Reclaiming the Sacred Blood: How Ancient Cultures Honored Menstruation
Did you know the average woman spends nearly half her life shedding her uterine lining? Too graphic? Too uncomfortable to say out loud? That discomfort is no accident — it’s the byproduct of a long history of patriarchal conditioning, designed to make us feel ashamed of our bodies’ most natural and magical functions. But here’s the truth: it wasn’t always this way.
Before the spread of Abrahamic religions — and the patriarchal systems that came with them — menstruation wasn’t taboo. It was sacred. Bleeding wasn’t seen as something to hide, sanitize, or be silent about. It was revered as a powerful, spiritual force. In many ancient cultures, menstruating people were not only respected — they were considered closer to the divine.
Menstruation and the Moon
Many early societies tracked time using lunar calendars, aligning their lives with the cycles of the moon. Unsurprisingly, they noticed how closely the menstrual cycle mirrored the moon’s phases. The average cycle lasts about 28–29.5 days — the same as a lunar month.
In ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and among early indigenous tribes around the world, menstrual cycles were believed to be a reflection of the moon’s energy. The New Moon, a time of darkness and rest, was associated with menstruation — a time to turn inward, reflect, and receive intuitive messages from the unseen realms.
This wasn’t just poetic thinking — it shaped real cultural practices.
The Red Tent & Menstrual Huts
In various ancient communities, menstruating people were given dedicated spaces — often called Red Tents or Moon Lodges — where they could rest, dream, and commune with other bleeding people. These weren’t places of exile. They were sanctuaries.
Within these sacred spaces, menstruating individuals were relieved of their daily duties and allowed to focus on healing, spiritual connection, and visioning. The collective energy of those bleeding together was seen as potent — capable of receiving messages from the spirit world, accessing deeper wisdom, and guiding the community.
These practices were especially common in:
Ancient Hebrew and Canaanite cultures, where “red tents” were real and culturally accepted.
North American Indigenous tribes, where “Moon Lodges” offered time for prayer, rest, and receiving dreams or visions.
Maori tradition in New Zealand, where menstruation was called te awa atua, "the river of the divine," and was seen as spiritually powerful.
Priestesses and Menstrual Power
In many goddess-worshipping cultures, menstrual blood was connected to divine feminine power and creation. The bleeding body was not seen as impure, but as a portal — a vessel of life, death, and rebirth.
In ancient Egypt, the goddess Isis was linked to the mysteries of blood and creation. Priestesses were believed to use menstrual blood in rituals for fertility, healing, and connection to the divine.
In Hindu Tantric traditions, menstrual blood was honored as rajas, a sacred substance representing the creative power of Shakti — the divine feminine energy that animates the universe.
Some African and Celtic traditions viewed menstrual blood as a source of magical potency, used in spells, blessings, and earth offerings.
Even the word “taboo” itself is believed to have Polynesian roots (tapu), meaning "sacred" or "set apart" — not "dirty" or "unclean." Menstruation was once considered too sacred for ordinary contact, not something to be hidden in shame.
The Shift: When the Sacred Became Shameful
As patriarchal systems spread, especially through the rise of Abrahamic religions and empires, these sacred views were systematically erased. Menstruation became a source of impurity. Women were labeled “unclean” during their periods. The cycle — once seen as divine — was now something to silence, sanitize, and suppress.
Why? Because reverence for the womb meant reverence for the power it held. And power held by bleeding bodies didn’t fit into the new order of male-dominated control.
Reclaiming Our Cycles as Sacred
Talking openly about menstruation isn’t gross — it’s radical. It challenges generations of cultural programming that have tried to keep us disconnected from our bodies, from our wisdom, and from each other. Reclaiming menstruation as sacred is more than spiritual — it’s revolutionary. So what does it look like today?
Resting and reflecting during your bleed, instead of pushing through burnout.
Syncing your lifestyle or magic with the phases of your cycle.
Using period blood in rituals (like watering plants, anointing your altar, or spellwork).
Honoring the bleed as a spiritual portal, a time for shedding and renewal.
Creating or joining modern-day “Red Tent” circles for shared healing.
The womb is not a source of shame — it is a source of power. And when we reclaim our cycles, we remember a truth that patriarchy tried to erase: that our blood is sacred, our bodies are divine, and our rhythms are magic.
