The Moon Cycle & Menstrual Cycle Connection
Ever wonder why you and many women bleed on the new or full moon? Or perhaps you have wondered the energetic connection of bleeding on a particular moon phase…
Studies show that peak rates of menstruating (releasing the lining) and ovulating (releasing the egg) are on the New and Full Moon.
Why?
To understand this, we must first understand the fluctuations of the moon phases and the menstrual phases.
The moon rotates around the earth in about a 28-day rotation. It goes from New Moon (dark), to Waxing Half Moon (becoming brighter into full), Full Moon, and Waning Half Moon (becoming darker into New).
During this time, the moon is closest to the earth during the New and Full moons. At this time of closer proximity, there is a stronger gravitational pull on the earth, affecting our waters and our tides.
…even animal behavior is affected: some species of turtles lay their eggs during the full moon, as the higher tides bring them further up shore.
… and our feminine bodies are affected. Think about this: Our bodies are made up of 74% water, and gravity has a pull on water. These moon phases are pulling on our reproductive organs, secreting sacred liquids such as menstrual fluids and ovulatory juices.
So, in other words, the moon can impact where we are at in our cycle.
But what if we are not bleeding/ovulating on the new or full moon? What if we are bleeding at different times, like near the waxing or waning halves?
There are several theories about this, but first, to bring some clarity, it is important to understand the hormone shifts in the menstrual cycle which cause physical, emotional, mental, and energetics shifts.
Just like the moon has four phases, we also have inner moon phases we go through:
Menstrual Phase: inner winter, new moon
Follicular Phase: inner spring, waxing moon
Ovulatory Phase: inner summer, full moon
Luteal Phase: inner autumn, waning moon
Our Menstrual Phase is a time of rest, shedding, and sacred PAUSE. In this great pause, we energetically receive new seeds of ideas that incubate in this restful stillness, only to birth during our next phase- our inner spring.
The New Moon makes the night very dark, and our bodies typically should produce more melatonin at this time, a hormone that helps us sleep… if we are in rhythm with the moon.
In our Follicular Phase (our inner spring), which comes right after we finish bleeding, our new ideas sprout and grow. This phase is about energy, growth, as estrogen levels start to climb, a hormone that builds the follicles, tissues, and uterine lining. This energy of growth matches the Waxing Half Moon energy, as the moonlight is becoming more visible, eventually into Full Moon glow.
Eventually, we release our egg as estrogen levels climb high enough and we are fertile, fully expansive in our Ovulatory Phase, our inner season of summer and fertility. This time of the month matches up with the Full Moon, where moon light is illuminated which decreases melatonin production, potentially causing us to feel wired with more energy.
Ever had that happen on a Full Moon? Can’t sleep… feeling wiry, like you want to howl at the moon like a mystical werewolf?
Now you know why…
Our energy shifts yet again: as progesterone levels climb in our Luteal Phase, our inner autumn, we feel like slowing down more to ground and prepare the nest for our inner winter, our inner bleed. The energetics of this phase match the contracting light of the Waning Half Moon, as it prepares to move into New Moon.
Some women are synced with the moon in it’s changing rhythms of light, and some women’s cycles shift and change so they bleed on different moon phases. Many women even bleed in complete opposite, where they bleed on the Full Moon and ovulate on the New Moon.
In this case, there are different possible understandings to share why this occurs, and I encourage you to determine what resonates and feels right for you!
Light Pollution:
Back when we lived in tribal times, we lived close to earth. Our only sources of light were fire, the stars and the moon. It was reported that women bled with the New Moon together, and this is even shown in current tribal cultures.
With modern technology, we have lamps on into the late evening, street lights outside our bedroom window while we sleep, and some of us may even be on our computers until the wee hours of the morning. These artificial lights give off a glow… which our bodies perceive as moonlight, and this can cause the suppression of melatonin, creating sleep issues and interrupted circadian rhythm.
Creative, Feminine Energy Output/Input:
Another school of thought is it has to do with our creative energy, which is directly linked with our sexual, fertile energy, as the Taoists have taught.
- Full Moon Bleeding (called a Red Moon Cycle): occurs when our creative energy is expanded outward, such as birthing a project for a globalized perspective like a business or sharing our energy to support communal efforts, or even sharing ourselves in a vulnerable extroverted way.
- New Moon Bleeding (called a White Moon Cycle): occurs when our creative energy is focused inward, nurturing our health, healing for introspection, and even potentially cultivating fertility and spaciousness to become pregnant.
- Waxing or Waning Moon Bleeding: Waxing Moon bleeding energetically correlates to the inner building and cultivating of ideas in which could eventually be shared and birthed for the outer world in business, a move, an epic change, a new system of living or external structure. Waning Moon bleeding is when creativity is expanded outward, but there has been a shift in focus for returning more into the self for introspection, for boundary creation, letting go, grounding and regrouping the structure of what’s been created and what one is committed to.
Further details of this methodology is shared in my online course Goddess in Rhythm– which is an extensive 5 week online program to live in harmony with you menstrual cycle the moon cycle and your inner seasons with nutrition, herbalism, goddess rituals, and workouts.
Synchronizing with your SeaStar’s womb:
Ever noticed you and all your besties are bleeding together? Our wombs attune to each other’s! This is because women historically have lived in communities, operating the functions of the tribe together such as looking after the babies, cooking, gathering berries and grasses, and taking care of the hearth. Women are designed support each other and flow with each other.
Connecting with each other’s personal intuitive energy is a big part of this. You may notice the SeaStars you are bleeding with have similar life experiences that you are having, or perhaps you have something to learn from them?
For me, personally, my womb is extremely receptive to other SeaStar’s wombs who I am co-creating with or learning from. My womb was synced up with my friend whom I traveled with in Southeast Asia for several months. Even our flows postponed together through the changes in time zones.
I also notice my cycle shifts as I begin a new work collaboration with another SeaStar to attune to her creative energy so we can harmonize together. When I temporarily moved to my birth home, my womb changed my flow and it started the day my brother’s fiancé started bleeding. I know my purpose is a Guardian and Healer of Wombs and my own flow syncs with others to gain deeper understanding of the collective to harmonize and support.
Can you relate? We can even take this further…
The energetics of the moon can relate to the cycles of womanhood:
Maiden: Waxing, Spring
Mother: Full, Summer
Enchantress (PeriMoonpause): Waning, Autumn
Crone (Moonpause): New, Winter
This is a whole other concept that I teach in our Red Tent Gatherings. For now, I will leave you with this to ponder and explore.
Want more on hormones and seasons? Check out my post “The Hormone Dance of Your Moon Cycle.”
Blessings Goddess, to you and your Magickal Sacred Womb. May you always see your cycle as exquisite as it truly is!
Love,
Allie, Modern Goddess Lifestyle
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3716780
https://www.drnorthrup.com/wisdom-of-menstrual-cycle/
