I'm curious about it. Industry pushes advertisement and women feel pressure not to shave. I'm wondering is it natural to shave them? Does pubic hair carry hidden messages, symbolic?
I was searching and found this article: 8 Myths About Pubic Hair People Actually Believed
Myth #1: Pubic hair can turn into serpents and wicked monsters when a woman is menstruating.
Myth #2: The hairier the woman, the more likely she is to bear twins.
Myth #3: It will keep you faithful — if it's kept in a bottle above your door.
Myth #4: The hairier a woman, the more lecherous she makes men.
Myth #5: The more pubic hair, the more modest the woman.
Myth #6: It can be used as a love potion.
Myth #7: It's where the Devil conceals his mark.
If you've ever studied the Salem Witch Trials, you'll know that witches, during the massive hysterical witch hunts in early modern Europe and America, were supposed to be the Devil's servants, and that the Devil left a "mark" on them to show it. Said marks could, conveniently, be anything from moles to boils — but the doctrine of the time said that they'd probably be under the pubic hair. Because it was so lascivious and sexy, you see. So a lot of "witches" endured unwanted shavings on top of everything else.
Myth #8: Pubic hair is just a manifestation of women's inner dankness.
I remember that HPS Maxine said some were born with a mark but did't say where it was.
As to myth 7, going further:
In witch trials it was common practice to shave the head and whole body of witches in order to obtain confessions.
This practice continued throughout the witch hunts of 17th century Europe and America (think Salem witch trials), where there was the popular belief that, witches, being the servants of the Devil, always carried a Devil’s mark; be it a mole, boil, birthmark, tiny freckle, etc. And where is the most risque (and therefore likely) spot for such branding? The pubic hair of course. Although this was clearly an attempt to punish women for having distinguishing features it unfortunately did not stop many witches from having their pubic hair shaven, not only as an act of disempowerment but also to discover hidden “marks of the devil”.
As to myth 6, pubic hair used as a love potion:
Clearly in awe of the nether regions of these wild women, this fascination with witchery and pubic hair continues to be referenced in many texts throughout the Medieval period. Besides the ability to grow hair, many people thought pubic hair itself contained magic. De Secretis Mulerium, translated as Women’s Secret, is an important book from the Middle Ages that was created to inform men about the “ways of women”. The guide contains more than a few references to women’s body hair and perverse witchery. One of the most interesting being the tantalizing recipe that claims by taking the pubic hair from a menstruating woman, burying it in fertile earth and heating it up a bit, one can produce a serpent. Steer clear. Or don’t.
Pubic hair was also a common ingredient in Medieval potions, according to a variety of texts. Mixing together honey, mead, mandrake root, rose petals, and pubic hair could produce a potent charm that would cause the eater to fall in love with the owner of the recently digested hairs. Across the world, in all types of magic, including voodoo and hoodoo, witches used pubic hair as an especially robust ingredient for spells.
Whenever she was in the presence of her husband, the newlywed Laura Coccapani was plagued by extraordinary woes, which witnesses attributed to demons. Conventional wisdom held that certain spells could cause people to be repulsed by their spouses, and many believed Valerio Trionfanti, a Franciscan with whom Coccapani once had a lengthy but unconsummated affair, had cast a spell. Launching an investigation in November 1628, the Inquisition of Modena arrested Trionfanti and found that he possessed several items, including some of the victims pubic hairs, which were widely believed to be powerful instruments in magical spells. Trionfanti acknowledged the affair but emphatically denied having cast a spell, and the skeptical Congregation of the Inquisition in Rome acquitted him in February 1629. This case reflects the strong popular belief in love magic, its close resemblance to maleficia, and the Holy Offices efforts to discredit its alleged efficacy.
8 Myths About Pubic Hair People Actually Believed
https://www.bustle.com/articles/67990-8-bizarre-myths-about-pubic-hair-people-actually-believed
Sorry I'm a Mammal - Witchcraft and Body Hair: A Long History of Interconnectedness
http://www.gotagirlcrush.com/archive/2018/3/29/sorry-im-a-mammal-witchcraft-and-body-hair-a-long-history-of-interconnectedness
Love Magic and the Inquisition: A Case from Seventeenth-Century Italy
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40997345
I was searching and found this article: 8 Myths About Pubic Hair People Actually Believed
Myth #1: Pubic hair can turn into serpents and wicked monsters when a woman is menstruating.
Myth #2: The hairier the woman, the more likely she is to bear twins.
Myth #3: It will keep you faithful — if it's kept in a bottle above your door.
Myth #4: The hairier a woman, the more lecherous she makes men.
Myth #5: The more pubic hair, the more modest the woman.
Myth #6: It can be used as a love potion.
Myth #7: It's where the Devil conceals his mark.
If you've ever studied the Salem Witch Trials, you'll know that witches, during the massive hysterical witch hunts in early modern Europe and America, were supposed to be the Devil's servants, and that the Devil left a "mark" on them to show it. Said marks could, conveniently, be anything from moles to boils — but the doctrine of the time said that they'd probably be under the pubic hair. Because it was so lascivious and sexy, you see. So a lot of "witches" endured unwanted shavings on top of everything else.
Myth #8: Pubic hair is just a manifestation of women's inner dankness.
I remember that HPS Maxine said some were born with a mark but did't say where it was.
As to myth 7, going further:
In witch trials it was common practice to shave the head and whole body of witches in order to obtain confessions.
This practice continued throughout the witch hunts of 17th century Europe and America (think Salem witch trials), where there was the popular belief that, witches, being the servants of the Devil, always carried a Devil’s mark; be it a mole, boil, birthmark, tiny freckle, etc. And where is the most risque (and therefore likely) spot for such branding? The pubic hair of course. Although this was clearly an attempt to punish women for having distinguishing features it unfortunately did not stop many witches from having their pubic hair shaven, not only as an act of disempowerment but also to discover hidden “marks of the devil”.
As to myth 6, pubic hair used as a love potion:
Clearly in awe of the nether regions of these wild women, this fascination with witchery and pubic hair continues to be referenced in many texts throughout the Medieval period. Besides the ability to grow hair, many people thought pubic hair itself contained magic. De Secretis Mulerium, translated as Women’s Secret, is an important book from the Middle Ages that was created to inform men about the “ways of women”. The guide contains more than a few references to women’s body hair and perverse witchery. One of the most interesting being the tantalizing recipe that claims by taking the pubic hair from a menstruating woman, burying it in fertile earth and heating it up a bit, one can produce a serpent. Steer clear. Or don’t.
Pubic hair was also a common ingredient in Medieval potions, according to a variety of texts. Mixing together honey, mead, mandrake root, rose petals, and pubic hair could produce a potent charm that would cause the eater to fall in love with the owner of the recently digested hairs. Across the world, in all types of magic, including voodoo and hoodoo, witches used pubic hair as an especially robust ingredient for spells.
Whenever she was in the presence of her husband, the newlywed Laura Coccapani was plagued by extraordinary woes, which witnesses attributed to demons. Conventional wisdom held that certain spells could cause people to be repulsed by their spouses, and many believed Valerio Trionfanti, a Franciscan with whom Coccapani once had a lengthy but unconsummated affair, had cast a spell. Launching an investigation in November 1628, the Inquisition of Modena arrested Trionfanti and found that he possessed several items, including some of the victims pubic hairs, which were widely believed to be powerful instruments in magical spells. Trionfanti acknowledged the affair but emphatically denied having cast a spell, and the skeptical Congregation of the Inquisition in Rome acquitted him in February 1629. This case reflects the strong popular belief in love magic, its close resemblance to maleficia, and the Holy Offices efforts to discredit its alleged efficacy.
8 Myths About Pubic Hair People Actually Believed
https://www.bustle.com/articles/67990-8-bizarre-myths-about-pubic-hair-people-actually-believed
Sorry I'm a Mammal - Witchcraft and Body Hair: A Long History of Interconnectedness
http://www.gotagirlcrush.com/archive/2018/3/29/sorry-im-a-mammal-witchcraft-and-body-hair-a-long-history-of-interconnectedness
Love Magic and the Inquisition: A Case from Seventeenth-Century Italy
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40997345
