Connecting with your Moontime

Life is ceremony.

Your body has her own sacred rhythms,

Allow yourself to slow down,

allow yourself to tune in,

Allow yourself to receive.

When was the last time you took the time to connect to, and celebrate your moontime? For most women this isn't something that ever crosses their mind. After all, it's not something that our culture does, and celebrating something that can cause you pain or other discomfort might be a strange concept, but I invite you to consider approaching it in a different way.

We live in a society that is energetically very masculine. Competition, constant striving (to be, do and have more), and pushing through are qualities that are highly valued. There is nothing inherently wrong with these aspects, but when they are not balanced with feminine energy they lead to exhaustion and burnout. It is very important to slow down and tune into your feminine energies, which include things like rest, nourishment, and intuition. Your moontime is a great time to do this. It's the perfect time to listen to your body and heart because if you're like so many women, your body speaks loud and clear during your cycle.

When your body is in pain, it needs you to listen. Imagine a friend, child or anyone that you care about calling out to you in pain. What would you do? You probably wouldn't ignore them, nor would you simply continue to go about your activities as usual. Chances are, you'd sit with them, listen to them, and perhaps offer some insight into their situation. So then why do we take such a drastically different approach to our body and our monthly period?

Here are some ideas that can help you connect more deeply with your body, and your cycle during your moontime:

1. Sit with yourself. Notice how your body/heart/mind feels. Is there pain anywhere? Is it pain, discomfort, or another type of sensation? What does it feel like? If you ask, does it tell you anything?

2. Align with some of the traditional feminine energies. Allow yourself to REST during your moontime. Slow down and really tune into what it is that you want and need. Many women dream more before, during or after their moon-- notice and write down your dreams.

3. Drink herbal tea and nourish yourself with good food. Not only can herbs help ease your pain, they are a wonderful way to connect with earth medicine. Some favourites include: red raspberry leaf, ginger, mugwort, motherwort, lemon balm.

4. Your body is physically cleansing and shedding a lining that is not needed. Is there anything that you need to cleanse or let go of? If so, you could do a little ritual around letting it go.

5. Pull cards. If you have a favourite card deck, this is a great time to ask for guidance.

6. Journal. Write down whatever feels right to you.

When you start to live life with ritual, and you tune into the natural rhythms that exist, you are energetically going with the flow rather than against it. When this happens, things begin to shift. Try this for a few moon cycles and see how you feel.

Moontime blessings to you.