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In a previously published paper concerning the symbolism of houses, the writer stated that the ideas respecting death, burial and resurrection are symbolized in ritualistic dramas as coition, gestation and death. The rule could have been stated inversely too. Coition seems to be symbolical of death or intimately connected with it, while burial is equated to gestation. Now if burial symbolizes gestation, then in certain precincts of mind, the womb is a grave. Superstitious attitudes, and ceremonial behaviorism should illustrate such a belief.
If we were to attempt to trace back this idea that the womb is a grave to historical origins, and to a locality, we would have to give consideration to notions held by the ancient Egyptians of 4,000 years ago. They had a word that has been spelled kha-t in English. Kha-t had a number of connotations, such as, for instance: “body, belly, womb, children, issue, house, temple, corpse,” and last but not least “sepulchre.” All these meanings must have been equated in thinking, to some degree, for they all had one vital thing in common, and that was their name of kha-t.
Everywhere in primitive belief we find that a name is a living and sacred thing. It is equated to the soul of a man; and to lose the name is to lose one's very life. Seemingly, then, if kha-t is the common designation of body, womb, house and sepulchre, these four are all in some measure identities; and they will be taken as symbols of each other.
The analogy of the womb and the grave is made clear when one gives consideration to ideas that attach to the activities of sowing fields or gardens with seed. Commonly the uterus is viewed as a field, a garden, or even as a furrow of the garden. The dead stalks of last year's grain are plowed under and thereby buried; but another crop may be expected to come forth from that garden as the result of the sowing of new seed. The Greeks spoke of the new barley crop as Semele, the daughter of Demeter, who figures both as the old barle