The concept of catharsis became well-known as part of the description by Aristotle (in Poetics) of Greek tragedy where a play’s climax resulted in an emotional release by the audience. It is believed by some that this emotional release was just a shadow of the magickal catharsis that occurred during the Greek Eleusinian Mysteries. A magickal catharsis is the powerful release of magickal energy toward achieving a specific goal that should occur at the climactic moment of a ritual, ceremony, or rite. Those actively involved in the ritual may find that this magickal release is linked to an emotional release. Thus the emotional aspects described by Aristotle are merely a side effect of magickal catharsis. In sex magick, the magickal catharsis occurs at the point of physical climax where the energy is directed toward a goal.