The Bitch

Circe, Hecate, Artemis ... and their canine companions.

On the Importance of Bitches, and of Being a Bitch

Bitchy adj : having the threatening characteristics of a female canine (a wolf,

dingo, coyote, wild dog, fox) applied esp. to a woman who is active, direct,

blunt, obnoxious, competent, loud-mouthed, independent, stubborn, demanding,

achieving, overwhelming, Lusty, strong-minded, scary, ambitious, tough, brassy,

boisterous, turbulent, sprawling, strident, striding, and large (physically

and/or psychically). Canny Comments:

Bitches are good examples of how women can be strong enough to survive even the

rigid, punitive socialization of our society. As young girls it never quite

penetrated their consciousness that women were supposed to be inferior to men in

any but the mother/helpmate role. They asserted themselves as children and never

really internalized the slave style of wheedling and cajolery which is called

feminine....All Bitches refused, in mind and spirit, to conform to the idea that

there were limits on what they could be and do.

 -- Joreen, "The Bitch Manifesto"

Isn't it odd how men think they're insulting a woman by calling her a "bitch"?

The story of Rome's founders, Romulus and Remus, being suckled by a wolf-bitch

may come from a very ancient Sabine cult of Lupa, the Goddess as a She-Wolf.

But why men fear "bitches" may have more to do with a dim memory of the

association of many death-dealing goddesses with hounds, such as Artemis, Hecate

and Hel. To this day, much folklore associates dogs with death.

-- Mary Daly and Jane Caputi, Websters' First New Intergalactic Wickedary of

the English Language

"According to the Vedic tradition, the Bitch-goddess Sarama was the mistress of

the death dogs, and a divine huntress like Artemis, Diana, Anath and other

western versions of the lunar maiden."

 -- Barbara Walker, The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends

http://www.ladyoftheearth.com/stories/bitch.txt

La Mujer Salvaje corre, ríe y aúlla con lobos, zorros, perros y coyotes. Es la intuición, es la visionaria, la que sabe escuchar, es el corazón leal, la que se atreve a vivir con autenticidad y valor su propia vida. Anima a los seres humanos a ser multilingües, a hablar con fluidez los idiomas de los sueños, la pasión y la poesía. Herejes, sabias, visionarias, chamanas, artistas. Mujeres libres, salvajes, sin domesticar.

the dog/wolf/fox/coyote