Shed Fear, Guilt and Shame

The burlesque show. The can-can. The peep show. The nude stage show. The sensual massage. These are not shameful or profane.

When a woman is on a stage, and a man gazes up at her in reverence and veneration, she has recreated a sacred ritual. He is the stranger, in need of healing from the temple priestess. She is the temple dancer, an embodiment of the Goddess. It is an ancient archetype. They are in the presence of something holy and magnificent.

The stranger meeting the temple dancer is an archetypical story. The scene has played itself out endlessly in human history because it serves a very deep human need. Women are often ashamed of their sexual power. They think it is shameful to play the nymphette. They are afraid of being called a ‘loose woman.’ Realize that your sexual power can be used for good. When you accept a man blindly and openly into your loving arms, you not only heal his wounds, you heal your own.
 

History of Sacred Courtesans

In Babylon, according to third century Greek historian Herodotus, every woman of the land had to sit in the temple of the Goddess and give herself to a stranger once in her life. (Women who were most beautiful would enjoy a short stay in the temple; women with rough features would stay for as many as three years before being chosen for service.) After that, a woman was holy in the sight of the Goddess, and could leave the temple to be married.

In Egypt and Lebanon, women gave themselves to the temple temporarily and permanently. According to one historian, there were a thousand permanent sacred courtesans at the temples of Aphrodite in Eryx and Corinth. These women were not ordinary courtesans; they were sacred, invested with supernatural energy. They were also protected by special laws and able to inherit property. These women were infused with religious power, and lying with them brought a man closer to the Goddess. Wherever the Goddess of Love was worshipped, sacred courtesans acted as priestesses. (From The Sacred Prostitute, by Nancy Qualls-Corbett.)

The Spirit of Aphrodite

As you begin your journey as a sexual healer, you are poised to enter the temple of the Goddess of Love. You will experience yourself in a new way. You will experience the dynamic aspect of yourself that honors the Goddess of Love. You are a human woman who will bring the attributes of Aphrodite--love, passion, creativity--into the lives of other human beings.

For thousands of years, chosen women have acted as sexual priestesses, mediators between sexuality and spirituality, between instinct and the divine. This beautiful figure, veiled and annointed in holy oils, dances throughout history. She keeps the temple fires, greets weary strangers, tells them stories, bathes and feeds them, and takes them on a journey of ritual lovemaking.

The spirit of the sacred courtesan lives on in the erotically talented. She lives on in those who are connected to their essential feminine nature. They are the tantrikas, the daikini, the geishas, the sexual healers, priestesses of the temple of love, The Sex Goddesses.

 

You don’t need to become a prostitute, literally, but finding a connection with your inner Sex Goddess can be profoundly healing. Through practicing sensual arts like sensual massage and Tantra, you are welcoming the spirit of Aphrodite into your life. The sacred courtesan is an archetype. She is a symbol. She represents a woman who is spiritually connected to her erotic self.  After you learn to embrace your sexuality, freeing yourself from rigid conventions, you will find yourself feeling ravishingly independent. It is time you lived your life as you choose.

You are a daughter of Aphrodite, and you have been called to the erotic life. Come learn to offer a sacred experience that honors men’s sexual feelings, and honors yourself as an embodiment of the Goddess.

 

This page last updated: 03/01/2018