Kate Tweddle with Kate Cohen
Artwork: Kate Tweddle
I’ve recently discovered moon cycle charting and I am fascinated and excited about its potential for connecting body and mind. Essentially, cycle charting is about tracking your emotions, body and needs throughout the month and relating that back to your hormonal cycle.
After less than two months of charting I have found this process empowering and interesting, as well as already helping to relieve some of the painful physical symptoms I get on my period.
Although I heard of charting a while ago I didn’t really know where to start or how to go about it. Enter Kate Cohen! Kate is a friend and I attended a free talk she gave about moon cycle charting, which was incredibly inspiring and informative. So I decided to put this article together, ask Kate some questions, and hopefully spread the powerful knowledge about cycle charting as far and wide as possible. In our interview we cover the science behind charting, how to get started and the potential impact and benefits it can have.
Q. Kate, why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?
A. I’m a holistic life coach, yoga teacher and reiki healer — working one to one with coaching clients to support them in transforming their lives. I also hold regular women’s circles and events with the intention of bringing women together; connecting, sharing, healing and empowering each other.
Q. To help our readers to get to know you, I’ve got a few quick fire questions for you… The first is, what book are you reading just now?
A. I’m diving back into Yoni Shakti by Uma Dinsmore-Tuli and Awakening Shakti by Sally Kempton.
Q. What’s your favourite season?
A. Summer! Long days and nights, sea swims, bare feet, warmth and easy playful energy.
Q. Who is one woman in the public eye inspiring you?
A. Claire Baker, she is sharing great work around loving your menstrual cycle.
Q. Which song are you at the moment?
A. Nissim – The Gaslamp Killer
Q. OK… It’s a big one, but… What makes you happy?!
A. Laughing loud, dancing, juicy conversations, nature, music, great food, travel and adventure.
Q. So… the wonderful world of cycle charting! How do you describe cycle charting and how did you get into it?
A. Cycle charting is basically keeping track of your menstrual cycle, so you get to know your cycle and how you feel at different times throughout it. I started tracking my cycle a few years ago after removing the contraceptive implant, as I was really interested to get to know my natural cycle.
Q. How have you integrated moon charting into your life and what benefits have you found?
A. By now I’ve discovered I like to use a paper chart; so I stop and take some time at the end of each day to reflect on how the day was. How I felt, how my body was, any big emotions or revelations. It’s become a practise in itself and I’ve noticed over time I have become much more attuned to my body and what I need at different points in my cycle. Through honouring my body I no longer get bad PMS, migraines or cramps and I feel more energised in the first half of my cycle. Tuning in to my cycle has also helped me tune in to myself and my truth; it feels like a homecoming.
Q. I love that charting can help us become more connected to our bodies and hopefully alleviate some of the painful symptoms that can come with menstruation. What makes it even more powerful is its combined potential as a valuable tool for positive mental health…
A. Charting can massively help with positive mental health as it helps us realise – as women – that we are not meant to be, think and feel in the same way every day!
Q. That’s been a powerful revelation for me; realising our hormones are constantly ebbing and flowing – so of course our emotions and mind-frame do too. It’s very liberating.
A. If we can tune into our cycle it can help us become a lot more accepting of our changing nature, and can help us to understand why we might feel more sensitive, depressed or angry at different times. With knowledge of our own cycles we can make sure that we look after ourselves and honour what we need at different times of the month.
Q. Moon charting is centred on the biological process of hormonal changes in our bodies. How does the science behind our cycles work?
A. We can think of the start of our menstrual cycle as the first day we bleed – at this point all our hormones are low, which triggers the release of our womb lining. This signals an egg follicle to start maturing, oestrogen increases to support the growth of the lining and egg follicle. This is the first half or pre-ovulatory part of our cycle.
Later – mid cycle – when oestrogen peaks that signals the follicle to release the egg; this is ovulation. We also get an increase of testosterone here. After ovulation, oestrogen drops slightly and progesterone kicks in to keep the womb lining in preparation for a potential pregnancy. If we don’t get pregnant all the hormones start to decrease, eventually leading to menstruation again.
Q. So how does the actual charting work?
A. You can start charting your cycle by calling the first day you bleed ‘day 1’ and counting forward consecutively from there. An average cycle is 28 days long but everyone is different. When you start bleeding again you have started a new cycle. You can use a paper chart, take notes in your diary or journal, or use an app. As you chart over a few months you will be able to start to notice the patterns and rhythms of your own cycle; gaining many insights.
Things you might want to note are: bleeding, pain, energy, emotions, sleep and dreams, sex drive, cravings, fluid, skin, digestion, mental energy, social needs, exercise, moon phase and sign.
Think of the different phases of the cycle as ‘seasons’, so you can tune into the energy of that phase and honour what your body needs at that time: Menstruation as winter – a time to release, let go and turn inward; Pre-ovulatory phase as spring – fresh, new inspiration, emerging, playful; Ovulation phase as summer; fully energised, radiant, generous, ‘superwoman vibes’; Pre-menstrual phase as autumn – chaotic, straight to the point, clearing, dropping in.
Q. What do you see as the future of cycle charting?
A. I would love for every woman and girl to embrace their cycles and the wisdom and power within them. Imagine if each of us grew up knowing that our menstrual cycle was sacred and not something to be ashamed of! And that we honoured our menstruation by resting and turning inward so we can receive insights, and allow our bodies to cleanse and heal themselves.
I think if women were encouraged to work with their cycles instead of against them, the way we go about life would change, and would allow more honest communication with ourselves, and with others too.
Tuning into our cycles opens the door to really connecting back into the feminine, and loving and embracing that energy, as well as the masculine.
So although in some ways it seems very simple, I think it is a hugely powerful and empowering practice!
Q. How can Fearless Femme’s readers get started?
A. Just start noticing and being aware of how you feel, even if you don’t know what day of your cycle you are on, you can start tuning in to your body.
Using an app can be a great place to start if you’re a bit unsure, great ones to try are Clue, Flo, Period Tracker. Print out the chart I created and dive in, or get in touch, I’d love to help you get started!
Q. What about anyone who doesn’t menstruate… can they connect to the moon’s energies in this way too?
A. Everyone can chart by using the moon cycles, so each new moon would be ‘day 1’ and you count round until the next new moon. You can note what sign the moon is in each day, your energy, emotions, and anything else that resonates. Whether you bleed or not, anyone can still follow the ebbs and flows of the monthly lunar cycle.
Q. Can you recommend any good resources for anyone who want to learn more?
Some great resources I love are:
www.redschool.net
www.thisislifeblood.com
‘Wild Power’ by Alexandra Pope & Sjanie Hugo-Wurlitzer
‘Love your Lady Landscape’ by Lisa Lister
I am really passionate about how powerful and beneficial charting can be and hope any readers who are looking for greater connection and positivity around their menstrual cycle might give it a go; there’s a printable available in the free downloads section of the Rebelle Base. Spread the word – the more who know about this the better! Happy charting moon-sisters!
Kate Tweddle
Kate Tweddle is an artist and writer from Scotland with a degree in Jewellery Design. Her creative works include jewellery, sculptures, drawings, paintings, photography, poetry and prose. Tweddle is heavily inspired by a love of nature and colour, a curiosity for detail and tiny things, and a need to find visual and poetic forms to express concepts and emotions which are deeply important to her.
Kate Cohen
Kate Cohen is a life coach, yoga teacher and reiki healer as well as an explorer and traveller, nature lover, and succulent wild woman amongst other things! Kate’s intention is to create safe spaces for people to come together to celebrate, connect, learn, breathe, heal, laugh, and realise their full potential. Kate shares workshops, events and women’s circles along with one-to-one coaching.
