Remembering the Moon Lodge

Image: Source

 by Jasmin Starrchild at Moon Woman Rising

Women of Moon Time were seen as holy vessels, sensitive to the subtleties around them, intuitive and in their power. Our purity was highly revered and protected. It was well known that such a woman was ripe and fertile. Her moon blood was a sign of her ability to create life.

Recently I was reminded just how badly some women have it each month as I approached a stoplight at the same moment as two women. One was severely relying on the other for balance and support. She could hardly walk and the whole situation had the appearance of a medical emergency. Making sure everything was alright, I found out that the woman in need of assistance was actually completely overwhelmed by her period and had to find her way home from work so that she could relax and deal with her pain.

This was an obvious reminder that we are already working hard enough when our bodies are menstruating. Not long ago women used to honour their monthly flow as a sacred time for ceremony. We lived in smaller communities and it was easier to be together and support each other during this period of time. It was normal, before artificial light, for women to be synchronized with the ebb and flow of the Moon's cycles. Most often we would all get our period during the Dark Moon.

Rights of passage or festive celebrations were common traditions marking a young girl's first blood. This was a wonderful way for families to bond and made it easy for the necessary teachings to be passed down. Mothers taught daughters peaceful and easy ways to embrace Moon Time. As a result this was a time in life that girls looked forward to as they entered womanhood and had that common bond.

The Moonlodge was formed to create a safe and sacred space for women of all ages to gather and release in a healthy way. The entire period was spent inside the lodge. As women reached their full power it was essential for them to be well protected, guided and nurtured, so Grandmothers and those who were still nursing would prepare meals and care for the occupants from outside of the lodge, creating healthy boundaries within the community. The Moonlodge became a safe haven for women and offered men time to themselves as their partners went through her process.

Women of Moon Time were seen as holy vessels, sensitive to the subtleties around them, intuitive and in their power. Our purity was highly revered and protected. It was well known that such a woman was ripe and fertile. Her moon blood was a sign of her ability to create life. Any man was proud to know a woman who sought time in the Moonlodge caring for herself and learning the good ways of woman ‘s medicine.

Inside the lodge long skirts were worn. The skirt is a symbol of the Medicine Wheel that surrounds us as we stand humbly in the centre. The skirt was also worn for ease and grace so that she could flow directly into the Earth by piling moss (or cedar or hay depending on the location) comfortably beneath her. These women were never judged and were welcome to go through their process however they chose.

The wise women would offer extra energy to those in need by leading songs, or telling truths. She who understood herself well could nurture others or offer peace and silence by simply witnessing another. This was also a powerful time for women to journey with the drum and rattles, bringing back visions for herself and her community. It was a time of prayer (and still can be). We would commonly use this time to craft and complete projects we had begun. All the while the main focus was always on releasing our natural flow in order to make way for what was to come. We were always grateful for the ability to let go and knew well the healing that was available to us if we focused with intention.

I believe we still can be grateful. Women, we can once again empower ourselves by reclaiming our Moon Time in a way that feels good. Wouldn't you rather curl up and read a book instead of plugging up your body with a bleach soaked tampon and dragging yourself to "work"? If we are the ones who chose to go to work, then we can also choose how we work. All of the men I have spoken with totally support us leaving for a few days each month to go through our process. In fact most men wish there was more they could do for us during our cycle, but it is up to us to take care of ourselves. We need to stop pretending that we don't all go through this each month, and remember what it is to bleed in a good way.

A large portion of what some term "P.M.S." (Pre Menstrual Syndrome) is actually circumstantial. Ask yourself if you were in the exact place you wanted to be during your period, would things seem as "bad"?

Here are some suggestions for anyone who may be looking for ways to connect with their cycle...

** I recommend stepping outside the moment you begin to flow. It is best to do so with bare feet right onto the Earth. Find your way of letting the Goddess know that it is your special time to release and recharge. Also during this week spend as much time as you can in nature or in soothing natural settings.

** Say thank you! It is a valuable practice to be grateful for our Moon Time and our ability to create life.

** Make arrangements with the women you work with so that all schedules are flexible. This way it is possible to have someone else work for you when you begin your period. Search for ways to make things easier during this time.

** Set up a sacred space or altar. Here you can place special items that represent your womanhood and those things that symbolize what you want to focus on each month. This is my favourite way of honouring my cycle.

** Try using natural pads or the moon cup. (I highly recommend these methods...no more tampons sisters, let yourself flow!) Keep in mind the importance of our connection to the Earth. Remember our ancestors who sat for days feeding the health of what once was a luscious garden and offer your blood back to the Earth.

** Change your bed sheets to red ones. Lay out red towels, and set red candles on your altar. Put on your lovely or comfy red undies or wear red clothing and jewelry. Let it be obvious that you are in your power. Make each month a special opportunity for you to focus on yourself. Let this be a time you look forward to.

** Some women may enjoy gathering together with other women who are in the same flow. Take time to honour yourself and care for each other.

** Get out that journal. What better time is there to write out your feelings?

** Remember that when you are bleeding it is important to work less. Your body is trying hard to focus on another type of work altogether. Slow down. Recognize that it is ok to ebb and flow like the moon. Let someone make you dinner, read a book instead of going to your aerobics class, and say no if someone asks you to do something that you don't want to do. This is your time. Claim it and make it what you can.

So ladies, we all bleed! Now let's get over the taboo and find a way to come together. After all this is the one thing we all have in common. See you in the MOON LODGE … I'll bring the chocolate.

Sacred Moon Cycle- Week Four

Week Four (day 22-28):Distillation and Clarity Phase.
Winter energy. 

Lessons from this cycle are available to be seen and felt.
Either glad of the where you're at with your life or fed up (again).
Feeling ready to let go and surrender or feeling frustrated and annoyed.
Less interested in everyone else, less available emotionally to others.
Inwardly focused. 

"Don't ask me to do anything, leave me alone"
"I get it now, I'm letting go of this and not taking into my next cycle."

And of course this all goes for the corresponding moon phases and the seasons as well.
Understanding the way of cycles brings with it an awareness of the flow of energy, the wisdom in that flow and the opportunity to be in synchrony with that flow.

I believe, honouring her fertility cycle is a woman's responsibility.
It is in fact one way she can participate, in helping to correct the imbalances that have been created through not honouring the feminine. An issue that we must address so that we can live harmoniously on our planet. Through honouring your menstrual cycle, you help heal the "wounded feminine" the symptoms of which ravage the Earth and most of her people. By honouring her cycle a woman honours the feminine, the dark, the juicy, the mysterious, the feminine power of creativity, sexuality and our Mother Earth.

Week Four 

Be ready for your approaching bloodtime, adjust your plans around it.
Cook in preparation for your retreat time.
Make a pot of hearty soup that you can easily feed yourself and everyone else from during your bleeding time. 

Slow down.
Start to imagine how you want your next cycle to go.

"The whole menstrual cycle is an alchemical process in itself, during which every woman who bleeds goes through a transformation inside herself. To menstruate means to live through a cyclical transmutation in which the past is shed and the new in embraced. Experiencing this transformation through conscious ritual awakens us to our connection with the cycles taking place all around us and to our relationship with all life." Lara Owen - "Her Blood is Gold"

Sacred Moon Cycle-Week Two

Week Two (day 8-14): High Energy Creative Phase. 

Summer energy 
Increasing physical, sexual and creative energy building to a peak at ovulation. 
Urgent creative feelings. 
Heightened awareness of self and others. 
More interested in physical appearance. 
"I feel happy, excited, full of energy", "I can do anything!"

Week Two Honoring

Use your creative energy, make something (make your own pads). 
Express your sexuality, beautify yourself, be indulgent. 
Celebrate the energy of your ovulation (just like you would the full moon). 
Dedicate your egg to something you wish to give the creative life force to.

Sacred Moon Cycle-Week One

Image: source

In traditional cultures that honor woman and her moon cycle the time of menstruation is one that is inwardly focused, quiet. For the first time I honored the three days rest! NO laundry, NO cooking, NO yoga, NO cleaning. It was a drastic change for me but was much more attuned to what my mind and body needed. I am a child of the eighties and the tampon commercials with woman in bikinis playing volleyball and playing tennis in white tennis skirts are burned into my Psyche of what woman are suppose to do during their cycle. Play hard and ignore the fact that you feel like shit. Well, that's exactly what I did. Hiding my pain and suffering through my feminine obligation was my attitude. Honoring wasn't even near my radar. I have been disconnected to this honoring for two decades and found myself in pain and dis-ease. There is a bit more to the story but for information sake, finding these traditions and honoring my body and its feminine cycle was a huge change. It also had a positive impact on my partner because  when I retreated he could honor his feminine energy to keep an even balance with his masculine energy while he tended to the things that keep our home in functioning order.

With the full moon now in midweek, those who cycle with the full moon would be in week one. Here is the information for the honoring of this week. (letting go was big for me this phase)

   Week One (day 1 - first day of bleeding - day 7): Death Rebirth Phase 

On retreat or wishing you were or creating situations in your life so people will leave you alone (for example fights). 

Life review. 

Visions of how it might be this new cycle.

Letting go of ways or beliefs and attitudes that no longer serve - both metaphorically with your prayers and intentions and literally with your blood.

Spring energy, building as your blood stops flowing.
A time for metaphorically planting seeds for the new cycle.

During bleeding: "I feel quiet, inward", "I don't want to be disturbed".
After bleeding: "I feel soft, a bit vulnerable", "I feel as if I'm peeking back out at the world ", "Here I come again".

Ways to honour the menstrual cycle 
The flow of the energy through the cycle gives us the clues for how to honour it. It's a good idea to let the people you live with know if you are going to change the way you do things at your bleeding time. Their support will be important to the success of you implementing these life changes. 

Week one 
Retreat from the busyness of the world, even just for an evening.
Have a relaxing bath by candle light with essential oils. Try geranium and rose.
Create your moonlodge or red tent, this is as much a state of mind as a physical space.
Wear particular clothes or jewellery when bleeding, red stones or appropriate crystals. This can also serve the purpose of notifying the people you live with that you're bleeding.

Suggestions from Cassarne, my crystal advisor:
Two crystals resonate with the bleeding time and the choice can be made depending on which the wearer is more drawn to.
Carnelian: this relates specific to the sacral chakra and our creative centre, it brings balance to the female sacred organs and empowers the feminine in its process.
Moonstone: provides a balancing healing energy, especially of the emotions which may be in a vulnerable and fragile space. It assists in the balance and awareness of our hormones in their "dance" through our cycle. It is also a lovely stone to wear when its one's bloodtime as it reminds us of our connection with the moon and all her & our rhythms. Moonstone reassures us when we are in retreat at this time.
Garnet could also be worn purely because of its deep blood red hue and its resonance to our physical experience at this time. Plus it keeps one grounded and strengthens the healing energy of the Earth with our heart.

Experiment with dreaming by asking particular questions of your dreams.
Invoke a particular Goddess archetype to be with you during your bloodtime, perhaps Maeve or Kali.
Draw or paint.
Meditate - with or without questions and perhaps focussed on what it is you will let go of with your blood this cycle.
Do gentle exercise such as walking in nature and consciously connecting with it.
Feed yourself well.
Use special linen at bloodtime, like red coloured!
Use red towels.
Be kind to yourself - go with your flow!

The bleeding phase of the cycle is as if a monthly enactment of a vision quest. On day 3 of your cycle, just like in a vision quest, do a meditation and ask for a vision. You will be gifted with a vision to inspire and fuel you for your next cycle, write about it, draw it and refer back to it. 

Once you've stopped bleeding, when you are ready, gently reintroduce yourself back into the world.

Information from Spiritual Menstration.