Having taken many, many women through ‘catch up ceremonies’- whether they are birth, mid girl, menarche, leaving home, closing the bones, croning….whatever ceremony or ritual it might be, the response is always “THAT WAS POWERFUL!”
….and then there’s the positive after effects! For women who have taken part in a menarche ceremony and reconnected to their maiden self, its huge! Not only are they healing past parts of themselves, there is a very positive effect in the here and now- whether its improved relationships (with parents, partners, children…friends), deeper connection to themselves, healing of menstrual cycle issues, or a new found love of their cycle….
Some women may think they are “too old” to celebrate their menarche…this just isn’t true, it’s a profound ceremony to take part of at any age, and particularly important for women coming to the menopause threshold, revisiting their first period and really deepening in to the back story of their inner girl will support the menopause transition.
So many women struggle with the ‘post menstrual’ week of their cycle- which I believe comes from their wounded inner maiden. Our Maiden time- age 9-13ish (this will vary for everyone) is a vulnerable and tender time, when our little girl selves are so full of life and sweetness – and then often something happens which turns their lives upside down- it could be the birth of a sibling, breaking a limb, a parent dying or being ill, loss of a friend or pet, moving house/school…even small things can really affect us at this time and can potentially become traumas we carry around with us throughout our lives and will often come up in some form at this point in the cycle. I’ve even been asked if there is such a thing as ‘post menstrual depression’? My answer to this is always- do you chart your cycle, do you rest at your moon time, and can you go a bit slower as you come out of your moon time and attend to your inner girl?
Even those women who do get the chance to have a moon time rest/retreat, they may come out of it and rush straight back in to the world…perhaps fuelled with guilt at having taken time off, or because they now have a ‘back log’ of work to get on with! So I suggest to you that this is a time to be gentle with yourselves, know you are still vulnerable and tender at this time and need to go slow. See if this changes how this part of your cycle is for you…and remember, if your wounds/traumas from your childhood do come up, you don’t need to wallow in them all month, just allow yourself to spend a few days in your maiden time to offer your little girl a listening ear, go within and talk to her and see what comes up. you’ll be amazed at what you might heal.
For the women who have been celebrated with a ceremony, they have prepared, they have taken some time to look back at their menarche time in their life, thought about what they would have liked at that time to have been celebrated, perhaps they will bring themselves a gift to be honoured with…and then they will be witnessed in all their beauty, sung to, painted, anointed … This witnessing and holding by a circle of women is unbelievably healing…and yes, powerful!
A menarche ceremony is our birthright as menstruating women! All young women need to be witnessed and honoured so that they can be supported by their community as they change and grow. And for the community who witness these girls- ripples of healing occur and for the young woman- well she will be treated differently by them as she has been seen to be growing up!
Feedback from past ceremonies…
“The day was held so tenderly, I felt so nurtured and being witnessed by the circle was so powerful. I am now planning a ceremony with my daughter so she can be celebrated by her family and friends! Thank you for an amazing day”
‘Such a deeply heartfelt and magical ceremony. I was fearful that it would be painful, but discovered it to be a beautiful, tender experience that re-connected me to my maiden self in an unexpectedly joyful and empowering way. Rachael held this ceremony with such love, witnessing every woman in the circle with deep caring. And it was so moving to honour and be honoured by all the other women. For the first time in my life I am feeling the power and wisdom of my menstrual cycle!’
“I didn’t know what to expect, I just knew deep down this was something I needed to do, to heal that girl part of me. Yes, it did just that…the listening and holding was just what I needed. Thank you”
“This wasn’t ‘just a workshop’… the preparation beforehand, although was hard, it was hard to go back and look at this time in my life, I knew it needed to be done for me to fully enjoy the day, so the preparation was a big part in the ceremony being amazing. I think if I hadn’t done the preparation, guided by Rachael, I might have felt a bit of a fraud in the circle. But I didn’t, I felt held, loved, supported, I was able to be vulnerable, share from my heart and I felt so connected to these women who I didn’t know before! I’ve just been on cloud 9 since then…oh and my cycle has come back! wow!”
I had connected with Rachael previously on one of the Mother and Daughter camps. I experienced the care given to celebrating my daughter’s own rise towards womanhood and when the opportunity arose to receive similar nourishment from them myself through a catch up ceremony, I jumped at the chance to do so, knowing I could rely on her capable leadership. On the day, after working on the preparation materials provided, I was ready to receive exactly what I asked for and they gave and gave. It was definitely emotional and has been subsequently energising. Today I know I have shifted my family’s balance towards a thriving womanhood for future generations. I would recommend an honouring the menarche ceremony for girls or catchup for women to anyone who desires to honour who they are in a safe space, held with sensitive expertise and dedicated vision.
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