Tantrism

Tantrism in its highest reaches can be regarded as part of the traditional religious complex of the East. But in this book Benjamin Walker is concerned less with the acceptable face of Tantrism than with its more unconventional and often terrifying aspects - the secret 'left-hand' forms and the bizarre sacramental features that many in the West find so abhorrent. This compact but authoritative survey covers the history of Tantrism, its demonology and practices - including the use of mandalas, asanas, magical gestures, breath control, sexual rites and the cult of the ugly. There is also a survey of tantrik influences in the West on such figures as J. K. Huysmans, Aleister Crowley and Austin Spare, and an extensive bibliography.