Menstruation, Dark of the Moon

Inward, releasing, slow, sacred

Inner Winter is the time in your cycle when you menstruate and the few days leading up to it.

If you are in menopause, or aren’t currently menstruating, you can embody the power of Inner Winter by cycling with the Dark of the Moon.

Inner Winter is the time to physically and emotionally release everything that no longer serves you. It is the time to go slow, to nourish yourself, and to deepen your connection with your inner womb oracle.

If you don’t have a regular menstrual cycle, use the Dark Moon (the moment just before the new moon) to set your intention as to what you’re releasing this lunar cycle, and then use the New Moon and the 3 days afterwards as your Inner Winter time to reflect on what you’re releasing, and making space for.  

Your Inner Winter is a powerful time to ‘catch the vision’ of your inner oracle. Slowing down and making time to listen to Her can be a beautiful practice to deepen into.

Learn more about the power of Inner Winter here.

Follicular Phase, Waxing Moon

Emergence, initiation, blossoming

Inner Spring is the time after your menstrual bleed, or Day 5 of the New Moon phase if you no longer have a menstrual cycle, or are cycling with the moon.

The duration of the follicular phase can differ depending on the length of your unique cycle.

Just like a tiny sprout emerging from the dark deep soil, the invitation of Inner Spring is to emerge slowly from your Inner Winter time.

If you experience anxiety or overwhelm, gently emerging from Winter to Spring can gift you the spaciousness you need to get ready for the full bloom of ovulation.

Like a bee buzzing from flower, to flower, Inner Spring is a time to play, to flirt with ideas, to try different things without attaching ourselves to a specific outcome.

It’s a time of our Inner Maiden. The innocence of life and the joy that comes from being carefree.

Ovulation Phase, Full Moon

Full Bloom, Radiance, Confidence, Fertility, Creativity, Birth, Beingness

Inner Summer is a powerful time to make things happen.

If you no longer have a menstrual cycle, and are cycling with the moon it’s the Full Moon phase of the lunar cycle.

Inner Summer is a time when oestrogen, or the Full Moon energy is at it’s peak. This surge in feminine fullness empowers you to open up your heart to the magnificence of your power. To step into your beingness, to embody the fullness of everything that is you.

It’s a time to birth the ideas we seeded in Inner Spring and to open ourselves to the potentiality of our fullness.

However, Inner Summer, and the Full Moon can be a time of intense overwhelm. The heady highs, can increase emotional burn-out. It can also be a tender time of deep grief if previous dreams haven’t gone full term.

Inner Summer is a time where we need to bring a conscious balance to giving AND receiving. Of pausing before we always say yes.

It’s also the season that calls us to grace ourselves with tenderness and understanding, particularly if we’re afraid our dreams won’t be fully realised or experienced.

If you feel the heady highs of ovulation overwhelming, look back to whether you got enough rest during your Inner Winter.

Go gentle on the dopamine. Spending money, over-indulging your whims, too much caffeine and alcohol can over-stimulate the nervous system when oestrogen levels are already high.

Not everyone loves ovulation and the full moon energy. If you want to learn more about the shadow side summer, you can read about it here.

Luteal Phase, Waning Moon

Harvest, Reflection, Introspection, Meet-Thyself, Decay

Inner Autumn is your own personal Medicine Woman. She will gift you with wisdom that you don’t always want to hear, but that is always what you need in the moment.

This is the premenstrual time, or the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. If you no longer menstruate or aren’t currently menstruating - it is the Waning Moon phase of the lunar cycle.

Inner Autumn is the time where we are invited to reflect on all the things that are no longer working, so that you can release them with your next Inner Winter.

Inner Autumn is a rich time of harvesting. It’s a time to celebrate the abundance of your previous cycles or to reflect on why your ‘proverbial barn’ may not be full.

Premenstrual rage is often a sign that you don’t have enough spaciousness to really go and meet yourself.

Invite the people around you to give you a little breathing room. Create ways that you are able to slow down and be with yourself so that you can be conscious of these ‘get real’ moments.

Often spaciousness and timeout can be the solution to releasing the intensity of premenstrual rage.

This can be a challenging task, as we are not taught to slow down in this fast-paced world.

By seeing your truth, you can then choose what you want to release with your next Inner Winter or Dark Moon phase.

Like leaves falling in the autumn wind, they fall to the ground, decaying and becoming the nourishment for the nexts seeds to sprout.