Week 1: Menstruation
Periods can cause painful cramps, fatigue and irritability. To nourish yourself, tend to your needs and immerse in some serious self-care practices. This is a good phase to be still, to be in silence, to come into your crone/wise woman power and let your wise self be your guide because honestly, trying to be in action or do…well, anything will be tricky when you’re bleeding in this phase, that’s because you’re not meant to. It’s important to acknowledge that no matter how natural the process is, you are entitled to feel whatever you are feeling. We all experience varying degrees of period pain, but it is very real for all of us.
Season: Inner Winter
Do you ever feel guilty about slowing down? Like you’re not doing enough? Or perhaps that if you slow down someone else will overtake you? These are signs that you are moving from your inner autumn to inner winter. There is a natural slowing down at this time. That, coupled with a deep inner winter (menstruation) can feel like you’re falling off the edge of the world. Hormone levels are at their lowest causing the lining of the uterus to leave the body and signals the body to begin the next cycle of ovulation. Protein, fats and lots of vegetables and fruit to help balance blood sugars. Soups and stews are also great in this phase.
Who is the Wise Woman/Crown?
In ancient times and cultures, the wise woman was revered. The wise woman was consulted for matters of importance and well being of tribes. Children and grown alike would come for advice and storytelling to the skirts of the wise woman. The gray hair was looked at as stripes of honor and the wrinkles as badges of courage and experience. When a woman’s blood flow would stop coming it was said she no longer needed it, as she had accumulated the wisdom of the moon enough to embody it and invite it to stay. These wise women understood the importance of death and renewal at such a cellular level they no longer needed to be reminded every month. The wise woman embodies elder wisdom. Teachings and guidance the world is thirsty for.
Self-care tips for this phase:
- Try an epsom salt bath
- Drink calming adaptogenic teas (reishi, ashwagandha, passionflower)
- Get a head massage
- Keep yourself hydrated
- Get lost in a good book
Recgonizing The Wise Woman
It’s important to remember that stillness is also necessary and there is such beauty and wisdom to be felt from letting yourself surrender into the void of inner/outer winter. There is no rush. It may be hard to do for many of us, but it’s like medicine for your soul when you actually give yourself permission to be still. If you don’t let yourself go slowly or stop when you need it, you end up doing yourself a disservice as you won’t feel replenished when you move into the phases of your cycle where you’ll want to be back out in the world.
