When you were a little girl, there was no wise old woman who taught you about the secrets of your womb. It probably remained a mystery until your moon cycles began and you started to bleed. And maybe once you started to bleed, you resented it, and the people around you did, too. Because our society perceives menstruation as a curse.
But menstruation is an initiation into being a woman. If that experience didn’t occur to you as an initiation, your sexual center, also the center of your creativity, might be vacant. Does your cycle cry out to you in pain when it arrives? What is it telling you?
There are many ways we learn to ignore nature’s cycles and our circadian rhythms, the seasons, life and death, and menstrual cycles.
One way I learned to hide and shame my menstrual cycle as an adolescent was that I deeply feared bleeding through my pants in public.
I learned to go to school or work, pop Advil like candy, and work right through my cycle as if it were nothing. I also learned to exercise right through my cycle. Now I notice how so many tampon and pad companies encourage women to do these things, when actually menstruation is a time for deep rest.
Now ignoring my body’s cycles is not an option for me.
Symbolism of menstruation: A woman’s moon time is high ceremony.
It is a time to honor the miracles of life and death of waxing, waning, change, and the potential for new life.
We’re shedding the uterine lining that makes the uterus a cushy place for new life to grow, only to begin creating the lining again.
This time is sacred and the height of intuition as messages from the unseen worlds come through.
In ancient times, the blood of a menstruating woman was considered sacred in many cultures.
It was believed to be blood shed as a sacrifice for the people and it was believed to create more fertile soil for an abundant harvest.
When women deny themselves the time to rest, rejuvenate, and receive the messages that come through during the menstrual phase of their cycle, it can show up in other areas of her life.
For example, I realized that I was making myself physically ill by disowning my needs rest and as a result disowning my feminine nature.
I was over-extending myself in my romantic relationship, my friendships, at work, and generally not honoring myself or believing that I or my needs mattered.
Access your feminine wisdom through your cycle
Your menstrual cycle and your womb are the doors to your feminine wisdom. This is one of the keys to your sexuality, your self respect, your desire in life. In fact, if you are to fulfill your reason for being born, it’s essential to listen to your body’s intuition and embrace your feminine essence through your relationship with your womb.
Here are some ways that I love to honor my cycle:
- I track my cycle and mark when each cycle is so that I can anticipate when it is coming, and to acknowledge, celebrate, and honor this time.
- I make sure I have what I need—diva cup, chocolate, and Healthy cycle tea.
- When I know it is coming, I start to go to sleep earlier and rest more. I take the escalator at the bus station instead of the stairs, sit whenever I get a chance, I don’t plan travel for that time of the month, and ease up on rigorous exercise. When I worked at an office, I would bring heating pad to work, and drink Healthy Cycle red raspberry leaf tea. I take my Cal-Mag vitamins. I don’t make plans after work—I go home and read or relax.
- A few days before moon time begins, I do a yoni steam with lavender, rose petals, red raspberry leaf, and chamomile.
As women embrace the sacredness of our blood; our emotions; our needs and longings; and our inherent value, we give others permission to do the same.
This cultural and spiritual shift that calls forth the courageous ones who are willing to co-create a new paradigm for women and for the world.
