The OG Life-Death-Rebirth Cycle
Understanding the Menstrual Cycle
As a woman born into a female body, no one should be surprised that I am interested in the biological and energetic cycle that governs my everyday-life. However, it is extremely surprising how many people (of all genders, I might add!) still think that there is absolutely nothing interesting or curious about the hormonal ebb and flow that half the population runs on. They say things like “Is it really necessary to talk about it so much?!” As if we have already learned everything we can learn about this OG life-death-rebirth cycle.
We’ve deemed parts of it bad or dirty and have even developed an artificial solution for its “negative side effects” (hormonal birth control). Throughout the course of civilization’s history we’ve used our ignorant misunderstanding of it as the primary reason to oppress women and afab people (I’m thinking about the wandering womb, hysteria, and other such “diagnoses”), we’ve spread misinformation about it so we can uphold male supremacy (as evidenced by current lawmaking in the “land of the free” for instance), and we’ve seriously endangered and ended female and femme lives because of our incessant need to control nature’s chaos and our blind compliance in this linear man-made world of achievement and power.
The undeniable truth is that every single one of us, regardless of biological gender or identity, owes our existence to the natural phenomenon of the menstrual cycle. It's a fundamental aspect of human biology and reproduction. Whether directly experiencing it or not, the menstrual cycle is the biological process that allows for the conception and development of life. And, while this fact alone should be reason enough to want to know and respect it, it is also so much more than that. This cycle—in its natural form—determines so much more than just our fertility. It gives us cyclically occurring phases that govern our brain chemistry and composition, our energy levels and sleep rhythms, our body composition, our mental and psychological health, our love languages and intimacy, our communication and processing abilities, our productivity and ambition, and our sex drive. Put very simply: we are not the same person every single day.
And there’s more: archetypally speaking, our cycle phases grant us shape-shifting powers of identity and persona expression, inner work invitations for our individuation, rewilding, and healing journeys, and we carry the different stages of the alchemical process of shadow integration within our hormonal phases. How freaking amazing are our bodies?
Thus, the very essence of our being—our entire existence—traces back to this natural rhythm that has shaped humanity for millennia. As such, can you allow yourself to invite a moment of gratitude? There is so much cultural conditional, religious shaming, intergenerational trauma, and personal pain attached to our menstrual cycle and our periods... And, if we ever want to break those cycles (pun intended) and start healing these wounds, we gotta find it in us to take a step back for a minute and allow ourselves to look at our menstrual cycle as a life-giving force—both literally and figuratively.
Menstruating bodies are literal godds and goddesses, not because we wear flowy gowns and free bleed in our neo-spiritual divine feminine circles, but because we carry the phases of the moon in our systems; because we are the embodied wisdom of transformation, death, and renewal; and because we are fuelled by both the necessary high-energy phases and rest-&-recovery times to create tangible, libratory change in this world. If only we were allowed and empowered to live in sync with our cycle…
So, I wish ALL OF US showed more interest in the menstrual cycle and period health of all menstruating bodies. I wish ALL OF US showed more interest in the challenges we face in a too-linear world of power-over-and-against that constantly seeks to biohack its way to ever-more exploitation and productivity. I wish ALL OF US showed more interest in how to facilitate and support our healing journeys towards a slower life in sync with nature’s cycles.
I hope you can take this piece as an invitation to get comfortable with your phases of the menstrual cycle.
If you are living in a menstruating body, this is for you.
If you have people in your life with menstruating bodies, this is for them, and for you, too.
If you come from a menstruating body, guess what, this is for you as well.
Learn about the cycle phases over on my brand new Substack: The Baba Yaga Bulletin
Consider subscribing for regular news from the world of menstrual health research, the “femtech startup scene”, and in-depth education around cycle health for all types of menstruating bodies. This is the space to come hang out if you’re into intersectional feminism, libratory change, and systemic healing for an old/new world.