an abnormal fear of the number 13
paraskevidekatriaphobia (wouldn't want to have to say that in a hurry)...
an abnormal fear of friday the 13th...
are these fears inherently misogynistic?
the number 13 is closely aligned to the moon and the menses - it's the number of lunar cycles, the number of menstrual cycles, in a solar year... a number intimately connected with womanhood...
christian fear of pagan female deities, fear and hatred of the female body, and the persecution of strong, independent women created an anti-pagan, anti-woman fervour, hence the original word for the fear of both friday and 13...
friggatriskaidekaphobia...
from Frigga (Norse goddess associated with Friday) + triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13)
"Frigga (also known as Frigg, The Beloved) was the goddess of love, marriage, and destiny. She was the wife of the powerful Norse god Odin, The All-Father.A sky goddess, responsible for weaving the clouds (and therefore for sunshine and rain and the fertility of the crops), she was also responsible for weaving the fates. She was known as a 'seer', one who knew the future though she could never change it." the goddess gift website
"Friday is Frigga's Day. Frigga (Frigg) was an ancient Scandinavian fertility and love goddess, equivalent to the Roman Venus who had been worshipped on the sixth day of the week. Christians called Frigga a witch and Friday the witches' Sabbath." the skeptic's dictionary
"When Norse and Germanic tribes converted to Christianity, Frigga was banished in shame to a mountaintop and labeled a witch. It was believed that every Friday, the spiteful goddess convened a meeting with eleven other witches, plus the devil - a gathering of thirteen - and plotted ill turns of fate for the coming week..." wikipedia
according to the article "The church, a witch, sex and satan: oppressing witches: symbolic of oppressing women's sexuality" "the christian concept of "evil" has long been synonymous with sexual desire and the rejection of women in general and women's sexuality in particular."
from an article entitled "hammer time: portrayal of witches, witchcraft and medieval christianity" "it is amazing how celibate men became obsessed with the sexuality of women. as it is stated in malleus malificarum: all witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is, in women, insatiable."
the infamous 'malleus malificarum' (the witches' hammer) became the torturer's bible, and Nancy van Vuuren in "The subversion of women as practiced by churches, witch hunters and other sexists" states "...the women's sex organs provided special attraction for the male torturer".
black cats have long been associated with friday the 13th and the feminine - they were seen as the familiars of witches - wise women and healers - but the rise of christian 'hysteria' introduced the concept of witches' pets as evil, and agents of the devil
the number 13, religious intolerance, persecution, and fanatacism, the subversion of women - fascinating topics which deserve to be explored more thoroughly... but that'll have to wait for another day...
hope you had a wonderful friday the 13th!!!
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