Sacred Harlotry: A question of authority

sacred
sacred sex
sacred sex work
sacred sex worker

This has been a topic on my mind since before I ventured into "the biz." I continually come back to the ancient knowing that these women were not mere escorts, but priestesses of the Goddess. Men went to them for many reasons. Sex and sensuality were valued in this society, and even the king laid with the head priestess in annual ritual.

I long to take back this sacred heritage, but I am not sure where to start. There are questions I must be able to answer to myself (because others are bound to ask). I mentioned previously, the question of authority. There is also the question of mixing business with religion.

The question of authority is one I've dealt with for a long time. As a Witch, I do not belong to an organized religion (Okay, I'm technically ordained by the Universal Life Church, but that's a long story....) nor do I have an official body of works I could study to claim legitimacy. Believe me, if there were a sex temple where I could go and train in exchange for my service, I would be on my way right now. (Any suggestions?) A witch seeks only to claim personal spiritual authority, to know the land and nature around her. I do not seek good or ill, only balance, and to understand that balance. But the title priestess is something different. It implies study, perhaps a series of initiations, a degree of control.

After only four months of working, there's no question that I still have much to learn. I don't want to discount what knowledge I do have, however. I am more like an acolyte, or an initiate in training for a further degree. In my absolute favorite series, Kushiel's Legacy, they do a year of service before taking the title. Their "court of night-blooming flowers," are also trained in their sensual arts, and must give service to earn their marque- a tattoo that decorates the spine from nape to base. In any case, there is study and service to be done!

Now, as a witch and a harlot...there are still some mystical and sensual arts I can claim authority to. I read the stars and study the tarot and runes. I am starting to see the patterns and currents of the universe. One can't really predict the future, for even your knowledge of it can change it, and many other events can impact the future in ways we don't know. What astrology and tarot can do, however, is to gain an understanding of what is influencing us. In understanding ourselves, we can be more in control and less a product of our environments.

I can also turn you into a newt, but It will get better. ;)