Hello My Charmed Ones!
As many of you may already know, something I like to track in my planner are the cycles of the moon. I’ve spoken briefly about why I do this, personally, in a planner setup video from a few months ago, but many of you asked for me to make it a dedicated post so that is what I am doing today!
So, in my planner I like to track when the full moon and new moon are- I don’t necessarily track the other phases of the moon- these two are the ones I am most interested in for the purpose of tracking and understanding my menstrual cycle, fertility and reproductive health. Full disclosure, I am not currently trying to conceive, but as a woman who may want to conceive one day and is of a certain age where conception is sometimes more difficult, I’ve been much more interested in my cycle and reproductive health now than I ever have been in the past.
So, you are probably wondering, what does the moon cycle have to do with your reproductive health? Well, actually, a lot, not in a directly measurable way, but in an indirect way due to the role the moon traditionally plays in our hormonal cycles.
I guess the crux of the matter here has to do with our body’s producing a hormone called melatonin. You may be familiar with melatonin- it is the hormone in our body that controls our circadian rhythm, which is our sleep/wake cycle, however, melatonin may also play a role in other cycles of our body, like our reproductive hormones. This is how melatonin traditionally works in our bodies- melatonin production kicks off on our bodies at about dusk, when the sun is going down and there is a visible reduction in light. Melatonin essentially keeps ramping up the darker it gets and makes us sleepy so that we go to bed when it’s dark, hopefully it keeps us asleep overnight and in the morning when the sun begins to rise, levels of melatonin taper off. So our personal melatonin production is tied to the amount of light in the sky. And some science and research has shown that the higher melatonin is in a woman’s body specifically, the more fertile she may be. Because of this correlation- some women who struggle with fertility or are undergoing fertility treatments are sometimes encouraged to use melatonin supplements.
Now, what does this have to do with the moon?
Well, traditionally, as in before the advent of modern lighting inside of homes- the darkest nights of the month would be the nights around the new moon. A new moon if you are aware is when there is no moon actually visible in the sky- so those nights are darker than nights around or on a full moon where the moon is at its brightest and the night is brighter. Now again, traditionally speaking, there is a belief or an old wives tale that if a women menstuates with a new moon, she is more likely to conceive during that time- and if the research into the role of melatonin is any inidicator- I’d say this is one of those old wives tales that might have some real scientific backing to why it works. Because new moon means a darker night, meaning more melatonin and perhaps higher fertility for some women.
Now, of course, because we have modern lighting in homes and work and buildings etc, this actually can end up throwing off our personal melatonin production and throw off our circadian rhythms making it harder for us to sleep and sometimes wrecking havoc on the hormonal cycles of our bodies. So, for this reason I personally prefer not to use the lights in my home as much as possible once it becomes dark. I know this might seem funny and like I’m shunning modern convinces but unless I need the lights on for a task, once it becomes dusk, I try not to use any bright overhead lighting- I prefer to use candles or lamps or I use my dimmer on my overhead lighting to keep my lighting as minimal as possible. And what I have found by doing this is that my menstrual cycle has seriously began to regulate itself. I used to have a cycle that was much longer than the average 28 day cycle- it could go on for like 35-40 days if I wasn’t taking birth control, which is a long time. So essentially a few years ago once I made this switch to not using lights, my cycle has seriously regulated itself and now I have very close to a 28 day cycle which is interesting. So, I track the moon cycle because I’m interested in seeing how the moon interacts with my personal menstral cycle. And I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself, and my personal energy cycles from keeping track of all of this.
Interestingly, it seems as though for me personally, during the spring and summer when the days are longer, I end up menstruating with the new moon, but in the darker months of the year, my cycle switches to the full moon. I think this might have something to do with the juxtaposition of light and dark, that in the days of the year where there is more light, my body senses the darkness at night more, or perhaps in the winter months I end up using more light in my home and it throws off my melatonin production. Who knows- but I find it fascinating. So, that is why I personally track the moon cycles in my planner, obviously I also track my menstrual cycle as well, and for me its just a way to better understand myself and my health and the natural cycles of my body.
Of course, I use my astrological planning sticker set to track the moon phases and other astrological transits in my planner. If you are interested, I hope it helps you to track your health better if that is something you are interested in trying out for yourself.
I hope you enjoyed this post and corresponding video. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! Have a wonderful week!
xoxo,
