Sister Moon Lodge: The Power & Mystery of Menstruation

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Summary: This is an earth shaking classic!
Review: Buy this, for it is a classic! I own all of Kisma's book!!! Buy them all for they are all classics! Especially her Faery-Faith books!

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Summary: FULL OF LONG-OVERDUE MAGICK, AND A FEW FLAWS
Review: I had already started creating my own menstrual rituals by the time I discovered this book. When I finally read it, I found that Ms. Stepanich felt the same way I did, and that she was doing many of the things I was also doing! In other words, this book was long over-due in my life!

It's an amazing fact that more than half the world's population bleeds every month, for a very natural reason, but this simple, wonderous physical and spiritual process is reviled, and shunned, and considered evil and unclean. Women go through great pains to hide their tampons and pads, to avoid staining their clothes with blood...The depth of the shame is incredible and very sad. I have felt for a very long time that the bleeding is a holy and magickal thing, a connection to the divine that only women can experience; therefore, it should be respected and untilized as the powerful rite that it is.

In this book, Ms. Stepanich discusses the wisdom that should be cultivated during this magickal time. She connects the phases of the menstrual cycle with the phases of the moon, as women probably did thousands of years ago. She encourages the reader to not be afraid of their blood; to perhaps wear red when they are menstuating..in fact, to wear certain colors for each of their cycle's four stages. She has many good ideas on how to honor the bleeding, how to use the menstrual cycle for magick, and simple herbal tinctures to help ease pain and discomfort. She also tells about the Moon Lodge, a sacred place you can build or put together, where you can be alone (or with other bleeding women) during your "moon time" to access the flowing wisdom of the bleeding time. She suggests gifts to give a young girl for her first menarche, creating and decorating a moon altar, tools you may want for your moon rites, and of course, she discusses the significance and wisdom of the menopause journey.

For the woman who has been made to feel ashamed of her bleeding, and who is perhaps a Pagan, this book is invaluable. Even though I was already doing many of the things that Ms. Stepanich suggests, I found comfort in her voice. Here is another blood sister who sees what I see, feels what I feel, celebrates the bleeding, as I do, instead of hiding it and feeling shamed of it.
It is really time for women to start teaching their daughters (and their sons!) that this magickal bleeding is, at worst, nothing to be ashamed of, and at best, an incredibly holy connection to the divine, to the very Goddess Herself. Women are mirrors of the creation of the universe; whether they decide to have children or not, women carry that magic of inspiration and creation within the wisdom of their blood. If any of this rings true to you, then find a copy of this book!

Of course, no book can ever be perfect to each individual; I did find a few things in this book that I disagree with. In fact, they were all on the same page! (page 85)...I don't like Ms. Stepanich's use of the word "cleansing" to decribe the menstrual cycle. The purpose of the cycle is NOT to cleanse! The vagina is constantly keeping itself clean on a daily basis. There is nothing "dirty" about natural functions of the vagina that would need cleansing during the menstrual cycle. I think it was careless of her to use that word; it just perpetuates the myth that having your cycle makes you "dirty".

I also took issue with her statement that: "If we choose to conceive we share the sexual fire with a mate and move on toward the conciousness of becoming a nurturer. If we choose not to conceive we take precautions, and lovingly accept ourselves for this decision." Hmm. Maybe I'm paranoid, but it seems like she is suggesting that those of us who do not want children need to forgive ourselves. She alludes to this in several other passges when she talks about women who don't conceive. It seems as if she has a bit of that attitude where women who choose not to have a baby are somehow abnormal. She seems to be suggesting that they accept themselves DESPITE this decision. As I say, maybe I'm going overboard and reading too much into it. But the last thing any woman needs is to feel guilty about making her own decisions in life. Ms. Stepanich should have been a little more sensitive about this subject. On the same page (85), she also describes the womb as "getting ready to weep" when it begins to bleed. This gives the image that a woman's body suffers because she has not conceived. Same prejudiced ball of wax that makes women like me ... off when other people look down on us for not having children. Ms. Stepanich, watch your words!

But I still love this book, and feel that every woman ought to at least CONSIDER how she thinks about her "period". This book will open new doors for you, new worlds where women don't have to be shamed of their blood. Don't miss out on the magick!

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Summary: The book that started my journey to menstrual awareness
Review: When I first saw this book years ago, I was mystified and amazed. I purchased the book and it was the first step in a major shift in awareness where my body and well-being was concerned. A book I would recommend to any and every woman. Unfortunately It is out of print, I sincerely hope it will be reprinted again sometime soon.