I am glad that I read one of Ida's biographies before reading these works, because otherwise I would have not appreciated how radical they were for her time. Ida Craddock was a martyr for sexual education and sacred sex, ultimately preferring to take her own life at the age of 44 rather than disavow her teachings or endure a long sentence in a work house as a result of being hounded by Anthony Comstock and convicted by a judge who refused to let the jury rule on her case. Her insistence that sex can and should be treated as pure, that women as well as men should receive both biological and spiritual education about sex before marriage, that women's desire and pleasure should guide the relationship, that mutual oral sex was to be practiced as a healthy alternative to intercourse when children were not sought, and that care should be taken to not have children unless the family had the health, financial security, and emotional security to properly care for them, were explosive in her time -- and, unfortunately, would continue to be considered so in many places today.

What would continue to be controversial today is her belief that at the highest level of physical union, including the Divine in the emotional and energetic encounter, is possible, beneficiary and to be sought. Although a devout Christian herself, she thought it was possible for someone of any faith, or even an atheist, to achieve this level, so long as they held in their mind the idea of whatever deity, force, or principle was highest to them. Also controversial -- then and now - is her testimony that she learned these techniques from a heavenly spouse, although she remained unmarried and untouched by a mortal man.

I'm not sure how many people will find her instructions on how to elevate their sexual life helpful, founded as they are on the belief that intercourse with ejaculation should never occur unless a married, heterosexual couple wanted to become pregnant. What is more of interest (to me, at least) is the way she uses religious texts, the psychic and occult reasearch of her day, and science to build her case, and her passionate insistence on the importance of education, mutual pleasure, and dedication to the highest of ideals.

Ida Craddock deserves to be better known in our age, especially to champions of sex education, women's rights, planned pregnancies, and sacred sexuality. Some aspects of her specific teachings may not have stood the test of time, but her courage, her intelligence, and her commitment to these causes deserves to be remembered and celebrated. ( )