Inara de Luna

Founder of the Temple of the Red Lotus, Inara is a Qadishtu priestess who believes in the sacredness of sex and pleasure. Inara describes herself as a bisexual, polyamorous, eclectic pagan. A teacher and lifelong practitioner of yoga, she follows a path of finding enlightenment by healing the mind-body-spirit split that occurs in Western society. Ecstatic dance, drumming, sex, yoga, ritual, energy manipulation and healing, research and reflection are the avenues Inara uses and encourages for spiritual expression and development.

Inara runs an online discussion group on sacred sexuality and offers workshops and classes on yoga, breath work, sacred sexuality, teenage sex education, menstruation reclamation, and Native American drumming/singing. She has been a guest instructor for the Indigo Village Summer Camp, and a guest lecturer at the University of Redlands in California and at St. Patrick’s Cathedral School in Pennsylvania. Additionally, she has performed private yoga demonstrations for select audiences around the country. Inara is a published author, with articles and poetry appearing in The Common People magazine, Atlanta Rising magazine and the Carolina Spirit Quest newsletter.

Inara organizes the Village of Greenwood at Dreaming. She also coordinated the Adult Play area at FireDance 2004 and DayDreaming: Greenwood, a day-long sacred sex intensive. Most recently, Inara presented a three course seminar on sacred sexuality at Bio-Buzz in Albany, GA. She created the Temple of the Red Lotus as an organization devoted to promoting and practicing sacred sexuality and the Qadishtu path.

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Laurelei Black has been a dedicated Priestess of Aphrodite since her 2nd degree ordination within her Witchcraft tradition in 2002, and she has submitted to Aphrodite’s call even longer.
Laurelei is the author of Aphrodite’s Priestess (available Winter Solstice 2008), which is being hailed as “a most laudable effort, well-balanced, highly introspective but also based upon history” by Michael Manor of the Qadishti Institute. Furthermore, Inara de Luna of the Temple of the Red Lotus says, “I’m putting your book on my required reading list for my Qadishtu  trainees and am so impressed with it overall, I’m recommending to everyone I know.”

Laurelei serves as the Hiereia Aphroditus within the Cult of Aphrodite Asteria Starry Queen of Heaven, and she continues to write about her beloved Goddess in articles, poetry, fiction and non-fiction. She is a co-founder of Asteria Books, www.asteriabooks.com.

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Cheri Michael has been actively exploring her sexuality for many years.  Through this process of exploration she discovered herself to be panpolykinky with a particular attraction to Sacred Sexuality.   It has been a fascinating journey so far, one she looks forward to seeing unfold further; ready for whatever new experiences come her way with the people she meets, whether teaching, learning, playing or just hanging out.

As a workshop and event facilitator for over a decade, it has become Cheri’s desire to inspire others to embrace and enhance their sexuality in whatever form it takes. Cheri teaches various sexuality workshops, including individual counseling sessions, private and group workshops in-house or on-site. Cheri regularly teaches at Good For Her and Ontario ’s PolyCamp.  An artist in her own right, Cheri has been writing poetry and creating other forms of art for as long as she can remember. Her favorite artistic muse is sacred sexuality, self-exploration, and eroticism.

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Terra Incognita (TI) is a Temple of Sexual Magick founded in Chicago that has slowly evolved from a small gathering of friends hosted by Amanda and David over ten years ago, to a larger group of karmically interconnected people.

TI has attempted to integrate spirituality with sexuality using an ancient Mesopotamian model that we have found very adaptable to a variety of religious and magickal beliefs. While the Temples of Sumer and Babylon have inspired our mindset, we also feel a connection to the European mariners who were brave enough to sail to the “unknown lands” they called Terra Incognita on their maps. Scary, shadow-filled places of Monsters and Magick near The Edge of the World.

We believe that breaking fear-generated barriers is an important part of personal growth. TI also feels the power of loving energy can heal most emotional wounds as well as unite those participating in the Process. In our perspective, symbolic acts can only bring symbolic rewards, so both diety and divine energy exchanges should be real.

To actively explore these ideas Terra Incognita is dedicated to the Qadishtu path of sexual healing. For us this includes BDSM, Paganism, our Patron/protégé program, polyamory, Sex Magick, sexwork, surrogacy, Tantra and Taoist practices. TI has developed a very flexible neo-Pagan type of ritual to focus energetic group workings, which owes a great deal to Chaos Magick creativity. Our Qadishtu priesthood is Temple-based, in homage to historical precedents and includes educational outreach and various hands-on practices with Seekers. We have also hosted assorted salons, workshops and book signings, as well as presented at festivals and conferences.




Starting in the fall of 2004, New Zealand filmmaker Lynda Brendish began filming an award- winning documentary about Terra Incognita called Uncharted Lands. It captured our shift from a larger group dynamic to one that is more family-based today. The current core of TI is now Amanda, David and Magickal Partner Kristin. However, the Temple still honors and works with an extended Tribe of wonderful folks in the Sacred Sexuality community.