THE WIFE
I have recently spoken of the mystery of marriage and the Adjustment trump. The truly virile man does not want to suck phallic male energy from other men but instead seeks to become his own source of light. The truly virile man runs into the darkness of his wife and seeks the blessing of his woman, only to better see his own light. In the true church, everything is backwards from the exoteric church. It is run by only female teachers who naturally teach their husbands "Understanding". They are the female equivalent to the Pitris, and are known as the Matrikas. She is even the giver of life to the physical form of her husband, as it is her blood she cosmically lends to him to manifest, and which he then must give back to her through sex. If he truly gives it to another woman, he is thus failing to understand the secret of chastity, which is the secret of immortality, and he commits a grave sin... as she is his only home and his power itself, and the only one who has a right to all of it. The men in heaven are the epitome of virility and yet become like children in the church, sitting on their mother's lap, having given her his phallic energy totally, which is all of his power, knowledge, and siddhis. He himself is like a corpse, and whatever knowledge he desires, he simply asks her and she brings it to him and explains the innermost secrets; when he has an enemy she slaughters them mercilessly; when he is hungry, she nourishes him with the best of foods, which is her milk which was generated from him fertilizing her, as he is his own father and ancestor. This is the secret behind Isis suckling Horus and the many images of the Holy Mother nursing with her breast, which is the mark of the masters. Every man kneels in front of his wife, who is also his mother who sits on her throne, which indicates her dangerous passivity. He does not seek the knowledge and blessing of other men, only asking for hers instead and knowing only she can explain himself with the energy he gives her. She alone knows his life purpose and she alone is fit to explain it to him. She becomes like Saraswati to him, she teaches him the wisdom of the Matrikas, which are the Sanskrit letters, as well as witches, and this is why the "Aim" bija is known as a the guru bija, as a man's wife is his guru. "Oh man, thou art not greater than thy mother" and this is why in Dante's Inferno, upon leaving Hell and Purgatory with his male guide Virgil, and upon approaching the heavenly gate, he must leave behind his male guide (his exoteric religion) and take his heavenly spouse, Beatrice, as his guide. A man must be brave to leave behind his male ancestors, as with one's wife he will only punish himself if he slips up and loses control around her, as she is his own Shakti or power. This was the real function of his religion, which prepared him for the deepest mysteries and ensured that he was safely delivered into the hands of his spouse of the heavenly church. These are all the mysteries of marriage and the Adjustment card, and this is the role of the wife for a man, who is also his mother. However-- some women do find all of this talk of dominating and having to give to a man somewhat antithetical to her innate nature and sexuality, the thought of functioning as a cosmic mother to her partner, or even as a mother to anyone.
THE CONCUBINE
Enter the sacred prostitute or temple dancer, who relishes and worships male behavior, seeking to stimulate and encourage it with her extreme passivity and magnetism. She never gives anything back to the man, knowing that by running from him like the beautiful elusive doe, she brings out the virility and masculinity in him and strengthens him with her temptation and inspiration. She does not give him back milk when he ravishes her, but instead desires to use this energy for the entertainment and education of everyone, which is why Sacred Prostitutes were part of the theater and center of the arts, and are also considered the best tantric teachers (which is why in some tantras it is stated quite plainly that for a man to succeed, he must have sex with another woman who is not his wife). Just as the mysteries of the wife are the powerful mysteries of the 7th house of marriage, the mysteries of the Sacred Prostitute or concubine are the mysteries of the creative 5th house of the arts. She seeks to embody male fantasy and never restricts. When in history she was taken into to the home of a married couple as the concubine (second wife of lower status), she does not make the rules, and obeys the wife of the man like a mother or older sister, which is why women who are not so passive to "obey" another woman can never play the role of the sacred prostitute or concubine. The Sacred Prostitute must adopt the viewpoint of desiring to be the liberated, non-restricted temptress of her man, and be the antithesis to the restrictive but nourishing wife. The wife owns his penis, as she is his mother, but the concubine receives the nourishing side of the wife as her mother, as well as decadent desires and affection of her husband, relating to the 5th house because she functions somewhat like a cosmic child to them, a product of luxury created and sustained from the wife's energetic fulfillment of the man her breasts overflowing with a desire to give. This path of the Sacred Prostitute is for the woman who wants to be spoiled and pampered, and cares not to restrict the man in anyway, which is her vital role that ensures he does not become swallowed by his wife and emasculated. This is the mystery of the Lust card, which is the Mystery of Salome, just as the Adjustment card is the mystery of her mother, Herodias. As Salome, her job as the concubine or Sacred Prostitute is shown on the card itself. In the Iching, this card is known as "the taming power of the small" and the concubine, through her seduction, rides the man and tames his ego with her yoni, thus destroying the "beast" or animal nature in him and freeing him from his wife's ability to control him. She seduces and obtains his head and brings it back to her mother, Herodias, who finally owns all of her husband's senses through her employment of the concubine. Like Belle in Beauty and the Beast, she must love knowledge and refine and tame his animal side, making him give everything to her in order to not be destroyed by the "witch", who is his wife. When he gives her everything, when he destroys his ego, and "dies" from him wishing to give everything to her, he is then free from his animal nature forever and becomes a prince. The witch is transformed into a beautiful fairy and the evil aspect of his wife vanishes forever. In Italy, there is a secret tradition that the baby Jesus is actually female, and they sing Ave Diana (who is considered to be Herodias) implying that Salome the prostitute is the true Christ or savior of men. This finds a parallel in the Sri Vidya tradition, and Salome (daughter of Herodias) is none other than Tripura Sundari, the Queen of Queens and the Savior of men, for she is the Goddess of delight and even conquers Brahma and his Wife Saraswati, who dote on her to fulfill all of her desires. This is why in Sri Vidya, Saraswati is known as Matangi, who is the minister of Tripura Sundari, for she and her husband created this reality for her amusement and enjoyment. It is her role as Bhairavi, who is the role of a female tantric adept/sacred prostitute, that a man must approach her and let her virilize him if he wishes to be saved and see the light of her face as Tripura Sundari. Despite not having a defined place in our society, the role/archetype of the prostitute throughout history and mythology is key to consider the dual functions of women that match the dual desires of men, which seem to be split down the middle-- the prostitute demonized, the wife celebrated; one cosmically punished, one cosmically rewarded; one functioning as inspiration to stir desire, one as nourishment and stability; one giving to all, one giving to only one; one hidden in the unconscious, one flaunted publicly... but both an undeniable element of reality. This feminine duality, like the new and full moon, is where we find the constant thread of divide between two archetypal women throughout cosmologies-- Mary of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene, Persephone and Aphrodite, Lillith and Namaah, etc. etc. Sexuality is always a choice and doing your sexual will is the essence of tantra-- some women throughout history wished to function as a wife and enjoy welcoming and even enjoying a concubine, some women crave to be a concubine only and not take on the role as mother--this kind of lifestyle is also the root of women having evolved to very frequently feel attraction for both men and women-- and so these two examples showing when this dual nature is personified externally... and some couples prefer to maintain their sacred monogamy, where the woman attempts to function as and channel both roles within her and in his life (and so the dual nature remains on the internal plane). All roads are equally royal; the only question is, which is yours?
Photo By Ricardo André Frantz (User:Tetraktys) (taken by Ricardo André Frantz) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons