our motives and feelings of today? Superficially it does not appear to be present, but a little reflexion shows that it is there. It has become so much a part of us that we scarcely recognize its presence, the instinct to reproduce being common to everyone. ”

“ Miss J. Harrison has shown that Dionysus was the embodiment of this conception. Here the youth was necessary only to the extent that he could become a father. It was his generative attribute which was sanctified, rather than that he was a male being existing as an individual. For this reason, the deification of the phallic principle, i. e., the generative [Pg 116] attribute, preceded the deification of the male as an individual. At least this is the impression one gains of this development. In any case, we note that the phallic ceremonies were associated with the mother religion. ”

“ In India, [17] with the Hindus, there still exists an elaborate form of sex worship. The Phallus is carried on festive occasions, it still occupies the most sacred spot in the sanctuary, dancing girls are devoted to the service of the temple, and many other customs associated with phallic rites are carried on much as they were centuries ago in the Ancient World. It is said that there are thirty million phalli in India and that a phallus is found in nearly every Hindu household. ”

“ We have now followed a definite motive in mental development through its rise, its elaboration and its decadence. We therefore have its life history in the race before us; we have been enabled by analogies of other motives and by utilizing the conclusions of various writers, to understand its meaning and [Pg 123] to give its interpretation. It remains to be seen what general conclusions regarding either racial or individual development in this sphere may be drawn. ”

“ The North American Indians have many legends relating to sun worship and sacrifices to the sun, and China and Japan give numerous instances of the same religion. Sun worship is so readily shown to be fundamental with primitive races that we will not discuss it in detail at this time, but rather will give the conclusions of certain writers who have explained its meaning.
At the present day, the sun is regularly regarded as a male being, the earth a female. ”

“ As stated above, sex worship was not a conscious expression on the part of certain individuals, but it was the unconscious expression of longings and desires on the part of the race. It represents a phase in man’s mental evolution, a process of mental development. ”

“ Serpent worship has been shown by many writers to be a form of sex worship. It is often phallic, and we are told by Hargrave Jennings that the serpent possibly was added to the male and female symbols to represent desire. Thus, the Hindu women carried the lingam in procession between two serpents; and in the procession of Bacchus the Greeks carried in a casket the phallus, the egg, and a serpent. ”

“ The lotus then, which is found throughout antiquity, in art as well as in religion, was a sexual symbol, representing to the ancients the combination of male and female sexual organs. It is another expression of the sex worship of that period.
Our present conventional symbols of art are very easily traced to ancient symbols of religion. We may expect these to be phallic in their meaning, to just the extent that phallicism was fundamental in the religions where these symbols originated. ”

“ Is this not true of the individual? Do we not all recognize in the moods and mental attitudes and even in some of the actions of the adult, remnants of feelings and forces which were dynamic in childhood? These feelings exist although they are not consciously appreciated. The actual experiences are forgotten but the moods and emotions remain. This is analagous to the influence which primitive racial thoughts, beliefs and usages have on present day civilization. The meaning of these usages and symbols is forgotten in many cases but the outward form still exists. ”

“ The beauty and native vigor of some of the earlier myths are examples of this. They live in the tribe as traditions. No one person seems to have written them; in fact, they are added to, changed and improved until they represent the highest expression of national feelings. Gilbert Murray has indicated this in the Rise of the Greek Epic. He emphasizes that there is found an expression of racial feelings, built up from many sources. Such Sagas are not the property of any one individual. The feelings they express are associated with the unconscious of the race, if such a term is permissible. ”

“ It is not possible to discuss sun worship at any length without at the same time discussing phallicism and serpent worship. Hargrave Jennings, who has made careful study of these worships, points out their general identity in the following paragraph. He states: “The three most celebrated emblems carried in the Greek mysteries were the phallus, the egg, and the serpent; or otherwise the phallus, the yoni or umbilicus, and the serpent. The first in each case is the emblem of the sun or of fire, as the male or active generative power. ”

“ There may be much rumination about this topic, but the responsibilities of adult sexual life, of marriage, of child bearing with the female, are not adequately met. Fancies are substituted for reality, and while, as stated above, young women may dream of ideal lovers, they at the same time are shy and unnatural in their attitude toward the opposite sex. Young men, instead of taking their place in the life of the adult community, realize adult ambitions only by elaborate day dreams. ”

“ In the temple of Philae in Egypt, Isis is represented with the horns and ears of a cow joined to a beautiful woman. The cow is still sacred in many parts of Africa. The fish symbol was a very frequent representative of woman, the goddess of the Phoenicians being represented by the head and body of a woman terminating below in a fish. The head of Proserpine is frequently surrounded by dolphins. Indeed, the female principle is regularly shown by some representative of water; fire and water respectively being regarded as male and female principles. ”