Sacred and Powerful
Historically, a menstruating woman was considered sacred and powerful, with increased psychic abilities, and strong enough to heal the sick According to the Cherokee, menstrual blood was a source of feminine strength and had the power to destroy enemies. In Ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder wrote that a menstruating woman who uncovers her body can scare away hailstorms, whirlwinds and lightning. If she strips naked and walks around the field, caterpillars, worms and beetles fall off the ears of corn. Menstrual blood is especially dangerous to men's power. In Africa, menstrual blood is used in the most powerful magic charms to both purify and destroy.
Read more about this topic: Culture And Menstruation
Famous quotes containing the words sacred and/or powerful:
“The lady sleeps! Oh, may her sleep,
Which is enduring, so be deep!
Heaven have her in its sacred keep!”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)
“The area [of toilet training] is one where a child really does possess the power to defy. Strong pressure leads to a powerful struggle. The issue then is not toilet training but who holds the reins—mother or child? And the child has most of the ammunition!”
—Dorothy Corkville Briggs (20th century)