Terra's Menstrual Sutras

~Menses is women’s vulnerability & women’s power. Deny neither.
Denying menstrual needs leads to disease and disempowerment of women.
Denying menstrual powers leads to shame and loss of wisdom.

~Honoring first menses honors the new woman & all of womanhood.

~Menses is women’s natural monthly cleanse. By rest, appropriate eating, and supporting the downward energy this purpose if fulfilled. By ignoring or suppressing it, disease is created.

~Outward rest at menses allows intuition & inward creativity to emerge.

~The openness of menses deserves the protection of seclusion & rest, rather than secrecy & shame.

~Menses is the time of giving birth to ourselves—respecting it is respecting ourselves.

~Wise self care throughout fertility cycles allows for healthy menses.
Ease of menses is a sign of overall balance and health.
Maya Abdominal/Uterine Massage allows proper positioning of the uterus to allow circulation of blood, lymph, nerve impulses & energy for optimal reproductive health.

~Women’s cycles were commonly entrained to the moon & the tribe before artificial lights and isolating nuclear families.

~Moving downward energy - apana prana in Ayurveda--

Moving downward energy of the body – allow it, maintain it.
Moving downward energy of menses – respect it.
Moving downward energy of childbirth – be it.

~The health of the woman & the womb promotes the life long health of the offspring.

~Self care through fertility cycles allows more graceful giving birth when it is time & more graceful entering into menopause when it is time.

--Terra Rafael, WiseWomanhood

Menses is women’s vulnerability & women’s power. Deny neither.

As beings in menstruating women’s bodies we must come to terms with our cyclical natures. While some women are more affected by it than others, it does operate in all of us. This is not an esoteric concept. It is real physically, energetically, and emotionally.

This makes us vulnerable in this culture where Success = being Solar, burning brightly every day. Women are Lunar, having outward times and inward times. The varying effects of hormones in the cycles do have an emotional effect which varies in intensity between women. Ayurvedically, thin & sensitive Vata women tend to express more changeability and are more effected than Pitta women, who tend to be more solar & focused way in general and Kapha women, who are more stable and unchangeable & absorb change. But all have the shifting within going on. When each gets out of balance, the expressions will get more extreme. So we are vulnerable if we stay aware of and express our cyclical nature, vulnerable to being called incapable of success due to being women.

Besides this cultural vulnerability, we are also vulnerable due to the changes of the cycle itself. The changes at the time of menses allow toxins, as well as menses to be released. We also literally open up, both physically (our cervix opens to let the blood flow out) and energy wise (our auras are more open and our energy will go downward to the earth more easily). To accommodate these vulnerabilities women often traditionally separated themselves from their usual tasks and from others who were not bleeding.

If we overeat or eat inappropriately, our digestion can suffer more easily during menses because the energy of fire is going out in the menses. The natural detoxification of this time begs for moderate eating to allow energy to go into that process.

If we over exercise or over work we can over stimulate the fire of the menses. If not remedied, this can lead to pitta aggravated symptoms or diseases of reproduction such as excess flow, fibroids or endometriosis. Over exercising can also push the toxins released in the natural detoxification of menses into body tissues instead of releasing them. Talking too much or doing spiritual practices that raise the energy upward during this phase will go counter to the flow of downward energy and can cause menstrual or reproductive problems if continued long term.

If we put ourselves in situations where we are connecting with the energy field of another person (giving body or energy work, psychotherapy or other healing work sessions, or having sexual relations) we are open enough to much more easily take on their energy/karma, as well as give them ours. This is why in many native traditions bleeding women would isolate themselves at this time & not participate in the spiritual ceremonies of the tribe.

The womanly cycle is also most obviously the power of potential creation at work within our female body. Giving birth to physical babies is not the only creativity we carry in our wombs. For millennia, this power was worshipped by humans in the form of the Goddess, each woman honored as embodiment of that power in her individual form.

Another great power of our cyclical nature is that the openness & inwardness creates a time when women can tune in to inner wisdom and messages from the subtle worlds. Another reason women would separate themselves was to have space to dream & vision, alone & with their sisters who were also bleeding. This guidance was a great resource for themselves and for the tribe.

Clarissa Pinkola Estes, in Women Who Run With the Wolves shares a modern view. She suggests that we use menses as a time to notice what it is time to let go of. We are in a physiological state of letting go of the possibility of pregnancy for that cycle. To let go psychospiritually & emotionally at this time is natural. As Won She’, another wisewoman midwife says,” Women give birth & women give death.” This giving death aspect of womanhood is greatly denied in this culture, just as the embodiment of it is: the Crone. During our bleeding time we get to practice being wisewomen crones, if we afford ourselves some time to do so.

Most women in this culture cannot afford themselves 3 days to rest & vision. But we can find ways towards that. For more ideas about self care during menses see – the FB notes on WiseWomanhood's page- www.facebook.com/WiseWomanhood

The Monthly Cronehood of the Menstrual Cycle-

The menstrual cycle contains the experiences of Maiden, Mother, & Crone within it. We can experience a mini- Cronehood when our premenstrual hormones plummet in those cycles in which pregnancy doesn’t occur. We empty of juice, being low in estrogen and progesterone, while filling with intuitive potential. These mini-Cronehoods, when fully experienced, can prepare us for the wisewoman, menopausal years and teach us about the power of Knowing.

What are the practices to help us prepare?
-First, be aware. Notice how your body, emotions, and mind react to this premenstrual time. If you are feeling to many symptoms, it is good to work on gently cleansing and supporting your liver. When the hormones are building up in your liver the detoxing that starts to occur premenstrual times can be more harsh---as they can during the menopausal stage as well.

-Take time for yourself. Yes, I know how difficult that can be. But it must be a priority. In this way you can increase your awareness of what is happening in your body and how to care for it. You don’t need to take the whole day off—just give yourself ½ hour a day to be free of responsibility to others. Moms can do this when kids are in bed—mornings &/or evenings.

-Pay extra attention to your inner promptings. It could be your dreams. Or your intuition might be telling you what to do.

-Practice letting go. This time in your cycle is excellent for getting rid of what is no longer living for you.

--Terra Rafael

The Monthly Cronehood of the Menstrual Cycle

Practicing for Menopause during the Fertile Years.

The menstrual cycle contains the experiences of Maiden, Mother, & Crone within it. We can experience a mini- Cronehood when our premenstrual hormones plummet in those cycles in which pregnancy doesn’t occur. We empty of juice, being low in estrogen and progesterone, while filling with intuitive potential. These mini-Cronehoods, when fully experienced, can prepare us for the wisewoman, menopausal years and teach us about the power of Knowing.

What are the practices to help us prepare?

-First, be aware. Notice how your body, emotions, and mind react to this premenstrual time. If you are feeling to many symptoms, it is good to work on gently cleansing and supporting your liver. When the hormones are building up in your liver the detoxing that starts to occur premenstrual times can be more harsh---as they can during the menopausal stage as well.

-Take time for yourself. Yes, I know how difficult that can be. But it must be a priority. In this way you can increase your awareness of what is happening in your body and how to care for it. You don’t need to take the whole day off—just give yourself ½ hour a day to be free of responsibility to others. Moms can do this when kids are in bed—mornings &/or evenings.

-Pay extra attention to your inner promptings. It could be your dreams. or your intuition might be telling you what to do.

-Practice letting go. This time in your cycle is excellent for getting rid of what is no longer living for you. At the same time, value your menstrual cycles-someday they will be gone.

by Terra Rafael

Plagued by "Female Problems?"

The Women’s Movement freed women to participate more fully in the world. But it hasn’t freed women from a secret shackle—“female problems”. Menstrual difficulties and other problems associated with women’s special anatomy and physiology may plague women even more today than in the days of our grandmothers. Our active lifestyles, work stress, eating on the run, and lack of deep relaxation add up to increased probability of PMS, menstrual cramps, irregular cycles, abnormal pap smears, fertility problems, pregnancy complications, and perimenopausal discomforts.

Luckily, we don’t need to turn back the clock or rely only on questionable medications to care for our feminine core. We can soothe it and allow for healthy functioning using lifestyle, diet, massage & herbs. A history & physical evaluation with a holistic practitioner helps map out a plan of action & care to bring the uterus and the whole woman into balance again.

Ayurveda, the “Science of Life” is an ancient healing system from India. For “female problems” it offers basic information on proper self care during the times when women’s bodies are vulnerable. Suitable diet, digestion & herbs for the woman can support the nervous system for better resilience under stress, as well as directly feed the reproductive system. Pulse reading tunes in to the subtle, early conditions of imbalance and allows for treatment in subtle ways before they solidify into denser forms, such as cysts, fibroids, or endometriosis. With more advanced problems healing may require more time and stronger therapies. Through various techniques & teachings, Ayurvedic work heals deeply.

Maya Abdominal Massage offers great relief for many women, sometimes bringing menstrual relief after only one therapy session. Self massage techniques are taught to do regularly, between sessions. This adds impetus for better uterine positioning, greater circulation, lymphatic cleansing, and optimization of herbal therapies and the body’s own hormonal messages. Maya Massage also helps release traumas and emotions stored in the pelvic-abdominal region that may restrict healthy flow & function.

Through such holistic techniques “female problems” need not be part of the legacy of women’s greater role in the world.
--by Terra Rafael

The Midwife's Mirror

It’s a hand mirror—clear plastic encircling the double-sided reflecting glass and then joining into a simple handle. The plastic is chipped in a couple of places and scratched on the surface. The mirror itself has aged as well. It is almost 30 years old.

The mirror has shown women their first surprising glimpse of their cervix—so like the head of a penis-- rounded, pinkish and soft with a small hole in the middle. It’s so empowering to actually see the opening lips of the mysterious womb, which plays such a large role in every woman’s life—source of her cycles and her cramps, her fertility and childbearing capacity, sounding board of her orgasms. Women can watch their cervix throughout their cycles see how it rises and falls, opens and closes, has fluids from clear to white to clear to red.

Hundreds of times women have peered down into this mirror to see their baby’s wrinkled, birthing head. First it’s just a bulge in the lips of the vulva. Then the lips open up, closing again between labor contractions, until the crucial distance has been traversed and the crown of the baby’s head begins to show.

Later this mirror has let them survey the aftermath of that birthing, to see how their once virgin vagina is now womanly with birthing blood and small wounds of childbirth. It’s so different from an episiotomy, where the doctor decides ahead of time where the scar will be. Most women stretch and, with controlled birthing of the head, can have only surface cuts that can heal without stitches.

I pick up the mirror now and look at my face. Like the mirror, it has aged these 30 years and witnessed so many women transform in their relationship with their own bodies, growing in understanding and wisdom regarding how to respect their woman ways.

--by Terra Rafael

Caring for Our Core - Part One

Our belly is where we begin—the umbilicus was our original root to nourishment from Mother. This area continues to nourish us physically, emotionally, & energetically throughout our lives—when it is free to do its work. When the area is constricted by the uterus being out of place and/or stored tensions, this work does not happen properly. When the constrictions are released we are freer to have belly laughs and feel our gut reactions—as well as avoiding many discomforts & female complaints, such as menstrual cramps & irregularities & fertility problems.

I experienced first hand that these techniques work to move the uterus. My uterus had been sitting low in my yoni for some time—it had to be scooped up to see the cervix when doing a speculum self exam. When I received the massage from traditional Maya healer, Miss Beatrice, I felt my uterus move!! It’s a unique sensation. After having the massage done on me & practicing self massage for a couple of days I checked my cervical position and it had risen up. My next moon time was absolutely free of cramping and in subsequent cycles my blood remained fresh—no brown blood came out at the beginning or end as I HAD thought was normal. (The old, brown blood indicates that the uterus is not releasing all the blood from each period and there is an unhealthy build-up inside.)

Then I was blessed to attend two incredible workshops taught by Rosita Arvigo: Self Care & Professional training in the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal/Uterine Massage. Her teacher Don Elijio Ponti gave her permission to share what he had taught her to her American people, to help us care for our cores. Rosita had apprenticed with him for 12 years in Belize. She has integrated his teachings with American knowledge of anatomy & physiology; the work of Wilhelm Reich on energy bands; and her training in napropathy (a form of chiropractic which includes graduate level massage training).

At the Professional training we learned also techniques for the upper abdomen. This helps to loosen tight diaphragms and increases circulation, digestion and the ability to breathe deeply. Tightening here can be a way to store old unspoken & unresolved traumas in our body. By gentle work these can be healed. I personally experienced a deep healing with upper abdominal & other techniques regarding past sexual abuse. With the prayers and support of my Arvigo therapists I was able to release some very old yucky stuff from my body in a safe & simple way.

The techniques for pregnant women are specially designed for gentle support of the growing uterus, allowing it to go from the usual 4 oz of weight to about 15 lbs while staying in its physiological position. The increased blood flow, lymph drainage & nerve & energy flows allows for optimum growth of the baby and function of the uterus in labor. By properly position, the uterus can “aim” the baby out most easily. There are also special techniques reserved to use at 38 weeks to be sure the body is primed for labor. Practitioners report less incidence of overdue labors on women regularly receiving this technique. Also reported were successes with breech babies moving head down when the uterus is properly positioned.

I’m excited to include this work as part of my healing practice & look forward to serving you & your friends with these ways to enhance your health & happiness.

How Pregnancy Grows from the Menstrual Cycle

The menstrual cycle contains the experiences of Maiden, Mother, & Crone within itself. These primordial archetypes of Goddess enliven and inform us of different phases of women’s creative power. Each cycle we are Maiden, made new with the development of possible egg-babies, and with pheromones and fertile mucus for attracting a mate to fertilize them. We are Mother after ovulation, in the phase that prepares and maintains the nurturing womb. And we are Crone when our hormones plummet if pregnancy doesn’t occur, with the emptying of juice and form while filling with subtle, intuitive heart potential.

By bringing awareness & care into the menstrual cycle, we also gain in experience that will serve us if we ever become pregnant. Healthy nutrition, maintaining energetic balance, nurturing herbs, adequate exercise & rest, relaxation practice -- all serve in both situations.
Pregnancy, then, is the fulfilled form of that Mother/luteal phase, when sperm has successfully merged with ripe egg and developing zygote has implanted firmly into receptive uterine lining. It is the long time of nurturing the dream. Even if pregnancy was not planned or desired, it is still the animal dream of the body to reproduce.

This extra juicy, growing pregnancy phase fills the body with more blood, more heart, more weight, and bigger feet. An actual inner ocean of amniotic fluid forms within the amniotic sac and our evolving babies swim in it until they are born and land on solid ground. The intimate physical connection between mother and baby is mediated by the amazing multiple functions of the placenta.

The last month of pregnancy is often a time associated with discomforts of being full to overflowing—just as premenstrually many women experience the heaviness of their engorged womb, dropping downward a bit from the change of their hormones.

The emotional changes of the fertility cycle can prepare us for dealing with pregnancy feelings. Women who listen to themselves with awareness and care for themselves adequately find that heightened emotional sensitivity is not necessarily a call to bitchiness (although that too can be useful). It can be an opportunity to hear themselves more clearly in respect to what in their lives serves them & what does not. More alone time is a common need that women easily overlook at other times of their lives which may become more pressing during pre-bleeding & pre-birthing.

Giving birth is an enhanced form of the menstrual phase, when what has been grown inside is now ready to be released, even pushed, out into the world. Women who have experienced the inward, downward pulling of energy during moon bleeding will be familiar with that feeling in its greatly intensified form during labor. Healthy menstrual practices help preserve the balance of this key energy for pregnancy & birth. Those who have experienced menstrual cramps and found ways to come to terms with them will recognize the early labor sensation of the cervix beginning to open as a familiar one, not so scary. This brings the relaxed familiarity to early labor often considered possible only for those who have already given birth.

Allowed a deep inwardness, our instincts can guide our posture & movements and provide safe passageway for our creation, just as women guided inwardly during menses can find the right physical and emotional attitude to menstruate with more ease and grace. As the baby and placenta are released, a great emptiness is created in our body, even as our heart expands with instinctual, hormonal love. We flow with so large a postpartum “menses” as part of that huge emptying and flow with milk as part of that heart expansion.

Learning from and cultivating awareness during our cycles also prepares us for pregnancy and birth. It increases our creative potential as Maiden, Mother, and Crone, whether we ever give birth physically or not.

Menstrual Memories - Part 3- The Menopausal Transition

My moons had been quite regular, about 28 days apart and lasted about 5 days, medium the first three days and light the others. (To me medium means I change my pad 3-4 times a day and light is 1-2 times). Frequently I marked ahead in my calendar when my moon bloods were expected to appear. It felt comforting to include it more as part of my life plan, to honor my fertility and myself. I kept track of my moon cycles on moon calendars and have them back for about 10 years.

My moon times began to come closer together & less regularly as my late 40’s progressed. Sometimes instead of PMS I seemed to get post menstrual syndrome of feeling down. I never knew when it would hit. There were times when my estrogen was supercharged, my body busy trying hard to get pregnant. This got the blood going because the lining was extra thick -- and also the fertile mucus at ovulation time. Once, I remember sitting on the toilet and when I went to wipe seeing a long thick thread of fertile mucus that stretched from my bottom to the water. Now I know that by knowing when I ovulate I could have know my moonblood would appear about 14 days later. Women are internally consistent on their time between ovulation and bleeding, for the most part. That too becomes a bit more wobbly during the menopausal transition.

Then around becoming 50 years old my moonbloods spaced out and became lighter. Sometimes I didn't have fertile mucus and would have anovulatory bleed. At that point I suddenly realized that I wouldn’t always have my period. I had finally embraced my moonbloods as a big part of my womanhood, counter to society’s norm. Now I had to let go it again. I began to wonder each time if this were my last time to bleed and savored the bloodiness of it. I even used it to paint several designs. Sometimes there were phantom periods where I felt like I was getting my bloods. Nothing came out but my sensations and emotions were very menstrual. Then it became six months between bleeds and my final moonblood was in April, 2005. I was 52, the average age for menopause. Of course I didn’t know for another year if I was totally done.

The hormones seem to be settling down now. I've learned from Susan Weed, herbalist, that after the period stops the hromones take several years to toally settle into the final levels of cronehood. My body is changing. The skin on my hands seems thinner and less elastic. More skin tags are appearing as my estrogen drops suddenly now and then. So far my libido and yoni haven’t suffered. I’m 55 now.

The hot flashes are few and far between at this point – maybe days between now. They were never too troublesome for me—just a bit of disrobing when the heat came and then redressing when they passed. The hardest part of hot flashes for me is that getting too hot can trigger them. Whenever I cuddled with my sweet husband I would get too hot and have a hot flash and have to push away from him. Thats gotten better at this point. Herbs did help me through —shatavari root, an ayurvedic female tonic and taking Oregon grape root tincture about 5 days a month before menses or, when I stopped cycling, 5 days a month near the full moon.


All in all there was much emotion, experience and meaning that came through my moonbloods. I treasure my memories and learnings about womanhood that came through them, even though sometimes they seemed like a curse and society still insists it is.

Menstrual Memories Part 2- Learning by Experience

It’s interesting how I often got, as Kate Clinton (feminist comedian) puts it, "menstrual amnesia." I'd start feeling off, more tired, cry easily, cranky, poor digestion and then achy in my lower abdomen. Suddenly I’d realize or my husband would remind me -- it's time for my moon blood! Once the bloods started flowing freely my cramping was better.

When I took space and time in my life for my increased premenstrual and menstrual sensitivity and did only what felt good for me, I felt nourished. When I tried to ignore it and go on as though I was no different at this time, I ended up feeling out of touch and unfulfilled.

When I learned the teachings of Ayurveda about menstrual self care it coincided with my own experience. Resting allows the body to really let go well and use its energy for cleansing and rejuvenating. Eating warm, cooked foods eases digestion. Balancing the body throughout the month brings an easier time during the menstrual cycle, as well as healthy fertility.

I began wearing a moon blood gown for at least my first day of bleeding. It was brownish red with bleach dyed spirals on it. It flowed loosely around my body with voluminous sleeves that made it easier to let go of doing too much activity. I rested as much as my life could allow. At prenatals my apprentices would take up the slack for me those days (and visa versa when it was their time of month.) They’d bring me my tea and lunch and clean up for me, as well as doing the linear things like blood pressure, measuring the belly, weighing for the pregnant women. Somehow the birth energy coordinated well with my menstrual state—they seemed similar in terms of the expanded consciousness, openness of mind, and instinctual connection, so births didn’t seem to disturb my menstrual rest as much as the more linear world. My family knew it was my moon time and would give me more space and fewer demands as well.

When I learned about Maya Abdominal Massage and healing their teachings coincided with those nurturing practices, as do most of the native medicines of the world. Maya Massage uses massage techniques to reposition a tipped uterus, which eases menstrual cramping.

I had a Maya Massage first from Miss Beatrice Waight, a Maya midwife and healer who visited Boulder. After just one massage from her my next menses was painless. The brown blood which preceded and followed the red went away. She told me that the brown blood was old blood due to poor drainage during previous periods. After beginning to do the self massage techniques taught by Rosita Arvigo, another Maya massage teacher, I never had brown blood again!

Over the years of menses I used tampons of varying types, disposable pads of differing brands, sea sponges, a diaphragm, recycled diapers & finally, nicely sewn cloth pads to catch my blood. A few times I bled directly onto the Earth and this felt particularly satisfying. When I used the cloth type of pads I often soaked them and fed the moon water to my houseplants. This blood demanded more respect and utility than being treated it like garbage.

Using tampons seems counter to the body’s wisdom, not only because of toxic shock syndrome, or Ayurvedic teachings about disturbing the downward energy. They can irritate the cervix, causing more cramping, in my experience and other women I've talked with. And that sensation of blood coming out is a primordial experience of womanhood – it may be a key to the mysterious processes of fertility and birth which we do not yet understand.

Menstrual Memories-part 1

I don't really remember when my moon blood began. When I was in 6th grade all the girls were brought to the gymnasium to watch a movie. Mothers were invited. No boys or men were allowed. It was a cartoon, "tastefully" done by Disney but it wasn't very funny and no one sang songs -- "The Story of Menstruation." We watched dutifully and took home booklets that reiterated the plot, with illustrations straight from the movie. My mother asked if I had any questions. I couldn’t relate enough to think of any. I felt I was not to mention this whole thing to my friends who were boys. This was my initiation into womanhood. When I recently found and watched a copy of the film on “YouTube” I saw that it was factually correct and complete – but empty of emotion, experience, and meaning. Very empty.

In 7th grade, I decided I had to start acting like a girl instead of a tomboy. My next menstrual remembrance was as a 10th grader who had a gymnastics meet -- and my period. I locked myself in the bathroom and tried for an hour to get a tampon into my vagina. "Tampax" was the only kind available in those days and my mom used super sized ones after having five kids. Mom offered to help but I was too embarrassed, so embarrassed that I gave up and wore a pad under my leotard, which was humiliating.

Since before she was three years old my daughter noticed when I had my moon blood. She knew early that when she became a woman she would have moon bloods too and that it meant that she could grow a baby in her. One day, she was singing one of her hundreds of variations of "Mary has a little lamb.." It was "Mary has her moon blood." At age 7 1/2 she said," Some women call their moon blood their period, so it doesn't sound so gross." When she began her periods I wanted to give a blessing party-- "but, Mom~" and it was too wierd and embarassing for her-- so I did a simple ceremony, giving her a rose, a foot massage, and a little gift.

Female Troubles- What Could Help?

The Women’s Movement freed women to participate more fully in the world. But it hasn’t freed women from a secret shackle—“female problems”. Menstrual difficulties and other problems associated with women’s special anatomy and physiology may plague women even more today than in the days of our grandmothers. Our active lifestyles, work stress, eating on the run, and lack of deep relaxation add up to increased probability of PMS, menstrual cramps, irregular cycles, abnormal pap smears, fertility problems, pregnancy complications, and perimenopausal discomforts.

Luckily, we don’t need to turn back the clock or rely only on questionable medications to care for our feminine core. We can soothe it and allow for healthy functioning using lifestyle, diet, massage & herbs. A history & physical evaluation with a holistic practitioner helps map out a plan of action & care to bring the uterus and the whole woman into balance again.

Ayurveda, the “Science of Life” is an ancient healing system from India. For “female problems” it offers basic information on proper self care during the times when women’s bodies are vulnerable. Suitable diet, digestion & herbs for the woman can support the nervous system for better resilience under stress, as well as directly feed the reproductive system. Pulse reading tunes in to the subtle, early conditions of imbalance and allows for treatment in subtle ways before they solidify into denser forms, such as cysts, fibroids, or endometriosis. With more advanced problems healing may require more time and stronger therapies. Through various techniques & teachings, Ayurvedic work heals deeply.

Maya Abdominal Massage offers great relief for many women, sometimes bringing menstrual relief after only one therapy session. Self massage techniques are taught to do regularly, between sessions. This adds impetus for better uterine positioning, greater circulation, lymphatic cleansing, and optimization of herbal therapies and the body’s own hormonal messages. Maya Massage also helps release traumas and emotions stored in the pelvic-abdominal region that may restrict healthy flow & function.

Through such holistic techniques “female problems” need not be part of the legacy of women’s greater role in the world.

Secrets of the Uterus - beginning of patriarchy

women were part of creation.
we painted our faces with our moonly blood,
offered freely from deep in our bodies to Mother Earth.
we painted our breasts with it.
our power flowed freely, as our blood did, without struggle.
we did not hold power to ourselves,
it was like ripe fruit falling from trees.
& when the blood did not come
it grew into a child & milk to feed the child.

the men could not offer blood so easily.
they did not bleed without danger.
their blood did not grow into children.
they began to hunt & sacrifice animal blood & eat animal flesh to try to
take the power of the animals to themselves.
they cut themselves to bleed in imitation of us women.
they began to pretend giving birth.
they made things & treated them better than the children.
we watched them, not wishing them such pain.
they began to do their magic in secret from us.
they said the blood they offered was real blood,
their god wanted no women’s blood.
their god wanted us to hide our blood as unclean & not worship near men.
we did not understand why blood that makes life & is given freely is bad
& blood made of death is good.

Secrets of the Uterus- Creativity Spiral

Isn't it time to change the name of the menstrual cycle? After all, menses is just part of the cycle. I think it should be called the Creativity Spiral. That's what it is if the connection with fertility and creativity is acknowledged.
When women celebrated their menses together, they often were in sync with each other, living in small intimate villages or tribes and having the same light waxing & waning by night—the Moon.

beginning of patriarchy

women were part of creation.
we painted our faces with our moonly blood offered freely from deep in our bodies to Mother Earth.
we painted our breasts with it.
our power flowed freely, as our blood did, without struggle.
we did not hold power to ourselves,
it was like ripe fruit falling from trees
& when the blood did not come
it grew into a child & milk to feed the child.

the men could not offer blood so easily.
they did not bleed without danger.
their blood did not grow into children.
they began to hunt & sacrifice animal blood & eat animal flesh to try to
take the power of the animals to themselves.
they cut themselves to bleed in imitation of us women.
they began to pretend giving birth.
they made things & treated them better than the children.
we watched them, not wishing them such pain.
they began to do their magic in secret from us.
they said the blood they offered was real blood,
their god wanted no women’s blood.
their god wanted us to hide our blood as unclean & not worship near men.
we did not understand why blood that makes life & is given freely is bad
& blood made of pain & death is good.

In Native American teachings a menstruating women had the potential to be more psychically and spiritually powerful than anyone else, male or female, at any other time.*Her Blood is Gold, p60 by Lara Owen
Today we live in a culture where power is rarely searched for in menses—or in other women’s mysteries. Advertisements for menstrual products promote the idea that menstruation should be hidden and at very best, ignored. The (male) Phys. Ed. teacher at a local high school refused to excuse girls from pe with their periods, even with notes from their mother. He thought that they should act as though nothing were different. Some medical practitioners even propose that since menses is bothersome it may be best to avoid it as much as possible . * Is Menstruation Obsolete?” by Elsimar M. Coutinho They argue that women might like the convenience of only having a bleed every few months instead of being moonly—which would require taking hormonal birth control more steadily than on usual birth control pill regimens.

Our hormonal balance affects every part of us—including our brains. Chemical contraception causes women to be stuck in a prolonged luteal phase or empty pregnancy so as to fool their bodies into not ovulating. Women who have used chemical contraception have missed out on the natural rhythms of ovulation and actual menses, and, in my view, are altering their consciousness along with their physical fertility.

A new view of our cycles
Instead of being disempowered by negative attitudes about menstruation, what if women learned about their creativity cycle and its potentials? What if the menses was seen as wiping the slate clean -- time of inward new moon darkness & chaos that begins & ends creativity? What if the follicular phase was called "ovary storming" (instead of "brain storming") -- time of new possibilities? What if ovulation was called the doorway of manifestation? And the luteal phase was called the trial of manifestation which leads to either the organized movement of creating life or the chaotic movement leading to wiping the slate clean again?
Why a "spiral"? Because a spiral is dynamic as well as repeating. Each time we bleed and ovulate it is new, yet built upon the past, like a spiral that progresses yet revisits the same degree of the circle. "Cycle" seems stagnant, going in circles. A spiral seems more feminine because it is open and growing. It's also an ancient goddess symbol.

Crone the Destroyer
Wise Goddess
Creatrix
Heal me of illness
Transform all my defects.
Make me moist ground for the Mother to till,
Growing & fruitful for doing Our Will.
Then I be Maid again
Fresh & anew
Flowering sweetly with bees & the dew.
Then to fall & be fruited,
To rot and be seed,
Born again, born again,
Riggidy jig.


Creativity is clearly not limited to giving birth. Fertility was the original value of reproductive spiraling when having more & more people increased the survival of individuals and species. Now, with overpopulation and stressed ecosystems, Nature calls for other ways of expressing our creativity; to provide for survival we must go beyond the instinctual programming to make more & more babies. Use of our creative energy by moving consciously through our creativity spiral- menstrual cycle- can allow this power to be harnessed in a way that supports Nature in this way.

Moving through the physical spiral of creativity .
Menses is the letting go time, spiraling inward energy of oneness by falling apart into chaos. It is when women bleed without dying. Often related to the new moon, it’s a dark time of giving death to dreams that have been unfulfilled or died, as I was taught by the wisewoman Won She’. It’s also the beginning of development of the egg follicles. Menses is the other side of giving birth, which is letting go of what was incubated, fed & protected until ready to be out in the world. It’s a time of cleansing for the body, best facilitated by resting as much as possible. Bloody, red discharge appears, as the lining of the uterus is shed. Some women find sexual energy here, creating pleasure, while some feel irritated by another being in their sacred space now.

The follicular phase is when egg follicles are “egged on” in their development, leading to the eventual ovulation of (usually) one of the follicles. In this phase the lining of the uterus is also growing full and ready to receive a hopefully fertilized egg and nurture its growth. Fertile mucous begins forming in the cervix to welcome and feed the sperm that might come. It’s springtime of the spiral, often with that same anticipation and excitement.

Ovulation is the outward spiral, expressing, where wholeness differentiates outward into individuality. The egg which shows the greatest promise bursts out of the ovary, surrounded by a “halo” of transluscent jelly & blood jam, and is drawn into the engorged fallopian tube where she awaits her beloved sperm for three or four days before being quickly swept by the cilia lining the tube into the uterus. Attracting a mate with sperm, to continue the species by creating a new individual is our instinctual programming. The instinct is to display & emphasize our reproductive capacity. The cervix is secreting sperm-friendly fertile mucous, and is more open for them to enter. The full moon is often associated with ovulation as the romantic light to find our mate. Some women feel sexual energy strongest now.

The luteal phase is about maintaining the lining of the uterus so a possible pregnancy can survive. If conception occurs, pregnancy starts here. If no fertilized ovum signals its presence, hormone levels eventually fall and allow the movement towards releasing the lining.

The premenstrual phase is the ebbing time in the hormonal picture—the transient menopause each month with quickly dropping estrogen & progesterone, when no baby is coming. If we’re out of balance this is a time when it shows up as physical and emotional complaints. See Arvigo Massage for information on physical care of the uterus. The spiral arteries of the uterine lining constrict, cutting off the blood supply to its surface. Cells begin to die without their fresh blood supply. Soon the next menses begins, shedding the outer layer of the lining, with blood and mucous.

Moving through the Creativity Spiral

It is the pulsation of these inward and outward energies that creates not only life but acts of creativity. By learning to follow this pulsation in our physical bodies through fertility awareness techniques, we can have power over our reproductive creativity—choosing pregnancy or not without interfering with our natural hormonal changes.

By noticing where we are in our physical spiral we can become familiar with the natural tendencies of our consciousness along our spiral. Then we can learn how to use them more fluently in all our creative endeavors. One way to experience this is to have some time alone each day when you are still and quiet, noting down what comes to you. It could be the minutes you spend while taking your basal body temperature for your fertility awareness charting. Some women have fertility awareness charts that include space for this along with the temperature and mucous findings. * See http://www.justisse.ca/ for more on fertility awareness

It is this learning through the spirals that can bring women to wisdom at menopause. Perhaps some reticence to enter fully into menopause relates to a lack of learning from the cycles and thus, a feeling of inadequacy be a wisewoman .

Menstrual consciousness is about going inward to stillness, where we hear the inner voice of intuition and imagination. Clarissa Pinkola Estes in Women Who Run With the Wolves suggests that menses consciousness can guide us both in letting go of what no longer serves (that unused endometrium) and holding space for new possibilities (those possible follicles). Resting at this time allows for more acute hearing, seeing, and sensing the intuitive message, the still small voice which some call God/dess. Quiet, contemplation, spaciousness, allowing, timelessness, absorption, envisioning are all descriptive of this energy.
To create this inner space you can try various strategies. Wear a special necklace, scarf or dress to show those close to you that you are drawing inward so they can support you by giving you space and supplying you with a warm cup of herbal tea or bringing you what you need. Rest more – whether it means taking off the first day from work as women are allowed to do in the supportive ayurvedic community at Maharishi International University in Iowa or just putting off doing what can wait that day to make it more spacious and easier. Eating moderately of soupy, well cooked foods lets the digestive system rest. Journal, dream, take soothing warm baths with lit candles, listen for your inner voice.

All this stuff of the world decays.
Even my dancing red toenails
need to be touched up regularly.
I have to keep throwing
all my experiences
onto the happy
compost heap of my heart.
There the stuff of it
returns to the essential elements
by rotting in the slow heat of renunciation.
The Master Gardener
forms & turns the pile to speed the process.
Then She plows the heart of Terra's existence
back into the earth,
fertilizing food that can truly satisfy
the starving masses of the Soul.


Follicular consciousness is a sense of movement forward, of growth, anticipation, of hopeful possibilities, not yet knowing exactly where things will go or how they will come about, but they are looking up. Ovary storming is a knowing of creative possibilities, like a poem being image-ined, rather than brainstorming (which is thinking). Have you felt the excitement of Maria getting ready for the dance in West Side Story- “Something’s coming, something good---“. This is an example of the feeling of follicular consciousness.


Spring Excitement
The myriad & many buds
On the verge of blossoming-
The crescendo of excitement
Just before orgasm
MMMMM

Ovulation consciousness is the culmination of the follicular consciousness when expression of the voluptuousness of creation is in full bloom, attracting the busy bee energy of pollination towards herself. It’s the urgency of “now” and a patient openness, while actively creating the conditions for union—the cervix doesn’t just open, she creates the fertile mucous that allows the sperm to live well and swim inward where they are wanted; the egg doesn’t just wait for a sperm to penetrate, she chooses which one she wants!
Because it is a more outward state it may be less likely you can sit still and meditate on it—so observe it as you are in motion. How do you reach for what you want? Do you open yourself enough? Do you create a nurturing, slippery highway for needed insemination of your egg to arrive on? Do you go out and howl at the full moon to let the world know you are ready for union?

seems like lately I gotta case of the spring time-
I dance to the birds singin, to
the slow-motion-sounds of the buds
bursting into green spring flags
& I too flap in the fresh new winds,
the sun shinings oozing into my skin
smiling.
can’t concentrate on nothing but feel feeling good,
lately the only think I’m good for is make makin’ love & po-e-try.


Luteal consciousness is when we hold out for the possibility of creation. We keep the space and the faith that something will come of our generative actions. It is a mystery whether this cycle will end in a physical creation or a letting go back to zero or oneness. We welcome what has been conceived of into a safe and nurturing inner space where it can grow its own way, without interference from others.
To tune into this, watch for how you nurture your creations – do you give your plans enough protection and time before bringing them out into the world or do you reject them too quickly (like a too-short luteal phase)? Do you create a juicy womb for your creations by giving yourself the necessary building blocks – mental, emotional, physical nutrients?

a dream of a poet

It is a fertile spring.
I throw words into a blank book & close it,
let them sprout in the dark,
water them with tears of joy & pain,
protect them from frosty critics.
They grow by themselves,
reaching towards the magic flute of the sun.
Some words are vegetables-
rooted in nutritious, wise minerals of the soil.
Some are fruity flowers-
in the night, beautiful women come & steal a few for their hair.
The rest of the flowers call bees for the humming fertilization,
fall withered from their passion,
and become pregnant with sweet offspring,
whose juice will drip down my chin in the autumn.


Premenstrual consciousness is when we begin letting go of what isn’t really happening. A time which can be an expression of grief—that creation didn’t get fulfilled. When we areattached strongly to that creation, we feel sad, angry, all those feelings of loss. This is the part we often want to skip, yet it is essential to live through it so we can go freely on to create something else, another time. No wonder some women are irritable now.
Notice if you are seeing life in terms of loss now—be it expressed as sadness or anger. Are there bigger or unfinished losses underlying the grief at the little, irritating losses that need more letting go?

Durga
Fierce Goddess
Invoked by the Gods to destroy
That-which-only-a-woman-can-destroy.
Eight arms & eight hands holding eight divine weapons
that She was born to use.
Riding a ferocious feline,
multiplying Herself
to meet her opponent’s numbers.
They are Demonic
When sliced & diced & even decapitated
their blood spawns more enemies.
She becomes the Dark Mother
Kali
To drink their blood before it touches ground
and breeds more evil.
Drunk with blood
She almost destroys Her own Beloved.
Only He can call Her back to Her Heart
To know that
Now
She has won.

So the spiral returns and gives us another opportunity to learn from our feminine creative energy. Explore it---this is merely my visioning of it. Find your own expressions, your own inner knowings, your words of wisdom to enrich womanhood and our world with the fruits of your creativity. Share. Blessings.