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Women and Prophecy Women and Prophecy
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Poison Poison
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Love and Birth Magic Love and Birth Magic
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6 The Screech Owl, the Vampire, the Moon, and the Woman
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Published:March 2019
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Abstract
This chapter reveals the gendered nature of magic in the ancient world. Here, women were thought to be prisoners of their physicality and sexual passions. And magic, particularly maleficium, played a role in this perception. Female activities were largely domestic and private, and because gender identity and domestic space were co-constitutive, it made sense that women's use of magic would be guarded. Clandestine activities could be read as sly, and secrecy of all sorts was highly charged in Roman culture. Because women were thought to be libidnous, it followed that love magic was in their remit, and because they bore children, it followed that birth magic was their concern. The combination of gender, secrecy, and domesticity shaped the Roman vision of women's magic. Meanwhile, members of the primitive church did not initially emulate pagans in their assessment of women—at least, not at first.
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