There is so much magic in your moon cycle.
This 28 day process offers us a window into the wisdom and messages of our body and is a powerful platform for spiritual growth and self discovery.
Your womb is our creative portal to the divine. It is so incredible in the way it creates new life and is a place of utmost potential and the power of our natural cycles have been cast aside for too long. My dear Goddess, now is the time to honour your Moon time once again. When we bring awareness to your time of bleeding get ready for a wild new world to open up for you.
For years of patriarchy, the sacred-ness and magic of the Moon time was suppressed, specifically due to the power and alchemy of the process. What once was celebrated in ceremony was pushed aside. In the ancient temple times of Inanna and her priestesses, Moon blood was so auspicious that the women would allow the elixir to run free and stain their robes and it would be a gift to be in the presence of a powerful bleeding woman.
In the times of the red tent, the women would come together to sit for their Moon time, sharing stories and ancient wisdom and offering their blood back to the earth. This was by no means a banishing into seclusion due to being unclean (and being forbidden to to cook for the men), but it was a relief from the usual female duties as the Moon time was viewed as an important time for alchemy and rest. The women were able to be quiet with themselves, supported in sisterhood, listening to the super charged wisdom of their intuition and dreams as it is also said that during our Moon time our connection to other realms is much stronger (same goes for pregnancy).
But like many of the ancient way this too was soon forgotten as the patriarchy took hold and we were taught to believe that our menses was unclean or a hassle. Our female rites of passage became less ceremonial and more, “have a tampon and get on with it” plus the awkward and uncomfortable process of mood swings and abdominal pain.
I remember when I got my first period. I was 13 and at a Christmas concert dance rehearsal and I got the fright of my life as I was worried the blood would show through my leotard. No disrespect to my Mama but I don’t remember any rite of passage ceremony other than a loving hug and a welcoming word to guide me into woman hood. But due to my conditioning c/o society, this was not an exciting event. It was stressful using tampons (OMG - the first time I had to take one out - holy sh%t), I was never that regular (from memory) and certainly not connected to the moon as far as I know (although I wish I’d kept a diary) and then when I went on the pill at the same time as having my first serious boyfriend the temptation to skip my moon was huge. How awesome I thought - I can just make it go away! YES!
If I had been able to grasp the sacredness of what my body was offering to me it may have been a different story… and perhaps this could have been a portal for increased body awareness and self love rather than the usual self loathing I felt. This is why I feel so passionate about becoming a guide for our young women of the world in offering them a beautiful rite of passage into woman hood. I will start hosting First Moon Ceremonies to welcome young women into this special phase very soon.
The cycle of our moon goes a little like this …
You will notice that many women have their moon time around the New or Full Moon. Before electricity and artificial light and we had to live more by the moon women would tend to ovulate on the Full Moon when the energy is high and creative and bleed on the dark moon (during the inward gazing energy). There is a physiology behind this too as the pineal gland in our brain sends messages to our ovaries via hormones, to release an egg based on the amount of light our brain senses in the night when we are asleep. At the point of most light in the night, the full moon, we are programmed to ovulate. Our modern life (and not to mention birth control) has interrupted this natural process, however you will see more primitive women or women who live in the country still more connected to the natural rhythms…
Never fear if you are very disconnected and have no idea of the phases of the moon, you too can reconnect simply by beginning to acknowledge the phases of the moon and noticing where you sit in its cycles. Read my article on Living by the Moon here.
In my personal experience when I have been diving into more priestess and dakini work I have bled on the Full Moon and when I have focussed more on becoming a mother my moon has switched to the New… and sometimes I’m out of synch and that is OK too. Please no judgement on your body EVER!
Our body mirrors the changes in the feminine Moon. She grows full, ripe, energised and extroverted, filed with wildness… and then she goes in, becomes quiet, contemplative and reflecting on herself. I highly recommend keeping a moon time journal of how you are feeling in your cycle and opening yourself even more as a channel for the wisdom of your intuition / Spirit.
Our Moon Cycle:
Week 1 (Day 1 - 7) - Moon time // Maiden energy:
We become more quiet and introspective, meditating and watching our dreams and accessing the deeper psychic abilities are are available to us. A time of clearing and shedding and great potency. As our blood stops flowing we move into Spring energy and begin to plant the seeds of visioning for this next cycle. It’s like we fully retreat within whilst bleeding and on the other side we peak out ad get ready to launch reborn into the world.
Week 2 (day 8 - 14) - High energy & creativity phase // Mother energy:
This is Summer energy and it builds to a peak at ovulation. We are renewed and getting ready to create new projects and new life. We are often more interested in or physical appearance and perhaps feel we can d anything!
Week 3 (day 15 - 21) - Coming Down and the Harvest Phase // Maga energy:
This is Autumn energy post ovulation - perhaps bringing triumph at becoming pregnant or sadness at not (or indifference if this is not your current plan). This is often a time of re-evaulation and yearning for change… preparing what you are getting ready to let of of in the next phase.
Week 4 (Day 22 - 28) - Distillation and Clarity // Crone energy:
This is Winter energy and the time of reflection on the lessons of the cycle becoming more inwardly focussed in preparation for moon time.
This natural process unites us in sisterhood across the globe and I love to think that in any given moment that many of us are having the same experience. The moons, the tiredness the bleeding and the pain. My own experience of pregnancy has created an even stronger bond of sisterhood as I feel so comforted knowing that I am not alone in my process.
If you feel any distress around you cycle I suggest you get quiet and ask your body wisdom to give you a message on what it needs to reveal to you. Much suffering comes from being disconnected from our body and ignoring it’s wisdom which is there to point out imbalances, physical and emotional needs. Heavy moon time symptoms are often wake up calls to show us that we have too many toxins in our lives (physical and emotional), excess stress and perhaps we have not been honouring ourselves in the way that we need.
I feel you will find the more you take the time to tune in and honour these natural phases your body will respond so well. Like Spirit, our body is waiting for us to get quiet enough to get a word in edgeways so the more you listen, the easier things will become.
So I invite you dear Goddess to come on this wild and wonderful journey of conscious menstruation. I promise you will never look back. It is like peeling the layers of an infinite onion skin… so much magic lies beneath the surface of our being.
For some beautiful rituals for your Moon Cycle please read on here.
I also have an article on Moon Blood Mysteries coming very soon.
Love xx
Image credit - Chanel Baran