Oh em gee. Wounds of Jesus = Vaginas.
“And then at once she was filled with love and inestimable satiety, which, although it satiated, generated at the same time inestimable hunger, so that all her members were unstrung and her soul languished and desired to fly away. And she wished neither to see nor to feel any creature. And she did not speak and did not know whether she could speak, but within she spoke, clamoring that God not let her languish in such a death, for she thought life to be death.”
- Christian mystic Angela Foligno (1248-1309)
The above quote is cited in the Most Fascinating Article I’ve read in a while: “Mystical Acts, Queer Tendencies,” by Karma Lochrie, a queer interpretation of some female Christian mystics in the late middle ages. Lochrie argues that these mystics experienced and worshipped Christ in an erotic way — and not Christ as a husband but as a particularly feminized body. For example: depictions of the wounds in Christ’s side as vaginal symbols. Yes. VAGINAL. Excuse me while I roll on the floor in ecstasy for a minute.
Unfortunately the site I’m linking (the only place I could find this online) has some weird html stuff going on, which makes for a more difficult read. But if you’re into hot sexy devotions to God a la John Donne’s sonnets (“nor ever chaste” except God ravish him) with a lavender twist, or into queered historiography in general, definitely give this piece a look!
1 year ago • 0 notes