Menarche- a Journey into Womanhood

admin — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:14:11 +0000

Menarche- a Journey into Womanhood

Rites of passage have begun to reappear in our society as we recognise the importance of honouring our young people and guiding them gently into adulthood. Ceremonies, vision quests, men’s and women’s lodges, rite of passage courses, festivals and camps are becoming more and more popular!

I have been working with women and their daughters for many years supporting them in celebrating their rite of passage. For girls there is a clear signal that their journey into womanhood has begun- with the start of their periods. The first period is known as Menarche; tribal traditions have celebrated Menarche for thousands of years- some rituals including the whole tribe, others more private among close women friends and family, some quite extreme- including genital mutilation, cutting, scarring and tattooing, other more gentle – being fed, massaged and sung to.

I believe how a young woman is guided through this experience can affect her for the rest of her life! Ask your women friends how they celebrated their first period- sadly for the majority of women it was ignored, shamed, at best explained clinically and ‘gifts’ of huge pads (sometimes huge tampons!) often terrified young girls! The menstrual cycle is a crucial element in the balance of the body, mind, spirit connection for a woman; this needs to be taught from an early age so when her cycle begins (signs can begin as early as 1 year before her blood flow) she can feel proud and excited to begin her journey of power!

I eagerly anticipated my daughters Menarche- I’d been working for a number of years around menstruation and creating pretty cloth pads for the women on my courses and their friends.

My period had started when I was 11- but Tabitha was a different build to me; very petite, so I wasn’t expecting her to start as early as I had. But soon after her 12^th birthday I began to notice a ‘cycle’ to her mood swings- even chocolate cravings for a few days each month! Other physical signs were night sweats for a couple of nights, slight cramps as she ovulated (which she presumed was a tummy ache), breaking out in spots….all the usual. She’d have a few days when she felt unattractive, hated all her clothes- they didn’t fit or look right! And she would cry at the slightest thing. After about 6 months of these ’symptoms’ one morning she came in my room as she had bled in the night and her sheets needed changing and she needed cleaning up! She was happy to have finally started but eager to wash and change.

I ran her a bath with rose bath salts and a sprinkle of lavender oil, re-made her bed while she soaked and prepared her a hot water bottle. She had the day off school and I excitedly gave her a set of pads I had made and mentioned the celebration I had planned; we would invite our girl friends over, dress in red, have red foods and drinks, bless her with gifts, songs and create a special ceremony just for her!

Oh, the look on her face, “Oh no mum!” she really wasn’t up for it!

So I had to put my excitement, my plans, my expectations to one side and listen to what she wanted.

We celebrated quite traditionally; a meal out at her favourite restaurant with her best friend and a gift of a new pair of earrings!

For the next year or so she suffered from very heavy, painful periods- she was lucky that they were very regular from the start so we knew when it would come, but it concerned me that her flow was so heavy as she was still such a slight build of a woman- and vegetarian- so I worried about her iron levels and how draining this heavy loss was making her feel. She was flooding her disposable pads at school and was constantly worried about bleeding on to her clothes. Although she loved her cloth pads- and preferred them to disposables, even finding them better at absorbing her heavy flow- but she wasn’t yet confident enough to use them at school, so we opted for the organic cotton throwaways as a compromise.

We visited a naturopath who recommended a liver cleanse drink to take for a couple of months pre-menstrually. Amazingly this totally balanced her flow (I joined her in the cleanse and felt its positive effects- more energy, clear skin and my periods became lighter! Even now I continue to do the cleanse every 6 months or so.) And her period has been ‘normal’ ever since!

And much to my joy I eventually got my wish to celebrate Tabitha with my community of women when she was 15!

I had been taking part in the Menarche Ceremony preparation at Sacred Arts Camp for a couple of years- running workshops with the young women and their mothers who were taking part; teaching them about charting their cycle, making moon necklaces, decorating red and white candles…

This particular year Tabitha came to camp with her friend who was keen to take part…so Tabi agreed to join her, choosing my best friend Nicho to be her ‘Moon Mother’ and my husband Tom as her ‘Moon Father’.

What I love about this ceremony is that it is open to any woman who hadn’t been celebrated at her menarche- as well as all the girls who have recently begun to bleed. So ages of those taking part can be from 10-40! It also involves the men, the grandmothers, the very young girls- anyone who wants to join in can have a role.

All week women meet in my moon lodge tipi to co-create the ceremony – deciding what songs will be sung, what dances to dance, finding musicians, collecting red and white clothes for the women taking part, choosing who will take which role….

Meanwhile the young women choose a Moon Mother who will attend the ceremony with them holding their hand and reassuring them, bringing them a gift, helping them to get ready, they might share blood stories with them and as part of the ceremony they dream them a ‘moon name’ the night before the ritual.

Many Moon Mother/Moon Daughter relationships continue years after the ceremony- even though girls may choose a woman who they only see once a year at camp! They also choose a Moon Father – someone older who can be another ‘wise father figure’ in their life and who will also make them a crown of leaves and flowers for the ceremony! The Moon Fathers have a powerful role in the ritual- bringing in the male energy.

Other men of the community get involved; they will meet to prepare- perhaps creating a song for the ceremony as well as sharing stories with each other about men’s traditions and honouring women! Their part in the ceremony is to ‘guard’ the sacred ceremonial space by dressing as ‘warriors’ and walking around the outside perimeter whilst drumming and chanting.

Once the Moon Fathers enter (after being challenged by the ‘Grandmothers’ -menopausal women) all the men will join the ceremony.

The ritual begins with the decorating of the big top- draping it in whatever cloths and sheets we have, flowers are placed in vases and jars, an entrance is made from willow and flowers, (the entrance is guarded by the wise grandmothers who welcome the girls in) lighting candles and incense and raising the energy by singing and chanting while we decorate and smudge ourselves with white sage!

All the women dress up- white if you haven’t begun to bleed yet, red if you’re a bleeding woman and black/purple for the menopausal women- although some women prefer just to wear any ‘dressy up’ clothes they have brought!

While this is happening the young women get ready with their moon mums in the moon lodge, being anointed with sacred water and dressing in white with a white ribbon in their hair.

Each year the ceremony is slightly different, this year, watching my daughter take part- and also taking part myself as her best friends Moon Mother was an emotional time for me! I don’t recall too much as I spent the ceremony on ‘auto pilot’ through my tears!

Walking in to a big top filled with 200+ women singing is a powerful experience! They sang and danced for the girls and their Moon Mothers, and then we left to change the girls from white to red- as each one left the space they turned and called out their name symbolizing leaving their ‘girl- child’ part of them self behind.

While we helped them change in the moon lodge, the ceremony continued with the passing of the ‘Yoni Cushion’ as a talking stick – as it passed each woman they spoke 3 words to summarise their bleeding experience- words like ‘connected, pain, loss, renewal and even -I’m not pregnant’!

After that songs and chants are shared until the young women re-enter- dressed in beautiful red clothes. The singing continues in honour of them and then there is the ceremonial hair cutting- once again symbolising the letting go of their childhood- the hair with the white ribbon is cut away and they are anointed with a red ochre crescent moon on their forehead- to remind them of their moon connection and the rhythm and flow of the moon. They drank from the sacred goblet (blackcurrant juice!) and then the Moon Mothers step forward to bless them with gifts and their new ‘moon names’ are whispered to them.

Now is the time for the men to enter! The Grandmothers had been guarding the entrance the whole time and now step back to allow the men in- first they were challenged ‘Do you come in to this space with love and respect for your sisters?’ To which of course they answered yes!

The ‘Moon Fathers’ stepped forward and crowned their Moon Daughters, as the rest of the men sang their gift song they had composed.

In return- our gift to the men for protecting our space was to share with them a blood mystery story- told by one of our amazing storytellers.

After that the musicians played, joined by the drummers and it was time to celebrate and dance the evening away!!

The young women left with their Moon Mums to go back to the moon lodge and have chocolate cake and ground after the ritual. Later that night (it was a full moon) we had a women’s sweat lodge- the perfect ending to a wonderful day!

Tabitha told me afterwards that although she had been really nervous and unsure about taking part, she was really glad she did and loved how ’special’ she had felt!

Tabitha has been such a joy to me- such an amazing young woman who has embraced supporting me in my work, she has challenged school friends, teachers and colleagues to look at their menstruation differently and use earth and body-friendly sanitary wear. She even accompanied me to the USA to attend the Red Web Conference in 2007!

Tabitha is now 20 and studying photography.

To find out more about Sacred Arts Camp see www.sacredartscamp.org

Liver cleanse:

Supporting the liver has amazing results with menstrual problems!

Below is a Liver Tonic drink:

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Juice of ½ lemon

1 clove of garlic

1 glass of Apple juice

1/8th inch of Ginger

Blend and drink each morning for 3 days, then reduce to 1 morning a week until menstruation. Avoid dairy products pre-menstrually.

The health and vitality of every organ, gland, and cell are dependent upon the liver. Even our intelligence, attitudes, emotions and vitality are largely related to the liver. Our ability to repel disease or recover from disease is very much associated with this incredible organ. The liver, along with the heart and brain, are the most important organs in our bodies. However, even the heart and the brain are dependent on the liver. No one can be healthy without a strong, clean liver.

Celebrating your First Moon & Being Creative with your Cycle

admin — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 07:17:18 +0000

Celebrating your First Moon (an exerpt from Thirteen Moons and Menarche ‘a journey into womanhood’ - both avaliable here )

The word ‘celebrate’ comes from an ancient Greek word ‘melpo’ which means to sing, dance and praise!

There are many ways to celebrate your first blood- here are a few suggestions-

• Have a RED PARTY! Invite your friends and all dress in red, decorate your home with red flowers, red cloths and eat red foods!
• Have a ‘pamper party’ with your girlfriends, give each other facials, paint your toe nails, braid one another’s hair- create a special girlie space to share your stories and perhaps read some of the ones in this book. Light a candle and share chocolate!
• Create a ceremony - ask your mum and friends to help.
• Talk to your mum about the steps to becoming a woman- is there something you’d like to help you to feel more grown up- to get your ears pierced, have your hair henna’d, or maybe redecorate your room? Chat some ideas over with your mum.
• Make yourself a moon necklace or moon belt that you only wear when you bleed.
• Create a special corner in your room for when you bleed- decorate it with pictures, crystals, stones, shells, goddess statues, candles, incense…
• Ask your mum to buy you some red bedding- soft red sheets to curl up in at your moon time!
• Write a letter to yourself- from your ‘young woman’ self to your ‘child girl’ self, honour her for being courageous to be taking these steps in to womanhood with you! Keep this letter safe and read it now and again.
• Start a women’s circle- gather your girlfriends together once a month- on the full moon or dark moon and have a pamper party, or watch a dvd, listen to music or together create items for your altars or make moon jewelry!

Be Creative with your Cycle by Dominique Sakoilsky

Our bleeding time is a time to turn inwards- its nice to have a special place to go (this is where the tribal moon lodges came from)…here’s some ideas for you! Give yourself a space, especially for your bleeding time, where you can be comfortable, relax, turn inwards and connect to yourself and the earth.

Some ideas to create a space for moon time:
Cushions, pillows, blankets.
Tarot cards, runes.
Pencils, paints, pens, paper - to make notes, pictures, poems, dreams.
A drum.
Goddess figures.
Special shells, stones, crystals.
Candles, incense and smudge stick (sage for cleansing & protecting, sweet grass for spirit and mugwort for visions.)
Oil burner (chamomile and lavender essential oils to relax.)
Massage oil.
Don’t over clutter your space or make yourself feel over stimulated, bleeding time is a time of reflection and inner connectedness which flows out to connect all around.
Often, making things helps to still the mind and help us deeper in to the wisdom of our bodies.
Dream pillows stuffed with lavender flowers and mugwort, decorated especially by you makes a beautiful bleeding time gift to yourself, or making a prayer stick: choose a stick that appeals to you and wrap threads of different colours and textures all around it, add other decorations, such as beads, crystals- anything that feels right. Smudging and chanting while you work will help open your heart and put healing intent and prayers into your stick. You could keep all your sticks from each month and burn them together in a ritual to release your prayers or burn it each time you make one.
Threading a necklace; putting healing and sacred energy in to it, connecting to your cycling nature when you wear it. Choose beads that relate to your different cycle phases and the moons cycle.
Touch your menstrual blood or paint with it, how does that feel? Does it bring up feelings of how you relate to your blood, the way it looks, feels, smells?

All these suggestions can help you open the doorway to your intuition and enter your Dream Time.

Celebrating Your Moon Time! By Rachael Hertogs
o Contemplate your first period and be grateful to your body for
all the years it has supported you and for all you have gone through – your life has brought you to where you are now!
o Give your period a name that creates affirmative thoughts about it; Moon Time, my moon, red moon, red tide, scared cycle, moon cycle, my flow, my sacred time, my special time…..
o Make a special Menstruation cushion for you to sit on while you bleed
o Sew a soft red bag to keep your sanitary wear in
o Chart your cycle so you know when you are due, and book a day off!
o Create an intention at each bleeding time to use the magic of your blood to bring healing in to your life
o Give yourself a henna hand tattoo
o Wear red knickers
o Rest and relax- have a massage, do gentle yoga, sit by the fire, chant, meditate etc
o Use soft comfortable cloth menstrual pads
o Make a menstrual journal and record your dreams, visions, feelings during your Moon Time
o Ask a friend/partner to cook your favourite meal
o Create a peaceful place (your personal moon lodge/red tent); dedicate a room to your moon time ; decorate the room with fabrics and candles
o Make a red silk dream pillow stuffed with relaxing herbs- only to use when you’re bleeding! (sleep herbs are chamomile, lavender & lemon balm, for a Menstrual pillow use hops, rose petals, lavender and mugwort)
o Light red candles
o Choose special moon time bedding; red satin sheets or red flowers…
o Make a menstrual belt with leather strips and beads
o ‘Take a personal inventory’ before your period; complete any tasks that need finishing, say things that you may have been bottling up during the month, ‘clear you side of the street’ so you can be fully present with your Moon Time.
o Wear a red scarf
o Stock up on good foods for your bleeding time
o Drink red juice- grape, pomegranate, cherry, cranberry, beetroot
o Begin a women’s circle; meet with friends and share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences of your cycle.
o Make a Moon Time Altar, choose special items that reflect your moon time and support the meditative qualities of this time of the month.
o Buy or make a special moon time necklace to wear when you bleed
o Eat red foods- beetroot, apples, cherries, strawberries, pomegranates, red onions, red peppers, cranberries, raspberries
o Buy herbal teas and tinctures that ease your menstruation
o Turn off the TV, your mobile phone, the computer, the lights and sit in candle light
o Wear red lipstick!
o Read inspirational women’s books
o Leave water out under the full moon, drink it and let the moons energy fill you
o Have someone braid/comb your hair
o Splash or spray yourself with Rose water
o Sing a song to Grandmother Moon
o Buy or make a special Moon Jar/container to keep your Moon Time things in, such as cloth pads/moon cup, jewellery, belts, altar items, fabrics, candles etc
o Paint or henna your nails
o Make a Moon Lodge; a place for bleeding women to gather, sing, relax & share women’s wisdom together.
o Read books about the Goddess
o Henna your hair
o Write in your journal about what has happened in your life since your last bleeding time.
o Meditate on the moon
o Make a list of all the things inn life that nourish you and make you happy
o Ask yourself- what is my image of a woman who embodies the scared and holy time of menstruation?
o Stay in bed all day, sleep, dream & bleed!
o Bleed directly on to the earth
o Wear a red skirt or dress
o Wash your cloth pads and sing a song to the earth while watering the ground with your blood water.
o Draw or paint, get creative- just see what comes
o Burn incense or sage and give thanks and a healing prayer- let the smoke carry your prayers in to the universe
o Honour your scared intuition, surround yourself with things that help heighten your menstrual sensory perception
o Your blood is sacred- dedicate your blood flow to healing.
o Say a prayer of gratitude when you begin to bleed each month; thanking your body for connecting you to the rhythm of life.
o Anoint yourself with scented oils
o Wear red clothes!
o Eat chocolate!
o Buy a red hot water bottle
o Paint with your blood!
o As your blood flows from you give an intention it is aiding you in letting go of anything you are holding on to that isn’t supporting your life’s choices.
o Make a belly pouch- to keep your hot water bottle at your belly (or use a scarf)
o Drum, rattle, sing, chant, then in the quiet listen to your inner voice- ask it for guidance
o Play with divination/oracle cards
o Gather your women friends for a pamper evening, give each other face masks, foot rubs and eat lovely snacks!
o Have orgasms- they ease cramps!
o Rub warm oil on your lower back and belly
o Bathe in rose petals
o Make a red hot water bottle cover to ease your cramps
o Tell your friends and family you are on your Moon Time
o Make a massage oil blend just for your bleeding time, use it every day you are bleeding.
o Give thanks to your body and tell her you love her!
o Go for a night time walk and see what phase the moon is in. make a note in your journal and compare moon phases each month.

Written in 1998 added to when inspired further by 105 Ways to Celebrate your Menstruation by Kami Mc Bride

News!

admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:22:00 +0000

Read about Moon Times on peoples Blogs:

Viva City Radio
My Zero Waste
Les Furies
still raising the next generation
Recycle This
selfconscious posturing
Questing Girl

History of Moon Times & The Environmental Facts!

admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:00:28 +0000

I first came across cloth pads when I was researching alternatives to disposable nappies- in 1989- I thought it was great- save money and the planet! My mother was horrified-it reminded her of the ‘rags’ of her youth! But I was determined to follow my instincts and use my washable pads anyway- in the late 80’s advertising was telling us to shove a tampon up us and get on with life- and my body told me to rest, regenerate and reflect while I was bleeding.

So with no design or sewing experience I made my own Moon Times- choosing pretty coloured and patterned cotton flannelette. They felt more like attractive underwear than a huge sticking plaster! Then I began making pads just for friends and family. After experimenting with various designs I have created (what I think is) the perfect pad that has wings for extra security, fastens easily and quickly with Velcro (hemmed in with zig zag stitch to prevent any edges rubbing!) and comes with a variety of ‘inserts’ for different flows.

When my daughter became a menstruating young woman- I gave her a gift of Moon Times- at first she was unsure, having been given the free packs and the info (from a certain tampon company) at school and the slight brainwashing of ‘periods are dirty, blood should be hidden away’, but of course she had grown up with me as her mum and soon embraced her Moons- she even took them to a sleepover and soon her friends were asking me to make them!

I still sew some of the pads myself but also outsource and have some students and single parents working for me. I was a single mum when I began the business and so it feels reallys good to support lone mums in this way. Work is flexible and they are able to work from home making the pads in their own time.

Because of having a baby & a child with special needs I only work part time, I keep my work to the day time in school hours where possible and try to keep weekends as ‘family time’. I have learned to say ‘no’ to work when I know life will become to busy and stressful- if I want to keep myself de-stressed, I need to keep a healthy balance of home and work life!

I am enthusiastic about all aspects of my business; teaching my workshops and Reiki I can encourage and empower people to make positive changes in their lives. Expanding my sales of Moon Times pads helps me to make a small difference environmentally and raise awareness around taking steps to be more eco-friendly- which is a cause I have been passionate about all my life!

And yes, I do use my own pads! I have happily bled on to my cotton pads since 1989, for me washing them has helps me ground and connect to my cyclic nature.

For more information about my workshops and classes click here

Environmental & Health Facts
Menstruation is a natural and healthy process. So why are we so hung up on the issue? Why, for so many, is it so associated with pain and negativity, surrounded by silence and secrecy? What effect does this culture of silence have in terms of our choice of sanitary protection and its implications for health and the environment?
Even if you only use ‘Moons’ at night it will reduce the amount of sanitary waste we women produce with ‘disposable’ products.
We spend an average 6.5 years of our lives bleeding. Most women in the world have no access to the luxury of disposable sanitary towels and tampons but the average woman in the ‘developed’ world uses 12,000- 17,000 of these products during her life. Taboos about menstruation have led to expensive, wasteful, polluting sanitary items, which bring unnecessary health and environmental problems. Moon Times Products are an alternative to disposable sanitary products.
In the UK we buy more than three billion disposable sanitary items every year; in 2001 we spent £370 million on them!!!
Four million tampons and pads are flushed away every day in the UK, adding to marine pollution.
It takes a tampon six months to biodegrade, a plastic sanitary towel liner lasts indefinitely.

Flushing sanitary protection causes 75% of blocked drains.
Then there’s the issue of the manufacture of ‘disposable’ products-despite being white disposable sanitary products are NOT sterile!!
Tampons are made from either cotton, or a mixture of cotton and rayon. Use of cotton of course raises issues of fair trade, pesticide use and genetic modification.
Rayon is chemically processed from wood pulp.
Disposable sanitary towels and panty liners are also made mostly from wood pulp, bleached from its natural brown colour.
Chlorine gas was originally the bleaching agent used, and was a source of dioxin, which is a known carcinogen-due to lots of campaigning from The Women’s Environmental Network they now use either chlorine dioxide or hydrogen peroxide. As a result of this and reduced use of chlorine in other processes, dioxin levels in the environment are tending to fall. Dioxins released during chlorine bleaching and plastics manufacture have been shown to cause cancer, miscarriages and damage to the immune system and toxic shock syndrome.

Moon Times pads are an ideal gift for:

young women new to their menses

new mothers who need soft cloth against their delicate tissue after giving birth

women who suffer from slight incontinence.

Moon Times are made with organic cotton flannelette and fair trade organic cotton. Inserts are available in organic cotton, hemp and towelling for extra absorbency. Flannelette is both soft and absorbent and used as the ‘top’ layer- next to your skin. You put an ‘insert’ (a small liner) inside the pocket of the pad (or a few if you are bleeding heavily) choosing cotton, hemp or towelling inserts. Pads have wings so they are very secure!

There are a few colour themes- plain organic (white or dyed colours), dark colours** and patterned* (*prints of flowers, butterflies, animal prints, rabbits, teddies etc dependant on what is available) and luxury ‘silky satin’ pads for those ‘special’ occasions!
** The top fabric on the dark, patterned flannelette and luxury pads are not organic

When you first use Moon Times, it may seem as if your flow is heavier or even lighter than usual- this is natural- I believe that some of the chemicals used in other sanitary products can affect the amount we bleed-also we may not be used to seeing our blood that closely!

Moon Times are the only manufactures of hand made organic washable pads in the UK. We also supply other ‘moon time’ products; moon sponges&cups, herbal teas, Women’s Wisdom Booklets and much more.

At Moon Times:
We empower women in body appreciation, environmental awareness and self-respect through the use of eco menstrual products.

We believe a healthy appreciation of our bodies and ourselves as women can be learnt through menstruation.

We believe when women are aware of the benefits of a sustainable, healthy, economically viable and comfortable alternative, they appreciate the contribution they can make by choosing alternative menstrual products.

We also believe women deeply appreciate learning about alternative and positive ways to think about their bodies.