The stage was set for the new world order where women were oppressed and the balance was shifted from the ``chalice to the blade'' 1. It was argued by St. Augustine that women had no souls. This view was eventually settled when British bishops (still under heavy influence of their Celtic backgrounds) successfully argued against it. Although it was not written into official church doctrine, this view was held by many local church officials for centuries.
The indigenous religions held women up to a much higher regard than Christianity. They believed that religion was about creation, rather than salvation[1, p. 20 - 23 ]. As such, they worshipped all that was able to foster the creation of living things: Mother Earth. Women possessed the power of creation: childbirth. Hence, plainly there is no mystery there where the link arose between the two.
There were also other characteristics of women that mirrored earth. Women were on cycles of the moon; now-a-days referred to as the menstruation cycle. Even as the woman was pregnant, the growth of the womb reflected the varying stages of the waxing moon. The institutionalisation of Christianity changed all of these beliefs, thrusting human civilisation into a male-centred world, with its eventual desecration of Earth's resources.