The True Origins of “Whore” and “Harlot”: A Return to the Sacred

By Virginia Underwood

The words whore and harlot have long been used as weapons—slurs wielded to shame, silence, and erase the sacred feminine. But their roots tell a very different story—one not of sin or degradation, but of power, sovereignty, and mystery.

These were not names for the fallen. They were once titles of reverence, encoded with the wisdom of the womb, the body, and the erotic divine.

Whore: The Womb of Light

The English word whore descends linguistically from Old English hōre, meaning “prostitute,” with earlier Germanic and Proto-Indo-European roots related to “desire.” But these patriarchal etymologies only trace the surface.

According to The Magdalene Mysteries: The Left-Hand Path of the Feminine Christ by Seren Bertrand and Azra Bertrand, the term whore holds a deeper, sacred lineage. The root “hor” is found across many languages—including Hebrew, Egyptian, and even Japanese—and carries meanings such as:

• Cave

• Womb

• Sanctuary

• Source of Light
  

The “Great Whore” was not a fallen woman—but an ancient title for the Great Mother, the birther of creation, the one who held the womb of light through which all life passed. In this context, whore was an honorific—an acknowledgment of the womb as the cosmic gateway between worlds.

Far from profane, the whore was once a temple priestess, a Qadishtu, who served the goddess through sacred sexuality, healing touch, and erotic initiation. She offered her body not in transaction, but in devotion—a living bridge between spirit and flesh.

Over time, particularly under the Roman Church, this sacred title was distorted, redefined through fear and control. The divine feminine in her erotic fullness became threatening to systems of hierarchy and domination. And so, the word whore was used to tear her down.

But language remembers.
And we are remembering now.

Harlot: Womb Initiatrix of the High Places

The word harlot once carried entirely different connotations. In Old French, it originally referred to a male vagabond or rogue—a jester, servant, or free man of low station. But by the 14th century, it had been reassigned to women, especially those who lived outside patriarchal codes of conduct.

The deeper thread, however, may lie in the root “har” or “haru”, which in ancient languages refers to sacred mount or elevated place. In some traditions, this suggests that a harlot was once a woman of the high places—a keeper of the sacred rites practiced on mountain tops or temple terraces, where heaven and earth met.

She was not simply a figure of desire, but an initiatrix—a womb priestess who led others through sacred union into direct experience of the divine.

Magdalene: Keeper of the Hidden Lineage

Mary Magdalene, long portrayed as a prostitute in Christian tradition, is one of the most glaring examples of this distortion. In truth, her name—Magdala—means “Tower” or “Elevated One.” She was likely a high initiate in the temple traditions of Isis and Inanna, and in Gnostic writings, she is portrayed not as a sinner( although, if we look at the original meaning of this word too…), but as a beloved consort, teacher, and priestess.

Her story, like so many others, has been edited, redacted, and repurposed to fit a narrative of purity vs. defilement, virgin vs. whore. But beneath that story is a lineage of powerful feminine wisdom that refuses to die.

Reclaiming the Sacred Words

Words carry spells. They carry wounds, yes—but also memory.
To reclaim the words whore and harlot is not to glorify pain, but to resurrect the sacred that once lived in them.

These were not insults, but initiations.
They were not meant to shame women—they were titles for women unashamed of their power.

It is time now to take back what was stolen.
To speak these words not in whispers, but in sovereignty.
To walk as the descendants of the womb-keepers, the holy lovers, the priestesses, and the sacred fools.

This reclamation is not just for women.
It is for all who seek to heal the split between body and spirit, between sexuality and sanctity.
It is for men reclaiming their divine feminine, for nonbinary beings remembering their wholeness.
It is for the planet, and the future.

Reclaiming these words is not just activism—it’s ancestral remembrance.

Reference:
Magdalene Mysteries: The Left-Hand Path of the Feminine Christ by Seren Bertrand & Azra Bertrand