Hello,
Beautiful souls.
Welcome back to conscious cycling.
Today we're going to be talking about the luminaries.
Now there are three archetypal maps within the menstrual cycle and these maps were created by the red school,
But I myself have changed some of the definitions,
Some of the wording to fit my own embodied understanding and I encourage you to do the same as well.
So whatever I'm sharing today and the archetypal energy really allow that to be infused throughout your entire embodied knowing and find connections and symbols and metaphors that work within your own body,
Within your own life.
So the first archetypal map we are working with is the luminaries.
So the menstrual cycle has two main physical points of reference.
We have ovulation and menstruation.
These are the apexes of the cycle.
Menstruation is the lowest point of hormones and therefore energetically is the point with the deepest connection to self and inner awareness.
Ovulation is the point of the highest levels of estrogen and testosterone which are both energy producing hormones and therefore energetically the point of the most outward expression and connection to others and the collective awareness.
So let us connect this to the archetype of the luminaries.
The luminaries are celestial bodies that give light and two of the brightest bodies in the celestial realm are the sun and the moon.
So if we look at the cycle in these two halves,
We'll find menstruation and ovulation are the stabilizing points of the cycle.
These are where the physical manifestations of the cycle become known when your body is either bleeding at menstruation or when it is releasing an egg at ovulation.
Menstruation and ovulation are then the pivoting points and the times in between these two main events of the cycle are the times of transition.
So starting at menstruation and transitioning towards ovulation is the solar path.
When I say solar path,
What first comes to you?
It is a fiery outward energy and with the hormones that rising of estrogen and testosterone supporting you to move out and up with your energy during this transition on the solar path.
And then starting at ovulation and transitioning towards menstruation is the lunar path.
Now when I say lunar path,
What first comes to you?
This is a receptive inward energy where your body is now calling you to move down and in with the energy.
It may help you to picture this within the 24 hour day cycle.
You may notice after the first few days of bleeding being connected to the dawn,
The sunrise.
Then as you continue moving through the cycle,
There is a gradual increase of active energy.
The energy that pulls you out into the world to create the environment you want to live in and then peaking at ovulation.
After ovulation,
Then you'll have the moon rise and the gradual setting of the sun.
This is when your energy begins to wane.
It becomes more receptive just like the moon illuminating by that receptive light of the sun.
So ovulation is the time of day when the sun is at its highest in the sky,
The heat of that noonday sun in the middle of summer.
A time where you feel most connected to your place and calling out in the world,
Your environment,
Your relationships.
But the vulnerability here is that you can lose your conscious connection to your inner landscape and become ungrounded and scattered in your energy.
Then right before menstruation is when the moon has reached its height,
This is the energy of the new moon on a cold winter's night.
A time when you feel disconnected from the world around you because your conscious awareness is calling you to descend into the home within you.
This can be a very vulnerable time for a lot of us.
Going into the depths of our soul requires that we move through our trauma,
Through our shadows to see that true divine self waiting for us within.
So we looked at these luminary archetypal symbols within the 24-hour day cycle,
But now let's take a more embodied approach and connect it in with our breath,
With the rhythm of our breath cycle.
So I invite you to take a deep inhale.
This is the solar path,
Feeling that expansion of your chest and your belly moving upward and out and holding your breath for a moment at the top.
That is the energy of ovulation,
The height of the cycle and the pivoting point between your inhale and your exhale and then exhaling.
This is the lunar path,
The contracting of the body in its descent down and in and then holding for a moment at the depth at the end of your exhale.
That is the energy of menstruation,
The deepest awareness within and the pivoting point between your exhale and your inhale.
So as you continue with this awareness in your breath practice,
How does that feel within your body?
Feel that cyclical energy now of the luminaries within your body and then take moments throughout your gaze pausing to again connect back in with this cyclical energy of the luminaries and see how it unfolds within the energy of your menstrual cycle,
Feeling that deep gratitude for these celestial symbols that you hold within your divine body,
Within your magical cycle,
Sending you all blessings and love as you continue to journey along on your conscious cycling journey.
