Tantra and Code d' Odalisque

Tantra, properly speaking, is a diverse movement within traditional Hindu ritual and philosophy. It is characterized by Shakti (goddess) worship and sometimes includes a sexual yoga. The symbols of tantra are the lingam (phallus) and the yoni (vagina).

In the West today the word “tantra” has been appropriated outside of that Hindu context and has come to refer to any spiritual approach to sexuality – sacred sex. Many methods of tantric sex as practiced in the West today are traditional and come from India, but others are not. In either case, the idea always involves adding a sacred dimension to eroticism, a transcendent dimension, an approach to self-transformation through ecstasy rather than through denial.

Code d’ Odalisque is not a tantric system as such. It is not a spiritual system, not a cult, not a religion, and it makes no pretense regarding sacred sexuality. It is, rather, an unashamedly hedonistic indulgence. Its purpose is to provide pleasure, not enlightenment. An odalisque is a luxury, an adornment to a life of opulent living. Slavekeepers keep odalisques in order to enjoy them. It is a search for sensual pleasure, not a search for nirvana. Owning an odalisque is as spiritual as owning an expensive yatch.

All the same, Code d’ Ode might be used as a platform for compatible and appropriate tantric practices. There is nothing to prevent Code d’ Ode being used as a framework for some types of tantric sexuality. A Slavekeeper can use his slave as he wills. He might, if he wished, use her for tantric sex, if that is the dimension of sex he wishes to explore. There are tantric meditations, breathing exercises, chants, postures, rituals and prayers that might be added to sexual exploration under Code d’ Odalisque.

Some themes of Code d’ Ode lend themselves to tantric development. Bondage and servitude can be spiritual methods. The quest for sublime pleasures and a transcending excess can be adapted to tantric philosophy. Code d’ Ode is well-suited to a tantric and spiritual interpretation. Slavery, after all, is an expression of reverence. Code d’ Ode is about the pure potencies of male and female; Code play might be understood as a type of alchemy. Some people in the wider BDSM sub-culture understand BDSM as a spiritual sexuality. The occlusion of an odalisque might be understood as a type of sexual monasticism. The training of an odalisque might be understood as a type of spiritual training. Code d’ Ode also has a natural fixation upon lingam and yoni, cock and cunt. It explores the male/female duality in its starkest terms. There is a symbolism in Code d’ Odalisque that is, at least, tantra-like.

The aspect of Code d’ Ode that most readily lends itself to tantric development is the theme of cockworship. An odalisque is devoted to cock, a cockslave. This means that for her the phallus is an object of lust and desire. She is trained to be phallocentric, cock-obsessed. By extension, she is devoted to cock as to a god. Her motto is: Man is my Master. Cock is my god. For a devoted cockslave, the phallus is an object of reverence, mystery, worship. The tantra that comes naturally to Code d’ Ode, therefore, is phallicism, phallic worship. Phallic modes of tantra are suitable for mixing with Code d’ Odalisque. Goddess-focused types of tantra would be less obviously compatible, although – in truth – the Slavekeeper is, in his keeping of an odalisque, devoted to the feminine. The odalisque, it might be said, embodies a certain manifestation of the Divine Feminine (but specifically that aspect of the Divine Feminine that surrenders to the Phallic Principle.)

Note that this is a slightly controversial topic in Code d’ Odalisque because, in the early days, some of the people who first developed the Code d’ Odalisque concept wanted to craft it along tantra lines. In fact, as it turns out, their main interest was in tantra, and they wanted to construct a tantric system. Other Coders, however, were not interested in tantra and objected to the introduction of “eastern mysticism” into Code d’ Ode.

The non-tantric point of view prevailed. The tantric enthusiasts – who had contributed a lot to Code d’ Ode - gave up on it and drifted away and did other things. Early Code d’ Odalisque was factionalized over this issue.

It remains important that Code d’ Odalisque not be taken over by hippys and New Agers! Code d’ Ode is NOT a system of a tantra. It exists for hedonistic joy. It is fun. It can be used as a platform for tantric sexuality if that is what people want to do with it but it is not a tantric cult.