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Carvings of the Síle na Géige, or Sheela na Gig, date back to
the eleventh century, often found in the south of France, England,
Wales and Ireland.
Síle may be a Christian invention, as she is often found on chapel
entrances, or a pagan archetype, as she can be found as well on
standing stones. Whichever the case, she appears as an earthy
hag or demonesque creature, her eyes touched with delirium, limbs
akimbo, holding wide open her vulva, which is often disproportionately
large. She may be a benign and empowering symbol of fertility,
or a creative or sexual gateway; she may be a representation of
a fear of female lust and sexual power, specifically that which
is not procreative, and Sile is depicted well past middle-life.
She is akin to a Trickster symbol, such as Coyote, Kokopeli, Hermes,
Loki, or Raven in other traditions.
Over time, Síle na Géige developed as a euphemism for a sluttish
or immodest woman, and Síle may be derivative of the gaelic Sidh or Sidhe, one of the fae, or it may mean seed or origin. In other words,
the Síle na Géige may be like the Christian Eve, symbolic as the
first woman or our eldest ancestor. Even her gender is mutable,
as her appearance is sometimes ambiguous, at times almost intergendered.
With a symbol as old as this one, for the most part, we're left
to rely on our own interpretations, with whatever meaning strikes
us most viscerally.
For me, Síle na Géige is representative of female sexual power
separate from the power of procreation and childbirth. She is
not a comfortable archetype, and one which one certainly couldn't
wear on their sleeve in daily life. Her beauty is not physical,
but lies in her power and in the fact that she allows it to be
unbridled, and is unashamed of it, laughing at those it might
make shy or uncomfortable. Her sexuality is not from her body,
but only dwells there, so ancient and rooted that it emanates
outward to the point of menace regardless of her physical state
of beauty or lack thereof. In shooting this set, I was able to
forget about beauty and its lesser cousins, prettiness and delicacy,
and get filthy and raw, let myself and my body go: yell, roar
and open wide.
... and revel in what is Síle na Géige. A good page with some
photos of diverse carvings can be found at: http://www.members.tripod.com/~taramc/sheelas.html
This series was shot in two parts with an Olympus digital camera:
(using a hell of a lot of clay) first with self-portraits in the
studio, and then given overlay and transparencies of natural elements
shot in Minneapolis. |
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12.07.06: Scarlet Letters -- in case it isn't glaringly obvious -- is currently
on an extended hiatus. The web has changed, we've changed, and
we're trying to figure out how we both fit together now, which isn't a process we want to rush.
In the meantime, by all means, enjoy our years of past content,
all of which still remain in the public and subscription areas.
If you're looking for more current SL-related content, you can
have check out upcoming books from editor Heather Corinna and previous co-editor Hanne Blank, check out Heather's current sexuality sites, or explore sites through the femmerotic network. We hope to be back with you soon, as fresh, challenging and
unexpected as ever.
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