Blood Mysteries - RealPagan- Paganism for the Real World

Using menstrual blood, in my…

2012-09-07T21:16:20.507Z

Using menstrual blood, in my opinion, is similar to using semen. In my experience, it adds an "dash of salt" to whatever work you are doing. While I have never used menstrual blood, I have used semen in several past workings, which empowered my work tremendously.

I do not see menstruation as…

2011-12-26T02:31:06.463Z

I do not see menstruation as a divine thing. :) I would gladly just use my life blood if I wasn't so afraid of needles and pricking myself. lol. I am also not a feminist, so I do not care for that aspect of the usage of menstrual blood nor the importance making of it. I will have a "ritual" of sorts with both of my children when they come of age when it comes to discussing those kinds of things with them in their own respective genders, but I think every parent has "The Talk" with their children. :)

I don't really know about the evolutionary vs created to carry and nurture debate, as I have always seen it as a reproductive phase regardless of either. I have the ability to nurture and bear children, but even a male can nurture just as well as a female. However, I merely see it as an offering and I am beginning to see some advantages and disadvantages in using it.

I do agree with Mosby, though, on how it takes a lot of energy to take place. But, I see magical in the mundane in more things than one. I see magic in my household chores when I do them, as well as when I cook. :) So having this aspect of my life being viewed as magical isn't difficult either.

The way I have come to think of the menstrual blood, after thinking about it for a good while after reading the responses to this discussion, I have come to see menstrual blood as having "life" and "death" properties. Not only does it have life-giving nutrients in the blood, but it also has dead tissue and a non-fertilized egg. To me it doesn't necessarily represent fertility, as my logical thinking won't allow me to do that after the expulsion of a non-fertilized egg. I think it as as a cleansing product, and a way to begin a cycle anew. Death (menstruation ends) brings life (ovulation can begin), and with death (expelling of the non-fertilized egg) comes life (expelling of life-giving nutrients).

I hope that makes sense. If not, I do apologize as my brain is a bit muddled with being tired and not having a very good day. XD

All babies aren't female in u…

2011-12-25T22:36:49.550Z

All babies aren't female in utero to begin with... Genetically speaking, the gender of the baby is decided upon conception. It only becomes physically apparent after the development of the genital organs.

If women are designed to menstruate, and it is thus inherently powerful, is it thus inherently powerful when men's bodies do something that they are deigned to do, like, pop wood in the morning, or grow chest hair, or something like that?

I'm not saying that the fertility and nurturing ability present in the female body is powerful or anything, not at all. However, I must caution against empowering the mundane to the point where a commonality becomes divinity. That cheapens divinity, and overcharges ones pride. Then you get freaks like Valerie Solanas, or WTF ever her name is.

Or maybe my disconnected mutterings mean nothing here. I just woke up. >_<

That's not quite what I'm say…

2011-12-25T19:25:07.434Z

That's not quite what I'm saying. I'm saying the concept of being -created- to do it makes no sense, as all female mammals do the same thing. The idea of divine creation is fine, but when the purpose is an obvious evolutionary trait, the concept behind the statement is lost on me. Right in the same category as "Men can't practice magic"

Mosby (Witchlet) said:

I don't understand why the energy involved in menstruation would be less powerful just because any female species can do it lol.

This is one of those instance…

2011-12-25T19:00:26.758Z

This is one of those instances where spiritual feminism confuses me (the other being the reverse-sexism of the Z. Buddapest 'wombyn'). In the same breath you call the act of menstruation powerful, and then boil it down to 'something [you] are created to do.'

I'm afraid the concept of being created (or gifted with the skill/power) to do something specific, and yet consider it something personal and powerful just fails to make any sense to me. You -evolved- the ability to menstruate because it's a mammalian thing. Rabbits, dogs and squirrels do it as well, and it doesn't make them any more powerful.

/manrant

Mosby (Witchlet) said:

Just waned to chime in because I dig this and I recently made a blood offering myself...Melissa is right that there are of course some deities that want menstrual blood as an offering. Kano and Leisha are right about the potency of lood in ritual and spell work, and finally I somewhat agree about the menstrual blood being related to fertility. Seeing as how menstruation itself could be seen as a monthly ritual women go through the process of our bodies creating the liner to hold life requires a great deal of energy. That energy is in the blood whether fertilization occurs or not lol. Mostly I see it as something uniquely feminine, something that we were literally created to do. How can an offering of the self not be a powerful thing?

Wow! I was gone for a few day…

2011-12-18T01:39:13.818Z

Wow! I was gone for a few days and it has reached 3 pages! I read through all the replies, and I loved the information and insight that was given. It has given me alot to think about. :) I am a squeamish person, and very much afraid of needles (so the diabetic thing scares me a bit), hence why I was thinking of this as something that was more easier to obtain. lol. I am not really a "wombyn" (as Leisha said, I didn't even know it could be spelled like that. lol) either, not am I a feminist, or otherwise. I just find the topic of something that occurs with me naturally every month to be of interesting topic and learning. :) So everything everyone has mentioned is greatly appreciated.

:) Wish there was a like butt…

2011-12-18T00:45:02.799Z

:) Wish there was a like button! Liked!

Mosby (Witchlet) said:

Just waned to chime in because I dig this and I recently made a blood offering myself...Melissa is right that there are of course some deities that want menstrual blood as an offering. Kano and Leisha are right about the potency of lood in ritual and spell work, and finally I somewhat agree about the menstrual blood being related to fertility. Seeing as how menstruation itself could be seen as a monthly ritual women go through the process of our bodies creating the liner to hold life requires a great deal of energy. That energy is in the blood whether fertilization occurs or not lol. Mostly I see it as something uniquely feminine, something that we were literally created to do. How can an offering of the self not be a powerful thing?

LOVE the info thanks for shar…

2011-12-16T19:56:55.227Z

LOVE the info thanks for sharing :)

Jeanne Cermak said:

'Mysteries of the Dark Moon' by Demetra George deals alot with a woman's cycle. Synopsis I found on Amazon.

"Exploring the mystery, wisdom, and power of the dark phase of the moon's cycle--a lunar-based model for moving through the dark times in our lives with understanding, consciousness, and faith in renewal.

The moon's dark phase has traditionally been a time of fear and superstition, a time associated with death and isolation. The mythical embodiment of these fears is the Dark Goddess. Known around the world by many names--Lilith, Kali, Hecate, and Morgana--the archetypal Dark Goddess represents death, sexuality, and the unconscious--the little understood, often feared aspects of life.

Demetra George combines psychological, mythical, and spiritual perspective on the shadowy, feminine symbolism of the dark moon to reclaim the darkness from oppressive, fear-based images. George offers rites for rebirth and transformation that teach us to tap into the power of our dark times, maximizing the potential for renewal inherent in our inevitable periods of loss, depression, and anger."

It is powerful :) Ive pricked…

2011-12-16T19:56:17.575Z

It is powerful :) Ive pricked my fingers a couple of times to bind items to me like the way you have done. I'm just fascinated by the power of menstrual blood according to the sources I have been reading thus far.

Beorc Kano said:

Don't get me wrong, blood in general strikes me as a very powerful component in workings... any real working I do uses my blood, as a way of putting my own energy into what it is that I am doing. My Master Candle has my blood in it, my Altar/Chest has my blood in it, every knife that i use for any form of ritual has had my blood on it, etc... It's just that the dedication needed to get that blood, and the fact that I do it willingly, willfully even, is what makes the physical addition that much more powerful. By waiting until your body simply produces it as a part of its natural cycles, well... as I noted, I am certain that many people would see significance in that. I simply do not.

But hey, it ain't for my path. I don't need to see significance in it. Others may, and do.

Pheonix Sun Ra(Selenah Arwin) said:

Ahh I see where you are coming from now. I may have misinterpreted what you meant. For me it signifies something completely different the exact opposite. However, I just started this research just a few months ago. I guess the reason why I view it differently is because of personal experiences and how much I am learning about my own body at the moment and I find it fascinating.

Beorc Kano said:

The main problem with this in my perspective is that the uterine lining was there during ovulation to help catch the egg once fertilized. There was no fertilization, thus life was not began, and so the blood and lining are discharged in the menstrual flow. To me, that signifies the lack of life, the lack of pregnancy, etc. When life has begun, there is no menstruation (normally), which is part of how we can tell that there has been fertilization (Honey, I missed my period!). So, to associate menstruation with life never really made a whole lot of sense to me.

Just my other $0.02.

Pheonix Sun Ra(Selenah Arwin) said:

Also Menstruation blood has all the nutrients to sustain a life. If somehow we didn't build up a lining of blood to help a new fetus grow and such then how would women get pregnant? Blood is very much tied into fertility in sustaining the life that is created. If there was no way to sustain a life the fertilized egg would have no where to go.

Don't get me wrong, blood in…

2011-12-16T19:16:07.444Z

Don't get me wrong, blood in general strikes me as a very powerful component in workings... any real working I do uses my blood, as a way of putting my own energy into what it is that I am doing. My Master Candle has my blood in it, my Altar/Chest has my blood in it, every knife that i use for any form of ritual has had my blood on it, etc... It's just that the dedication needed to get that blood, and the fact that I do it willingly, willfully even, is what makes the physical addition that much more powerful. By waiting until your body simply produces it as a part of its natural cycles, well... as I noted, I am certain that many people would see significance in that. I simply do not.

But hey, it ain't for my path. I don't need to see significance in it. Others may, and do.

Pheonix Sun Ra(Selenah Arwin) said:

Ahh I see where you are coming from now. I may have misinterpreted what you meant. For me it signifies something completely different the exact opposite. However, I just started this research just a few months ago. I guess the reason why I view it differently is because of personal experiences and how much I am learning about my own body at the moment and I find it fascinating.

Beorc Kano said:

The main problem with this in my perspective is that the uterine lining was there during ovulation to help catch the egg once fertilized. There was no fertilization, thus life was not began, and so the blood and lining are discharged in the menstrual flow. To me, that signifies the lack of life, the lack of pregnancy, etc. When life has begun, there is no menstruation (normally), which is part of how we can tell that there has been fertilization (Honey, I missed my period!). So, to associate menstruation with life never really made a whole lot of sense to me.

Just my other $0.02.

Pheonix Sun Ra(Selenah Arwin) said:

Also Menstruation blood has all the nutrients to sustain a life. If somehow we didn't build up a lining of blood to help a new fetus grow and such then how would women get pregnant? Blood is very much tied into fertility in sustaining the life that is created. If there was no way to sustain a life the fertilized egg would have no where to go.