The Hebrew term for spirit (Ruach) apparently is feminine. However, the greek (Pneuma) is not (it's neutral). In other words, spirit had different genders in the OT and the NT.
So who do you blame for the shift ? The Catholic Church or the Greek language?
Hmmm, I'm not sure about this one, Netti-Netti. I think there may be several factors involved. For starters, if you're not familiar with the Greek pantheon of Gods & Goddesses, and also with the cosmology which informs (and substands) this pantheon, you might take a look at two short sections in this Wikipedia article:
Greek mythology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Notice that in terms of cosmology, as with so many of the ancient religions, a completely transcendent, utterly unknowable and certainly
non-gendered CHAOS first produces a
feminine expression (or Deity) -- Gaia. This is the Virgin Egg of Cosmos, the true
Mother Mary of Immaculate Space (prior even to dimensionality)
, the Egyptian Isis (or Neith) and the Buddhist Hiranyagarbha, with Brahma emerging as Light.
According to Hesiod, Gaia gives birth to
Uranus (the Sky) who then fertilises her
without male assistance ... just as the Egyptian
Nut was understood to give birth, cyclically to all heavenly bodies.
I think it's an interesting study the gradual evolution of Egyptian and Greek mythology, whereby Deities that occupy a sublime and inviting symbology become gradually transformed into the much more anthropomorphic conceptions which were popular later, and which we generally encounter in superficial treatments of these ancient religions.
We might say that the Wisdom which was carefully concealed from the profane has been a bit
too well concealed, almost to the point that people forget to use the imagination to understand what life was like ... thousands of years ago, before the Internet, before planetariums (with modern electronic technology), and even before television or easy access to the public library.
Certainly, in a place like the Library of Alexandria, or if one were so lucky in a Mystery School such as Pythagoras' Krotona or Plato's Academy, one could study the Wisdom Teachings without immediate fear of persecution. But things changed in the centuries to come, as the
Innocents (read
Initiates) were slaughtered or driven underground, to make way for new & different ... ideologies.
The imagination, however, can never be supressed; only
discouraged, and genuine insights challenged when they differ from the
status quo. We may now typically think of Zeus as the
Father of the Gods when it comes to Greek mythology, yet I would suggest this is not much different than picturing a wrathful Jehovah-figure instead of approaching what is
actually presented by the mystical and occult teachings of Judaism and Christianity.
I believe the
ruah of Kabbalistic teachings should indeed be understood as feminine, and any masculine associations that are picked up in translation to the Greek should probably be discarded. Considering that these two words are apparently intended to signify the exact same principle both in Cosmos and in the human being, I'd have to hear a pretty good argument for the shift from a
feminine principle (and Person of the Trinity) to a masculine before I adjusted my ways of thinking.
Esoterically, the Soul is often spoken of as
feminine in relation to our earthly personality (that is, the true Ego or Self in relation to little ego), though in another sense you might say we must be
receptive to impression as we seek the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that relationship could be considered positive/masculine (Soul/Holy Spirit/ruah/pneuma) vs. negative/feminine (personality).
There can be confusion, because while ruah can equate to Holy Spirit, either microcosmically or macrocosmically, the Soul itself is certainly not
gendered as we usually think of the term (just as being
negative or receptive to Inspiration is obviously not a
bad thing ... in a more `pop' connotation of the word
negative). Further, there is a teaching that the Soul serves a higher purpose as a vehicle, or
means of expression (a living, loving and intelligent one) for Spirit, on a higher turn of the spiral, in much the same way that personality is
vehicle to the Soul. This necessarily requires a reorienation for many folks, including consideration that
we might be the incarnation of something greater (Soul) ... instead of the
primary party (ontologically & metaphysically speaking) with soul as some sort of an
appendage.
Somehow, I feel certain that getting women officially accepted as part of the Catholic clergy will eventually contribute to the right understanding of this and a zillion other important and/or interesting spiritual matters ... though granted, the social order on Earth might not snap into perfect bliss & harmony the self-same moment that the Pope issues said proclamation, nor on the inauguration day of the first female, African-American, left-handed Pope or U.S. President.
Ya know? 
lol
Peace ...
andrew
