Fraggle Rocker: The monotheistic patriarchal religions (the Abrahamic religions) have continued to do that. Women had long been the keepers and passers-down of wisdom concerning medicine, human relations, and many other important matters. The fact that they outlived men who were constantly putting themselves at risk was a big factor in that. The patriarchs needed to discredit them in order to take over society. As recently as the last half-millennium, Christian leaders popularized the notion of witches in order to make people doubt the credentials of midwives, herbalists, and female healers.
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M*W: This is why I chose the username "Medicine*Woman." Out of the 9 million women healers the patriarchy murdered, I am 9 million and 1!
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Fraggle Rocker: The classic image of the witch as a hag is derived from nothing more than the innocuous fact that many women simply lived long enough to develop the sunken lips of a toothless jaw and the sagging skin of old age.
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M*W: Well, I'm not quite there yet!
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Fraggle Rocker: Yes, many of us await the reascendence of our sisters and mothers rather anxiously. The little-boys-who-never-grew-up whom we have amazingly put in charge of huge countries with vast arsenals of weapons are dangerously close to destroying civilization. We need a proper balance of masculine and feminine energy to keep things running smoothly.
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M*W: You are so right about this! I believe we are coming soon into a more perfect gender balance which I believe to be the androgyne. I'm not androgynous, however, I am seeing more and more around. It's as if they have the perfect gender, although androgynes aren't homosexuals like they are assumed to be. They are a new breed -- well, a very old breed, I should say.
Thank you so much for this post. I hope everyone reads it.