‘Moontime’ is a term for menstruation that references the similarity of women’s monthly cycle to the moon’s cycles. Throughout all cultures, the magic of creation resides in the menstrual blood women gave forth in apparent harmony with the moon, which sometimes stayed inside to create a baby. This blood was regarded with reverence: it had mysterious magical powers, was inexplicably shed without pain, and was wholly foreign to male experience. Some moontime customs and traditions:
- Indians of South America said all humans were made of moon blood initially.
- In Hindu theory, solid matter coalesced into a clot with a crust as the Great Mother created the earth. Women use this same method to produce new life.
- Egyptian pharaohs became divine by ingesting the blood of Isis, called sa. Its hieroglyphic sign was the same as the sign of the vulva, a yonic loop like the one on the ankh.
- From the 8th to the 11th centuries, Christian churches refused communion to menstruating women.
- In ancient societies, menstrual blood carried authority, transmitting the lineage of the clan or tribe.
- Among the Ashanti, girl children are more prized than boys because a girl carries the blood.
- Chinese sages called menstrual blood the essence of Mother Earth, the yin principle giving life to everything.
- Easter eggs, classic womb symbols, were dyed red and laid on graves to strengthen the dead.
- A born-again ceremony from Australia showed the Aborigines linked rebirth with the blood of the womb.
- Post-menopausal women were often the wisest because they retained their “wise blood.” In the 17th century, these old women were constantly persecuted for witchcraft because their menstrual blood remained in their veins.
Three Rituals for Your Moontime
Create a bath ritual: Prepare the bath with candles, music, bath salts, essential oils or herbal infusions, crystals and a glass of water, cup of tea or red clover herbal infusion to drink from a crystal glass or favourite cup:
- Allow anything that pisses you off to spin through your head and out into infinity.
- Express your gratitude for all that has passed in the recent month.
- Choose one thing you can change in the coming month. Create a simple goal in connection to the change.
- Envision a project or artistic creations for the new month.
Just relax and enjoy the water until you’re ready to get out.
From 105 Ways To Celebrate Menstruation by Kami McBride
Create a special tea blend that you drink during menstruation – read an inspirational book on women – make a menstrual journal by covering a notebook with fabric or pasting pictures on it that you like and use it to record your menstrual intuitions, inspirations and dreams – wear red lipstick – paint your nails red – henna your hair – wear red underwear – light red candles – take time to write in your journal and make a list of the things that were nourishing and made you happy in the past month – lay in bed all afternoon just sleeping and dreaming – wear rubies, garnet or moonstone – schedule an appointment for a massage or other healing therapy at the end of your moontime – splash your body with rosewater – create a pleasing herbal blend to bathe in at the end of your cycle. Do this to signify your re-emergence in the world.
Native American (Lakota)
Begin with the Grandmother Moon at her brightest and most open. This is a time of outward activity and high energy. Sleep where the moonlight touches you. Walk outside where there are no artificial lights. Feel joy and creativity. As the Grandmother begins to cover her face, she withdraws into a quieter, less social place. Move to that inward place that is more about being than doing. When bleeding, the veil between you and the Great Mystery is the thinnest in the dark of the moon. Be receptive to visions, insights, and intuitions. Go to a quiet, separate place such as a Moon Lodge. Later, she emerges from the dark, a woman with a cleansed body. Return to the world as the moon returns, carrying your vision.