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Excerpt From The Magical Girl's Guide to Womanhood by Erin E.
Schmidt. Available now from FIDO Publishing!

Moon Myths and Facts

To our ancient ancestors, the moon was much more than a big rock that circles
around the earth. The moon was often considered a god or goddess, or
sometimes, the mother of the universe itself. They placed more importance on
the moon than on the sun, although we now know that the moon doesn’t have
any light of its own, but reflects the sunlight. We know that the moon has an
effect on the oceans, causing high and low tide with its gravity. Some also
believe that the moon’s gravity pulls on our female bodies, affecting the “tide” of
blood inside of us.

But does the moon really have anything to do with your period?

We witches have always thought that it does. Just as people in ancient times
associated the moon with goddesses and mothers, we think of the moon as
feminine. Traditionally, we believe that a woman has her fertile period
(ovulation) when the moon is full. The full moon looks like an ovum, a nice
round mature egg emerging from our ovaries. When a witch decides that she
wants to have a baby, and she wants to perform a ritual to help her fertility
along, she does in under the full moon. The three days when the moon is full
are a good time for any spells and rituals that ask for increased energy, power,
or strength. The full moon is also the time for harvesting magical crops.

Two weeks later when the moon is new, women would be having their periods
(or so tradition goes). The new moon sky is dark, like the dark blood-like
menstrual flow that comes from our bodies. Women, like the moon, have
cycles of about twenty-eight days. In fact, the words “moon” and
“menstruation” come from the same root word.

The beginning of the menstrual cycle is symbolic of all beginnings. For this
reason, we witches use the new-moon days for all of our “out with the old, in
with the new” spells and rituals. The seeds of magical plants are planted under
the new moon. (Wrapping the seeds in towels soaked with your blood to carry
them out to the greenhouse is optional.)

Not every woman’s body follows the changes of the moon. In ancient times,
before we had street lights and electric lights in our houses to keep us up late,
things might have been different. Our bodies might have been a little more in
tune with the phases of the moon then. If you’re one of the girls and women
who still gets her period when the moon is new, consider yourself lucky. There’
s powerful magic in that.

And if you’re exactly the opposite (fertile when the moon is new, having your
period when the moon is full)– good news! There’s powerful magic in that, too.
Almost all werewolf girls’ cycles run this way, fertile at the new moon and
bleeding at the full moon. If you’re a non-magical girl whose cycles start at the
full moon, you may have a little werewolf in you. Ask Mom or Grandma, if they’
re around.

Some really neat traditions have to do with women and the moon. In the
Jewish culture, the sighting of the new moon is the beginning of a celebration
called Rosh Hodesh. Unlike most holidays, which happen once a year, Rosh
Hodesh comes once a month. Because the moon and women both have a
monthly cycle, Rosh Hodesh is a time to celebrate women. Women get the
night off from working on Rosh Hodesh, and the husbands, children, and friends
who count on those women are expected to show their gratitude for the work
that women do.

In the fairy culture, the moon is also of great importance. Many fairies
participate in once-month moon rituals, usually under the full moon. These often
take the form of a circle-dance, performed by groups of fairies under the light
of the moon. It can be dangerous for other kinds of humans, especially non-
magical ones, to interrupt or even watch these fairy dances. I don’t encourage
fairy violence, but if you happen to be non-magical, you may want to stay away
from fairies under the full moon.

And, of course, werewolf culture centers around the full moon. Female
werewolves are at their most energized and active during the last days of their
menstrual cycles and the first days of the next cycle: in other words, right
around the days they start bleeding. If most of your friends are also
werewolves, this is a great time of the month for a party or sports event. All of
your friends will be wild and wired along with you!

References:

Hawke, Elen. The Sacred Round: A Witch’s Guide to Magical Practice. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 2002.
Lamm, Maurice. Becoming a Jew. Middle Village, NY: Jonathan David Publishers, 1991.
“Menstrual cycle.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cycle. August 26, 2007.
Walker, Barbara G. The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983.