Thicker Than Water

Melissa Meyer's Thicker Than Water: The Origins of Blood as a Symbol is a scholarly investigation into blood symbolism in the ancient world. She takes a rather overt feminist stance on the subject, which upon reading the synopsis I did not expect. I found her repetition of menstrual blood throughout the book to be somewhat confining in scope, but it was overall a good base with which to look at more contemporary blood rituals, even in cinema.
Meyer has provided an abundance of primitive examples, and, while limited, I hope to discuss and draw from her overall thesis in future posts.