Everything about Handmaiden totally explained
A
handmaiden (or
handmaid) is a female assistant (or
slave) that waits at hand as a
servant or attendant. Typically,
queens and
princesses of old would have a handmaiden - they also feature in
fiction, particularly
fantasy and
science fiction (such as the
The Lord of the Rings,
Star Wars and
Doctor Who), and
mythology -
Norse goddesses (such as
Frigga) frequently had handmaidens, as did
Biblical characters such as
Leah.
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Handmaidens also feature heavily in
rites associated with the
Wiccan religion.
Typically a handmaiden was a woman of common birth, who would take a new
name upon their appointment. They would be expected to be subservient and submissive.
Handmaiden was also a common
euphemism for a
concubine; a man might use a handmaiden to bear his child if his wife was
infertile - an example of this is the handmaiden (
Bilhah) of the Biblical character
Rachel, who gave birth to two of
Jacob's children. The handmaids in
Margaret Atwood's
1985 novel The Handmaid's Tale (made into a 1990 film
The Handmaid's Tale ) are another example.
An alternative role of
handmaiden is also believed by some to have been brought into being through a development within Egyptian religious practices. One of the early gods,
Atum, was supposed to have brought the world into being through self-fornication. However, there was a later development whereby a female entity was brought into the story, who assisted the act of fornication. She was literally using her hands.
In subsequent ritual, a priestess would assist the priest in the ceremony, through the use of a carving representing
Atum's penis. These female priests were important within the ritual for they assisted in the creation of the world.
Likewise, there are numerous references to prostitutes near or within the religious buildings. This is a mistaken representation of their role, for the priestesses were, as well as oft being 'handmaidens', involved in 'sex magic' rituals. It was believed that the culmination of the process of sex brought the participants closer to 'god' or closer to where they could commune with either gods or enlightenment. In this role, these handmaidens were essential in the process of bringing people closer to enlightenment.
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