All indigenous cultures around the world revered women for their ability to birth Life!
In order to birth Life, we must first Menstruate!
In native cultures menstruation was known as the time when the veil between the worlds is thinnest
In native cultures menstruation was considered a time when women have access to the Divine
In native cultures women had special places to go to when they Flowed: Moon Huts, Moon Lodges, Red Tents.
It was understood that when a woman bleeds
she is in a heightened state, and cannot be bothered with everyday tasks!
In native cultures women spent their bleeding days in Moon Lodges talking, crafting, resting, dreaming, laughing, crying, napping, chatting, being quiet, simply having time-off to re-charge their batteries!
In native cultures women in Moon Lodges dreamed prophesies for their tribes
In native cultures people brought questions to the bleeding women: from personal matters, to elders asking whether to wage war…
The answers that Bleeding Women received in dreams, were followed with reverence!
In today’s cultures –
most women have nowhere to go to when they bleed, most women act as if their bleeding time is no different than any other time, most women don’t rest or renew their energy when they bleed, most women don’t talk about what they need when they bleed, many women think their blood is gross…
What’s wrong with this picture???
YOU now know what’s wrong with this picture, so make your own picture, instead!!!
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Excerpt from A Diva’s Guide to Getting Your Period – A hip, artsy, full-color, empowering booklet for Tween & Teen girls –
by DeAnna L’am © 2011
Art by Jessica Jarman-Hayes, © 2011
All rights reserved
7 Responses
Thank you so much. Your wisdom is such a blessing. I’m so pleased to have found you and your site!
DeAnna – I just posted this powerful piece on my Journey of Young Women Facebook page. Thank you so much for this vivid and pithy look at the contrast between a reverenced and honored moontime, and an ignored or even reviled bleeding time. Let’s re-member the beauty and value of our bleeding, and treat ourselves like the sacred vessels we are. Your work is doing much to manifest this!
Thank you so much, Katharine!
I only now saw this comment (didn’t receive a notification for some reason…)
Much gratitude for your posting, and for the beautiful and meaningful work you do in the world, in service of women and girls!
Hello there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok. I’m definitely enjoying your blog
and look forward to new posts.
Hi,
Thanks fro reaching out!
I have a twitter account but hardly ever use it… I’m on facebook a lot, though :-)
My personal facebook page is:
https://www.facebook.com/DeAnna.Lam
And my organization’s page: Red tents In Every Neighborhood is:
https://www.facebook.com/RedTentsInEveryNeighborhood?fref=ts
I hope to meet you there!
You also can stay connected by receiving my monthly newsletter, ‘Inspire!’
for which you can sign up (free, of course) on the Top Right corner of this page.
With many blessings,
DeAnna
I’ve just started the red moon course and it’s just what we all women around the world should know from day one. It’s been a journey to understand and align with my womb wisdom but finally at 37 I got there.