Dominatrix/Shaman

Some of you know that I am a student of shamanism, and that it has been so for over 5 years now. I find my role as a Dominatrix to be incredibly shamanistic. Case in point: Read these definitions of what a shaman is and tell me if they could not also be readily applied to the role of the Dominatrix:

"A person prepared to confront the greatest fears and shadows of the physical world." And depending on the results: "A healer who has experienced the world of darkness and who has fearlessly confronted his own shadow as much as the diabolic of others, and who can successfully work with the powers of darkness and light." (J. Sams, 1988) Certainly not all Dominatrices have forayed consciously into their own world of shadows, but I do believe that the ones that have are the ones that possess that otherworldly quality of "Being a True Dominant" versus trying to act like one. They can journey fearlessly into the sexual shadowland of another because they have come to know and become comfortable with that shadowland in themselves.

"He who knows the archaic techniques of ecstasy" (M. Eliade, 1972) We will forgive the use of the male pronoun here because the point of the sentence is much more profound. Who but a Domme has mastered the rituals and techniques of ecstacy to the point where she can produce in her submissive a veritable orchestra of sensation? Many describe "sub space", the state of altered awareness that can result from fully surrendering to one's submissive role, as a space of absolute ecstacy.

"Archetypal technician of the sacred. His profession evolves in the space that united mythical imagination and ordinary consciousness." (S. Larsen, 1976) BDSM ritual play brings the unlimited sexual/sensual imaginings of the mind to join with the physical reality of ordinary consciousness. The role of the Domina is to guide the submissive in the crack between the worlds where the two meet. In that magical space, anything is possible...and often lead really does get turned into gold.