THE HELLFIRE CLUB AND OTHER SWINGERS

One of the first serious attempts to realise Rabelais' Thelemic Utopia was made in England in 1751 by Sir Francis Dashwood during the decade before his appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Gargantuan inscription can still be seen above the main entrance door at Medmenham Abbey, his country house by the Thames not far from West Wickham.

In this paper I want to explore the classical traditions which inspired the Rabelaisian concept of Thelema and Dashwood's attempt to actualise the principle. I will also examine the extent to which the Thelemic concept was hijacked in the present century by Crowley, and consider whether the original traditions are more accurately reflected today by awowedly Thelemic organisations, or by libertine establishments and associations such as 'Plato's Retreat', the Grace Hotel, and the 'Candy Club'.

At the entrance to Rabelais' utopian and fictional Abbey by the Loire was the "Great Gate of Theleme". Inscribed upon it was a lengthy text, being at the same time a banishment and a welcome. It addresses two categories of persons. On the one hand "Here enter not vile bigots, hypocrites ...", and so forth, with this injunction continuing to castigate bureaucrats, misers, and the judiciary along with liars, thieves, cannibals and "lazy slugs". The latter half of the inscription, by contrast, proclaims "Here enter you, and welcome from our hearts, All noble sparks endow'd with gallant parts...", and later "Here enter you all ladies of high birth, delicious, stately charming, full of mirth..."

The ambience is one of an indecent gentility at play with a veneer of honest work and study mingled in. There is an essence of elitism, but it is a behavioural elitism deriving from a broad-minded attitude to life, and from an ability to enjoy oneself to the full without pestering or placing burdens on one's fellow revellers.

Dashwood took inspiration from Rabelais, but he was schooled in the classical traditions and was particularly influenced by his first Grand Tour to France and Italy in 1729. He was a wealthy young man, having inherited a fortune which his father had built up as a significant early shareholder in the East India Company.

Dashwood's formal introduction to ritual practices appears to have occurred while he was staying in Florence. That city had a small British expatriate community and an active Masonic Lodge, and he was initiated there and was introduced to companions who were later to join him in the Hellfire revels at Medmenham.

In this context though, the matter for consideration is less the ritual or ceremonial nature of anything that took place in this first actualisation of an Abbey of Thelema than the nature of the events themselves which in large measure were essentially orgiastic.

THE MECHANICS OF AN ORGY

Regardless of whether they are imbued with any ceremonial or devotional character, or whether they are purely hedonistic in flavour, orgies have certain essential facets in common, and their occurrence assumes a number of environmental pre-conditions being in place. There is an element of planning and organisation involved. The only place that I am aware of in our own time where there is anything approaching a full time orgy in progress is the Grace Hotel in Bangkok - but that is because all the pre-conditions are permanently in place in an ambience where orgiastic events can occur spontaneously at any hour of day or night and often for prolonged periods.

What exactly is meant by an orgy? It is essentially a gathering of human adults in which the normal waking constraints of personal inhibition and communal moral restraint are suspended, thus enabling free form sexual stimulation and congress to occur among all those present. In general I shall be discussing the subject in a heterosexual context, although exclusively homosexual variants may occur, and incidences of homosexual indulgence (usually female) may occur during any more broadly composed orgiastic communion.

In my view the essential pre-requisites for such an event to occur are:

1. A warm and comfortable physical environment.

There is no point in expecting people to feel relaxed about shedding inhibitions and clothing if the surroundings are cold or if they are constrained to sit on high-back chairs, on hard floors, or in a sand-pit. A successful open air orgy in this country during the hours of darkness is probably impossible unless one has assembled a group of people who are determined masochists. I would suggest that a good orgy on a beach at any time of the day is impossible, and that an attempt to organise such an event in a field or a forest clearing would be simply to make life more difficult than it need be. The ideals are:-

a. A hotel suite with full room-service and a broad-minded management.

b. A comfortable domestic environment.

c. A purpose designed premises.

d. A marquee, provided that this can be set up somewhere adjacent to essential bathroom/shower and food provision facilities.

Option a. is exemplified by the Grace Hotel and various other establishments in the mysterious East. Similar set-ups exist or have existed near the airport in Toronto, in Amsterdam, and, perhaps surprisingly, in Bognor Regis during the late 1960s.

Option b. is available to just about anyone, but send the kids, the maiden aunt and the evangelical lodgers away for the week or the weekend well before the guests start arriving; then disconnect the phone and the doorbell and draw the curtains!

Option c. encompasses the Dionysian and Bacchanalian temple complexes of ancient Greece and Rome, revived by Dashwood at Medmenham, and, more recently at Plato's Retreat in New York City and a few copy-cat establishments. Some super-wealthy individuals, often associated with the entertainment and/or soft-porn industries are believed to have built private erotic party suites in their homes, often incorporating the sort of orgy rooms (wall to wall squashy floor covering) and pool-size jacuzzi facilities to be found in commercial establishments like Plato's.

Option d. is an interesting ad hoc variant appropriate to organising such events in territories with a savage moral environment, in that the event takes place and the evidence disappears afterwards leaving no obvious trace of what has occurred. Such events can be organised to look like a wedding reception, or even a corporate occasion like a product launch party, and provided the location is fairly secluded and sympathetic security arrangemnets in place, a good time can be had by all. Such events used to be organised (and perhaps still are) over Bank Holiday weekends on an area of ground adjacent to a paint factory (convenient shower facilities) on a secluded industrial estate in Essex.

2. A secure environment.

Surprising though it may seem, there is actually nothing illegal about running an orgy in this country, provided that the event takes place as a private gathering. That is, in the context of a private party, or in the course of a meeting of a private members club. It is quite acceptable, as I understand it, for admission to be charged, for music to be played, for dancing to occur, and for persons of both sexes to desport themselves in whatever way they wish provided that no complaint is made to the 'civil authorities', and provided that those authorities have no good reason to believe that any 'illegal' activity is taking place.

Few things disrupt an orgy more comprehensively than a police raid (except perhaps the arrival of a deputation of fundamentalist religious maniacs or Sunday newspaper reporters), so the key to having a good relaxed time is to avoid anything which is likely to give them an excuse to come calling. The following activities are likely to provide such an excuse and should be avoided.

a. Sale of alcohol on unlicensed premises. There is no problem with consumption of alcohol per se, but it should be provided by those who are consuming it or else distributed free of charge.

b. Excessive noise. This is likely to lead to complaints from anyone within earshot who is not actually participating in the event.

c. Consumption of drugs deemed to be illegal.

d. The exchange of money for any kind of sexual service.

e. The presence on the premises of anyone under the age of majority (currently 18 years).

f. Anyone being coerced, forced or pestered to do anything which they do not want to do for whatever reason.

Constraints (a.) through (d.) above relate specifically to UK laws affecting individual freedom as they exist at the time of writing; constraints (e.) and (f.), I would submit, should be viewed as extending to such events in whatever jurisdiction; since disregarding them will tend to lead to the prevailing atmosphere at the event becoming inconsistent with the sort of mature and relaxed ambience which is essential for such an event to be enjoyable for everyone present.

"Everything is Permitted" is a fine libertarian ideal which perhaps reaches its most fulsome physical expression in the circumstances of an orgy, but for an orgy to be successful (i.e. enjoyable for all those present) it is essential that all participants can be relied upon to exercise some modicum of self control. Therein lies security for all.

3. Inhibition and Exhibition.

Most all of us are governed most of the time by behavioural inhibitions. Those who are unable to conform to the normally accepted patterns of social behaviour, for whatever reason, often find themselves institutionalised, shunned or victimised by society at large. An orgy represents a collective shedding of inhibitions by a number of people which is a transcendent experience in itself, and which rarely happens except in circumstances which are carefully contrived to allow such a suspension of everyday behaviour to occur. One does not expect to go for a walk in the park, even on the warmest summers day, and find an orgy in progress, nor indeed does one expect to turn up to a party and find the guests cluster-fucking in the living room - unless matters have been contrived towards that outcome by the host; and in any case that circumstance would be unlikely while guests are still arriving!

The essential pre-requisites would seem to be mild intoxication of the potential participants, some exhibitional stimulus, and some activity (perhaps of a ritual/ceremonial character) which draws participants into a frame of behaviour where inhibitions can be shed.

The traditional intoxicant is alcohol, though other substances may be popular in environments where they can be consumed without risk to the security of the event. Utter drunkenness is to be avoided however because it can lead participants into behaviour patterns which are not conducive to the maintaining the ambience of the event. Even the most abandoned orgy can be spoilt pretty fast by someone throwing up, and a fighting drunk or one impelled by an outburst of jealous rage can upset what is often a delicately balanced atmosphere. 'Brewers Droop' is usually less of a problem, except of course for the victim of such self-inflicted malaise.

Exhibitional stimulus may well be imparted by the event itself. If people know they are attending a party which may develop into an orgy they often dress in a provocative style. The event itself may have some theme which encourages this - pyjamas, togas, leather gear etc. This may be reinforced by screens showing sensually provocative visual images or by the appearance of erotic dancers, male and/or female.

For a heterosexual event gender balance is important. A stag night is not an orgy. One or two adventurous strippers performing lewd enactments with drunk members of an audience may be amusing enough to watch, but it remains a spectator event, while the essence of a good orgy is one of participation by all or at least the majority of those present. This is why most 'swingers clubs' insist on couples only, although there is usually no requirement that those couples should be regular sexual partners. Such clubs which admit single males usually make exorbitant admission charges which cover the provision of hired female help to maintain the necessary balance, although this in itself can lead to a contrived atmosphere.

Dashwood's Hellfire Club had a predominantly male membership, and although those members (the Monks of St Francis of Wycombe) may have attended meetings in company with their mistresses or even their wives, a key feature was the provision of a coachload of 'Nuns' imported from the better class brothels of London. The same tradition appears to have been resurrected for the infamous and nearby Cliveden parties of the 1960s which resulted in the scandalous liason between the then War Minister and a classy call girl. There is no suggestion though that those more recent events had any ritual overtones.

Even when a gender-balanced gathering exists of mildly intoxicated persons enjoying some display of erotic dancing or other uninhibited behaviour, there is no certainty that it will develop into an orgy. People may be embarassed about taking their clothes off in case acquaintances present do not do so, and then talk about what happened afterwards; or they may be concerned lest others laugh at their unfashionable underwear or any other personal attribute.

This inhibition is surmounted sometimes by deliberately equalising everyone on arrival. At Plato's Retreat, for example, customers are issued with a towel and directed towards a changing area. There is no compulsion to get undressed, but the atmosphere is such that anyone who retains their normal street appearance feels out of place, and is likely to be severely splashed by revellers if they go anywhere near the swimming pool! Alternatively some sort of 'party game' may be introduced; a favourite where there is a disco atmosphere, with a number of people dancing and waiting for someone else to break the ice, is a baton passing ritual. A variant on the Wand of Pan perhaps. Whoever is handed the baton has to shed an item of clothing and pass it on, with anyone who refuses to play being subjected to a barrage of abuse. The usual effect of this game is rapid collective arousal, which is all too obvious among the males present and frequently exacerbated by the behaviour of the females. It also becomes fairly obvious who fancies whom.

From this point forward the demons of social inhibition and embarrassment are well and truly banished and, provided the participants are sufficiently mature and self-controlled to cope with the situation, a lot of fun can be had and/or a lot of erotognostic magic performed.

THE ORGIASTIC EXPERIENCE AS A PARADIGM SHIFT

I would assert that one does not have to get fucked senseless, or perform a lot of heavy ritual, in order to experience a state of awareness which differs radically from normal waking consciousness in an orgiastic situation. The banishing of everyday behavioural inhibitions is sufficient of an end in itself, and a certain transcendence can be experienced in the inevitable mingling of the voycurist and exhibitionist tendencies which we all possess in some measure. There is enjoyment enough for many people in simply absorbing and making one's own contribution to the overall situation, while being free to indulge or not in the more athletic activities which will almost undoubtedly be taking place.

There is considerable commonality of experience between hanging out at a purely hedonistic orgy, say at a swing club, and being part of some erotically charged ceremonial gathering. Moreover, I would assert that concepts of marital fidelity/infidelity or cheating on regular partners do not apply within the context of such a paradigm shift, albeit that partners who have not enjoyed the experience may not see it that way! The important point is that one is not talking about cheating in a one-on-one situation, or even about some concept of partner swapping where people pair-bond in different combinations and scuttle off with their inhibitions intact to desport themselves with fully consummated sex acts in conventional privacy. That does not constitute a paradigm shift in any magical or transcendent sense, it is simply having sex with someone else.

As an aside on the subject of partner swapping, and to indicate that there may be nothing new under the Sun, I would like to quote a brief passage from Edward Sellon's book "Annotations on the Sacred Writings of the Hindus" published in 1865. Discussing an Indian sect named as the Kauchilas (whose existence I have been unable to confirm indepentently) he states:

"On the occasions of the performance of divine worship the women and girls deposit their julies (sic) or boddices in a box in charge of the Guru or Priest. At the close of the rites the male worshippers each take a julie from the box and the female to whom it belongs, even were she his sister, becomes his partner for the evening in these lascivious orgies."

THE HISTORY AND CULTURAL DIVERSIFICATION OF THE ORGY

It can be argued that the best orgies that have ever been exist in our own time, and I will conclude with some anecdotal material which should illustrate that viewpoint, but it may be useful to examine the origins of these practises.

Dionysus was the Greek god of wine. His cult appears to have originated in Crete and there is little doubt that it was a popular form of religious observance. In myth he was the consort of Ariadne/Persephone whom he rescued from the underworld and this event was attended by a celebration of fertility involving the participation of numbers of nymphs and satyrs. In Rome Bacchus fulfilled a similar social function and it seems certain that rites of Dionysus/Bacchus migrated eastwards to the Indian sub-continent where they became entwined with Hindu and Tantric traditions.

In Greece some separation existed between formal marital relations and participation in orgiastic observances. Wives did not go to orgies, they had a specially elevated social status and bore legitimate children. There existed a distinct caste of female orgiasts known as 'hetairai' who accompanied males to such events on a professional basis. Their role was accepted socially and they were taxed quite heavily, thus providing revenue for the city authorities. There were occasional debates about the role of 'hetairai' in undermining the institution of marriage, but a greater concern appears to have arisen over the role of female sex-slaves. The 'hetairai' became upset by the increasing tendency of Greek males to retain slaves for gratification since it effectively did them out of trade, and the city authorities appear to have supported them in that concern since, if the 'hetairai' were losing business, the city lost tax revenue.

Today slavery is no longer an issue, and if wives want to go to orgies they are relatively free to do so. The role of the 'hetaira' still exists, and, although stigmatised by the prudery of Christian moralists, at least their tax position has improved.

Hedonistic and ceremonial orgiastic pursuits in Rome were of course constructed around the plentiful availability of female slaves, and, in an egalitarian spirit, one can only hope that wives were able to avail themselves of the male slaves while the husbands were out partying. However all the fun and games had to go underground when the Christians came into ascendancy, albeit that they didn't get round to abolishing slavery (or even bother much about it at all) until comparatively recent ly.

At least today if one sees or consorts with a male or female 'slave' at an orgy, one can be fairly sure that they are involved in some role-playing fantasy and/or being well paid for their efforts; and that applies as much in the Far East as in Europe or the Americas.

The Rabelaisian concept of Thelema drew heavily on the cultural ideals of Greece and Rome, and rounded them out with a wide ranging attitude to sexuality and an almost unhealthy emphasis on bodily functions, perhaps unrivalled until the emergence in our own time of Billy Connolly. Dashwood retained the cultural veneer and embellished the Bacchanalia with ritual derived from masonry and an orgiastic parody of Christianity, but he returned to the traditions of ancient Greece in availing himself of hired female help to maintain the gender balance. Crowley's Thelema became significantly more sophisticated in magical and ritual terms, and developed the inversion of Christianity into a religion in its own right. The orgiastic aspects may have been retained, but if so they exist only at the more rarified levels of a rigidly heirarchial structure. One wonders whether the importance of homosexual magic at the highest levels within present day Thelemic organisations simply reflects the preponderance of males in ceremonial magic generally, perhaps coupled with a general lack of funds wherewith to hire the help, and compounded by the obsessive clock-watching habits of 20th century European prostitutes.

Most of the better swingers clubs in Europe and America preserve the libertarian ideals of Rabelaisian Thelema - albeit that they may be unaware of the link in philosophical tradition. Hired female help is frowned upon (at least overtly) and if money is seen changing hands the culprits are likely to be ejected. There is no perceptible ritual component, the experience is all; but that in itself incorporates the magical element of escape from the ordinary.

Brothels are, of course, illegal in the UK as memorable cases involving Madams Payne and Jones will remind anyone, and any that exist are as much at risk from the press as the police. In any case they tend for the most part to be about one-on-one personal gratification rather than the transcendent delights of orgy. The same applies, though with a reduced level of legalistic hypocrisy and better (if more costly) facilities in most of Northern Europe. It is in the Far East that the brothel has achieved the most impressive level of sophistication. It is not through accident that Lord Moynihan, the brother of Thatcher's erstwhile Sports Minister, has taken up residence in Manila, nor that the best place to meet a member of the Arab aristocracy is the coffee bar of Bangkok's Grace Hotel - they do now own it after all.

Living is cheap, a "morally casual attitude" prevails, and there seem to be countless numbers of attractive young men, women and transvestites who actually enjoy making a living by exploiting their considerable talents for administering sensual gratification to other people. Good times are affordable and no big deal in the East, though ladies who can perform amusing tricks with ping-pong balls do not necessarily make the most cost effective bedtime company. Unusual talents have their price in any society.

Upstairs in the Grace Hotel the pace is leisurely. Delectable girls saunter casually and scanty-clad about the landings; bedroom doors are left open; Thai Sticks are plentiful; room service brings food and drink; the air-conditioning stops anyone getting overheated. It presents the ideal environment for practising erotognostic control techniques, and if you get driven over the top the ladies entertain each other with no less enthusiasm until your interest is rekindled.

In my estimation three days in the Grace Hotel allows enough time for acclimatisation to the experience of a residential orgy, and after a week one can start to feel that it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Though on one occasion I encountered a German person in the lift who claimed to have been there for six weeks and who appeared to be suffering no outward signs of physical or mental deterioration. It's remarkable really what the human body can withstand.

In the North American continent residential experiences of this calibre may exist but they would be beyond the means of the average sensation seeker. Short term orgiastic opportunities are available however. In Toronto, for example, although the prudish sensitivities of the civic authorities have decreed that adult entertainment shall not exist within the city limits, this has had the effect of creating a libidinous boom town beyond the limits of their jurisdiction to the West of the airport. There is an establishment there which retains some of the character of a lumberjack's rest and recreation resort. Downstairs there are female erotic dancers to entertain the men, and upstairs there are male erotic dancers to entertain the women (while gays of either sex migrate to whichever floor provides the better amusement); at the back is a vast motel complex where the customers can mingle in some comfort, meet new friends and see how they feel.

At Plato's in New York the atmosphere is less provincial, the facilities more exotic, the cabaret more adventurous, and you can actually watch blue movies being made there as well as being shown. Along lines adopted by some magical groups, on different nights activities have a different central theme. 'Conflict', for example, might be illustrated by alternating Mud and Mazola Corn Oil wrestling bouts - performed, of course, before an audience with nothing more than the standard issue towels to protect themselves from the flying gunge. 'Water Sports' do not necessarily have any urological connotation, but might feature synchronised swimming. The collective appreciation of the performers' agilities and of their flowing, open movement sequences is undiminished by their having neglected to conceal their finer points with anything so gross as a bathing costume; they also exhibit some interesting techniques for distracting the attention of opponents in the free-for-all water polo sessions which seem to follow these displays. The S & M shows are always a source of new ideas; and Female Stripper nights are distinguished by the concentration of females in the front rows of the audience, whose objective appears to be to egg the performers on to ever loftier pinnacles of exhibitionist endeavour. Such procedures have been known to result in a pile of writhing bodies where it is impossible to distinguish performers from punters, and no-one really cares.

"Do What Thou Wilt" -. Thelema is alive and well, and it can be a lot more fun than reading the Book of the Law.

References are as listed for "The History of Eroticism in Ritual" other than as cited in this text.