What are Moon Time Cycles?

What are Moon Time Cycles?:

Divine Feminine | Primal Cycles

By: Joanna Jones   18^th January, 2022

What a time, just as the Full Moon transitions into its Waning Gibbous phase, for my Moon Time Cycle to start; as it’s a perfect opportunity to really be tapped into that space for this Blog.  Most of us know this time as a girl or woman’s Period, Menstrual Cycle, “That time of the Month”, Shark Week, getting a visit from Aunt Flo, On the Rag, Parting of the Red Sea, The Curse, and many others.  Most of these references leave a taste of distain, contempt, and shame about this very import period (pun intended) of a woman’s life.   Much of which is very misunderstood and far from our ancient ways of being fully supported and honored.  I, myself, have spent most of my menstruating years thus far in complete acrimony of this debilitating, bloody week very month.   What a blasphemous attitude to be conditioned into harboring of oneself!

The womb is the portal between worlds that allows for the passage of souls into this physical, material realm.  Holy shit! How can this organ and its functions be viewed as anything less than absolutely sacred? Fear based conditioning over millennia’s, and a disconnection from our Divine Feminine, is how!

Many earth loving and indigenous cultures throughout human history viewed this time as very sacred, and women, as the wisdom keepers of the womb.   It was a time when women were at the top of their power.  The notion that a woman is to “do nothing” (i.e.: cooking, chores, having contact with men, holy/religious rituals, etc.) is because she was already in ceremony.  NOT due to her being “unclean” or “impure”, as many modern cultures have conditioned us to believe.  During a woman’s Moon Time, she held an exuberance of primordial power that could overwhelm others; and was to keep this power to herself.

What a shift in perspective to reclaim!  Many other cultures around the world understood the color red was a symbol of life, and a sacred color in contrast to white.  White, in these ancient times was seen as the color of death, as it was the color of the human body after death once all of its life force, blood, was drained. 

But where did the reference of Moon Time or Moon Cycle come from?  The moon is considered to be linked to the feminine (and the Sun to the masculine).   In pre-modern days (in a time when we weren’t surrounded by electronics and their EMF’s, when our food wasn’t poisoned, packed full of hormones and toxins, when we didn’t dump all kinds of shit into our water ways and polluted them) our cycles flowed uninhibited and generally synced up with the Moon and her cycles.  It is believed that women usually ovulated around the Full Moon and their Moon Time started around the New Moon. While (modern) studies have shown no correlation between women’s menstrual cycles and the Moon phases, these studies are unable to remove the aforementioned variables that DO affect our hormones and therefore our cycles, and are NOT able to accurately state that there is no correlation.

There are many ways in which we can honor our Moon Time in these times that we currently live in.    

• Relaxing, just taking it easy and resting. This is a time to slow down and allow our bodily functions to flow.  
  1. Take a salt bath with some essentials oils, and botanicals
  2. Enjoy a sound bath with crystal or Tibetan sounds bowls
  3. Practice some Yin Yoga and Meditate
• Celebrating with simple Rituals (the more intricate ones are amazing, and we will touch on them at a later point):
  1. Creating a restorative period of isolation where one is rests, and self-reflects on one’s needs and current state.  
  2. Journaling affirmations of appreciation of this powerful period. 
  3. Meditating, as well as drawing in energy from the earth and returning overwhelming energy to the earth.
  4. Forming Women’s Circles of support within the community.
  5. And many others
• Make sure you are consuming nutritious foods and herbals teas.  Some foods that are supportive of a woman’s Moon Time are:
  1. Alkalized water – drinking plenty of water can help reduce water retention and bloating
  2. Water-rich fruit such as watermelons and cucumber
  3. Sweet fruits can curb sugar cravings without consuming refined sugar
  4. Leafy green veggies – can help naturally help boost your depleted iron levels
  5. Ginger Tea – a nice warm cup of ginger tea may reduce nausea, and has anti-inflammatory effects that can help with achy muscles (the Uterus is a hell of a muscle)
  6. Fish – full of omega-3 fatty acids, rich in iron and protein.  Omega’s can help reduce the intensity of menstrual pain.
  7. Dark chocolate – is rich in iron and magnesium, without the extra load of sugar.  Magnesium has been found to reduce the severity of PMS.

For those of us who have uncomfortable and painful cycles (who’s causes can range from a vast number of reasons that we won’t touch on in this Blog, but may at a later date), there are a few natural remedies that are available to offer relief.

• Rubbing essential oils on to the lower abdomen 
  1. Check out these essential oil blends to help with the pain or discomfort
  2. You can also diffuse said blends if you have particularly sensitive skin, or reduce the amount of drops by half
• Stop using Tampons, which have been known to increase menstrual pain (the cotton used is treated with pesticides and chlorine and are manufactured with a whole slough of chemicals that include bleach, dye, fragrance, synthetic absorbents, phthalates – ALL of which are absorbed into the mucus membranes of the vagina and into the bloodstream)
  1. Switch to a more sustainable Menstrual Cup
  2. Use chemical-free Pads
• Yin Yoga and light exercises