Blood Rites & Rituals
It’s not a waste product, it’s the most sacred nectar on the planet that connects us to spiritual superpowers. No wonder it’s been shamed and banished from modern culture. Hide it, get back to work, take a Midol and don’t let boys see a glimpse of it.
In so many ancient cultures, the first bleed of a teenage girl was honored as a rite of passage. She is now able to become pregnant, and moves from girl to a more embodied woman- a new phase of being. “Bauls (a group of mystic minstrels of Bangladesh) view this as a deeply spiritual time. A girl’s first period is a cause for community celebration and a cloth used to catch the menstrual blood is soaked in a mixture of cow’s milk, camphor, coconut milk and palm sugar, which is then drunk by her family and friends.”
How was the experience of your first bleed? How were you received by your family and how has that influenced your relationship to your blood?
Ancient Greece, Egypt and traditions all over the planet have ritual roots of celebrating the moon time, her blood, and the sacred process of shedding. What do you think the ancestors of the earth did with their blood before the technology of toxic, plastic, single use tampons and pads were invented? The blood was collected with natural fibers and given back to the earth as an offering. Women on their bleed, in some cultures, were known as super-psychic at this time and served as spiritual conduits in this time of heightened connection. This is accessible through connection to your blood.
What’s your relationship to your period? Is it a time to retract and tune in with your body, emotions, flow and heart? Is it a time to push harder and wish for it to be over?
There is SO much spiritual potential in our blood and bleeding time. Here are some rituals to deepen your experience, and ways to commune more closely with your blood.
-PERIOD CUP. An amazing alternative to tampons or pads- which are highly unsustainable and unhealthy. The cup reduces single use waste and captures the blood rather than absorbing it- allowing it to be reused, not disposed. This also gives us access to really connecting with our blood & therefore ourselves. I’ve received personal guidance not to use the cup every day of my bleed, but only when I feel a need to capture blood for a specific type of ritual requiring the blood to be undiluted by water (from free bleeding onto cloth and washing it with water). So I typically wear a cup on day 1 or 2 when I’m bleeding the heaviest. This is the most rich blood.
If you’re into period panties, make sure they’re not from a mass producing company that uses toxic ingredients in their dyes or fabrics. Same for undies in general- the lacey, tight, elastic, synthetic victoria’s secret shit is filled with toxic chemicals that poison the yoni!!! Hello mysterious yeast infections. Make your own period panties by sewing (helpful primal skill) a thick wool sock into some old undies that fit nice and snug. My dear sister @littleplantlady on IG has great handmade, absorbent plant dyed period undies too. If you can be home for most of your bleed, make a towel diaper with a designated bleeding towel and feel the liberation of true free bleeding!!! Where you’re not catching it within the yoni or even directly outside of it, but really feeling the feeling of the blood dripping out and onto the inner thighs. magic.
-RECYCLING YOUR BLOOD. Yes, drinking it. Please don’t google this. Ha. Go ahead, there’s obviously tons of debate declaring how disgusting and unsafe it is. the classic fear tactics keeping us from our spiritual power and expanded consciousness. Drinking your blood replenishes the body with nutrients, and deeply nourishes the psychic connection of our wombs and sight, to spirit. You can start this process by dipping your finger into your moon cup and licking a drop, or adding a drop to a cup of cacao etc. I will NEVER pour my cup down the toilet again. NEVER. I will drink it rather than treat it like trash in that way. I do this regardless! Talk about feeling superhuman…
Also with recycling blood- I find it beautiful peeing into a bucket or big glass bowl during my bleed because so much blood releases when going to the bathroom. It literally pains me to see blood be flushed down the toilet. We don’t need any longer to connect our consciousness with trash. I leave a lid on the bowl and keep it next to the toilet. I offer it to the garden at the end of each day. It informs me on another layer what’s really happening during this time… I include the small bits of toilet paper as well, since it catches the fluids and clots. Please if you haven’t already, stop using fragrance or toxic toilet paper with chemicals, dyes etc. This is absorbed straight into the blood stream through the vagina and anus.
-PAINTING. As you dip a paint brush into your sacred blood & allow art to become of it, the pattern & vibration of your creation & blood fuse into your psyche with each movement. Paint a flower, a vagina, anything that feels inspiring with your blood as the paint. Let it be a free flow. This practice is an amazing pathway to discovering the beauty of our blood & cycle when it blossoms into a spectacular creation.
-FACE MASK. Blood holds incredibly rich medicines for our skin & hormones. Dipping your fingers straight into your cup and onto your face create an empowering re-writing of the traditional period conditioning. Feel the warmth, notice the shade of red, notice any clumps. These are all indications of the health of your cycle. Smooth and consistent declare a very balanced body. Large clots and varying colors indicate potential to nurture the body deeper. Do this practice before getting in the shower, so you can easily wash it off afterwards. Or go into public like this. Applying your blood really anywhere on the body is wonderful- over the womb space, heart, throat, anywhere you declare healing to commence & wish to bless with your yoni medicine. Great to do with your tears too…
-EARTH OFFERING. Collect your blood in your period cup and create an outdoor altar that you'll use each cycle to make your offering back to pachamama. Mother Earth provides so generously- what a simple and humbling privilege to be able to offer back in this way. Your altar can be a little fairy house you make from twigs, a designated spot in the dirt or even indoors in a plant pot if you don't have private, sacred outdoor space. The point is to offer the blood back, to the same spot, each cycle. To give thanks to earth, our divine connection to her and the living embodiment we are of her. You know the Hopi Prophecy that says “when women offer their blood back to the earth, the men will come home from war and war blood will no more be shed.”
-JOURNALING. Not necessarily with your blood, but journaling the details of your cycle, for the sake of tracking it, getting to know it better. Note how you feel before you start bleeding, your moods, your bathroom cycles, your mental & emotional state, your food intake, your physical influences... all aspects of the cycle. This allows us to thread connections together between each flow. We can notice a certain food that doesn't feel well at that time, notice an outstanding need to slow down at this time, notice that emotions seem to arise at this time, notice that the body manifests signs in other ways besides blood. Notice that digestion may shift, you may feel more creative, more inclined to hide away from people etc- take note of it all. Find empowerment in the themes to be equipped in honoring the most ideal environment for your moon cycle. It is to be cherished & loved.
-NOURISHING PLANTS. The world's best fertilizer. Dilute your blood either by washing your period panties/clothing you bleed on in a bucket with water, or pour your cup into a container of water (the blood is highly concentrated & strong when straight up) to love your plants with!!! They love it. If it's a fruit bearing plant, enjoy the richness this process elevates. Notice how your plants respond. This directly nurtures the Earth!!!!!
-LOVEMAKING CEREMONY. In breaking the taboo around period sex, and really the period overall, this is an incredibly potent way to share the sacred nectar and consciousness of your blood with a partner, allowing them to be encoded with your magic, full intertwining of your DNA. If a male partner, they can “drink it up” with their penis. If a female partner, she can drink it up in a variety of ways- feel it out for yourselves. Set very clear intention in this sharing ceremony, as your partner is likely to be upgraded by the intelligence your blood is and holds. Feel into painting each other with your blood, dissolving the shame of it, allowing a mess to be made. It’s helpful to lay a towel or old sheet down, so guilt of “dirtying” the sheets won’t have opportunity. Notice the sensitivity in your body and speak to it. Let your lover nurture you in a more tender way than usual. Invite the intelligence of your womb to speak through this shared connection.
-PRAYER. An immensely potent time to simply connect with your womb. Place your hands on your lower belly and ask your womb to communicate with you about what needs healing, what's ready to be shed in this cycle of blood, what she needs more of and how to honor yourself in the utmost. Do this laying down in bed in a meditation, before and after sleep. Affirm your love for your body, womb and cycle by simply incorporating this loving awareness and sensitivity to what subtle messages are available to you.
-ATTENTIVENESS. Listen to your body, take a break from everything, hydrate, eat intuitively, receive loving touch & massage if it feels right, let your emotional expression be free, step into the space of non judgment with these practices & most of all, learn to surrender to the primal cycles of the body. They are sacred. These practices were intuitively known by our ancestors before tampons and shame were invented. Returning to this primal state is tapping into our ancestry & timeless relationship with mama Gaia and the coding within your DNA.
