This archetype also encompasses two other aspects of the Divine Feminine. They are the Sexual Healer and the Sacred Courtesan. Even though each aspect has its qualities they also share many and so I like to say that when a woman takes on the role of the Sexual Initiatress, she is becoming a sexual healer and a sacred courtesan as well as an educator and tantrica.
THE SEXUAL INITIATRESS A woman who considers herself a Sexual Initiatress uses 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.
This role of the Sexual Initiatress was an honor for a woman to become. She is also the educator for it is the woman's responsibility to help her partner connect his heart with his genitals. Therefore, she is a teacher and initiates him into the arts of love, and sacred sexuality. She embodies all three aspects of the goddess of love .In order to do this she must first heal her core feminine wounds and then begin to initiate herself by educating, loving and connecting with her authentic feminine power. She must learn how to please herself first and then she will be able to teach, guide and initiate others.
THE SACRED COURTESAN 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 Holy Whore 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.
The act of lovemaking and the preparation for this act was a ritual that took several days. A woman’s body was seen as a direct connection to the Goddess and the creator of life. Sometimes warriors returning from the battle came to the temple to receive this ritual cleansing of the energies of war and to reconnect with their hearts so that they could go home to their families. Sex was seen as a holy and sacred act when thus performed.
The Courtesans were some of the most educated women in the world and were allowed privileges that wives and other women were not. They were also highly skilled in more than one art and could converse on many topics.
A Courtesan literally means an educated, artistic, and creative woman who is attached to the Court of nobility. She serves as a confidant, muse, counselor, emotional intuitive, and lover. These women were exceptional in any era. They were highly educated when the average woman was not allowed to read.
.But a SACRED Courtesan is even MORE than that. She not only inspires the heart, mind, and genitals, she inspires & heals the SOUL! She is in the lineage of a Temple Priestess, sometimes called a SACRED Prostitute. (Francesca Gentile)
THE SEXUAL HEALER This aspect of the Sexual Initiatress has been around for thousands of years and was often trained in the healing arts. She first lived in the temples of the goddess as a healer and was also trained in sacred sexuality and high sex.
Today many men and women consider themselves sexual healers. This aspect is actually very important to understand for yourself. If you wish to become fully sexually empowered then learning how to use your sexual energy and helping others to heal from sexual wounding is crucial. Our sexual power is one of the most powerful energies we have. You don't need to become a professional sexual healer but it is vital that you heal yourself first and then learn as much as you can about the power of sexual energy. Studying Red Tantra, or Taoist Tantra is a good way to begin.
It is time for all women to reclaim this lost part of the Divine Feminine and an honored role as the sexual initiatress. It is time for women to once again know the importance of their sexual power and learn how to use it wisely. It is time to reclaim our sexual power as holy rather than profane and to once again learn how to become adept in the arts of love.