Blocking Off Blood Moon Days
We all want a schedule that aligns with the specific needs of our unique body & honors our personal cycles, rhythms, desires, & pleasures.
This is a collective yearning I feel deep in my bones.
Growing up in the 80’s & 90’s, I remember tv commercials & ads in magazines that told me (I’m paraphrasing):
“Just shove a tampon up there, put on your white pants, & go! Go! Go!”
After hearing this so many times over, I internalized that it was my fault that I couldn’t go-go-go while I was menstruating.
I also internalized the belief that taking time for myself during my monthly cycle was indulgent, lazy, & not what a “woman” does [side note: gender doesn’t correlate with biological function].
🩸 Those ads from my youth trained me to believe that the natural functions of my body was something that I had to deal with, ignore, & move on.
🩸 Those ads trained me to NOT call in sick from a server job when I was crumpled up on the floor from cramps because I was supposed to just go-go-go & serve, right?
🩸 Those ads also trained me that even though I am the boss, & the owner of my own business, I cannot include my body’s well-being in my annual planning.
Most of us start a business to have control over our schedules, yet the practice of blocking out time for our monthly moon is deemed outrageous.
“Outrageous” because that's what those behind the ads, the cisnormative heteronormative imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy (Laverne Cox & bell hooks), want us to believe.
So in late 2019, I said “FUCK THAT” to the advertisers of my youth & I started to block out days in my schedule for when Aunt Flo visits.
As with all new personal habits, it’s a practice.
Sometimes I get into scarcity mindset & change those days in my calendar from busy to free so clients can book.
Sometimes I schedule things during my blood moon anyway.
Sometimes, though, I close my laptop, grab a hot water bottle & take a nap.
The biggest surprise I’ve received from this practice of blocking out my schedule is that I’ve discovered rhythms of my energy I’ve never noticed before.
The days right before I’m really creative, the days during I’m super spiritually connected, & the days right after I feel energized!
If I had just continued to go-go-go, this pattern would not have revealed itself. Now I can intentionally work with my energy, rather than push on through.
Blocking off Blood Moon Days – literally, that’s what it says – in my calendar is one way I practice the ritual of showing up as ME.
I invite you to ponder the below prompts so you too can say FUCK OFF to the advertising overlords & prioritize your well-being.
When I get really quiet, what does my body want? What does my body need? What does my body desire?
Where & when do I usually push on through? What could I do instead?
What embodied practices, rituals, &/or patterns am I ready to cultivate & integrate into my life, work, & personal practice?
However you plan (or not plan) your month, may it bring you beauty, love, & ease.
