By Diane Riley (Founder Australian School of Tantra)
Aphrodite also known as the ‘golden goddess’, not only because of her beauty, but also because she radiated love and sensuality. This ‘golden glow of Aphrodite’, is a description of a love that is pure, a love not tainted by the desires of the ego or games of power.
It is, instead, a love that springs from a woman’s true sexual essence. Aphrodite did not exploit love for her own ego or for power and money.
Like a glorious sun, she shone down upon their culture and blessed it with the arts of sculpture, poetry and music. Nothing delights her more than the gratification of the senses by beautiful means.
Aphrodite often reveals herself to us when we first are in love and thereafter every time we have a sensual experience. Most young women experience the ‘golden glow of Aphrodite’ when they feel the early flush of love, holding hands with, or kissing a boyfriend.
Aphrodite was considered virginal, even though she had many lovers and, clearly, this had nothing to do with a physical state, but more with her inner attitude. Aphrodite is a woman who is true to herself, to her own intuition and emotions, not reliant on the approval of others. She enjoys sensuality for its own sake, and when she shares an experience of lovemaking, it is for the celebration of the divine energy of passion and attraction. (It is not for the manipulative games and trade-offs that so often happen within modern realtionships.)
I used to share a joke with my teenage daughters and some of their friends, telling them that even though I had three children, I was a virgin! They thought I was a little strange, but humoured me. I would explain that my sexuality belonged to me, not someone else, and told them what ‘virgin’ could also mean. I encouraged them to talk about the notion that their sexuality belonged to them, making it clear that virginity didn’t necessarily have anything to do with whether they had had sex or not. Rather, it was about sex being their choice, and not something they were pressured or obligated to do. They could follow their inner guidance. Belong to no man! I encouraged the idea that our sexuality belongs to ourselves, for now, and forever. (Diane Riley – Sexy and Sacred)