Category: Wake Up to Wonder

Before the Catholic Church created its own calendar, Europeans followed one based on the moon rather than the sun. This ancient calendar lays out a year with 13 months. Each month is 28 days long, the length of the human menstrual cycle.

13×28 = 364, plus one holy day = 365 days in a year.

The lunar calendar has exactly 4 weeks each month that coincide with the 4 phases of the moon: new, waxing, full, and waning.

In Gaelic, the words for menstruation and calendar come from the same root: miosach and miosachan. The Chinese divided the sky into 28 lunar mansions that Earth cycled through. Maya women say their calendar originated from menstruation as well. Cultures around the world honored the lunar calendar.

The Church erased the lunar calendar, focusing instead on 12 solar months. The number 13 became unlucky, tied to witchcraft. And menstruation was declared unclean and taboo.

But women around the world continue to cycle with the moon, physically and emotionally.

#moontime #lunarwisdom #herstorymatters
#navigatingbymoonlight

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