Ah, yes, a period. The horror scenes of my teenage years returned to me in one fell swoop. After 7 years on the Mirena Coil, I’m having my first proper period. 

Being an astrologer, I noted the Moon’s movements, and it seems curious that the Moon moved from my 12th house in Leo into my 1st house in Virgo between day one and two. I’ll explain why:

Astrological seasons are a thing, based on your profections using your rising sign. So, for example, the July-August Leo season, being my 12th house, is a time for rest. Think of your rising sign season like a rebirth! 

Naturally, when the moon moves from the 12th through your rising sign and 1st house, there is a shift reminiscent of a bleed. 

I am also shocked at the sensory implications of a period, I forgot how visceral it is and honestly, bloody. It feels violent and raw, painful and sad and exhausting.

I feel like an animal lying down to die
yet after this,
I’ll be born anew in the springtime.
 

I had a difficult relationship with my menstrual cycle as a teenager. It didn’t start until I was around 14, and someone actually tried to bully me in school, saying I wasn’t a woman yet.

My sister in Christ, what???

 I would get nosebleeds usually on the first day of my period, horrendous bowel experiences, cramps that could knock out a horse and on lucky cycles, vomiting and migraines. With it being the 2000s and women's healthcare still a mystery, I went on the combined pill. After that my mum called me a slut for going on it.

If anything, I’m a slut for not feeling shit.


Over the last (nearly) twenty years, I’ve dabbled in all sorts of birth control and what was undiagnosed PMDD. I only felt the urge to come off what was a coping mechanism ultimately once I had the skills and resilience to manage these feelings and sensations that come with a period.*

Your period is a report card of the last month, and I’m ready now to focus on my physical side after getting my head straight. I do believe periods are worsened by emotional trauma, and PMDD is high in neurodiverse and traumatised individuals. 

I won’t be keeping a jar of period blood on my altar or wiping myself on a tree (no shade, hehe), but I will be honouring the cycle more and embracing this deeply vulnerable, hellish, incredible thing. 


How are you embracing your menstrual cycle?


* If you have PMDD and need medication or birth control, do your thing. I definitely needed those things! There’s no shame in doing what’s best for you.
**Shout out to Brittney (WithMoon) for helping me through this transition with your wisdom and herbal medicine.