We bleed and we do not die, we give life. With this magical and visceral force, women recreate themselves month after month. In the alchemical cauldron of the womb, they transform food into bodies, giving life to people and their own creative force. Our blood, for so long forgotten, hidden, ashamed and despised, asks without delay to be seen, honored, experienced. Women are gradually hearing this call, a call from the Earth, from our ancestors, a call to take care of our body-earth. Our blood is fertile land capable of receiving and providing the nutrients necessary to generate new life. Bleeding in cycles connects us with this mysterious force of life-death-life, the ancestral and instinctive feminine force. Little by little we are returning to our home, to find ourselves, in the center of our womb-heart, in a circle and hand in hand with our sisters, we are recovering our feminine powers and knowledge.
Our society views menstruation as an uncomfortable biological event that alters our mood and disposition. The menstrual taboo is one of the oldest and most recurrent in the world. In this scenario, many women feel “unproductive” during this period and see its cyclical nature as a loss and disadvantage for being a woman. We distance ourselves from our cycle and our blood, we feel disgust or shame for menstruating. We receive little information about our menstrual cycle, we only know that women menstruate without fully understanding why, without knowing the power and wisdom of the female cycle.
Every month, thousands of women around the world use dozens of disposable pads containing numerous chemical components that are harmful to health. Some of these products cause an increase in menstrual flow and are carcinogenic. The use of disposable tampons and pads hides our blood and turns it into disposable waste that increases landfills and pollutes the planet with synthetic and polluting products*. More and more doctors argue that menstruation is an unnecessary event and influence many girls and women to take hormones continuously to avoid menstruation, ignoring the side effects on our body when doing so.
*In parallel to this, in this scenario of inequality in which we live, many women and girls who do not have access to menstrual products and during their period end up not going to school or using products that can cause damage to their body and health - such as bread crumbs, toilet paper, etc. - which constitutes menstrual poverty. Therefore, we must guarantee access to basic menstrual hygiene products to all people who menstruate, and better if it is at the same time that we take care of the Earth.
However, Dr. Paula Hillard, an obstetrics and gynecology researcher at the University of Cincinnati Medicine, defended the idea of the menstrual cycle as a fifth vital sign and its importance in assessing the overall health of girls and women. According to her research, the menstrual cycle is a window into a woman's overall health and not just a reproductive event. The menstrual cycle can indicate bone health, heart health, ovarian action, as well as long-term fertility. Therefore, if the menstrual cycle is not healthy, it is a sign that something else is wrong.
Blood is like an oracle that provides precious information about our health. It is very important to connect with its strength, touch it with our hands, smell it, analyze its color, look at it, that part of us that we deny, without disgust, shame or fear. In Chinese Medicine there is an ancient study on what each aspect of blood reveals about our health. When our flow is very intense (almost like a hemorrhage) or very clear and watery, it can indicate a malfunction of the spleen. A very weak flow or absence of menstruation can be related to an imbalance in the kidneys. The complete absence of menstruation can also occur due to anemia or malnutrition. If the color of the blood is very dark or there are many clots and punctures, it can indicate a malfunction of the liver. There are many studies on what our blood indicates, beyond what our own observation can tell us. By analyzing, touching and feeling our blood we can make this observation, becoming researchers of ourselves. When we find our imbalance, we can correct it with proper nutrition, the use of medicinal plants, acupuncture, physical exercise and changing aspects of our life that need to be transformed. Self-observation is very important to maintain our health and well-being.
Recent studies indicate that menstrual blood contains self-renewing stem cells. These cells have many properties and characteristics similar to bone marrow and embryonic stem cells; that is, they multiply rapidly and can differentiate into many other types of stem cells, such as neurons, bones, fats, cartilage, and possibly even others. More research is needed on this subject and we will gradually (re)cognize the healing potential of menstrual blood, its value and power. In India and the United States, the number of blood banks collecting and storing menstrual blood is increasing for future use when more research is done and new integrative medicine may emerge.
Planting the moon, a reconnection ritual
Wise women, grandmothers from different traditions, call for women to stop throwing their blood away. Our sacred blood must not be discarded in this way. The call is for women to return their blood to the earth in a gesture of deep gratitude, respect and love. Menstrual blood is a rich source of nutrients, minerals and hormones and is therefore a powerful natural fertilizer.
This gesture of giving blood back to the earth connects us to nature and the creative source in a magical and profound way. To do this, it is important that you collect your blood with a menstrual collector, using a cloth pad or cup. Collect your living blood, mix it with a little water and use a container (a metal, glass or ceramic jar) especially for this. Go to a special place for you in the middle of nature and create your ritual of giving and gratitude. Nourish your plants, connect with the earth and nature from a place of deep respect and gratitude. Ancestral feminine wisdom tells us that when we connect and heal our relationship with the menstrual cycle, accepting our feminine gift and healing relationships with the women of our lineage, we can heal most health conditions related to the cycle and the uterus/ovaries. In particular, the act of donating blood to the earth offers powerful medicine for feminine healing in a way that medicine cannot explain. They are mysteries of our sacred body.
The word ritual comes from “rtu”, a Sanskrit term meaning menstruation. The earliest rituals were related to women’s menstruation and it was believed that the blood from the uterus possessed mana, magical power.
One of the purposes of the Lunar Mandala is to facilitate the connection of women with the natural cycles that govern all life. In this sense, observing how the Moon affects us is a very important aspect in our journey of connection and self-knowledge. The cyclical rhythm of the Moon is similar to the female menstrual cycle since the lunation lasts approximately the same as our cycle. That is why we call menstruation our internal “moon.”
The Moon and the menstrual cycle
Since time immemorial, our ancestors have tried to find ways to understand and track their menstrual cycles. One of the earliest associations was between the menstrual cycle and the lunar cycle, as their rhythms are similar. The full lunar cycle lasts 29.5 days, while the menstrual cycle lasts, on average, 29 days. The words “menstruation”, “month" and "moon” are related in their etymology: from the Greek mené (moon) and men (lunation), the Latin word mensis is derived from “month.” Some archaeologists claim that the first calendars created by mankind may have been created by people trying to keep track of their menstrual cycles.
The Moon and menstruation have an intimate relationship, which may be a coincidence or a mystery that we are not yet able to understand. Some researchers suggest that in the past, without the interference of artificial lights and living in communities, women menstruated and ovulated together and in synchrony with the Moon, in some regions during the new moon and, in others, during the full moon. These are just hypotheses, but it is nice to imagine that our bodies respond to celestial rhythms.
To learn more about the relationship between your cycle and the Moon, we invite you to investigate and find your own answers. Miranda Gray offers an interpretive hypothesis about menstruating and being fertile during certain lunar phases. For her, we are in the White Moon Cycle when we menstruate at the new moon and are fertile around the full moon. In this cycle, our fertile power and that of the moon coincide, as well as our internalization in the menstrual phase, enhancing these energies. The Red Moon Cycle occurs when we menstruate during the full moon and are fertile around the new moon. Here, creativity and the energy of the menstrual cycle (of remembrance and internalization) are directed outward, while fertility, which tends to be outward, is directed toward internal development and the expression of creative force. When we menstruate during a waxing or waning moon, the interpretation is that we may be experiencing a period of transition in our lives.
Although the menstrual and lunar cycles have similar timings, it is very rare for them to synchronize. While the lunar cycle lasts 29.5 days, the menstrual cycle lasts 24 to 35 days and naturally changes in length throughout our lives.
We can honor our Moons by doing small rituals, such as donating our blood to the earth, painting specific points on our body (to enhance the energies of the chakras), painting a self-portrait (with the intention of healing), or writing positive affirmations with this power paint. We should use menstrual blood with the awareness that wherever it touches, it touches with its immense life-giving power, making any painting or text magical and powerful. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to where or what we paint and write with it.
This text was written by Naíla Andrade for the Lunar Mandala 2018.
Illustrations: Chana de Moura
