Confessions of a libra

Oh, Goddess | Credit: Here

24.06.25

We have been sold a lie that we must pathologise the sexual. Try to dissect it with our brains instead of feeling it out with our wombs. Yet available to women is the archetype of the Sacred Prostitute. A role tucked away deep in the collective unconscious, extracted once again in hopes of leading to more healing sex for the collective. This is an archetype that exists whether you claim it by that name or not. We have reclaimed the term in some ways in feminist circles, through reclaiming the word slut. However, I wanted to explore the spiritual reasons surrounding women who use their bodies as an alchemical instrument. A conduit if you will.

I am one such woman. I can heal my partners during sex, I can transcend and reach new levels of consciousness. I, like many of you unlock new heights of self through sexual contact. These selves can be examined then integrated to create a more holistic, full-bodied sense of self. There is never a timer on one’s ability to grow. We all have access to limitless potential. Use this information wisely in this life. In modern times it is common to find women who embody this Sacred Prostitute archetype among the following groups of women; Midwives, Tantra Practitioners, Witches, Sex Workers (some), Somatic Therapists, Erotic Writers and even Dancers.

We should never underestimate our use of language. I have never allowed a man to tell me that what he said in anger was off the record because it was in the heat of the moment. Do not let people gaslight you into accepting callousness and abuse. We have so much derogatory language geared toward women. I believe this implies women’s sexuality to be a thing of shame, scrutiny and lesser. Women are; sluts, whores, nymphos, hos, thots, loose, bimbos (sexual connotation), skanks, trollops, used goods, on the shelf and these all have direct or indirect sexual connotations. Men are instead; cheeky dogs, players/playboys, ladies man, manwhore (affectionate), stallion, alpha and many of these are celebratory and egoic.

Any of the negative language made to degrade men are largely used by men to men. Words like cuck, beta, soy boy and simp. They do not carry the same gravity even when used by a woman, due to the power imbalance (same rules for racism, power is inherently involved). It’s important to note that my use of the term prostitute in his piece is deliberate. I am aware that sex worker is the most modern and appropriate term and this is the term I use most often. My thoughts on the matter are, I would like to present to the collective that we simply change the negative associations we have with this word. For us to ban this word, as though it is at fault for its negative associations – makes no sense to me. Both terms should be interchangeable and if we (as feminists) are saying there is nothing wrong with sex work, then prostitute should not be a dirty word. It should be a dignified word representing a woman’s autonomous vocation and expression.

Women’s sexual prowess and sexual needs are often pathologised; maybe she’s missing the love from her father, she’s looking for male validation, she has no self respect and she has the Jezebel spirit upon her. That last one there, Jezebel was a Phoenecian Princess called manipulative and idolatrous for worshipping fertility Goddesses (as was common in many places especially prior to the advent of modern Christianity). A woman was sentenced to death by canine, for daring to not have any hangups about sex. For not centering her understanding of fertility, of blessings through the male God. I always find it interesting when religious people refer to God as neither male nor female (rarely using the term non-binary because that would trigger cognitive dissonance), but then if you dare to refer to God as Goddess – suddenly you’re demonic.

Patriarchy provided romance to women like a lipstick on a pig. It ushered in era after era of women’s role and participation in sex being undermined and diminished. With women being blamed for being difficult, while unable to vote and being abused by their partners. Instead of sexual rites that allowed women to be ushered into their first sexual experience and therefore spiritual awakening in a safe controlled way, men decided they wanted to have the monopoly on women’s bodies one on one. These I would argue to have been the incels of the time. The men who sat spouting misdirected sociological observations and warning others to get a hold of women, before the women got a hold of them. Despite there being no evidence that women ever intended to own or subjugate men.

Fresco from the Pompeii brothel | By ancient artist – Own work photograph, CC BY-SA 3.0

The ancient knowing we have lost is, sex is a portal capable of providing access to unconditional passionate divine love. It’s this alignment, that allows one to walk away reborn. There is a therapeutic element to the role of the Sacred Prostitute. This practice of sacred sex occurred in early civilisations like Sumer, Babylonia and Egypt. Some of the earliest historical mentions of sacred prostitution hailed from Greek authors like Anacreon who lived around c. 575 – c. 495 BC. He wrote a poem referencing “whores by choice”.

Apparently there are many who question the validity of this era of history in which women chose to lovingly, use their bodies in service of the Goddess. This kind of thinking mirrors our modern day when women’s decisions fall out of the script. A woman having no shame surrounding sex, makes her a slut. Instead she should be shy, confused and asking the nearest man for assistance. Despite men struggling with understanding women’s anatomy. We’ve lost the artform of men being genuinely invested in mastering a woman’s pleasure. Instead we have podcast bros who’ve never given a woman an orgasm once, who couldn’t even name the amount of erogenous zones in a woman’s vagina that could lead to orgasm – out there teaching men that a woman’s orgasm isn’t an important aspect of sex. “Some women just don’t have it in them, ya know”.

The idea of Sacred Prostitution was mentioned in the Code of Hammurabi (c. 1754), one of the oldest known legal codes in human history. I find it awfully suspicious that we are aware that this practice was commonplace and sacred enough to be noted as a part of the laws (of Babylon) but when you check places like Wikipedia, they make sure to tell you that many people dispute the historical validity of Temple-sanctioned sex. Women would also attend temples to initiate themselves into sex before beginning their lives with their husbands.

Another interesting common Sacred Marriage Rite, was one performed yearly – this era predated the bible. Each year, a High Priestess would have ritual sex with the King or his stand in. We have texts that describe Inanna the Goddess “plowing her field”, “opening her vulva” and calling for her lover. All expressions of sexual autonomy. In Corinth Greece, there were temples dedicated to Aphrodite with combined over 1,000 temple prostitutes. With some accounts stating that wealthy merchants and pilgrims made donations in return for sacred union.

In many cultures, it was said that Sacred Prostitutes would be commissioned to welcome soldiers back from war and help them reintegrate into life. I can think of no greater honour than a woman lovingly bathing a man, attending to any wounds and if reasonable at that time – perform a sexual rite that brings that veteran back into his earthly body. In some temples, it was said men would pay, though it was a symbolic act. The money was seen as an offering not to the Priestess but to the Goddess. Then the Priestess, on behalf of the Goddess would bless the man with her sex.

It’s interesting how much sex work is demonised and yet during any war sex is a commodity. It becomes part of the conquering. What this tells me is, we are societally much more comfortable with sex when it is forced upon women. When the terms and conditions are determined by men while women just show up to the party. Except, we’ve allowed men to have patriarchy for centuries and I’m not sure men have gotten better in their sexual prowess. Who could know for sure, right? Certainly not the Psychic.

In Jungian Psychology it was Dr Nancy Qualls-Corbett who introduced the archetype. She, like many of her Jungian peers was interested in the intersection of sexuality, spirituality and feminine archetypes. Many of you will have read her peer’s book The Women Who Run With Wolves by Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estés. Nancy presented the Sacred Prostitute as the kind of figure archetypically that represents a meeting of union and the divine. “The Sacred Prostitute serves as the mediator between heaven and earth, body and spirit, human and divine.” She references figures such as Inanna, Ishtar, Aphrodite and Mary Magdalene as they were all demonised for their erotic power.

The word siren in Greek seirēn has it’s root in the word seira meaning rope. I find it interesting that men who felt bound to the power of a woman’s beauty, decided that it was a terrifying prospect thereby influencing the use of that word. In modern times women are reclaiming it but it has so often been used to implicate women in men’s lack of self control. If you’re like me and you watch videos online as both an audience member and a secret sociologist, you may have happened upon those videos of men being asked what the first thing they would do is, if they had a day as a woman. Many men tend to think of something sexual. Interestingly enough, men tend to mention the very things they look down at us for.

The amount of times I have heard men say there would sleep with men for money or for free drinks, tells me that men fixate on this aspect of womanhood. Some men – like the ones in those videos and those that think like them – are intimidated by what women’s beauty begets. Women through their charm and sex appeal are doted on. And to the men who have decided that they are the prize, seeing women be spoiled makes them feel jealous. Yet when you brings offerings to a woman’s doorstep, you receive blessings. That’s why you hear sayings like behind every great man is an even greater woman or the old biblical saying, he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord.

There are many sayings across time and culture, that are breadcrumbs telling men the importance of the women they are trying to subjugate. And as I always remind you guys, married men live longer than single men. Single women live longer than married women. Do with that information what you will. I want you to consider how you can make your own sex life into a more sacred space. What rituals can you bring in that help signal to your subconscious brain that you have now entered a safe sexual space. Please let us rethink how we speak about women’s sexuality and sex work as a whole.

Sex work is the oldest profession likely because it is important and innate. Why try and control something that hasn’t survived any attempts at eradication (like magic)? There is no where in the world, no country too religious to contain prostitution. It is just a matter of governments catching up that every body is an important body. Including the ones that request financial offerings for entry. That way laws can be in place that guarantee the bodies of sex workers of all genders, so they are at less risk. Societal attitudes about women’s bodies losing value with each sexual encounter, have led to disproportionate deaths and less protections for women deemed less deserving. This does not a fair society make.

It’s everyday discussions about women on Onlyfans and not the structural issues that make this a lucrative option for women. Not the hundreds, thousands or millions of clients that receive their services. Sex workers provide relief to the lonely, the disabled, the mentally ill, the socially ostracised and all while dealing with high risk. Let’s all be a little more conscious in our use of language. Let’s allow each other to bloom and sexually explore without scrutiny. So long as your sexual kinks do not harm others. May your sex lives improve with every post of mine that you read. May the great Goddesses hear your pleas through the moans of your next lover.