Sunday, January 1, 2012

Two Thousand and Twelve Anno Domini

~Anno Domini is Latin for 'The Year of The Lord'. Some times that is said as 'Our Lord', but it functionally translates into English as 'The Lord', its possessive nature being only implied in the Latin. If one addressed someone as Dominus, 'master' or 'owner', one implicitly granted them authority over ones self. [Domina is the female case] Anno is also a Masculine word in Latin.

All this was whipped up by some wee monk in the Sixth Century to rectify the various calendric hodgepodges of the day. In retrospect, I'd say he did rather well.

Of course I bring all this up in order to point out the underlying possessiveness of this Patriarchal naming convention. By using Anno Domini, one assumes a 'slave attitude'. God owns you.

With the Matriarchal Calender's use of Anna Sororitas this is shifted even as a historical continuity is maintained. 'Anna' is obviously a Feminized case of 'Year', which I do not believe actually exists in Latin to date. 'Sororitas' means 'Of The Sisters' or 'Belonging to The Sisters'. Note that is a collective ownership, one that implicitly includes all of its members.

And though The Sisterhood worships The Goddess in all of Her Aspects, She too is a Sister and part of this, not an owner from above. There is Hierarchy and Seniority, but not ownership, at least not among Sisters. All are part of the Greater Whole, which each Sister Serves and is Served by.

And so it is...


As True Men are ultimately slated for extinction, their status will get determined on a case by case basis until they're all gone. The various types of Y-Chrome Servitors who replace them will uniformly be treated humanely, much as we presently treat beloved pets and valued service animals.

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