Your Lunar Landing

The Period Is A Blessing

Firstly, let me say a huge thank you for joining this movement! Over the years, I have become increasingly passionate about the natural process of the period and the shame and misunderstanding that surrounds it. So passionate, in fact, that it has inspired a novel of 100,000 words. Here’s a very brief, personal journey you might relate to:

In the second year of school, one of my friends ashamedly admitted that she had started. ‘Congratulations!’ I beamed, and was laughed at. I waited and waited for mine to arrive, so desperate to be a woman, while my mum told me I would want to go back to not having one as soon as I started! The day finally came aged thirteen, and we had a beautiful mother/daughter moment. I was thrilled. I felt so grown up and ...sexy… (I know, it made me feel sexy). When my friends started using tampons and I couldn’t get them to work, I got frustrated and dreaded 'that week'. It made changing difficult in P.E., mine were always heavy, I got period pains, and I was told that I would be a hellish cookie monster the week before, so I dreaded that, too. Over the years, I simply found ways to cope. I tried a few versions of the pill and came off them straight away because of what they did to my mental health. And then I started to become quite passionately angry about the shame women so often feel.

Last year, my younger sister phoned me at eleven o’clock at night just to tell me that she had started her period. I was serving a customer a pint in a pub, and I cried! I could hear in her voice the pride that I had felt myself. I came on to my period the next day, even though I wasn't due, because that's what we're capable of when we tap into the feminine and intimacy. It is quite literally a sisterhood.

Around the same time, as I turned twenty-five, I had my first smear test – an experience I was told would be uncomfortable and perhaps even painful... I came out on top of the world. I would have gone straight back in and had another one if I could (I know – my mother thinks I’m nuts!) The nurse who performed it was gentle and attentive, and the very slight momentary discomfort was completely overridden by a sense of women coming together. Of course, this is not always the experience for everyone, but I was overwhelmed by the intimacy and nurturing I received.

Don’t. Skip. Your. Smear. Tests.

I have become deeply aware of the extraordinary and powerful rise in the united feminine consciousness (which includes the moon) – more phenomenal and healing than we can ever imagine.

It made me determined to make the menstrual cycle something fulfilling – something that we can honour.

Who Can Join Us?

Everyone. You do not need to be menstruating. You simply need to be aware of the womb, and whether you have a functioning one or not, this is about an energetic space. Tuning in to lunar energy can be achieved before we have started menstruating, it can be understood after we have gone through the menopause, and men can also access the feminine in themselves by using the moon.

This is about syncing ourselves to the lunar cycle, so being a menstruating female is not necessary. When I say bleeding, you may substitute this for the word renewing, and the meaning can be just as significant. This is about healing the wound in the feminine consciousness, and younger girls, older women, and men are hugely important in this reconciliation.

Menstrual Cups And Other Practicalities

Tampons and sanitary towels are floating about in the oceans, contributing to the agony of our planet. Not only are they harmful for the environment, but they are not great for us, either. These products are bleached, we are all terrified of toxic shock syndrome, and they cost us close to £100 a year.

For some women (and young teenagers who are not yet having sex), putting something inside themselves can be uncomfortable. There are reusable pads and now even period underwear that catch it all! I know it can be daunting trying something new, but please do – even if to begin with it is just around the house so that you can see if it works for you.

For those of us who have used tampons, there are now a million different types of menstrual cup! They are safer (less/no chance of toxic shock syndrome) and they allow us to be fully in touch with our cycle and our bodies. On top of all these benefits, they can be used for a lifetime, and so we never pay again (I got mine as a stocking present!) If you have tried one and not got on with it, persevere. It takes a couple of cycles to get used to, and we are all slightly different in shape. My best advice would be that although the instructions tell you to keep it low, it tends to ride up, and this is where it does the perfect job. Be aware that these definitely cannot go too far and be lost forever, so if you can’t find it at first, squat and squeeze, and it will be in reach!

Final point:

I am not going to try and convince those of you who take the pill to stop taking it. Of course, we must see and do all the things we want to in life before we have children (if we ever decide to have them), and there are many other reasons for women and girls to feel it is their best option. I would, however, say: it is possible to use other contraception methods – ones that do not play with our hormones and stop natural processes. If we were to take a pill that stopped us urinating or defecating, we would question its effect on our body and wonder if it could be trusted. There is an endless list of reasons to get back to a natural cycle and ditch the injections, the pills, the rods, and the coils; I would not be able to fit them all on this page. We were born to bleed!

If you are using one of these and here, still join the journey! Just feel into the womb and spend time tapping into the lunar energy. (And let me know what it is like for you to take this course! I wish to add many layers for this to be accessible to as many people as possible.)

New Moons and Full Moons

So why won’t I shut up about the moon?

Well… There are two natural cycles that are both twenty-eight days; and those are the menstrual and lunar ones. Since ancient times, the moon has always been a feminine presence - the mysterious body that orbits us while we revolve around the masculine sun. Many myths have come from our relationship with lunar energy; women used to lay under the moon, certain the rays could impregnate them!

Until recently, I believed that how visible the moon was depended on what time of night it was, and when people said it was a full moon, I believed it was completely random as to when one would arrive!

Here’s the very basics for those who are just as clueless:

- Day 1. The new moon is completely dark to us because it is lodged between us and the sun (so don’t do a me and go out searching for something that looks like a full moon). The sun’s rays are not reflecting the surface of the moon facing us, and so it is ‘unlit’.

- Days 1-15. The waxing. This is when the moon becomes more visible as it moves around earth, first having a crescent shape, and then bulging out into a near-full circle of light. At day 7, the first quarter, we see a half moon.

- Day 15. When it gets to the other side of earth and is its furthest away from the sun, it is a full moon. The sun’s rays reflect the entire side of the moon’s surface facing us.

- Days 15-28. When it starts to become less visible again, completing the cycle, it is called the waning moon. The last quarter (at day 21) means that half the moon is illuminated.

Who can join us?

Menstrual cups

new moons and full moons

Contents

The Period Is A Blessing

Who Can Join Us?

Menstrual Cups and Other Practicalities

New Moons and Full Moons

Moon Dates - 2018

Syncing

Your Personal Journey

Example Diary

Your Diary

What We Need Week-By-Week

Yoga And Meditation For Each Week

The Reality In Our Heads

The periodis a blessing

Moon dates

2018 Moon Dates

Syncing

It is not simply a superstition that we are affected by lunar movements. Personal and worldly energies evidently move with the natural forces at play around us.

And so how do we experience this for ourselves, coming into harmony with such power?

Older civilisations used to be much more connected than we are now. They would use the moon as a calendar, making arrangements for the 'third day after the new moon', or 'at the first quarter'. Many more heads were looking upward and making use of what was around them. It is believed that women used to bleed with the new moon and ovulate on the full moon.

Here is how we can sync:

Become aware of the lunar cycle dates and where these correspond to our menstrual cycle. You will add these to your personal diary in the section below.
Set the intention on a full moon. Open the curtains, keep all artificial lights to a minimum, and bathe in it while you sleep (it does not matter if you are not directly in its path). You might like to try a meditation, and in that meditation, breathe into the womb and imagine ovulating.
If you own any crystals, care for them at these times. The new moon is for cleansing them, the full moon is for charging them. To cleanse, we can use sage or water and put them outside for one - three nights (or on the windowsill in soil), and for the full moon we can do the same and charge them with the full rays and music etc.

The new moon is a time of introspection, of reflection, and of healing. We can write a diary, release pain, and be gentle and still. It is a good time to light some sage and candles, releasing any old connections and attachments not serving us.

The full moon is a time of energy, excitement, and opportunity (quite literally, because an egg is being released!) We can move in dance and stretch, setting powerful intentions to develop and make use of the brightness.

In keeping the diary below, you will see where your emotions and physical health align with your menstrual cycle and the lunar one. There will be a correlation!
Finally, take the time to look at the moon every night – or where it would be in the sky if it is cloudy. Once you become familiar with its waxing and waning, you will walk alongside it and become familiar with your own feminine presence - the womb.

Bleeding (renewing) at the new moon and ovulating (energising) with the full moon is the white woman cycle. You may find you bleed at the full moon and ovulate at the new moon, which is the red woman cycle. This is simply as fabulous as being left-handed. It is said to be wise women and witch doctors who experienced their cycle in this way. If you are not menstruating, feel into your energy as it waxes or wanes with or against the lunar energy, and you will also find your rhythm.

Remember that the feminine consciousness stems from one place; it doesn't belong to a particular group of people, but the nurturing, intuitive side of both nature and the universe. The moon is the earth’s womb, cyclically refreshing every month, driving the tides and nurturing life. Our womb/ feminine consciousness does the same, but on an individual scale (running rings around us!)

At the new moon, when the waxing phase begins, the energy is rising.

At the full moon, when the waning phase takes over, the energy is subsiding.

On the day we bleed, our energy starts to ‘wax’ – rise.

On the day we ovulate, our energy starts to ‘wane’ – subside.

It is empowering and healing for us to simply understand the miracle in this incredible connection!

We are all affected by the lunar energies; the oceans, the earth, the people.

Your Personal Journey

So, what more can we do to be sure we are honouring the process?

Understand the physical and emotional symptoms that come with menstruating and the moon. Write them down! If you don’t want to take the diary below everywhere with you, you can keep track on apps such as the Period Diary, selecting moods and symptoms day-to-day, and then transfer them into your personal calendar below and see which days are the same. Print this out, put it on the wall, and be sure to write something small about each day.

By using a diary, we can use one or two words to describe our physical and emotional status, and where this corresponds to our womb, the moon, and the elements. The below is an example of a diary that we would have when synced to lunar activity, but just add the moon’s movements wherever they are in your cycle (using the dates in the section above).

For days when we experience a particular ‘theme’ at its peak, we place this in our diary. If we are feeling overwhelmed with it, we can see if this theme occurs on the same day every month. You can stick these all over the place on many days; they don’t need to be used sparingly:

- ENERGISED - SENSUAL - MATERNAL - PURGING

- OPTIMISTIC - PESSIMISTIC - RELAXED - TEMPERAMENTAL

There will be times in the waxing and waning where we connect with feminine, and days where we connect with the masculine. For those of us who are bisexual, it can be interesting to note on what days we feel more heterosexual and homosexual!

And, of course, where would we be without the elements. Each week must have its own:

- FIRE - WATER - EARTH - SKY

Keep in mind the new and full moon dates. When the moon is waxing, the energy is rising. When the energy is waning, the energy is subsiding. It doesn’t matter where they are in your cycle; just bring them into your awareness:

- NEW MOON - FIRST QUARTER - FULL MOON - LAST QUARTER

Your Personal Journey

Example Diary

Exampe diary

Your Diary

What we need

What We Need Week-By-Week

If your menstruation is in sync with the lunar cycle, what you need week-by-week will be the same on both counts. If you are not yet in sync, be mindful that you may have two conflicting energies (which sounds sinister but isn’t!). Simply pay attention to which one is most prominent for you; it may be menstruation, or it may be the lunar energy.

What we need for each week to be beneficial:

WEEK ONE - (NEW MOON/BLEEDING)

The energy is at its lowest, and on the turn into the waxing phase.

It is so important in this week to get rest and water and spinach! You can also get iron in liquid form; gentle stretches are hugely empowering when experiencing aches and pains (there are some yoga stretches below); writing thoughts and feelings to heal; allowing the energy within to renew as the energy around you does the same; and your menstrual cup and period underwear might be handy, too!