Accountability & Impact Statement

Kedesha Temples is an integrated movement at the cutting edge of emerging culture, dedicated to the reclamation of erotic integrity and the practice of embodied consent. Through immersive ritual, sanctuary and education, we are dismantling shame to build a world of relational attunement. Our collective is comprised of individuals from diverse spiritual, cultural, and philosophical backgrounds who share this vision:

  • Sanctuary & Stewardship: Develop a flagship temple and train hundreds of Kedeshas as guardians of somatic consent and transpersonal intimacy.

  • Thought Leadership: Publish rigorous research and messaging, including contributing to peer-reviewed studies on the intersection of ethics, ecstasy and neuroscience.

The Foundation

Kedesha is a Direct Project of Teatro Korazon, a US 501(c)(3) arts non-profit. This is a partnership of visionaries investing their time, talent, and treasure in the belief that becoming fully human requires the restoration of the erotic as a sacred right. We move beyond mere permission, championing a culture where consensual, shame-free sexuality is recognized as a vital force for social change. This “Theatre of Love" creates transformative art and experiences to invite a more loving, harmonious, and sovereign world.

Historical Context

“Kedesha” (sometimes transliterated as “qedesha”) comes from the Semitic root for “sacred”(in Hebrew “kodesh”... so a “kedesha” is a “sacred woman” and a “kadesh” is a “sacred man”).

There are cognates throughout the ancient Middle East (such as Akkadian “qadishtu” ( 𒉡𒍼 ) and the Ancient Egyptian goddess of sex and ecstasy, Qedeshu) that attest to the widely shared tradition of the priestesses (and priests!) of goddess temples caring for the sexual education and harmony of the communities they served.

The deity the ancient Canaanites and Israelites worshiped was Ashteret (Astarte)/Asherah; but the practices were similar at the temples of many related love and fertility goddesses associated with lions and the morning/evening star (actually the planet Venus), including Babylonian Ishtar and the earliest named form, the Sumerian Inanna, and extending to the Cypriot/Greek Aphrodite.