Learn all about the sacred prostitute archetype, including definition, characteristics, examples and how it relates to the Lover archetype.
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What is the Sacred Prostitute Archetype?
The Sacred Prostitute archetype has nothing to do with what you might immediately think – selling your body for money. Rather, the Sacred Prostitute archetype is one related to ancient Goddesses of love such as Aphrodite, Ishtar and Isis.
The practice of Sacred Prostitution is defined as a sexual rite performed in the context of religious worship, perhaps as a form of fertility rite or divine marriage.
In historic times, when Goddesses such as Aphrodite, Ishtar and Isis were worshipped, sexuality was revered and held sacred. Evidence of the practice of Sacred Prostitution can be found as far back as descriptions in the work of third century historian Herodotus.
The practice is known to have taken in place in civilisations such as Egypt, Babylon, Lebanon and Rome, as well as some evidence existing that is took place across Europe and the Middle East in the Judeo-Christian traditions.
Sacred Prostitute Archetype Characteristics & Traits
- In ancient religions the Great Goddesses were worshipped in temples and sexuality was revered in a way which seems impossible to today’s society.
- Sacred prostitutes acted as priestesses of the temples and made their bodies available to strangers as a way of sharing the ‘blessings’ of the Goddesses with worshippers.
- Rather than being considered de-filed these women were considered pure and holy.
- It is only when the patriarchal religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam came to dominance that prostitution and sexuality came to be frowned upon and it’s practitioners shunned.
Sacred Prostitute Archetype Examples
The modern embodiment of the Sacred Prostitution archetype is someone who uses their sexuality for positive and spiritual purpose as a means of achieving a higher purpose in life or helping others.
This may encompass people such as sex therapists or simply those who view sexuality as a positive means of connecting with other people or on a higher spiritual plane.
They believe in sexual energy as a source of life and creativity, capable of bringing greater awareness and connectivity to those who can benefit from it.
Further Reading
Further reading on the sacred prostitute archetype includes:
- The Sacred Prostitute: Eternal Aspect of the Feminine (Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts) – by Nancy Qualls-Corbett
- Women of the Light: New Sacred Prostitute – by Kenneth Ray Stubbs
- Tales of a Sacred Prostitute: Revelations of How Sexual Energy Heals – by Selena Truth
