When you experience a catharsis, you feel cleansed by the experience of strong emotion. The word literally refers to the idea of purification, as it comes from the Greek root “Katharos”, which means “clean” in every sense of the world. The word “katharos” is actually the same root for the name “Catherine”, which actually means “the pure one”. But breath easy, Catherines of the world, because you’re not the weirdest people to receive a name that comes from that root. That title would have to go to the “Cathars”, who believed that the word itself was an inherently evil illusion created by the devil to prevent our souls from achieving the enlightened world of God. This world was so sinful, in fact, that it was considered a sin to bring a new life into it. Thus, while the Cathars frowned on all types of “worldly” activities, the ultimately taboo in their communities was vaginal intercourse – because it could bring a new child into the world. Anal intercourse was seen as a much more responsible way to slake sexual desire.
– A few thoughts from your fiend Saxo