The Duchess and I were discussing sex and paganism today, in between meetings and homeschooling. We realized how much sense the concept of sex as a "little death" makes if you're an animist who thinks in terms of spiritual energy.
How else would such a mind interpret an act in which a man enters full of vigor and ends up wrung out and exhausted, while the woman often emerges full of new energy? It would be natural to snap to the thought that a transfer of life energy is taking place.
It's in line with the vagina dentata myths which stem from the same anxiety. . .
Posted by Discoshaman at décembre 18, 2004 04:53 AM | TrackBack
Yes, I suppose this is true, but sex more then enough fun to make up for it!
Posted by: David All at décembre 18, 2004 05:39 AMGood job on the Kyiv reporting!
Have you read "Love in the Western World" by Denis de Rougemont? It would (in a laborious way, alas) help all people see that "love is passion" is a new-ish idea that sprang up in France in the 1100's.
The traditional view being, of course, love is a choice (with great benefits), but a choice and a committment.
The "little death" is symbolic (as God planned it to be) of Christ's husband-like sacrifice on the cross for His "bride," us redeemed folk.
Now, which came first, the man-woman nature that God patterned into each of us from conception (and thus He co-opted it for His plan of redemption)? Or was it the Male-Female-ness of God's nature (assuming He has a nature; I'm not sure He's obliged to do anything) that, seeing that He'd sacrifice Himself for His in-His-image creation (a selection of humanity), caused Him to create Men and Women? He might have gone to all that trouble so that we'd get the picture all the better of what it means for love to be sacrifice (the male half of the equation) and support/praise (the female half of the equation).
Aeh. Late night thoughts.