The New Matriarchy

***The New Matriarchy*** was a book by Cirin that outlined her vision for the world.

## Excerpts

* "The mother Terim directs, and we, her priestesses obey. We seek the divine inspiration within us and we spread the word our mother. As we learn to face toward the hub of the wheel, it is incumbent upon us all to show the path of reason, of love, and of obedience to those who are unable to perceive the symmetry of mother, child and the true path. It is our goal not only to find our own illumination, but to give illumination to others. For some we need only point the way. Others we must lead. Still others we must push. Above all, we cannot dismiss any soul as extraneous. All originate within the mother and all must be instructed in her ways..."

* "Great tolerance must be exercised when dealing with daughters. It is very difficult for a mother to recall that confused and turbulent time in her life when existence is profoundly unfocused and a girl feels very strongly all the myriad forces which exert themselves upon her; both external forces and, more perniciously, her own tendency to submit herself and her will to that which is transient, attractive, compelling and ill-advised. Childbirth is the Goddess' greatest gift to womankind wherein an ordered mind supplants a disordered one; reality breaks through the thin membrane of interwoven and convoluted illusion which is a girl's consciousness to that point. Suddenly genuine purpose and True Womanhood make of her a contributing member of society, where previously she had been merely a discordant and willful obstruction to all that is ordered and healthy. The birth of a child takes the mother out of her own limited and self-absorbed vanity and shows her, clearly and in a way which will brook no denial, what the Goddess' purpose for her is. The irrational rage of the young girl who is reminded of this fact is proof positive that within her, at the core of her essential being, a True Voice is speaking always to her; reminding her that it is her destiny to bring forth new life; to care for it and to nurture it. When a daughter rails against this nature, the wise mother is silent and leaves it to the True Voice within the daughter to work its sweet magic on its own timetable, as it surely will. Time is always on the side of that True Voice."

* "The principle reason that we allow only mothers to govern and to decide the large issues of government in Upper Felda is that they are the only individuals with a genuine stake in the future of our country. If, as many advocate, we extended the voting franchise to daughters once they have reached an arbitrarily chosen age of majority, we would be submitting the fate of our grand and noble experiment to the caprice and whim of individuals who are seeking to escape their own nature. To give them such an outlet would provide an alternative to the following of their True Voice, the dictates of the Goddess Herself and would result in universal madness of the first water. Why have we forbidden men a role in the affairs of state? Because men seek to escape the fact of their expandability (once they have fertilized the egg which becomes new life) with incautious adventurism. Aware that nothing will remain of them to mark their passing, they inevitably seek to make their mark through destruction of peace and order. The young girl's unreasonable fear of childbirth will find outlets in exactly this kind of destructiveness. To open the flood-gates even fractionally; allowing daughters to wield political power; is to invite swift and chaotic inundation."

* "Those daughters who attempt to achieve political power without first having the benefit of childbirth are not nearly so trouble-some as one might be led to believe. In a majority of cases, their seeking after power and influence is largely a means of attracting male attentions. Once a suitable mate presents himself, they will continue to go through the motions of climbing the ladder of success for a time; but soon, they are married and shortly thereafter they are with child. In those situations where the cart is before the horse; where career comes before childbirth; it is interesting to note that few daughters ever return to that career. In those situations where the career comes after childbirth, career is kept in its proper place as an ancillary interest to the fuller and more important task of child-rearing."

* "A daughter thinks her youth and beauty are timeless. I remember walking through a marketplace with one of my senior advisors and her beautiful daughter (who was then in her mid-teens). A flower-seller extended a single flower to her, with his compliments. This she accepted with only the slightest acknowledgment. My advisor said to her, "You'd better enjoy it while you can. It doesn't last forever, you know." The girl's attentions were drawn elsewhere, to a booth nearby with a display of gaudy trinkets and she ventured no reply. Now in her late twenties, needless to say, the adoring throngs of men who have surrounded her all of her life have dwindled to a handful of low and deceitful characters; charlatans, petty criminals, and brigands to a one. Gone are the industrious, reliable and noteworthy suitors of days past. One of these will undoubtedly father her children someday and she will live out her days in degraded circumstances, going from unsuitable mate to unsuitable mate. Her children, when they are of an age to understand, will pity her, mock her, be disgusted by her. The Goddess has neither mercy upon, nor patience with the willful, the proud and the self-centered woman."

* "The Alcohol Sanction is called into question frequently by many sincere followers of our creed. It falls into the same category as prostitution in our view. That which cannot be eliminated must be sequestered. The consumption of alchohol, once isolated from the general community, permits those self-destructive and troublesome elements within the male population to hasten their own demise. Since no one is permitted to leave a licensed establishment until entirely sober, each tavern becomes an effective prison to those unable or unwilling to forego inebriation as a state of perpetual existence. If a husband is absent for three consecutive days owing to intoxication, his marriage is automatically dissolved and his possessions seized and distributed for the general benefit of his own and other needy families. He then becomes a tavern "resident", provided with alcohol and a subsistence diet and mean accommodation for the rest of his days. The average life expectancy of one of these individuals is six to eight months. Indisputably, wives find the enforced separation to be a great trial, but in a majority of cases, they will choose their subsequent life-mate with greater care and less emotion, and will find a reliable provider for themselves and their children."

* "In the history of Iest, there have been several attempts, some real, some illusory, at an ascension into heaven. In each case, the individual attempting that ascension has been male. In each case, the Tower has risen erratically, and has been structurally unsound. In each case, it has then collapsed on the Lower City, causing massive destruction, nearly unimaginable loss of life and injury. This, then, is the surest sign that exists of the Goddess' intolerance of male-dominated, male-directed society. It will be a mother who ascends, when the time comes. And that time will be soon. The Goddess will reach down to us, even as we reach up to Her. When that glorious connection is made; when that wondrous day arrives; the long-promised Golden Age will dawn and our successes and triumphs in Upper Felda will pale by comparison; mere flint, mere stone, mere spark, beside the miraculous, world-wide Blaze of Glory that is yet-to-be."

* "There have been various aberrant forms of the pure Matriarchy in our long history; experiments where the Daughter rules the Mother. Without exception, these experiments have been disastrous. To limit a Mother's influence to family and child care alone is to ignore the fact that family and child care are irrevocably connected to all aspects of society. A foreign policy which is not founded on the family is misguided adventurism. An economic policy which is not founded on the family is unenlightened avarice. And so on."

* "It is most important to have a thorough-going discussion with your daughters each morning on the subject of their dreams. For it is in dreams that depravity and wickedness find their surest hand-hold. The morning discussion should begin as soon as the child is capable of expressing herself so that she can learn as soon and as completely as possible what constitutes a Good Dream and what constitutes a Bad Dream. Great care should be exercised in making the child aware that dreams are inside their own heads and do not originate elsewhere. Once advised that Bad Dreams represent inner poison which must be dealt with and eliminated by the child herself, she will soon embark on a fit and proper course of self-awareness, self-preservation and self-development. If a daughter is made to confront the demon within, she will have little difficulty in distinguishing the demon without."

* "We must be ever-vigilant against sudden and spontaneous outbreaks of sorcery. It is tempting, when events and people begin to rearrange themselves in distinct lines and configurations, to mistake such arrangements for expressions of the will of the Goddess manifesting itself. The very fact of these occurrences dictates a need for extreme caution and strict adherence to the guide-lines of our ancient and revered texts. We must never forget that the Divine Light of the Goddess's Path is often accompanied by the false light of distraction and divergence. Demons and false teachings line the true path, ready, always, to ensnare the unwary. Birth! Birth above all else. For in childbirth even the most gullible finds the Divine Light of the Goddess to shine most brightly. With the birth of a child, the young mother finds her way in the world and the division between false mysteries and the True Path becomes as sure and as apparent as the difference between night and day. Choose an appropriate mate, choose procreation, choose the path of the True Mother and all else becomes clear."

* "If there was ever a more concrete example of the sheer willful and contrary nature of daughters when they are allowed to roam the corridors of power, unchecked and unfettered, it is The Eye in the Pyramid. Ostensibly based on an ancient and marginal philosophy, it amounts to little more than disobedience and rebelliousness as political theory. Fortunately the adherents of this cult are easily discovered and rooted out; a wise and organized leader has only to seek out those areas of government where information and decision-making are regularly impeded or neutralized and remove the person responsible. It is less a political movement than it is a haven for misguided pranksters."

* "We believe, without equivocation, in the absolute right of free speech, advocacy of any viewpoint, however deplorable, cannot, in any way be abridged, banned or suppressed. It is only when someone contravenes our laws by committing an act of contravention that we, as a society are justified in the prosecution of that person to the fullest extent of the law. Words are not deeds, and so fall outside of our jurisdiction." - Astoria says it is from page 178 of *The New Matriarchy*.

## References

 1. ↑ *Cerebus No. 20*, page 1
2. ↑ *Cerebus No. 163*, page 3
3. ↑ *Cerebus No. 163*, page 11
4. ↑ *Cerebus No. 163*, page 9
5. ↑ *Cerebus No. 164*, page 7
6. ↑ *Cerebus No. 165*, page 14
7. ↑ *Cerebus No. 166*, page 12
8. ↑ *Cerebus No. 167*, page 13
9. ↑ *Cerebus No. 168*, page 11
10. ↑ *Cerebus No. 170*, page 15
11. ↑ *Cerebus No. 172*, page 12
12. ↑ *Cerebus No. 178*, page 13