Welcome to MoonStories

A safe sisterhood space to share stories and art about moon time, supporting each other in the journey of having bodies that bleed

“What if we created a safe space for women to share their moon time stories?” That’s what we asked ourselves the first time Shannon and I had a conversation.

Shannon had seen my post about no longer being willing to pretend that I’m not bleeding, that women’s bodies are a problem, or that the way society handles menstruation is okay.

One of the cool things about perimenopause is you lose your patience with bullshit and get more willing to speak your truth, but still it wasn’t easy for me to publish that one. On the other side of the good-girl discomfort though, so many wonderful things have happened including our friendship, MoonStories, and YOU being right here. Welcome.

This is a place to share stories

This is a space to hear other women’s experiences and share yours if you like. It’s as simple as that. And that changes everything.

Magic can happen when women come together. Here at MoonStories you might find yourself feeling relieved to know that you’re not alone (or crazy) or feel encouraged by other women’s stories. You might offer suggestions of remedies you’ve discovered, make connections, or share a story of your own.

Why it matters

We live in a time in human history where women’s bodies are the subject of an inhumane amount of judgment and menstruation is still a relatively taboo topic. Women are expected to silently push through as if their moon time isn’t happening— including in the workplace, which in general was designed for men.

Life hasn’t always been this way and we believe change is coming. We know change starts with connection and that’s what this newsletter/conversation/community is all about. When we break the silence and share with each other something new can happen.

⭕️ Let’s make the internet do things it’s not supposed to

In a patriarchal world where women’s bodies are subjected to so much scrutiny, control, and abuse this corner of the internet is a safe, sacred circle for genuine connection and vibrant conversation about our moon time. It’s a place where we can come together, share what things are really like, and support each other.

As artists and community catalysts, Shannon and I are continually seeking to bend digital boxes into living-breathing circles. It’s not easily done. But it is possible.

When you show up in this two-dimensional space with your tender heart and/or fire in your belly, and whatever is real and alive for you, sacred circle happens, even in the confines of digital space.

Thank you. Thank you for showing up and making this magic.

Our third conversation was about bleeding with the new moon, indigenous wisdom, what it means to be protectors of water, perimenopausal warrior energy, major life changes, and ceremony…and resulted in the birth of MoonStories a week later!

About us

Shannon and I met briefly many years ago at the Synergy Dance Collective in Boulder, Colorado and now live half a planet away, yet thanks to the topic of moon time, we feel a juicy sense of sisterhood. We’ve had amazing conversations and are super curious to see what happens as the conversation and sisterhood expands.

Shannon was born near the Quinetucket River and has dedicated herself to the study and protection of sacred sites and recovery of the traditional wisdom of our European Ancestors. Her focus is on Celtic nations and especially the holy wells and waterways of the land of the Tuatha de Danaan. 🇮🇪 She works at The Center for Earth Ethics, is the author of Returning to the Source here on Substack, and the founder of Women of the Water, which connects women worldwide who are inspired to renew the sacred honor of tending the Waters of Mother Earth.

🌝 Moon medicine: Shannon has found that by listening and honoring her body’s needs for hydration, solitude, and a monthly dose of a little red wine & meat, she can move through her moon time relaxed and pain-free.

Kai lives in Baja California, México 🇲🇽 where she walks into the desert each morning for sunrise and dips into the ocean whenever she has a chance. She is the author of The New Story here on Substack and founder of The Paradigm Shift Project where she guides people who’d rather not do marketing to discover their message and find their soul voice so their business can thrive.

🌝 Moon medicine: Kai finds that sessions with her vibrator, Taoist qi gong, crampbark tincture, and a monthly massage from her compassionate partner, Alan make all the difference in getting through painful periods.

Moonblood painting by Kai, April 2019 ~ during an especially painful moontime where she laid on the earth and felt a deeper connection with Pachamama

What’s your moon medicine?

What habits, remedies, or practices work well for you as you navigate you own moon time? What has or is supporting you through The Change*? We’d love to hear from you. Please don’t hesitate to drop a comment and share. Who knows, your story might help someone else.

*The Change is how my grandma refers menopause. The way she says it (with no additional information) always sounded both mysterious and matter-of-fact. Now that I’m in perimenopause I realize how perfect that language is. This transition is deeply transformative. It’s not small. It’s a capital letters sized change. It’s about much more than bleeding/not bleeding. It’s also about shedding Good Girl conditioning, making friends with anger, and stepping into the power we are and the wisdom we hold. It’s uncomfortable, messy, and so essential—both for ourselves and the collective.

Subscribe for more

We’re committed to this being a safe space for women to share their experiences; a place for conversation. To inspire the conversation we’ll share some of our own moon time stories as well as art, videos, and articles from others, including women in the MoonStories community (see below!)

To receive the flow subscribe below and you’ll get each new post straight to your inbox. Currently, the conversation is solely in the comments but if people would like to connect in real time we might also add live online events. Let us know if that’s something you’d like to experience.

P.S. We welcome submissions!

If you have a story, poem, piece of art, song, video, or article about menstruation, perimenopause, or menopause that feels appropriate for MoonStories please email kai@kaimadrone.com & Shannon at returntosource@hotmail.com and tell us why you’d like to share the piece with the community here.

~Oh, and if you like MoonStories you might also appreciate Kai’s newsletter, The New Story (poems & stories for the paradigm shift to a world where everyone gets to thrive) and Shannon’s newsletter Returning to the Source (about the journey of coming home to the body and to the Earth).