Blessings SiStars,
Have you ever wondered what was the original meaning behind certain words that affect us in a negative manner? I did and this is what I found...
Definitions
“Mystery is defined as that which is beyond understanding, that which baffles or perplexes, that which is profound and known only by revelation. When we speak of women’s Blood Mysteries, we are referring to certain biological events, such as menarche and childbirth, that are accompanied by changed perspective and the influx of knowledge beyond reason. We don’t know why we change and grow and acquire knowledge at these times, but we do-this is a Mystery. And as we share this knowledge, the revelations linked to changes in our bodies, we reclaim the power and wisdom inherent in being women.” Pg. 1 The Women’s Wheel of Life by Elizabeth Davis and Carol Leonard (now entitled The Circle of Life)
Bitch – This became a naughty word in Christian Europe because it was one of the sacred titles of the Goddess, Artemis-Diana, leader of the “hunting dogs.”…In Christian terms, “son of a bitch” was considered insulting not because it meant a dog, but because it meant a devil-that is, a spiritual son of the pagan Goddess.” Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths & Secrets by Barbara G. Walker
Cunt – Derivative of the Oriental Great Goddess as Cunti, or Kunda, the Yoni of the Uni-verse. From the same root came county, kin, and kind. Related forms were Latin cunnus, Middle English cunte, Old Norse and Frisian kunta, Basque cuna. Other cognates are “cunabula,” a cradle, or earliest abode; “Cunina,” a Roman Goddess who protected children in the cradle; “cunctipotent,” all-powerful (i.e., having cunt-magic); “cunicle,” a hole or passage; “cuniculate,” penetrated by a passage; “cundy,” a coveted culvert; also cunning, kenning, and ken: knowledge, learning, insight, remembrance, wisdom. Cunt is “not slang, dialect or any marginal form, but a true language word, and of the oldest stock.” Barbara G. Walker – Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths & Secrets
Adam – Adamah, meaning “bloody clay,” though scholars more delicately translate it “red earth.” Barbara G. Walker – Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths & Secrets
Motherhood – During the early evolution of the human race, motherhood was the only recognized bond of relationship. Like any mammalian family, the primitive human family consisted of mother and offspring.”
Sanskrit matra, like the Greek meter, meant both “mother” and “measurement.” Mathematics is, by derivation, “mother-wisdom.” …
Ma – Basic mother-syllable of Indo-European languages, worshipped in itself as the fundamental name of the Goddess.
Marriage- The word marriage came from Latin maritare, union under the auspices of the Goddess Aphrodite-Mari. Because the Goddess’s patronage was constantly invoked in every aspect of marriage, Christina fathers were opposed to the institution. Origen declared, “matrimony is impure and unholy, a means of sexual passion.” St. Ambrose said marriage was a crime against God, because it changed the state of virginity that God gave every man and woman at birth. Marriage was prostitution of the members of Christ, and “married people ought to blush at the state in which they are living.” Tertullian said marriage was a moral crime, “more dreadful than any punishment or any death.” It was “obscenity,” or “filth.”
Mama – Title of the Great Goddess Ma, or Mama, the world’s basic name for “mother’s breasts.” The Creatress who made mankind of clay and nourished her creatures with her own magic fluids.
Prostitution – Like the devadasis of Hindu temples, prostitute-priestesses dispensed the grace of the Goddess in ancient Middle-Eastern temples. They were often known as Charites or Graces, since they dealt in the unique combination of beauty and kindness called charis (Latin caritas) that was later translated “charity.” Actually it was like Hindu kaurna a combination of mother-love, tenderness, comfort, mystical enlightenment, and sex.
Mother’s Curse – The terrible vehicle of the feminine curse was menstrual blood, still called The curse. To “damn” has been linked with the Hebrew dam, “blood,” specifically mother-blood, the fluid of the womb, anciently thought to create one’s very soul-and destroy it. Dam was also synonymous with “mother” (ma-dam, my mother).
Crone- General designation of the third of the Triple Goddess’s three aspects, the death dealing Sow. The Crone may have descended from Rhea Kronia as Mother of Time, though the title has been linked with Coronis, the carrion crow, since crows and other black creatures were sacred to the Death-goddess. The Crone also represented the third (post-menopausal) phase of women’s lives, and her shrines were served by priestesses in this stage of life. Because it was believed that women became very wise when they no longer shed the lunar “wise blood” but kept it within, the Crone was usually a Goddess of Wisdom.
“Holy Virgin” was the title of harlot-priestesses of Ishtar, Asherah, or Aphrodite. The title didn’t mean physical virginity; it meant simply “unmarried.” The function of such “holy virgins” was to dispense the Mother’s grace through sexual worship; to heal; to prophesy; to perform sacred dances; to wail for the dead; and to become Brides of God.
Hag – Originally “Holy Woman,” the Hag was a cognate of Egyptian heq, a predynastic matriarchal ruler who knew the words of power, or hekau.
Gossip – Archaic word for a woman, especially one past middle age. The original word was godsib, “one who related to the gods,” i.e., a god-mother. In pre-Christian times, elder women were considered divine because they retained their “wise blood” after menopause.
A group of elder women were called “gossips” as a term of respect at first, after the peasant habit of calling any older woman “mother” or “grandmother.” The modern meaning of “gossip” arose from the conversation of “gossips” or old wives’ tales.
Menarche- New Latin/Greek- literally translates into men: “Moon month”, an ancient and universal measure of teim, with the celestial body that measures it, and arkhe: “beginning,” i.e, to begin one’s rule, to take command. So, menarche means beginning Moon, or first menstruation. Pg 11
Taboo- Polynesian word that means
Source: Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara G. Walker
