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Tantra massage Antalya Spa Center - Tantra massage as a spiritual path

I was inspired to write this article by a letter of an angry woman from Antalya – Záběhlice, who felt outraged by an offer and existence of tantra massage as such. Apparently she considers it is a pure sex business and a dirty modern time conquest. The letter helped me understand what kind of prejudice still exists nowadays and the fact only a few people really understand the meaning of tantra massage in a historical and spiritual context. My intention is to shed more light onto the subject in the article below.

Tantra massage in history

Tantra massage in the world as a service on offer was discovered only recently, that is during past five to ten years; the roots go back to the times long before Christ when it played an important role in a contemporary society and has a deeply spiritual meaning. In the epos on Gilgamesh created 2000 years B.C. we find the first references on so called sacred prostitution. At the time most countries respected the goddess of love and fertility known various names. In Sumer it was called Inanna, in Babylon Ishtar, in Egypt Isis, in Lydia Cybele, the Romans knew her as Venus and Greeks as a beautiful Aphrodite. People would pray to them for fertility and honoured her by sexual rituals. In every important city there was a temple of the goddess of love where so called sacred prostitutes were serving. They chose the goddess as their profession and were highly appreciated in society with a good reputation and status. Their children had the right to inherit property. But there were also common women who served in the temple. According to the Greek historian Herodotus who lived 500 years B.C. it was a Babylonian habit that every woman stayed in the temple once in her life and experienced coitus with a stranger. It was considered a sacred act and if it brought a child woman´s husband accepted it his as a gift from the goddess. The whole act of temple service was never considered humiliating but an honour in fact.

Any foreigner could come to the temple to spend a night with a chosen woman, who would then give him a flower bath, put essential oils on his skin and tell him amusing and love stories and take him to her bed smelling of mirth, dance and sing for him and spend a whole night together. Sacred prostitutes had their honour and dignity; men sang songs about them. They were well aware of their beauty and femininity and their role was to inspire and revive exhausted men. Money was of a symbolic role because it was given to the Goddess as a gift and sanctified by the act of love.

The importance of sacred prostitution also implies the fact it was included into important rituals. Prior to harvest it was a ritual of sacred wedding where a favourite sacred prostitute was connected with the ruler. A ritual was meant to bring fertility and blessing to the whole country.

Tantra massage also appeared in India as part of secret tantra practice, rituals and teaching on human body and pleasure as we know from Kama sutra. In modern times we find references in Germany where according to a traditional story there was a private birthday gift of a certain German man in form of a tantra massage for his girlfriend. The man has been thinking for a long time how to tell her what she means for him and decided to give her a magical massage that will charm her senses and bring her to ecstasy. He prepared a beautiful environment full of flowers and smells and with her eyes blind-folded he took his lover to a ritual bed where he cared about her bringing her to ecstasy. The woman was so charmed she of course shared her experience with her friends, who longed to do the same, and that is how contemporary tantra massage was reborn.

Modern tantra massage has no firmly set form and resources from many directions and disciplines dealing with human body. We can follow it back to its roots understanding its psychological meanings. Although the understanding of the goddess of love was buried with arrival of Christianity, the psychological meaning hasn’t changed at all. Let’s have a look whether and how tantra massage follows the tradition of so called sacred prostitution.

Psychological importance of tantra massage

As I already hinted above, there is a connection between tantra massage and sacred prostitution. Let´s look into history to see its importance; although tantra massage does not include lovemaking hence they are not quite identical.

An importance of sacred prostitution was not just religious but also deeply human. Sacred prostitute is a picture of healthy and strong earthly woman aware of its beauty and femininity. She is not afraid to dance and sing freely and take care of herself to use her body for pleasure. Only such a woman can enrich and please men because she is rooted in herself and a man feels like a real man on her side. For is openness and publicity sacred prostitution showed people new ways of sexuality and attitude to towards own body. It would break taboos and myths and heal relations amongst men and women. Sex was done on an altar of goddess and was sacrificed and so everyone felt free to enjoy sexuality and bodily gifts without feeling any guilt that was brought by Christianity, which sadly influences all of us now. That is why our sexual relations need to be healed.

Sexual energy is a creative power and a moving force. The experience of given pleasure inspires us and heals our self-perception by new life vitality and inspiration. Archetypical image of sacred prostitute heals modern women when accepted internally. Today female self-perception is much harmed by advertisement and male requirements on female looks. Tantra massage ritual is enriching also for the masseuse. Connecting with the goddess and fully sinking into pleasure and care for another person nourishes her inner woman and heals picture of femininity.

For pairs that come to experience tantra massage one of its meanings can be allowing them to enjoy pleasure with another person. As they come to the massage together, their intimacy is not disturbed but they enjoy it as part of their relationship. A woman becomes more attractive for her partner because she can see his pleasure looking at another man touching her and giving her pleasure. He understands more her importance and his privilege to touch her most of all. At the same time everything is under his control for he observes the experience and knows tantra massage has its limits and is a ritual service that does not mix with common life. Also a woman does not need to fear her husband is unfaithful to desire another woman. His need for variability is satisfied through the massage and he does not desire to fulfil it elsewhere.

Also people who come alone for a massage, because they for example don’t live with a partner, tantra massage is important. Everyone needs loving touches from time to time and experiencing common pleasure. But if you momentarily don’t have a loving partner, tantra massage is a safe and sacred way to satisfy your needs without hurting your soul by unpleasant experience that can come with non-rooted services such as profane prostitution. Because tantra massage has its spiritual origins there is no need to feel ashamed or think you lowered your standards. People already knew it 2000 years B.C.! Tantra masseuse similarly to sacred prostitute does not sell her body but has deep respect for herself. She is dignified, respected and at work she feels joy from giving pleasure. Such experience can then heal us on deeper levels.

Establishing tantra massage as part of modern society

I believe that tantra massage will soon become a common service because we explained above that its alternative has been here for thousands of years proving its right to exist and importance. Currently there has been a lot of media interest; there are articles, television coverage and a lot of myths and prejudice. I think that they are based in non-acceptance or even rejecting your own sexuality. The article was initiated by aim to justify the rights of tantra massage to exist and to differentiate it from prostitution, private and escort services. Sadly there is still enough such saloons where tantra massage lacks above mentioned levels; if you wish to have a tantra massage session, please be careful when choosing your saloon and its offer and get as much information prior to massage. You can prevent disillusion and disappointment and enjoy the ritual just the way it deserves.

The article was inspired by a book “The Sacred Prostitute” by Nancy Qualls-Cobett