Menarche – a Journey into Womanhood…by Rachael Hertogs


An excerpt from Menarche - a Journey into Womanhood, A Mum and Daughters Guide to Celebrating Her First Period By Rachael Hertogs

Rites of passage have begun to reappear in our society as we recognise the importance of honouring our young people and guiding them gently into adulthood. Ceremonies, vision quests, men’s and women’s lodges, rite of passage courses, festivals and camps are becoming more and more popular!

I have been working with women and their daughters for many years supporting them in celebrating their rites of passage. For girls there is a clear signal that their journey into womanhood has begun - with the start of their periods. The first period is known as Menarche; tribal traditions have celebrated Menarche for thousands of years - some rituals including the whole tribe, others more private among close women friends and family, some quite extreme - including genital mutilation, cutting, scarring and tattooing, others more gentle – being fed, massaged and sung to.


I believe how a young woman is guided through this experience can affect her for the rest of her life! Ask your women friends how they celebrated their first period - sadly for the majority of women it was ignored, shamed, at best explained clinically. ‘Gifts’ of huge pads (sometimes huge tampons!) often terrified young girls! The menstrual cycle is a crucial element in the balance of the body-mind-spirit connection for a woman; this needs to be taught from an early age so when her cycle begins (signs can begin as early as 1 year before her blood flow) she can feel proud and excited to begin her journey of power!

Read more at: Women's Mysteries Teacher Circle.  

Read more from DeAnna L'am, Trista Hendren, Christine Agro, Jane Hardwicke Collings and Rebecca Funk here

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