Ayahuasca Menstruation: Dispelling Myths About Women who Sit With Ayahuasca During Their Cycle
If you asked me point blank if I’m more new school or old school when it comes to working with Mother Ayahuasca, I unequivocally tell you I have a more traditional perspective. I’ve had the incredible honor of studying the Shipibo-Conibo and Quechua-Lamista lineages, and my heart lies in the art of Vegetelismo, which is an ancient practice of working with the plants. I have the age-old perspective that if it isn’t broken, it doesn’t need some arrogant newbies to come along and rework it.
Yet the energy of Ayahuasca herself is fluid, malleable, and in the moment. As our culture evolves, and consciousness itself, it stands to reason that part of even the most sacred and heart-led traditions would too. Considering cultural perspectives, it is essential to foster a supportive and personalized experience for spiritual exploration.
Case in point: The notion that women who are menstruating, or on their moons, shouldn’t participate in Ayahuasca ceremonies. After 20 years of experience as a woman in this space, this is a deeply personal part of tradition that I have chosen to refine.
Many Ayahuasca lineages have some existing rule set around prohibiting women who are menstruating. Most Colombian traditions, as an example, forbid any bleeding female from stepping into a maloka (ceremony space). We’re not only forbidden to drink the tea, we can’t even be in the space. I experienced the hypocrisy around this bias during my time at Rythmia. These perspectives were passionately adhered to except when things were busy and more assistance was needed. Then all of a sudden me and my releasing reproductive organs were welcomed in the space, as long as it benefited those that were leading the ceremony. Furthermore, the narrative we were instructed to share with women on their moons was that it was for their personal safety they were forbidden to attend the Thursday night Colombian sit. Yet all were welcome regardless in all other nights. Ayahuasca was featured each time, yet only one lineage forbid menstruating women. So how could it be for our personal safety when the only thing different were the people serving the medicine?
Not to mention the vile, poisonous, and completely inappropriate super-strong hormones they give women to try to stave off their periods in order to sit with the mysogynists. These chemicals themselves are far more dangerous with Ayahuasca than the actual experience of menstruating.
Duly noted that I am biased. I am a woman who joyfully menstruated monthly; a woman who has sincerely adored the process of witnessing my body’s cyclical red-teared release. My lens is therefore very suspicious of any judgment or shaming around moon time.
So before we get to the bottom of the moon-time restrictions with Ayahuasca, let’s do a quick review of spiritual, religious, and mystical traditions of the past, and their consistent issue with menstruating women.
The Sordid History of Religions Who Shame Menstruating Women and Their Periods
Bring up the topic of vaginal bleeding with just about any man of the cloth, and you’ll watch a full on contraction of discomfort, and all the justification that comes with this shaming. Judaism is one such example; some in this tradition have, in the past, forbidden female participation from the moment a woman starts menstruating through the week after the period stops. Christianity isn’t much better. The Eastern Orthodox’s forbid a bleeding woman to receive communion, and some even cast off mooning women to a “menstruation hut.”
You’d be hard pressed to find a well-known religion that doesn’t have some manner of regulations for mooning ladies. Traditional wisdom often incorporates cultural practices and beliefs into contemporary perspectives, but it also highlights the need to balance it with modern understandings of gender equality. Since these rules are almost always created by men, how can we not suspect that the awe and threat of our power to create and birth life itself has also been a process worthy of shame and repression?
These fears and protocols are not limited to religions. A bleeding woman isn’t allowed to take part in most spiritual rituals from the majority of Native American tribes either. And, of course, this permeates shamanic traditions too.
Women’s bodies are miraculous bodies, a source of vast wisdom craving to come out and integrate. We literally recreate the universe each and every month that we menstruate. And since the beginning of time, insecure men with power have cast us off.
Enter Ayahuasca. She’s the Mother of all Medicines, so wouldn’t she welcome a bleeding woman into her arms?
Is it Safe for Women on their Periods to be Drinking Ayahuasca?
The short answer is: Yes.
The long answer is: It’s complicated.
There’s the complications of the patriarchy, and of the medicine herself.
Mother Ayahuasca is an absolute force, and we can’t ask her to be any other way. Sure, she can show up soft and subtle when need be, but her magic lies in her ability to push us to our very edges, thereby showing us what we’re made of. That’s not an easy experience on a good day; add to that the intensity and sensitivities involved in our monthly bleed during an Ayahuasca journey, and this is quite a wild recipe.
Each woman also has a different relationship with their periods. Some don’t feel so much as a pinch of pain, others have cramping so severe it can put them out of commission for days. Some women become so emotionally sensitive it’s hard to read a Hallmark card let alone take a romp into their shadows. Others barely feel a hormonal shift at all. So we can’t in any way create a universal answer to this question. It’s personal, and for some, it depends on the month itself. It’s a very viable choice to not sit with Ayahuasca during moon time, but that should be the choice of the woman herself, not men who have no clue what we are dealing with when drinking Ayahuasca,
That said, for me, sharing my sensitive experience of mooning with Ayahuasca is incredibly sacred. This also requires more awareness, protection of my body, and life force. But it’s entirely possible to sit with Mama while on my period and be better for it. It can even be a profound healing experience, unlocking deep insights and personal growth.
Here are some of the things I do to create safety for myself and the mooning women who sit with me (not a complete list, and in no particular order):
· Sage. Sage. And MORE SAGE. This potent femme fatale is my go-to protector. You can sprinkle her dried leaves around your space in the ceremony circle, and even tuck a few under your pad so she can create a wall of energy between your womb and the room.
· Grandfather Tobacco: Tuck some loose Sacred Tobacco in your naval; he, too, is a protective powerhouse, and can absorb and deflect any negative energies spiraling towards your sensitive parts.
· Please no tampons! Come to ceremony with a pad or cup. Tampons literally block the energy flow from your womb, and because Aya is a fan of MOVEMENT, she despises these bleached cotton monstrocities. They also perpetuate shame. Ditch the vaginal plugs.
· Tell your facilitator you are on your period. Many progressive circles totally welcome moon-time, but as a ceremony leader, I can’t protect sensitivities I am not aware of. We often sing special icaros into the medicine for mooning women, but we need to know what folks are working with in order to co-create safety. Plus, staying silent ALSO continues the shame narrative. Be loud and proud about the magic of your body.
· Be gentle on yourself. Give your body the love and care she deserves. I love drinking Aya when I’m on my moon, as it allows me to tune deeply in to the energies of my body. We bond like crazy during these times, and I honor her for all her impeccable work. But it’s very important I acknowledge and follow what I’m feeling. I might drink far less medicine, and do lots of extra prep. It’s most important that we let our bodies lead the way, and listen to what they need.
Celebrate the moon time, celebrate the medicine, but do so with awareness, integrity, and safety. But by all means, don’t succumb to the toxic patriarchy’s view that menstruating women are not fit to partake in spiritual rituals. Our monthly bleeds ARE spiritual rituals. And Ayahuasca wholly agrees.
Tina “Kat” Courtney, The AfterLife Coach, is a traditionally trained Ayahuasquera + Huachumera and a vocal advocate for all sacred psychedelic spaces. Kat is the CEO and co-founder of Plant Medicine People, and she works as a coach, ceremony guide, and mentor to people navigating their shadows via altered states of consciousness. She is the author of Plant Medicine Mystery School Vol 1: The Superhero Healing Powers of Psychotropic Plants, as well as a certified Death Doula. She loves the darkness, the Sacred Medicines, and her beautiful, magical, absolutely perfect body.
