The Hierophant - Society's Lack of Support
There is no grave, no place to visit. Mourning at all is not allowed when you lose a baby before you are 20 weeks pregnant.
As a woman, I'm expected to be ashamed enough of my miscarriage to not voice my grief. It's right up there with menstrual cycles as a topic to avoid. If you grieve visibly, you are made to feel that you are not right in the head - especially when some time has lapsed. The only support available comes in the form of pills, antidepressants. The message we who mourn our angel babies are given is that we should suppress our grief.
If I ever doubted that we live in patriarchy, I know now that I have miscarried at 15 weeks.
We are dealing with something numinous here - something beyond the realm of the patriarchal Hierophant. We are dealing with the bond between a mother and the life that grows inside her when she is pregnant. This bond can be just as deep as with a child who has been welcomed into society but because this child has not passed through the hands of the Hierophant for his blessing, there should be no mention of it.
Well, I'm here to remind you...
