Synchronize Your Cycle at the Mercury Cafe!

You'll simply be amazed at how easy it is to regulate your cycle with the elegant simplicity of synchrony. We can finally demonstrate the scientific evidence that confirms the validity of the practice of our ancestral Grandmothers. 

And is it ever beautiful.

Mercury Cafe, 2:00 pm on Sunday, January 17th.  Pre-register for the event and qualify for $1 off the purchase of a MoonTimer 2016 Lunar Calendar for Women and Girls. Great for inter-generational bonding  - bring your daughter AND your mom! 
 

Book dinner reservations directly with the Mercury, at (303) 294-9258. The Mercury Cafe, Denver's most environmentally conscious restaurant, offers a wide spectrum of healthy delicious food. 

Visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/moontimer

MoonTimer Lunar Calendar 2016

2016 Calendar $20.00 USD Synchronize Your Cycle, January 17th, Mercury Cafe $10.00 USD Workshop & Calendar (pick up at the event) $19.00 USD

MoonTimer 2016 Lunar Calendar for Women and Girls - now available!

Right on time for holiday gifting, here is the perfect choice for the women in your world, of any age. Even those who are not interested in the MoonTiming system of our ancestral grandmothers, explained on the back cover, will enjoy these beautiful 'snapshots' from the inner landscape of the sacred feminine, which resides in all of us, male or female. Men who give this will be regarded as profoundly sensitive to the female experience! You KNOW that's going to work for you - see how I help you, fellas?!

To avoid shipping charges, you can buy direct from me at the upcoming workshop on December 16th, 6:30 pm, at the Mercury Cafe. You do not have to attend the workshop to purchase a calendar. Cash or personal check gratefully accepted - no credit cards please. THOSE WHO PRE-REGISTER for the workshop will receive $1 off on calendar purchases (discount is limited to 3 calendars). Book any dinner reservations directly with the Mercury Cafe. Those interested in reselling can contact me at rubiconmoon@gmail.com, or leave a voicemail at 303.351.3962. Thank you, my friends, and blessed Holy Days to you!

MoonTimer Lunar Calendar 2016

2016 Calendar $20.00 USD Synchronize Your Cycle, December 16th, Mercury Cafe $10.00 USD Workshop & Calendar (pick up at the event) $19.00 USD

Toxic Shock is still with us

I'm excited. In November, I'll be giving two workshops to girls in a Leadership program designed and facilitated by Ceiba, USA / Grandmother's House of Herbs and Cures Education Center. In collaboration with another project called the Monthly Moon Coalition, the young ladies of high school age will be assembling and then distributing 'Moon Packs' - a month's worth of feminine hygiene supplies - to homeless women here in Denver. 

Prior to that, we're giving them sessions on Defending Bodily Integrity (physical self-defense, and emotional self-defense: reporting sexual assault or abuse), Body Branding (the significance of tattooing, piercing, etc), Communication Skills for Healthy Relationships, and more. Sessions are weekly, starting this Wednesday, November 4, from 6:00 - 7:30. Contact Mavis Salazar, 720.231.4711, to enroll your daughter. The program concludes on December 13th with the distribution of the Moon Packs. 

I will be sharing The Astounding History of Feminine Hygiene, in which we observe the crazy contraptions they have designed over the years for our 'convenience' -- some of which have killed a few of us. 

I actually had considered that there might no longer be a need to discuss tampon safety. It has been almost ten years since I used to teach this to teens and tweens at Girls Incorporated of Metro Denver (where my curriculum was nominated for a national award in sexuality health education), and with all the new and innovative hygiene supplies on the market now - my daughter uses the Diva cup, and loves it - I presumed that toxic shock was a thing of the past. But JUST TO MAKE SURE, I did a Google search. 

I was shocked and saddened to see that only just this past March, 13-year old Jemma-Louise Roberts acquired toxic shock from using tampons. Doctors misdiagnosed her condition as a simple flu -- and a week later, she died. 

The doctors never asked her: Do you menstruate? Do you use tampons? Physicians need to be retrained to ask these questions. This is the recommendation of Dr. Philip Tierno, the man whose research forced the Rely tampon off the market. Symptoms reported by women included rashes, vomiting, diarrhea, fevers. 38 women died from TSS, of the 813 cases reported to the CDC in 1980 alone. 

Teens and young women especially need to be asked these questions. Dr. Tierno says that only half of teenage girls under the age of 16 have the antibodies to fight off TSS, the common staph bacteria that resides naturally in many people (estimates for its prevalence range from between 20% to 33% of the population). As women age, they may develop more antibodies, but even women in their forties have died from tampon-induced TSS toxicity. 

Better yet, girls could be educated in advance on the dangers of tampon use. Why is this not part of standard health information? The Rely tampon was popular because women wanted a one-tampon solution to their periods - so they left these 'Super Absorbent' tampons in for days. 

Knowing the facts changes behavior. The recommendation is that women should change tampons every 3 hours, and NEVER leave one in overnight, which gives the bacteria time to multiply. Use a pad at night!  

But alas, even changing OUR behavior isn't enough. The other dangerous factor is the use of synthetic materials in tampons, creating a more favorable environment for the bacteria. The Rely tampon had polyester among its components; rayon and plastic are  still in use in tampon manufacture, especially within the big three: Playtex, Tampax, and Kotex. In fact, Kotex is currently being sued by 26-year old Lauren Wassen, a former model who lost her leg in 2012 using their 'Natural Balance' tampons (ironic, no?). And she even changed them regularly, per the recommendations. Now THAT IS scary.

There has never been a case of Toxic Shock resulting from an all-cotton tampon. Dr. Tierno continues to pressure the manufacturers to convert their synthetic products to cotton - OR, he suggests, add a skull and crossbones to their labeling.  Of course, unbleached cotton would be best, as we don't really need DIOXIN from the bleaching process coming into contact with what Chris Bobel, president-elect of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, describes as "the most absorbent part of our bodies". 

A woman may use as many as 16,800 tampons during her menstrual career - isn't it time to make them safe?

Since 1997, Representative Carolyn Maloney has repeatedly tried to get support for legislation requiring safer tampons; her most recent effort, introduced in April 2015, is called the Robin Danielson Feminine Hygiene Product Safety Act, after a woman who died nearly 20 years ago at the age of 44, from tampon use. The bill would require disclosure of contaminants like dioxin, synthetic fibers, and other chemical additives like chlorine, colorants and fragrances. A press release from Maloney's office says, “Given the present lack of research there is no way of knowing if diseases such as cervical cancer, endometriosis, infertility, and ovarian cancer may be linked to a woman's use of feminine hygiene products.” 

So far, the only studies that have been done are by the tampon companies themselves -- another case of the fox guarding the hen house. Proctor and Gamble resisted all responsibility for the illnesses and deaths of the women who used their product, sending reassuring messages out in response to letters and to the media about the safety of the Rely tampon. It may come as no surprise to you, dear reader, that some of materials published by Dr. Tierno and his colleague Bruce Hanna, following their investigation, have now 'disappeared'. But their original research still stands, and is published here (paste into your browser) : 

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4454795?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents 

Warn your daughters - and your sisters, and your friends about the dangers of tampons. Try the Diva cup instead, or other alternatives, like re-usable pads. While we wait for the law of the land to protect us (don't hold your breath, hey?), we can vote with our dollars, and throw our support behind Carolyn Maloney. 

Meanwhile, I wonder if we will be stopped by the police for 'giving' to the homeless. If so, I will have to ask them how forcing homeless women to bleed in public, with no protection, is benefiting the public health.

Go with the flow,

Mrs. Kiva's Mom

October 2015

Hello friends -

The October 2015 image is inspired by the work of a Hopi potter named Rainy Naha.

She follows in the tradition of the legendary Nampeyo, who, in the late 1800's, single-handedly resurrected an ancient style of Hopi pottery when she discovered patterns in potsherds excavated at a prehistoric ruin on First Mesa. Nampeyo revived the lost techniques of pottery firing, using sheep bones to make the fire hotter and the pots whiter, and incorporated the designs of her ancestors, using a palette that became known as Hano Polychrome, a distinct combination of beautifully muted earth tones.

Nampeyo achieved international recognition for her work and became one of the most widely photographed ceramic artists in the Southwest, with pictures of her taken by Edward S. Curtis, Adam Clark Vroman, William Henry Jackson, and the pioneering Kate Cory - an courageous artist herself, who lived among the Hopi from 1905 until 1912. Cory writes that Nampeyo also "smoothed the fired pots with a plant with a red blossom" - another technique of ancient Tewa origin.

At left is a beautiful portrait of Nampeyo from Edward S. Curtis, taken in 1900, owned by the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.

Also striking is the image at right, taken in 1875 by William Henry Jackon. Here we see the young Nampeyo wearing the characteristic Hopi hairstyle indicating her status as a marriageable woman, having competed her moon initiation. What a rare find this is! I was delighted to excavate it!

There is plenty about Nampeyo on the Web, and she is well worth the investigation.

About Rainy
The work of modern-day potter Rainy Naha uses a similar palette, and her ceramics are absolutely magnificent. Like Nampeyo, her daughters are also potters with extraordinary skill, and sign their pottery with the feather glyph of their grandmother, Rainy's mother, known as Feather Woman.

 Here is Rainy's 'Tumbling Parrots' Jar.

The precision and the impeccable balance of her color and design is simply extraordinary, not to mention the soul-full love for her subject that radiates from the piece. 

And how about this one? Her SOLSTICE jar, from 2002.
Breath-taking! 

Do an image search for Rainy and be astounded by the grace and beauty in her work. She shows us a sacred perspective.

Bucket List Item: own a pot by Rainy Naha, and give her a huge hug of gratitude for the blessings she gives to humanity through her art.

Back to the Future

There have not been any recent posts to this blog because I've been heavily invested in creating the new calendar files for 2016.

Last year, I followed the advice of a tech consultant, who recommended that I make smaller files to accommodate display on mobile devices. That is why the Lunar Calendars for 2015 consist only of the 'month grid', without any of the accompanying panels that I refer to as 'sidecars'. Basically, I cut the files in half.

But I really missed the sidecars. The original sidecar for October 2015 (before I took the consultant's advice and pared down the images) is shown above.

The tech consultant disappeared from the project when his father became ill. Naturally, I completely respected his priorities since I myself had cancelled most of my typical activities during the period when my own mother was ill.

But as I began work on the 2016 files, I felt compelled to bring the sidecars back, and also to incorporate the logo into the design of the calendars. So this has been a real birthing, a labor that has taken on the dimension of a divine obsession, and has required my complete attention for the last few months.

I am very excited to present these new images to you, which I will do in the very near future, as I am attempting to not only get them in print, but also make them widely available in e-book formats. For every month's calendar, I will also provide a commentary here on the blog,

Thank you all for your continued interest in the MoonTimer Calendars. And by the way, I am available to present workshops to your group on how to synchronize your cycle. I love to talk with women about the elegant system of our ancestral grandmothers, who invented the world's simplest method for regulating the cycle. 

The science that validates MoonTiming - which has been denigrated as superstition - only became available in the last century. That's how long it has taken science to catch up with what the grandmothers knew 25,000 years ago, when they first began charting the moon's path through the sky and pegged the menstrual cycle to it. This was done out of necessity, in order to insure the safety and survival of mothers and children, by being able to accurately forecast the birth of a baby. 

Please contact me at rubiconmoon@gmail if you are interested in learning Everything That No One Ever Told You about the menstrual cycle -- a revelatory experience! 

Go with the Flow, 

Kathryn

August 1, 2015 - Talk to the Hand

If you know the way, light it for others. 
                                                                              -- anonymous

Durga. She's one of the goddesses who is not to be trifled with. Single-handedly, she defeated the Demon Army that even the gods themselves could not overcome.

And who is the Demon Army? It is made up of soldiers from our own lower selves - the un-redeemed, unresolved, and unconscious aspects of ourselves that sabotage us, stand in our way, and show up in the most awkward and ungraceful moments of our lives. They are like skeletons that spring forth from the ground, armed with shame, blame, anger, despair, and resentment.

These un-integrated aspects are our most unloved parts. We don't want to own them, so we attribute their existence to other people, such as our parents (who will undoubtedly go wrong here and there), teachers who do not recognize our talents, bosses who demoralize us with criticism instead of support, friends who mistake our intentions, relationships gone south, even to institutions like government, school, church. And truly, we do receive woundings from many quarters.

These wounds impact our self-worth, which can become so damaged that we are vulnerable to predators. We then select relationships where we are under-valued, used, and even abused, and are unable to defend ourselves. Our own thoughts can be every bit as dangerous as external predators.

Durga might be a good archetype to befriend. Armed with great resourcefulness and abundant weaponry, she defends against our own ignorance of the divine spark at the source of our being. She says, STOP beating yourself up, and start fighting against the thoughts of unworthiness, the thoughts that say no, the self-doubt and self-criticism, the barriers to manifesting the light that has a home within you.

Although we have a divine origin and a divine destination, mistakes and wrong turns are taken by us all in our path through this messy world. Sobonfu Some, a teacher of the Dagara wisdom traditions of West Africa, says that she does not beat herself up because the world itself does enough of that!

When we cultivate gentleness, honesty, and acceptance in the conversation with our skeleton soldiers, we can benefit from the lessons in our experiences. Having fought our way through the brambles, finally to an embrace of all we have endured, we essentially draw a map of the landscape through which we have come, and can offer it  to other travelers. Our suffering then is transformed into a healing salve for the pain in others. A sweet and fragrant flower has grown where there was once muck and mud. If you have ever planted a garden, you know that first, the weeds must be cleared. It is okay to pull them out by the roots. Whatever stands in the way of our best purposes can be let go.
At last, we reach a place where those who criticize us, those who demoralize us, those who attempt to curtail our freedom or who denigrate what we cherish - the enemies from within or without - will be met with Durga: Talk to the Hand. Either make a positive contribution to what I'm working towards, or get out of my way.

When Durga defeated the Demon Army, the gods gifted her with treasures, saying: "Bless us with all that is good for us." 
    
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine.


Shine it on!
Ms. Kiva's Mom

The term "blue moon" now commonly describes a full moon occurring twice in the same month. This happens every few years, when the date for a full moon falls near the beginning of a calendar month so that the next full moon comes before the end of that month. 

But but it didn't always mean that. The term is at least 400 years old, and originally meant the third full moon when there are four full moons in a season, calculated by a formula related to the solstices and equinoxes.  

The idea that a Blue Moon is the second full moon in a calendar month was erroneously introduced into popular culture by a mistake in a 1946 Sky & Telescope article, and has become so widespread that probably the astronomers will never be able to make us think otherwise. 

The expression “once in a blue moon,” is also used to connote something that is obviously absurd, because it is likely to happen rarely, if ever! 

Check out the vocal virtuosity in this doo-wop treatment of the classic tune:

The Marcels: Blue Moon

Go with the Flow ~ 

it beats swimming against the tide

When Joseph Campbell met Holly Sierra

Woman,

as the magical door from the other world, 

through which lives enter into this, 

 stands naturally in counterpoise 

to the door of death, 

through which they leave.

--- Joseph Campbell 

The Masks of God

click here for more splendid illustrations from Holly Sierra

What women most desire

This story from the Arthurian legends answers a timeless question.

The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle

In haunted Inglewood Forest, where it is thought that the Otherworld is near at hand, King Arthur is hunting a deer. 

Separated from his companions, and without his usual armor and weaponry, he follows and kills the deer. Suddenly, from out of the forest, a fully armed knight appears. He is Sir Gromer Somer Joure, and brings a grievance: he claims that his lands have been seized from him by Sir Gawain, the King's nephew. 

Sir Gromer tells the King that in exactly a year's time, he must return, unarmed as he is this day, and bring the answer to a question that Sir Gromer will pose. If the answer is incorrect, he will be beheaded. 

The question is:
What is it that women most desire? 

The King returns to court and shares what has happened with Sir Gawain, who suggests that they ride through the countryside, asking this question to the people, and recording their responses. This they do separately, and then come back together, comparing the answers they've collected. 

There is no clear consensus on this question; the answers are so many, and so varied, that the King quickly begins to feel the futility of this effort, and determines instead to return to the forest alone, in hopes of gaining some insight.

Kelmscott Chaucer, 1896 illustration

This time, he happens to meet an ugly old hag, Dame Ragnelle. 
She claims to know his dilemma, and also to have the answer he needs to fulfill his obligation to Sir Gromer. She will reveal it to him, on one condition: that she will be wed to Sir Gawain. 


When Sir Gawain learns of this from the King, he immediately consents to the marriage, to save the life of his uncle. 

King Arthur returns to the forest for his meeting with Sir Gromer, but goes first to Dame Ragnelle. He informs her that Sir Gawain accepts her terms, and requests that she divulge the answer. 

Dame Ragnelle tells the King that what women most desire is sovereignty -- the right to make their own decisions. 

So the King wins the challenge with Sir Gromer, and his life is spared. The wedding of Sir Gawain to Dame Ragnelle goes forward. On the wedding knight, Sir Gawain decides to act gallantly, and, as if his bride were very desirable, go to her bed as a dutiful husband should. 

But when he enters her chamber, he finds instead a radiant young woman more beautiful than any he has ever seen. 

She explains that her ugly appearance was the result of a spell that could only be broken by marriage to a good Knight. Now, married to Sir Gawain, she has the liberty to be ugly only half the time, and beautiful half the time. She asks Sir Gawain whether he prefers that she be beautiful by day -- when others may see her - or by night, when only he will see her. 

But he does not decide. Instead, he gives her the choice - thus honoring her sovereignty. 

This destroys the curse permanently, and from that time forward, she is beautiful -- both day and night. 

So fellows, if you want a beautiful mate, 

don't put her in hobbles and bar the gate; 

don't make her a prisoner, nor a slave, 

for she will detest you beyond the grave.
Love can't be captured or forced by might. 

This is our tale, and to all,

a Good Knight!

The Optimism of April

Dear and precious Mother Earth, we are thankful for the joyous, life-affirming exuberance of spring!

The movement of the moon through all her faces (phases) is a pattern of change that is constant. Such a pattern is called "periodicity". From this arose the term, the 'menstrual period', to describe that interval when women shed the internal skin of the uterus.

The 'reset' button for the lunar cycle is the New Moon on the 18th. In the traditional practice of our ancestral grandmothers, women who are synchronized to this cosmic calendar - its timing cued by the dance of the Earth, moon and sun, in a pattern of change that is constant - will start their 'shedding' that day.

Go with the flow,
Mrs. Kiva's Mom

Bed for Dreams

The intimate relationship of women with the moon persists in spite of all efforts to eradicate it. This connection is recognized still in our collective consciousness.

If you don't believe me, consider the ironic destiny of this image, from artist Carmen Lomas Garza.

What do you see?

Two young girls gaze at the full moon (incidentally, the ‘moon of ovulation’, per the schedule of our ancestral grandmothers), while inside, their mother is making the bed.

If this image seems somewhat familiar, it's not for nothing: Garza's representation of the historically encoded correspondence of the moon with women’s fertility sneaks back into the public domain when her image was chosen to promote the Year 2000 Census!  

This painting - Cama Para Sueños (Bed for Dreams), done in 1985, is now in the collection of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, in Washington D.C

Carmen Lomas Garza is a recipient of numerous awards and has exhibited her work in galleries and museums across the United States. More about Ms. Lomas Garza, here: http://carmenlomasgarza.com . You can also find her on YouTube.

SUPER New Moon and total eclipse of the Sun - on Equinox, this Friday March 20th!

This Friday, on the Equinox, is a SUPER (new) MOON - and a total eclipse of the sun. 



The New Moon is never visible, until the New Crescent appears in the West. For the three days preceding her reappearance as the Crescent, the moon is traveling with the sun - coming up at sunrise and going down at sunset. So, at night, the moon is simply not in the sky; and because the moon is between us and the Sun, the Sun's strong light makes it impossible for us to see her during the day. This is why I like to call New Moon the 'No Moon'!

A Super Moon means that the moon, in her orbit, is as close as she ever gets to the Earth (lunar perigee).  The Super New Moon will provide a spectacular total eclipse of the Sun. But this will only be visible in specific places, and unfortunately, North America isn't one of them!

The moon generates no light of her own -- her distinct phases result from a dance between Earth, Sun and Moon, which are all in motion at different speeds and on different pathways. The moon orbits the Earth, which orbits the Sun, which travels the galactic landscape of the Milky Way. After this eclipse on the equinox, there will be three more (on the equinox in March) in this century: in 2034, 2053, and 2072 - each separated by the 19 years required for Earth, Sun and Moon to be in exactly the same position relative to each other. 

The vernal equinox, as the announcement of spring, heralds a time of fertility.  Many mammals procreate at this time so that babies can be born in the warm protection of summer. Since the Grandmothers designated the New Moon as the interval when we would retreat into seclusion, this Friday is a powerful and intense concentration of  feminine energy - a Super Moon Lodge! 

Go with the flow,
Mrs. Kiva's Mom

Does Menarche Matter?

Around the world, in every country and corner of the earth, women share a common experience: we reach the age when our lives are changed forever by the arrival of our menstrual cycle. Each of us learns ways to deal with and manage this experience, which will be with us for many years, using the knowledge and wisdom passed to us by the significant women in our lives, whether mothers, grandmothers, sisters, friends, teachers, or mentors.   

At least, that's the way it used to be. These days, we turn over much of the responsibility to 'experts'. We hope that the 'sex-ed' our kids receive in school is at least an adequate beginning. But is it? 

What I notice these days is that there is an abundance of information on the web regarding menopause (the issue for grown women) -- but very little about menarche. Many of you are now asking: What IS menarche (men-ar-key)?

Digging into the roots of words gives us a clue. Within the terms we use for this fundamentally female experience, there is a hidden element: the moon. These English words are derived from "mene", the Greek word for moon.  

Menstruation   =   Moon changing

Menopause       =   Moon pause

Menarche          =   Moon Beginning

So now that you know what menarche is, can we ask: what's happened to it? Where is menarche in mainstream culture? Who cares about girls who are beginning their 'moon' - except maybe the feminine hygiene companies?

If you are a mom, a mentor, an auntie, a grandmother, or even a dad or an uncle, with an important girl in your life who is approaching this transition, you are probably giving some thought to this topic. When is the right moment for "The Talk"? Do you feel comfortable and prepared, or does the prospect cause ice-water to run in your veins?! What else can be done to encourage her as she starts to sail the choppy waters of early puberty? 

Among other things, this blog will explore historical practices, which were in many cases extremely challenging and even death-defying. We aren't looking to restore such difficult rituals, but within them we can find elements that may be valuable to our understanding of this time in a girl's life. In many indigenous peoples, this transition is still observed with traditional ceremonies that have endured. What does it mean to our girls that there is so little in the way of community acknowledgment of their changed life-status? The research shows a lot of damage - and I will show you that research. And I tell you that we can change this! We can rewrite the script for menarche!  

S, what's the moon got to do with it -- really? In 1927, anthropologist Robert Briffault wrote, “Menstruation, that is, 'moon-change', is commonly spoken of by all peoples as 'the moon'." Of the female reproductive functions, he says that menstruation particularly is “naturally reckoned by women, in every part of the world, by the changes of the moon.” (emphasis mine)

This connection has often been discounted as superstition, “old wives’ tales”, or witchcraft. But the recent work of biologists and other scientists reveals the reasons for the correspondence between the moon’s phases and the ‘internal tides’ of women.  Now, finally, we have the scientific evidence explaining how it works; but these discoveries lead to even more intriguing questions about why - and precisely how - women learned to use the moon as a menstrual clock.  This too will be revealed to you, dear reader.  

And by the way, it was not for nothing that those wives lived to be old!

Rubicon Moon is dedicated to restoring the positive significance of menarche, and for building ideas to empower girls by acknowledging it in honoring ways. We publish materials to help adults honor a girl's menarche with tenderness, discretion, encouragement and respect.  This blog is meant to be a forum for shared discussion and collaboration; your comments are welcomed.