Waxing moon
The Maiden
Pre-ovulatory phase
Energy, curiosity and the wish to start new things come back.
The moon and your cycle
Your cycle and the moon
The moon as a mirror of your cyclical nature. Take what serves you.
Cyclical like the moon
“Menstruation” comes from the Latin mensis, “month”, a sister of the Greek mene, “moon”. For thousands of years, the women who came before you looked at the sky to understand their bodies and the rhythms of the earth. Today you too can look up and ask yourself which phase you're in.
Four moons within you
In Red Moon, Miranda Gray uses the phases of the moon as a mirror of the phases of your cycle, and gives each one an ancient figure to go with it.
Full moon
The Mother
Ovulatory phase
You open outwards: you care, you hold and you give life to what matters to you.
Waning moon
The Enchantress
Premenstrual phase
Energy turns inwards. Intuition, creativity and clarity about what you no longer want to carry wake up.
Dark moon
The Wise Crone
Menstrual phase
You withdraw, rest and listen. It's the moment to let go and to see clearly.
Waxing moon
The Maiden
After your period, your body begins to fill up again. Oestrogen rises, and with it energy, a wide-awake mind and the wish to move and try things often return.
The Maiden is the figure of spring: the young woman who explores, who begins, and who doesn't need to have it all figured out yet. She stands for independence, freshness and trust in yourself.
These days you may feel like planning, learning something new or taking the first step in a project. Notice what your body asks of you: every cycle is unique and the phase is only a guide.
Full moon
The Mother
Around ovulation, energy is usually at its peak and turns outwards. You may feel more talkative, more patient and more eager to be with others.
The Mother is the full moon and summer: the figure who cares, holds and helps things grow. She isn't only about having children, but about everything you nourish with your time and attention: a project, a relationship, your community.
It's a good time for important conversations, for working together and for giving. And also for remembering that you are part of what you care for.
Waning moon
The Enchantress
After ovulation, progesterone takes the lead and energy begins to turn inwards. Sensitivity grows, and what you used to put up with now stands out more.
The Enchantress is the waning moon and autumn: the one who sees what isn't working and no longer wants to keep quiet about it. She is intuitive, creative and a little wild, and her strength lies in transformation.
If you feel more sensitive or irritable these days, maybe it isn't something to fix, but information. Listen to it: write, create, tidy up and ask yourself what you no longer want to carry.
Dark moon
The Wise Crone
With your period, your body lets go and renews itself. Hormones are at their lowest, and your body often asks for calm, warmth and less noise.
The Wise Crone is the dark moon and winter: the one who withdraws to listen, who keeps the memory and knows what truly matters. She stands for rest, introspection and the wisdom that is born from silence.
If you can, give yourself permission to slow down. Clarity often arrives in that stillness, and from it the Maiden is born again.
Every month you move through all four. Each one is a part of you: get to know it and honour it with presence.
White moon and red moon
Sometimes your cycle meets the moon's, and it's lovely and curious to notice. In the tradition of the cycle, and in books like Miranda Gray's Red Moon, there are two ways of moving with her.
White moon
Your period comes with the new moon, on the darkest night, and you ovulate with the full moon. Your brightest moment meets the full light of the sky, and in the darkest time you withdraw, rest and renew yourself. It's the rhythm of fertility and care: nourishing, holding and helping things grow, whether it's a life, a project, a home or a relationship.
Red moon
Your period comes with the full moon and you ovulate with the new moon. You bleed when the sky is at its brightest, and your creative strength turns towards your inner world. It's the rhythm of the wise woman and the healer: intuition, creativity, personal growth and what you share from there.
Throughout your life you may move from one moon to the other, depending on what you're living and what your body asks of you. Both are wise and both are yours. Notice which moon you bleed with now, and let it inspire you.
How to observe it yourself
Getting to know your body starts with observing it. It's the root of Pabla Pérez San Martín's natural gynaecology: nobody can read your cycle better than you.
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Getting to know your body starts with observing it. It's the root of Pabla Pérez San Martín's natural gynaecology: nobody can read your cycle better than you.
Write down the first day of your period and, if you feel like it, which phase the moon is in.
Look at your blood: the colour, the amount, whether there are clots. Lara Briden says your period is like a monthly report card of your health.
Each day, write one line about how you are: energy, mood, sleep, desire. Notice your discharge too: when it turns clear and stretchy, like egg white, ovulation is getting close.
After three or four cycles, look at how your phases repeat and when your cycle meets the moon.
If you use hormonal contraception, your bleeding doesn't follow the natural cycle, but you can still observe how you feel each day.
A word you don't know? Have a look at the glossary.