Priest/ess

"Of the many founding myths of nation states there was one, in the history of Western literature, that hung around and influenced subsequent eras: Merlin as archetype to mystery, magic and source figure for the rule of heroism. Out of this archetypal weaving to create a patriarchal state, where the familiar story of Arthur and his sword-in-the-stone is known to many still, j/j hastain extracts a timeless Priestess for all human culture. Spelled with the double entendre forward slash / - here then enters Priest/ess"--