Foxy Witch: The Power of Erotic Names
by Sheela Ardrian

Go on, admit it.

You named yours, didn’t you?

Almost everybody does it. I’ve done it, you’ve done it. Men name their penises. Women name their vulvas, and sometimes their breasts. We give them gallant names, whimsical names, enchanting names, sensual names. Each name invokes a different quality that we see — or wish to see — in a certain part of ourselves.

Then there are the names we give to each other. A nickname is often the first gift that lovers exchange — a way of saying, “This is who you are to me.” It can mark the shift from acquaintance to relationship. Some such names are innocuous, others suggestive. Some can be used in public, with never a neighbor the wiser; others emerge only in candlelit love nests. Their nature depends on what you see in your lover, and in yourself.

But what does all this mean for the sensual magician?

Names Convey Power

One of the fundamental principles of magic is that names convey power. Naming something can give it power — or give you power over it. The source of the name can connect you to a particular pantheon or ethnic tradition. The meaning can attract particular qualities or properties.

Names concern not only what is, but what could be. Many people take magical names to manifest something they wish to acquire. A woman studying Tantra might take the name “Shaktidasa” (which means “devotee of Shakti”) to help her learn the arts of lovemaking.

It often seems as though our frisky bits have a life of their own, and pursue their goals without bothering to consult our brains. Shouldn’t they be entitled to their own names as well?

Nicknames and
Kennings

People around the world come up with special terms for each other and for important body parts. Some of these are fairly straightforward. Nicknames can be common names or words, whose import lies more in the application than the meaning.

One of the most famous examples of a nicknamed penis appears in the classic erotic novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Consider this excerpt: “Tha ma’es nowt O’ me, John Thomas. Art boss? of me? Eh well, tha’re more cocky than me, an’ tha says less. John Thomas! Dost want HER? Dost want my lady Jane?”4 Lady Chatterley’s lover is, of course, talking to his dick. “John Thomas” is a perfectly ordinary name, but given its literary history, it tends to make well-read people snicker when they hear it even in a context that has nothing to do with erotica.

Beyond everyday names, we find some eloquent titles applied to people’s romantic parts. Sacred literature has a long tradition of “kennings,” elaborate phrases that name things in metaphor. In the Kama Sutra, one kenning for “penis” is “the smith’s bellows: It has received this name because of its alternative inflation and deflation.”5 One for “vulva” is “the delicious one: It is reputed to procure an unequalled pleasure…”6 Chinese, Indian, and Tibetan lore turn up gems like “Faithful Servant,” “Jade Flute,” “Arrow of Love,” and “Scepter of His Means” for him; and “Cinnabar Crevice,” “Perfumed Mouse,” “Strings of the Lyre,” and “Lotus of Her Wisdom” for her.7

Mortal and divine lovers also sport some interesting names. Sacred Sexuality in Ancient Egypt mentions “the Lady of Drunkenness” and “the Mistress of Love.”8 In Sumerian lore, Inanna refers to Dumuzi as “my dragon of An” and “beautiful friend.”9 Of herself, she also says “my field wants hoeing,” and other frank expressions of desire.10

Contemporary English offers a variety of terms for partners and their parts, but most of the choices are ugly and degrading. Mythology and imagination can do better. Use beautiful names to celebrate your body and your lover’s body. Whisper them as part of an erotic ritual. Perhaps the Golden Bee will alight on the Honeypot, or the Great Tree ascend to the heavens…Y

Sheela Ardrian lives with her partner Dave in an elegant Victorian house in the middle of nowhere.