|
|
|
|
|
|
-
-
| | | |
The Sacred Virgins were called "temple prostitutes" by the early archeologists and Biblical scholars, who read descriptions of their practices from earlier Roman accounts. They were prejudiced by the patriarchal views of women as property and were horrified by the idea that any woman could be freely sexual, unless she was a prostitute. That was the only reference they had to identify the role of these women in the temples of the Goddess. Actually, the term "virgin" originally meant "a woman unto her own" without any obligation to a man, thus: unmarried. Only in later patriarchal times did the term virgin become associated with an intact hymen.
The Sacred Virgins were women trained in meditation and other consciousness expanding techniques and physical fitness. They were priestesses of the temple and thus spiritually attuned. These women, who were free from any marital bonds, practiced healing techniques, including sexual healing, with those who came to the temple for help. They also participated in the Great Marriage ceremony as the earthly representative of the Goddess, when needed. The High Priestess might be what we call an older woman, yet she was very fit and possessed mature erotic beauty.
| | | |
|
|
|
