Moontime rituals are one of my most treasured ways of connecting to my womb while menstruating.
So much so, that I often find myself looking forward to my next bleed.
A moontime ritual is an action or practice carried out with mindful intention, specifically around the time of your bleed. It’s something that you return to each month that helps create a sacred bond between your body, womb and bleed.
Creating a Moontime ritual is a unique way to:
- honor your cyclical nature,
- slow down and listen to your needs,
- hold reverence for your body’s inner-workings,
- connect to your womb’s wisdom.
“The word ritual comes from rtu, sanskrit for menses. The earliest rituals were connected to the woman(x)’s monthly bleeding. The blood from the womb that nourished the unborn child was believed to have mana, magical power. Women(x)’s periodic bleeding. was a cosmic event, like the cycles of the moon and the waxing and waning of the tides. We have forgotten that women(x) were the conduit to the sacred mystery of life and death.” Elinor Gadon
Why create a ritual around menstruation?
There are likely many reasons why someone may want to create ritual around their bleed, and all are welcome. Below, I share three of my key reasons:
Monthly rite of passage
Moontime rituals can be seen as a monthly rite of passage = honoring the cycle of death and gentle rebirth. Pausing to drop into ritual is an opportunity to offer deep gratitude to your body for all it does during this profound time.
Shattering the stigma
While we’ve come a long way when it comes to normalizing menstruation, a lot of cultural and societal taboos still exist. As menstruating humans, we ’ve been taught to feel shame, embarrassment and even disdain for our cyclical bodies.
By holding intentional space for your bleed, specifically with a sacred Moontime ritual - you can begin to peel back conditioned beliefs/stories and invite in more love and acceptance towards your womb and bleed.
Connection and ease
As you begin to establish a monthly Moontime ritual, an unquestionable connection is cultivated. This connection brings you closer to the wisdom that your body holds, allowing for a deeper sense of acceptance, appreciation and reverence for what your womb does each day and each cycle phase.
This creates a softening around, what for some, may have been a time of contraction. Softening and relaxing during our bleed helps to reduce feelings of stress or apprehension, leading to less pain and more ease.
Here are 3 Moontime rituals to help you get started:
WELCOME YOUR BLEED
If this is your first time connecting to a Moontime ritual - this is a great place to start. The ritual of Welcoming your bleed is a simple yet profound one.
The words we use when we bleed matters.
The way we respond when we bleed matters.
Every cell in our body receives that information.
Welcoming your bleed invites you to acknowledge your bleed when it arrives by creating a special ritual for it and to quite literally welcome it.
I had a client who would get frustrated regardless of when she got her period; whether it was early, on time, or a few days late - she immediately felt annoyed and frustrated. Once she began this Moontime ritual, her frustration turned into gratitude. Her relationship with her bleed changed and she felt a deeper appreciation for her body.
Here are some ways to Welcome your bleed:
Light a candle
Burn incense or sage
Say a short prayer, meditate or say a mantra. My favorite mantra is to simply say “Thank you” - I place my hands on my womb and say “Thank you, thank you, thank you for being here”
Journal - note when your bleed arrived, how you feel and how you can nourish yourself.
PERIOD RETREAT
This Moontime ritual is all about prioritizing rest and nourishment during your bleed. Notice that the word “retreat” is in there, so you want to create rituals that reduce external stimulation and facilitate connection within.
Your Period retreat can be something you do for 1h or throughout your entire bleed. You can return to the same ritual each month, or it can vary depending on your needs and the time you have available.
Things to consider for your Period retreat:
- Prioritize solo time / cocoon
- Say yes to naps
- Say no to things that deplete you
- Spend time in nature
- Delete Social media / turn off notifications
- Enjoy a home cooked meal
- Rest / slow down
- Press pause on external obligations and allow yourself to simply be.
My suggestion is to start small - create an achievable ritual for yourself and eventually expand on it. Even one hour with the mindful intention to rest and nourish yourself will create positive shifts to how you experience your bleed and entire cycle.
COLLECTING AND OFFERING YOUR BLOOD
This Moontime ritual is not for everyone and that’s OK. I offer it to plant a seed to those who are curious and open to trying it.
The ritual invites you to collect your bleed (via menstrual cup, free-bleeding or rinsing out your favorite pair of Mme L’Ovary undies) and offer it back to the earth.
It can look like offering your bleed to your house plants, trees, grass or garden - basically anywhere that you feel a special connection to. Your menstrual blood is clean and full of red blood cells, stem cells and nutrients like sodium and calcium, so it offers nourishment to the earth as you give gratitude to it and to your bleed.
The act of collecting and offering your bleed to the earth is such a powerful way to reclaim your cycle. It helps to create deep intimacy with your bleed and break the stigma and taboo around menstruation.
NB - Do not dump your bleed directly into the soil - ensure you dilute it (1 part bleed, 9 parts water).
Let us know which Moontime ritual(s) you try! If you have other rituals you want to share, please add them in the comments below!
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