St. Andrew's Cross

One of the continuing impressions from our most recent foray into the public scene is the time I spent attached to the St. Andrew's cross at Winter Wickedness. So, some random, rambling thoughts on this particular piece of dungeon furniture...

These are ubiquitous in BDSM dungeons, it seems. The St. Andrew's cross is so common in public playspaces as to be essentially emblematic of the whole BDSM lifestyle.

This particular bit of dungeon furniture, hearkens to the style of cross that was purportedly used to execute Andrew -- one of the original twelve apostles. The story is that Andrew did not feel he was worthy to be executed in the same mode as his "lord," and so was crucified on an X-shaped cross. The St. Andrew's cross motif is found on flags from around the world -- most notably, the national flag of Scotland.

In dungeons, this is the very generic item used for restraining a bottom partner in a standing, spread-eagled position. The bottom may be restrained either facing the cross, or facing out toward the Top partner.

I've spent more than a little bit of time attached to crosses in various dungeons. The styles differ in the finer details, but the basic design is completely unchanging. There are, in my experience, some commonalities to the experience of being restrained on a St. Andrew's cross.

-- Unless the room is miserably, oppressively warm, the surface of the cross (usually wooden) is unpleasantly cold. Laying up against the surface of one of these things (since the "victim" is almost always naked) is, before anything else, about overcoming the urge to pull away from a very cool surface. Goose bumps on the goose bumps...

-- The St. Andrew's cross imposes an inescapable physical vulnerability. The whole idea is to place the bottom into a spread-eagled posture. With a set of minimally functional wrist and ankle restraints, it is possible to very quickly place the bottom into an inescapably open and accessible position.

-- There is a level of physical stress to being restrained in this fashion. Hands are pinioned above the head. Ankles are spread. Wide. Try it for yourself. Spread your feet apart at a distance of about 3 feet. Keep your legs straight, and then just stand around like that for a bit of time. Pay attention to the muscles in your calves, thighs, feet, back, butt, etc. This is not a "natural" position for a standing human.

-- Most St. Andrew's crosses put the bottom in a position where the Top is likely (nearly guaranteed) to land strokes (of whatever) too high, or too low -- or to wrap more stokes than one might expect.

-- There is no way to simply relax and just float away on a cross. The body has to be supported. Sagging in one's bonds is just bad form.

-- Most versions of the St. Andrew's cross do not provide any support for the head and upper torso. The upper body just hangs out in the gap between the uprights. It is not a piece of equipment that gives the bottom partner a sense of being secure and supported.

My experiences being restrained on St. Andrew's crosses, in a wide variety of dungeons, is what drove my desire to have a piece of restraint furniture that was actually supportive and relatively comfortable. Hence the genesis of our custom built flogging frame.

I always shrink just a bit inside when He chooses the St. Andrew's cross. I am way more comfortable and secure on most spanking benches. I don't think He actually has a preference --my guess is that the decision is usually driven (in the event) by what is available at that moment.

I've been through some amazing, awesome, wicked sessions on St. Andrew's crosses. These simple to manufacture, uncompromising, darkly evocative bits of dungeon gear have been my companions in pain and suffering and ecstasy for many years. Good memories...

swan