Using the menstrual cycle as a guideline to plan life has been for me personally life-changing. It feels so intuitive and right to track and live in tune with my cyclical nature. Every phase of the menstrual cycle holds different energies, strengths and challenges. Learning first of all the rhythm of our own cycle, and second of all, using that information to schedule my time, makes sense to me.
Using the energies of the four phases of our menstrual cycle can help us navigate life more intuitively. There is a phase for everything. Below I share about the energetics of each phase as well as what to concentrate on during each phase.
The Four Phases and Productivity
Inner Winter
Phase: Menstruation
Days: approx. 1 - 7
Moon Phase: New Moon
Archetype: Crone, Wise Woman
Mood: Craves rest and dark chocolate
We are more naturally inclined to want to seclude ourselves and go into our womb cave. Our energies are turned inwards. We are most likely to want to spend time with only ourselves or the people closest to us. We feel soft, calm, vulnerable and gentle.
We are undergoing a deep release process. Everything we have experienced throughout one lunar cycle. All of our emotions, the energies we have absorbed from ourselves and others, experiences including experiences from past moons. It is all being released.
What to do: Use this time to rest as much as possible. Set an intention for the beginning of your cycle and what you are releasing with your menstruation. Go within, journal, meditate and do the inner work and process. Make this time sacred. Make rest a priority. The more you rest now, the more energy you will feel afterwards.
Inner Spring
Phase: Preovulatory/Follicular
Days: approx. 7 - 14
Moon Phase: Waxing Moon
Archetype: Maiden, Virgin
Mood: highly productive, feels light and playful
We are extremely curious about life during this phase. Our energies are starting to be turned more outwards. Like a flower that is blossoming, we are growing spiritually.
The waxing moon is related to increasing energy and productivity. Our stamina is returning. Just like the moon, we feel during this phase more inclined to work and get things done. Our light is starting to shine again, as we go about our intentions for this month.
What to do: Use this time to be productive. Eat lightly according to the lightness you feel. Begin new projects, take enlightened action-steps, make a plan and try out new things. Study and learn during this phase. Do physical movement and activities.
Inner Summer
Phase: Ovulation
Days: approx. 14 - 21
Moon Phase: Full Moon
Archetype: Mother, Enchantress
Mood: Craves connection and social activities
We feel very connected to life, our friends, family, partners and others. We are full of abundance that is shining from within. It feels like we are going to burst from energy and are on a constant high of life. We feel good in our skin, sexy and seductive. Like the Enchantress, we are attracting abundance through our energetic pull.
Our energy is now peaking. The hormones are at its highest during this phase, just like on the full moon.
What to do: Use this time to set up meetings, have heart-to-heart conversations, nurture connections with loved ones and team members. Also a time to connect and network. This phase is optimal to share what we have been working on or launch a new project.
Inner Autumn
Phase: Pre-Menstrual / Luteal
Days: approx. 21 - 28
Moon Phase: Waning Moon
Archetype: Wild Woman
Mood: Overly sensitive, moody and needs alone time
We feel irritable to say the least. Our hormones are lowering further and further, as is our energy. It is a time to go within, whereas the phase before we were very much outgoing and social. Now is the time to be with oneself and honor where you are at.
Our premenstrual phase has more of a yang energy to it. We feel our most creative during this phase. Having a creative outlet during this phase can do us well to let out some of the pent up energy that we might be holding within. Our energies might feel uncontrollable because it is. A part of ourselves is slipping away, while we prepare for our big release.
What to do: Creative and productive work in solitude. Discern, let go and re-evaluate your goals. Problem-solving and creative solutions are at its best. Declutter and reorganize. Use that critical thinking to your advantage. Give your mind and energy a task to do. Otherwise we will focus on the negative.
If you are interested in this topic, here are 3 books that you will love:
Optimized Woman by Miranda Gray
Woman Code by Alissa Vitti
Do Less by Kate Northrup
About the writer
Inés Kelly is a trauma-informed space holder and integral guide in Human Design and astrology. Her multi-cultural background has gifted her with the insight of various rituals and traditions. Bringing the ancestral and the honoring of the natural cycles to the community is a deep value she holds.