The Legacy of the Sacred Prostitute and the Holy Whore

When God Was a Woman

Imagine a time when God was a woman 15,000 – 5,000 BCE, and women were considered holy and their bodies sacred. These cultures were connected to the Earth and called her the Great Goddess and were primarily peace-loving and depended upon the land to survive.

Most of these cultures during this time period were matrilineal that means that the mother passed on her wealth to the daughter.

Women’s roles often combined motherhood, gathering food, seeds, nuts and berries, herbs for healing and were the ones who sustained the community and provided its’ foundation and center. They are often thought of as partnership societies because men and women’s roles had equal importance and neither sex overpowered the other.
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Women were seen as the mediators between the Goddess and the tribe. A woman could access the power of the Goddess and it was thought that she could identify more easily with Her.

Women were considered a mystery and most like Her because they could give birth to new life and bleed without dying. They seemed to have magical abilities and their womb, and their bodies were considered sacred. They were considered nearer the Divine and the act of sexual intercourse with a woman was the closest thing a man could do to be with the Divine.

The Daughters of Inanna

The first women sexual healers were called Inanna’s Daughters of Heaven. They were also called nu gig, the pure and spotless, and qadishtu, holy women. They were the handmaidens of Inanna and they followed Lilith who was thought of as the original archetype of woman.

"Lilith is considered an original archetype as the “natural woman” who solidified tribal cohesion and unity through sexual bonding and appeasement." – Lilith Keepers of the Flame

They understood the healing power of their sexual energy and the right use of sex. They would gather the male members of the tribal community and conduct sacred rituals that would teach them how to use their sexual energy correctly. They did this by offering a connection to the divine through their bodies and sexual intercourse. Sexuality with a woman evoked within a man the sacred and opened his heart to divine love.

It was thought that a man needed a woman in order to give birth to the potential Goddess/Divine Feminine within himself. This was called apotheosis and because of this, all women had a high status within their tribe/community.

These women were also called the Keepers of the Flame for they understood that within the womb of woman the original blueprint of humanity. They knew that within them lived the sacred flame of the divine self and they kept this knowledge sacred. They were also the fire keepers of their tribes and so kept alive the sacred magic of light and the warmth of the heart and to this day we still use the symbol of the Red Light in the Catholic Church, in airplanes, and in the Red Light districts.

“We cannot become the means for the re-sanctification of society unless we are willing to become the priestesses once more who serve the divine not in theory and empty practice, but from our very  nature.” Deena Metzger

The true story of these holy women is limited to us since nothing was written down about them. We can only piece together their story from what we have found and also from the memories of those of us, myself included, who know that these are facts, not fiction.  

Over time, tribal life turned into larger communities where the Temple was the center of life. All religious ceremonies, yearly celebrations, and dedications to the Goddess as well as life transitions such as births and death were presided over by the priestesses of the Temple.

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In many cultures, young girls came to the temple for education and many stayed to serve as a priestess. Often the youngest female of a family was given to the Temple to serve as a priestess as was the custom. These young women were trained in many of the healing arts as well as developing many of their spiritual gifts. They were taught to read and write and given a comprehensive education.

Once they reached puberty and were initiated into their womanhood they were often able to decide on a specialty to focus on such as; herbology and being a healer, working with younger initiates and being a teacher, dancing or playing music or being an artist, working with the sciences, becoming an oracle or becoming a sexual healer to name a few.

A priestess who wanted to specialize in sexual healing began their training in the Tantric arts of love and was able to attain very high states of consciousness to literally let go of her own identity and allow herself to be used by the energy of the Great Goddess. They also used their healing arts and spiritual gifts as needed. Some of the temples had names for these sexual healers such as The Priestesses of the Flame and Keepers of the Flame.

When a Holy Whore or Sacred Temple Prostitute made love with a man, the heart and genitals were brought into alignment, especially if a warrior was returning from war and needed a place where he could reconnect again with his feminine nature. Actual sexual intercourse was not always what was called for. A Sacred Prostitute stood in for the Goddess in bringing a man back to wholeness and this could be done in a variety of ways.

When a Holy Whore or Sacred Temple Prostitute made love with a man, the heart and genitals were brought into alignment, especially if a warrior was returning from war and needed a place where he could reconnect again with his feminine nature. Actual sexual intercourse was not always what was called for. A Sacred Prostitute stood in for the Goddess in bringing a man back to wholeness and this could be done in a variety of ways.
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It has been said that a man would go to the Temple and receive sacred sexual communion or healing with a Sacred Prostitute and then when he was ready, he would return to his family restored and balanced within himself. The act of lovemaking was an act of the divine, it was considered sacred and thus the body of a woman was considered sacred.

“We cannot become the means for the re-sanctification of society unless we are willing to become the priestesses once more who serve the divine not in theory and empty practice, but from our very  nature.” Deena Metzger

The Role of the Holy Whore and Sacred Prostitute

The true story of these holy women is limited to us since nothing was written down about them. We can only piece together their story from what we have found and also from the memories of those of us, myself included, who know that these are facts, not fiction.  

Over time, tribal life turned into larger communities where the Temple was the center of life. All religious ceremonies, yearly celebrations, and dedications to the Goddess as well as life transitions such as births and death were presided over by the priestesses of the Temple.
​
In many cultures, young girls came to the temple for education and many stayed to serve as a priestess. Often the youngest female of a family was given to the Temple to serve as a priestess as was the custom. These young women were trained in many of the healing arts as well as developing many of their spiritual gifts. They were taught to read and write and given a comprehensive education.

Once they reached puberty and were initiated into their womanhood they were often able to decide on a specialty to focus on such as; herbology and being a healer, working with younger initiates and being a teacher, dancing or playing music, or being an artist, working with the sciences, becoming an oracle or becoming a sexual healer to name a few.

A priestess who wanted to specialize in sexual healing began their training in the Tantric arts of love and was able to attain very high states of consciousness to literally let go of her own identity and allow herself to be used by the energy of the Great Goddess. They also used their healing arts and spiritual gifts as needed. Some of the temples had names for these sexual healers such as The Priestess of the Flame and Keepers of the Flame.

When a Holy Whore or Sacred Temple Prostitute made love with a man, the heart and genitals were brought into alignment, especially if a warrior was returning from war and needed a place where he could reconnect again with his feminine nature. Actual sexual intercourse was not always what was called for. A Sacred Prostitute stood in for the Goddess in bringing a man back to wholeness and this could be done in a variety of ways.
​
It has been said that a man would go to the Temple and receive sacred sexual communion or healing with a Sacred Prostitute and then when he was ready, he would return to his family restored and balanced within himself. The act of lovemaking was an act of the divine, it was considered sacred and thus the body of a woman was considered sacred.

A woman who considered herself a Sacred Prostitute used sex to access the Divine and to become enlightened. Using sex as a spiritual path to self-realization is also known as Red and White Tantra. Red focuses on sexual power, the Kundalini, and learning how to master your sexual energy so that you can redirect it in your body. White Tantra focuses on your devotion to God/Goddess and the Divine using prayer and ritual. Combined, the act of sexual union becomes a powerful way to access higher states of ecstatic bliss and union.

 These occult traditions honored the Holy Whore’s role, who knew that her sexuality was sacred and that the Goddess resided within her. This role of the Sexual Initiatress was honored for women to become.

In the temple of love, the sacred prostitute’s primary offering to the goddess was her welcoming of the stranger, thought to be the emissary of the gods or perhaps the god incarnate. If she were a maiden, he initiated her into the mysteries of her feminine sexuality under the aegis of the goddess.

The Sacred Prostitute knew the power of her body and her Shakti. She was well-versed in the arts of love and sexual mastery. She understood that her role was not only valued but an essential one. For it was through the power of her body and the practice of the sexual arts, that she would help her partner to connect with the Goddess or the Divine Feminine.

If you would like to find out more about your authentic feminine power and how you can begin to embody it more please go to my website and click on the button under my video. You will automatically be able to sign up for my Living Goddess Guide to Redefining Your Erotic Sense of Self.