The history of tantra is ancient, as is women’s practice of it — said to date back 3,000 years to the Zami cult of India. Yet, in the many centuries where literature has been produced on the subject — and despite the proliferation of contemporary women’s sexuality books — there has never been an English language book devoted entirely to tantra for women until now. Tantric Sex for Women: A Guide for Lesbian, Bi, Hetero and Solo Lovers, changes that. Filling an important gap, the book addresses all women regardless of sexual preference.
The approach makes sense. Women often define themselves by their differences. Yet, all women — lesbian, bi, or heterosexual — share something primal and basic: the yoni. According to author Christa Schulte, "Yoni is the Sanskrit name for the female genitalia with all its little erogenous parts: clitoris, labia, mons veneris, vagina, G-spot, womb, etc. However, yoni is much more than an anatomical term. It is the holy place of female desire, the lap that births new life, and the praiseworthy location of a woman’s deepest power." The book thus speaks to the unity of female experience, while addressing and celebrating multiplicity.
A long-time practitioner of tantric methods, Schulte introduces a woman-centered form of tantra that she developed herself, named for the goddess Tara, the "Mother of Tibet." Tara, goddess of liberation, personifies the highest qualities of women. She is known for such traits as generosity, compassion, patience, commitment, and assertive action. Worshipping Tara means activating her positive energies and stimulating, healing power. With Tara as a sexual role model, Schulte encourages women to embrace their sexuality and explore its spiritual dimension.
Chapters 1 and 2 of this guide set the stage by providing relevant context on tantra as it pertains to women. The author discusses:
--the origins of tantra and its meaning for women in the 21st century --the energy centers, or chakras, and women’s erogenous zones --tantric thinking on the variety and diversity of women’s orgasms --magic pleasure potions (e.g., aphrodisiacs) --six keys to the gates of physical pleasure --how to arrive at home in your own body
Following Chapters 1 and 2 are the "fun" chapters (3–10) where readers will find 54 tantric exercises to help enhance their sensitivity, remove barriers to fulfilling experiences, and explore the spiritual dimension of their sexuality. Presented clearly, with just the right amount of detail, they are easy to follow — and always capture the reader’s interest and imagination. Included are:
--17 games and exercises for individuals --17 games and exercises for pairs --5 massage exercises for pairs --6 rituals of transformation --6 games for the expansion of love energy --3 meditation exercises
Designed to enrich and liberate the self, promote trust and intimacy, and lead to unimagined ecstatic heights, the exercises are by turns creative and enjoyable, uplifting and profound — sometimes even thrilling and naughty! — while gently guiding readers through unforgettable sexual and sensual experiences with depth and impact.
The exercises range widely in tone. Some are rapturous, as with "Female Visions of Joy and "Ecstatic Mountaintop Experiences." Some are adventurous, for example "Camel Ride in Your Own Bedroom" and "Dance of the She-Demons." Others are edgy, such as "Fire Breathing Orgasm" and "Submission Without Ifs, Ands, or Buts." Still others are imbued with a sense of calm, safety, and healing, as with "Pulling Stress Out of Her" and "Self-love Ritual in the Presence of Another." In addition, exercises are tailored to personality types and moods. For example, there is "Breast Massage for the Content, Comfortable Woman" as well as "Breast Massage for the Sensual, Self-Sufficient Woman." Of course, there are also tantric classics, such as the "The Yab-Yum Love Position."
Finally, the book closes with appendixes and a list of resources. Some of the resources are for further study while others are meant to enhance tantric practice.
Many Lesbians criticized, deservedly, the patriarchal, male dominated structures and ideologies – that are also coined in the newer western Tantra. So it was, and still is, my desire to reestablish the original meaning of Tantra, namely to be a cult that reveres women and the appreciation and meditative refinement of sexuality. Today, this also requires the corresponding exercises and communication structures, which we cannot translate word for word from the ancient Indian Sanskrit. One example are the rituals that seize the wildness and freedom of the western witch or that contrast the many sexually traumatic experiences that women have with a special kind of tenderness and attentiveness.
Added to this is the special reverence of love between women as a further developed form of self-love in a social sphere. This also includes "throwing out" the old ideologies which claim that only a man and a woman can, through their union, create a complete picture. In their place stands the radical assumption that every person, that is to say even every woman, carries within themselves a completeness/perfection anyway. In this way, it has more to do with methods of happily experiencing your own completeness (instead of looking for it outside of yourself), so that these inner riches can then be shared generously with others, rather than depending upon others in your own yearning for completeness.
