Menstruation, the Moon, and Empowerment through Choice By Artemis Morris, ND
their body to perpetuate the human race. What does our period (aka menses) mean to us? How do we prepare for and man- age this integral part of our nature? What infl uences “it’- does the moon? other women? How do we deal with and treat menstrual diseases? These are questions that can not be answered in one article, however, they are worth a lively discus- sion that is long overdue to reclaim the “cur-sed” parts of ourselves that happen to make us uniquely female.
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What is Menstruation? The word menstruation, comes from
the word “menses” which comes from Latin and Greek words meaning month (mensis) and moon (mene). Is it a coinci- dence that the moon cycles through the night sky in a similar time frame to our own hormonal cycles? Historically and cultur- ally, due to books such as “The Red Tent,” by Anita Diamant, many women realize that we used to gather monthly, usually at the full moon (or new moon) and talk, do each other’s hair, and be in the unencum- bered company of other women. Knight in his thesis on Menstruation and the Origins of Culture sees the history and mythology
very 21-to 35 days women bleed for 2-7 days in order to biologically bear children in a grand sacrifi ce of
that shrouded this “moon time” gathering as a ritual time that women created to be free of the responsibility of male sexual advances and infl uenced the periodicity of hunting expeditions and organized society. Over time, the lore, customs, and taboos associated with menstruation took on more sinister hues, such as, being “unclean”, ruining food if you touched it, dangerous, and even deadly.
How do we claim this messy part of
ourselves and manage it in ways that lead to a greater connection with nature, our biological sisters, greater community, and improve our health and wellness in the process? Let’s start by addressing some myths and facts.
Do We Cycle with the Moon?
Despite many historical and cultural references there is little evidence to sup- port an association between lunar cycles and our periods. Dr. Marija Vlajic Wheeler at Clue, an app used to track menstrual cycles, found no association with the moon cycles and period times when analyzing 7.5 million cycles. There may be a weak association between lunar cycles and ovu- lation. Dr. Ericka Friedman at the Brooklyn College of the City University found that conceptions occur signifi cantly more fre-
“The menstrual cycle is the most basic, earthly cycle we have.
Our blood is our connection to
the archetypal female.” - Dr. Christine Northrup
quently during the fi rst and second quarters (waxing moon) than during the other half of the lunar cycle, which indicates a lunar infl uence on ovulation.
Do We Cycle Together? Research by Martha McClintock
in 1971 hypothesized and popularized synchronous menstruation, the notion that women who spend more time together synchronize their menses together based on her study of 135 women whose onset of menses was more similar among friends and roommates than it was random pairing. She hypothesized that this effect was due to pheromones, which are invisible olfactory neurochemicals that reach our brains and infl uence our biology and behavior. So far,
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