Theos-Talk Archives (April 1995 Message tl00159)

Liesel,

As you doubtless already know, circumcision was and is a
purification ritual.  Just as the ancient Jews had a lot
of rules concerning their diet, so the males were
circumcised to remove their "uncleanness" and to be more
pure - like women were naturally.  Of course women too can
be circumcised, and this is done even today (I saw an
expose on TV recently, but can't recall the country).  The
problem is this:  with men, it has no influence over sex,
but with women it totally prevents orgasm.  Men use this
to keep their women in line, and unfortunately enough
women condone it to allow it to keep going.  Those women
with education and a little money leave and come to
America, which is what the TV show was focusing on.  I am
pretty sure that Jewish women were _not_ circumcised, but
you would probably know this better than me.

In ancient times, women were always highly regarded, and
their status fell only in more recent times, as the male
gods predominated.  This historical fact is well known
in Wiccan circles, where the Goddess is making her comeback.
Modern women like Gimbutas (The Language of the Goddess
and several others) are showing that ancient times
(roughly stone age to pre-ancient Egyptian) was matriarchal
and women were esteemed because they embodied the Earth
Goddess.  The ancient Egyptians were pretty equal in their
treatment of the genders, while post-Egyptian cultures
became patriarchal.

Want a prediction?  I predict that the gender pendulum
will swing the other way for a few thousand years, as
matriarchy regains new ground in the West.  The Goddess
is rising even as we speak.

As to theosophy, we can fit all of this into a small
spiral within the overall Arcs of Descent (where the
goddess has sway) and the Arc of Ascent (where the
god has sway).  Each time the pendulum swings, it
passes through its mid-point where the two sides
are equal; a time of equality that is, unfortunately,
short lived.

Jerry S.