Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync | How to Embody Your Cycle Through Ritual: A Virgo Season Guide

Transcript

Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync | How to Embody Your Cycle Through Ritual: A Virgo Season Guide · Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul

• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Healing Her Story Podcast.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: I am delighted to be here with you today.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like it's been a while.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: I've been recording episodes especially far in advance with the summer program I was running through the summer.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: And now that that's concluded, I've just about recovered.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Not 100%.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm getting there.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm also starting to settle into a new rhythm and starting to have a little bit more space and starting to get back into my work a little bit more with the podcast and also with my practice as well.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: So it feels really nourishing to return here and to be able to bring a little bit more of myself to this work that is so meaningful to me.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: If this is your first time here, welcome.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: I trust that you have found your way to today's episode in your perfect right time and way.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you are returning, welcome back.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: I truly do not take your time and your energy and your focus for granted.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: We have so many choices in this day and age.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: So many things we could be listening to and watching and doing.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I really appreciate you taking the time to tune in.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope that you know, for me, when you are doing that, you are doing so much more than cycle sinking.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Air quotes around cycle sinking.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: What we're doing here is embodying a new way of being.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe not just honored by ourselves, but also honored by the people around us, by our friends, by our families, by our work, our communities.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And this is courageous work.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: It takes a tremendous amount of courage to show up in a different way that goes against the norm and goes against the grain of our culture, which is a patriarchal culture, where women and people of color and people who aren't fully able-bodied, people who don't maybe fall within the realm of what's normal, air quotes around normal, for the way we see and the way we process information in the world.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: So perhaps if you're neurodivergent, I can't help but wonder what a world would look like when all bodies are honored.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of that starts with ourselves and really honoring our bodies and our physiology first, and as we do that, we give others the permission to do the same.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for being here.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for walking this path with me.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: This is one of the most meaningful and rewarding and fulfilling and illuminating and expansive and uncomfortable sort of experiences of life that we can have.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn, to unlearn, to grow, and to also share.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: So let's start to transition into what we're here to do this week.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that is to attune to the energy of the waxing moon.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And before we do, we will take our minute of silence.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps this is also a moment of stillness.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I recently just took a workshop with Veronica Watman from Waking Womb.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely love her.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: And she spoke about the importance of a downregulating moment.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: There are times in our cycle where we need more of these moments.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: And what I took away is that no matter where you are in your cycle, because of how our bodies work, we greatly benefit from a moment to.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: So something I might explore and play with here in coming weeks.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: I also noticed some physical sensations in my body and took a moment to meet them, to presence them.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I also really enjoyed that opportunity to just be with myself as a way to prepare and transition into sharing this week's episode with you.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: I am cycle day 15 today.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just at the end of my inner summer.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a juicy one for many reasons.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: I will not get into all today.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: I will kind of sprinkle some things in as we're moving through the episode.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it's been a really wonderful time.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a big smile on my face.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: So definitely ending the inner summer feeling like I had some of my intentions really bloom and manifest, which always feels to me really fulfilling and really stabilizing to my system.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a little bit about where I am today, but I know what you're really here for.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get into it.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: As I mentioned, this week we are attuning to the energy of the waxing moon.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: And we are still very much in eclipse season, by the way.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure how closely you pay attention to astrology.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: I am not an astrologist.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: It is a lens that I use to filter and something that I track through my own lived experience.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: And it is ultimately a cycle that is moving through our collective.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: So whether you are aware of it or not, it is happening.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I do want to bring a little awareness to what is happening.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: If you are familiar with eclipses, this might be familiar to you.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: If you are unfamiliar with eclipses, here's a little bit about what I have come to understand about eclipses.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: We just had the eclipse, I believe it was last Wednesday or maybe last Tuesday, depending on where you are in the world.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting, I've been speaking with many of my clients about what they've been experiencing.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been really feeling it too.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: Eclipse season can be a really intense time.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Eclipses for me really show up in my body.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: I usually almost every eclipse have something come up, a physical sensation, that is quite strong and takes a lot of my energy.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so that happened, this eclipse cycle for me.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: And it really kind of forced me to slow down for those few days during the eclipse uh peak.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I know for some of my other clients, it's brought things into their awareness that maybe were already there, but a part of them was denying.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: Some of us might just be feeling really tired, bogged down, maybe really emotional.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: I've been experiencing all the above, and a few of my other clients have as well, too.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're feeling any of that, this is resonating with you, know that you are not alone.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: And that eclipse season does last for about another month or so.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: And this time can be really powerful.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Eclipses can act as accelerators and as course correctors.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: If you are not air quotes, on your path, depending on your belief system and understanding of the world, an eclipse can come back to bring us back onto the path.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure if I said that correctly.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: An eclipse can come to redirect us back onto our path.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: There we go.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: And that redirection can sometimes feel confronting, jarring, andor disorienting.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: It might look like sudden changes, unexpected losses, or finally becoming clear on something you may have been quietly denying.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you are on your path, eclipses can work differently, speeding things up, connecting you with the right people, the right places, and the right opportunities to help you grow and expand.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: And even if you aren't personally feeling the intensity of this right now, the people around you very likely are.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: This can be an incredibly activating time, compounded by the already intense world we are living in.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, all that to say, this is a wonderful time to use your tools to turn towards your resources.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: And if this show feels like a resource for you, I really invite you to stay with us over the next few weeks.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'm going to be really supporting this energy that is coercing, or rather, supporting uh you as this energy is coercing through our collective.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: With all of that, today we're going to be beginning a new focus.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: The timing didn't quite align with the new moon this cycle, and we are very much beginning with a waxing moon, which is associated with the season of spring, and spring is all about new beginnings and fresh energy, and that feels exactly right for what we're stepping into.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: We are slowly making our way towards Virgo season.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's going to be happening, I believe, on Friday or Saturday, depending where you are in the world.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I will have one more Leo season episode for you on Friday to help you close out your reflections, your awarenesses, and anything that Leo season has maybe stirred in you.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: But for today, we're going to start feeling into the energy of Virgo.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: When I sat with the theme of Virgo season, what first came to me was rituals.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then right behind that, embodiment.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to start by sitting with what ritual actually is.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think that word can sometimes feel heavier or more complicated than it needs to be.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: If you Google it, you'll likely find something like this.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: A set of actions done at the same time, following a fixed order performed for religious, cultural, or personal reasons.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I mostly agree with that.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think what matters most above any fixed order or rule that feels very rigid and hyper-masculine to me is that ritual holds a special meaning.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: It helps to mark the passing of time.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: And it also helps our bodies and our nervous systems know that we're transitioning from one thing to the next.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: In the context of menstrual cycle awareness, ritual is one of the most powerful ways I know to bring in embodiment, to actually live the cycle and not just intellectually understand it.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe as a society, we have really lost touch with our rituals.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that loss is part of what feeds the sense of disconnection and ungroundedness that so many of us feel in this fast-paced patriarchal world.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: These things may seem small and insignificant, but honoring the passing of time through ritual, and I've seen this in my own life, can have a significant impact on how we relate to a particular phase of our cycle, how we relate to ourselves, and how we relate to our lives.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: Ritual invites us into relationship with ourselves, with something bigger than us, and with the phase we find ourselves in.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: So you might be wondering, especially if you're not familiar with the sign of Virgo, what rituals and embodiment have to do with this particular season.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to do something I haven't done much before on this show and share a little bit about the astrological understanding of the sign of Virgo.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to be pulling this from Chani.com, which is a resource I've referenced before, and I'll go ahead and link in the show notes this article as well as the Chani app, which is a wonderful tool for staying connected with the astrological cycles and tracking the moon.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: And here is what Chani shares about Virgo.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: Virgo is associated with the element of Earth.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Virgo's symbol is the virgin, usually depicted with a sheaf of wheat.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: And in ancient world, the term virgin referred to those who belong to themselves, dedicating to discovering their nature through disciplined devotion.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: Virgo treats self-regeneration as a spiritual act.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: Adept at cleansing physical, emotional, and intellectual systems, Virgo is always in the process of putting things together and removing what isn't needed.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: Virgo's nerves can be soothed by cleaning, clearing, and cleansing.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: These mundane rituals can become rites of passage.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Putting things in order helps their mental, physical, and emotional energy flow.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I would argue that that last part doesn't just apply to Virgos.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think it applies to all of us.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need a Virgo placement to relate to these themes.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: Especially right now as we are moving into her season.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: So, what I'm inviting us to explore over the next several weeks is this.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: How can we embody the cyclical rhythms of our bodies and of the world around us through our day-to-day and weekly rituals?
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: Before I share a few of my own, I want to also let you know that there is nothing to get right or wrong here.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: When I first started working with rituals, I had this idea that they needed to be deeply sacred, performed in a very specific way and taken very seriously, or they wouldn't count.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: And that is kind of the shadowy side of Virgo is this idea of perfectionism.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: What I have found over time is that my own intention and meaning is what matters most.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: And often the simplest things can be the most powerful.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to invite you to keep it simple.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: If you have the energy and the creative spark to make something elaborate, wonderful.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you're tired and your capacity is limited, which is true for so many of us, I invite you to ask yourself, how can I simplify this so it's actually enjoyable?
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because when something is enjoyable, guess what?
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: We're more likely to follow through.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: And this is how behavior change starts to work.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: So here are three rituals I love for the follicular phase and the waxing moon.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: The first is how I get ready each day.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: Most mornings I get ready in quiet.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: No music, no podcast.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: I find that especially on busy days, the quiet is what's actually most supportive for my nervous system.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: And during my follicular phase, I do small things differently.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: My hair, for one, goes up in a messy top bun.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: That loose, playful energy feels right for me during this phase.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'll also reach for one or two lipsticks in a pink-purple hue because those colors help me connect with the younger, fresher energy of this time.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: What I also love about the lipsticks, I orient people to this as I start to get to know people a bit more, that my lipstick color changes throughout my cycle.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: So if you look at what lipstick color I'm wearing that day, once you start to know, you can actually tell where I am in my cycle.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: So that's information that I'm also giving to other people as well.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I started doing it for my students in particular.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: I was curious if it would be helpful for them.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have any confirmation on that yet, but it's become something that I really enjoy.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: I also choose my earrings intentionally.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll also pick out clothes that reflect where I am.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes I'll wear these zebra striped pants if I'm teaching that day.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I'll wear brighter colors: pinks, oranges, yellows.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'll also wear fun little things that my um either my nephew gave me or some of my students have given me.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like I have a pair of cat ears that I had one of my students from Summer Camp give me, this little bracelet my nephew made.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: So small things, but I'll I'll kind of play with those and wear those during this time of my cycle so that by the time I'm walking out the door, I already feel like I'm embodying my cycle rather than just having it be something that's in the background.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: The second thing is a little spring cleaning.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: During the waxing moon and the follicular phase, I love to bring that fresh energy into my environment.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: This might look like decluttering, cleaning out my car, resetting my home, maybe cleaning the bathroom, reorganizing an area, making small changes around the space.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: I usually have more energy for these things during this part of my cycle as well.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: There to me is really something about clearing the outer world that mirrors and supports the clearing and the building that's happening inside.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: The environment we move through every day either signals safety and spaciousness to our nervous system or it adds to the noise.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so even just a small reset can feel like a big difference.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: The third one is watching the moon.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: From the moment that I can see that first tiny sliver of light marking the new moon, I make a point to look up each night and watch her slowly build in her light.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to be at a set time, it's usually just as I'm out living my life.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: But when I look up, I notice and I take it in, and that building light is a physical, visual reminder of the energy I am building and what I am creating.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: And it helps me to trust the process, to see something outside of me reflecting what I'm feeling and cultivating inside.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is very grounding to me, and it helps me to trust that the bloom, the fullness will eventually come in its own right time and way.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now you may already have rituals of your own that you haven't quite named or maybe recognized as such.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: I bet there's things you're already doing.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: Or perhaps listening today has maybe sparked an idea for something that would feel right for you.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, what matters most is the meaning, the intention, the marking of the time, and the embodiment showing up in a way that actually matches what you're feeling on the inside.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: And that at its core is coherence.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: When we are in coherence with ourselves, we move into greater coherence with the world around us.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that creates less friction, less dis-ease because what we're feeling on the inside is finally being expressed on the outside.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think many of us take that for granted because so many of us, especially women, have been conditioned to override what we feel and push through.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: And this is an antidote to that.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: Simple, but profound.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I thank you for your patience.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm in a new rhythm now, feeling back, um, or rather, feeling into that back to school energy as I'm getting ready to start my master's program in September, and also getting ready to go back to my part-time work with my kiddos starting next week.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm starting to settle into a new routine.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really loving what I've got blocked out for my schedule.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, it's gonna feel as good as it looks on paper right now, and all of that feels perfectly timed with Virgo season as well.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: To support you this week, I've left the Chani app and the article on Virgo placements in the show notes if you're wanting to go a little deeper into the astrology.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: I've also left a blog post that I created on the follicular phase.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: If you bled with the new moon last week, then this is about where you'll be in your cycle.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: So you might find some inspiration from that article.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're wanting to go deeper with this embodiment work specifically, if you're ready to understand your cycle, to reclaim each phase, to stop overriding what your body is telling you, then the next step is to book a somatic assessment and care planning session with me.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: In that session, we'll talk about what's coming up for you, what you're moving toward, and you'll also get a real taste of the somatic work because, as so many of my clients say, somatic work can be so hard to explain.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we just need to experience it.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: And at the end, we'll also create your personalized plan together consisting of three concrete next best steps that will move you forward.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: Whether that leads to one of my programs or other resources or simply clarity, you will leave with a direction.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: You can find the link for all of that in the show notes.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_00: I look forward to connecting with you in the next episode.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: Bye for now.