The Temple of the Red Lotus has been set up to offer a place to anyone who wants to be involved in it. Everyone who comes to our door starts out as a Seeker or a Supplicant (see below).

Seekers - A Seeker is someone who is curious and interested in who we are and what we do.

Supplicant - These are people who approach the Temple with a request for our services. They may need advice or instruction, they may need a blessing or ritual, they may want to simply worship the Goddess in a sensual or sexual manner. Anyone, no matter the level of their current involvement or membership, may become a supplicant at any time. We all need priestly assistance from time to time.

Basic Members - Those people who regularly attend Temple workshops, open rituals and events, and may participate in our discussion groups.

Advocates – Anyone who shows obvious support for the Temple, in any of the following ways: hosts events, allows for the creation of sacred sexual space at festivals, contributes monetarily or energetically to the Temple and its work, etc.

Attendants – People who want to serve for a predetermined amount of time. Service includes attending priest/esses during rituals, assisting in the organizing and running of Temple events, and could include more personal services – all of which to be worked out in detail on an individual basis.

Students – People who have applied and been accepted for study to become a Qadishtu in the Red Lotus tradition. There is an extensive application and interview process required prior to being granted admission to the Training program. See Training Overview for more information.

Qadishti Peer Network – People who work as Qadishti in some capacity (regardless of whether or not they identify with that term) and want to be part of a support network, and who can then take advantage of the resources the Temple has to offer. These people can also be a resource for the Temple (for referrals, for classes, for individual training).

Staff Qadishti – There are several different classes of Qadishti who are full and active staff members of the Temple. Please see the descriptions of the various types below.

Founders – Inara de Luna & Talyn Songdog

QADISHTI TYPES

Qadishtu Mystic - Those whose work deals primarily with the interaction with the divine. These people do sex magic, and sexually-oriented rituals. Their counseling work is much more ministerial in nature, less psychological or physiological in approach.

Qadishtu Companion - These people are actually doing the work; they are actively involved in sacred sexual service in some fashion. Their interactions are mostly focused on the arts of love and sensuality. Their counseling will probably be more psychological or physiological in nature and approach.

Qadishtu Weaver - These are the networkers, community builders, event coordinators, and administrative types. These are the ones who weave it all together, and make sure all the connections happen, and that all the mundane organizational duties get done.

Qadishtu Maven - There are two different types of Mavens - those who work primarily with "newbies" or "seekers" and those who teach the new Qadishtu types. The first type will present classes and workshops and demos to the general public and are more in the public eye as a result. The second type are putting together and presenting the Qadishti Training material to the serious students who are working toward becoming Qadishti in their own right.

Most people will primarily identify with one main type, but many will also wear multiple hats. For example, Inara would describe herself as a Weaver/Maven, who sometimes plays the role of Mystic or Companion as the situation requires. There is no heirarchy associated with these types. However, there is an Inner Council of decision-makers comprised of several of the different types.

COMPENSATION

Long ago, our priests and priestesses were supported by their community, freeing them from the mundane chores of basic survival, so that they could devote themselves full-time to the spiritual caretaking of their community. Most of us today do not have that luxury and must constantly strive to balance our mundane workload with the demands of our spiritual calling and position.

To offset some of that burden, and as a show of gratitude for the personal sacrifices made by our priest/esses, it is encouraged that supplicants, students and others offer an energy exchange of some sort for any services rendered by the Temple’s staff. It is also acceptable to make offerings to the Deity of Love of your choice by contributing something of value to the Temple or Altar of Love.

Note that some services and products provided by the Temple, especially when present at festivals as a vendor, may have a pre-determined price attached. All prices are negotiable and barter in goods and services is often an acceptable exchange.

It is also important to note that sexual contact is not one of the paid services offered by the Temple. We are not engaged in secular prostitution. Any sexual contact that transpires must be safe, sane, and consensual and will be done on a personal level, between mature adults, not as a professional service requiring payment of any kind.

Anyone who wishes to make a monetary donation to the Temple to help us offset the costs of operation, may do so through PayPal.