Jane Williams replied:
> I have to admit, my first thought on seeing it was "oh
> not, not again".
The problem seems to be that despite repeated discussion there isn't a consensus, and it's a pretty basic thing to have differences of opinion about. <wry grin>
Mythically, I don't think that birth completes a year-cycle. Conception magic and birth magic are two quite different things which need their own separate times, and there needs to be enough of a recovery period built into a true "cycle" that the woman is in a reasonable position to conceive again.
Think of the effect on your cattle, which have a gestation period pretty close to that of humans. Putting a bull to the herd at the same time that some of them are dropping calves seems to be asking for trouble on a number of levels.
Could someone please have a go at explaining why it seems a mythically good idea to have pregnancies last a year? I've seen a few assertions and a comment that its tidy, but the only explanation I've seen of why it's mythically 'right' involves Ernalda labouring all through Storm Season. Why not take something like Paul Anderson's myth and say that at the end of Dark Season the life which Ernalda has kept within her stirs and comes forth, Ernalda then retreats with the child for her season of blood and milk, and presents the child at Sacred time to show that it is strong and will live. Or something.
Cheers,
Jennifer
-- Jennifer Geard
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