How observing the moon as a family can connect your daughter to herself and some methods to do this…
Greetings to all as we near our autumnal equinox in this harvest moon cycle. As women, we are considered the “rhythm keepers,” as our monthly cycles are intimately connected with the rhythmic cycles of the moon. The moon was watched closely by our ancestors to measure the length of each month and to determine agricultural and ceremonial activities according to its phase. How can it help your daughter to stay connected to the moon and the night sky?
The word “month” comes from the word “moon,” which shows us that months were originally connected to the cycles of the moon. Living modern lives, most of us now use paper or electronic calendars to determine where we are in time rather than looking to the skies to notice what phase our moon is in. This leads me to wonder how it affects our emotional and physical well-being to no longer have a daily connection with this celestial body.
Many girls, as their bodies become rhythm keepers, become disoriented, and can feel scared by the emotional and physical changes occurring each month. This can lead to depression, anxiety, and acting out in damaging ways. It seems to me that part of feeling disoriented internally is connected to being disconnected from the earth and the moon’s natural cycles, which are intimately affecting her changing emotional experiences throughout the month.
As a child, a girl’s parents act as her sun and moon – the greatest, tallest, grandest beings who guide and hold her through it all. As she passes into her adolescent and adult years, she begins to feel the magnetic pull of something beyond her local familial relationships. She becomes a highly sensitive being, so sensitive that her body is pulled into rhythm with a celestial body 240,000 miles from earth. So sensitive, that even if she never looks up into the sky to notice where the moon is, still, her womb is mirroring this orbit.
Chinese, Ayurvedic, and other earth-based healing systems teach that our bodies and minds are clearest and healthiest when we allow them to align with the natural cycles of days, moons, and seasons. Modern science has shown that our pineal gland, which controls the secretion of certain hormones and regulates our internal rhythms, is affected by the light and dark cycles in our environment. In a world where our growing girls are sitting inside for most of the day, and then for many more hours doing homework or looking into screens, how can we help them align to the natural cycles and in particular the cycles of the moon?
Some ideas for connecting to the moon with your daughter:
Get a moon calendar that is visible in your house.
Acknowledge new and full moons by lighting a candle and/or setting intentions on the new moon, and celebrating what you’ve created on the full moon. Have your daughter help to create your own family traditions around this.
Look for the moon in the sky!
When it is close to the new moon, the moon will rise and set around the same time as the sun – so in the days following the new moon you can catch it setting right after sundown in the western sky. When it is a full moon, the moon will rise in the east as the sun sets in the west. See if you can locate the moon in the sky with your daughter. See here (http://earthsky.org/moon-phases/understandingmoonphases) for more details about how to find the moon at its different phases.
Go for a moon walk.
Take a walk at night when the moon is in the sky to let the light of the moon connect with you and your daughter and nurture your cycles.
Whether your daughter has reached menarche (her first menstruation) yet or not, aligning with the cycles of the moon will help her to feel more calm and at ease with her own cycles. May the moon be with(in) you!
Many lunar blessings ~
Sarai