
Raising Our Fertility Consciousness
by shaUna Owlsong
As women we are blessed with a womb that is in constant conversation
with the moon. Like the ocean tides, our wombs are pulled
by the waxing and the waning of the moons lunar energy. Before
electricity women bled on the dark of the moon and ovulated
around the full moon. Now that there is electricity and thus
more light, our cycles have shifted so that a woman is bleeding
every moment of every day.
Wow! It is time to tune into our own body and our own cycle
so that we may know when we bleed and when we ovulate. It
is a step toward taking charge of our own fertility.
There are many ways to connect with our menstrual cycles
and fertility. I find that there is a lot of value in charting
my cycle daily. I chart my basal body temperature, cervical
secretions, and cervical position. I also chart when I have
had intercourse, the phase of the moon, emotions, breast tenderness,
etc. By charting these three fertility signs and additional
information I am aware of my fertile times and un-fertile
times.
Basal
body temperature: Take your temperature with a basal
body thermometer every morning at the same time and before
you get up or eat and drink anything. You will begin to notice
a pattern after a few months of charting. You may notice that
your basal body temperature is around 97 -97.5 before ovulation,
and rises to about 97.6 to 98.6 after ovulation. After a few
months of charting you will be able to use this sign in conjunction
with other fertility signs to help determine your fertile
time.
Cervical
secretions: The best time to check your cervical
secretions is after you have peed and done some pelvic floor
exercises. Be sure your hands are washed and using your fingers
check the secretions at the opening of your yoni. Without
looking notice the consistency and then look and take note
if it is blood (menstruation), dry (dampness that evaporates
quickly), sticky, creamy, eggwhite (stretchy). It is the stretchy
secretion that indicates ovulation. Check multiple times a
day and chart your results in the evening.
Cervical
position (height, softness, opening, and wetness):
Wash your hands, get down into a squatting position and insert
your index finger into your yoni and locate your cervix. Check
where your cervix is…is it near the opening or pushed
back far so it is hard to reach? Is it open or closed? Is
it firm or soft? An ovulating cervix sits high, is open and
soft.
After charting for a few months you will notice a pattern.
Now you can begin to use your data in order to avoid pregnancy
(or to call in pregnancy, as the case may be). Be aware that
sperm can survive for up to 5 days in cervical fluid. To avoid
pregnancy be sure to use a dependable birth control method
Here’s the twist. Women are now spontaneously ovulating
at different times in their cycle. Even though you are charting
and avoiding unprotected intercourse during your fertile time,
you can still become pregnant. Take appropriate precautions.
Use herbal birth control. Use a barrier method. Stay tuned
into your body. Listen and trust.
Womb meditation (to be practiced daily,
at least):
•
Sitting cross legged, bringing your attention to your womb.
Sink into your womb and be present. Breathe.
• Ask your womb where you are at in your fertility
cycle. Notice any colors, thoughts, visions, sounds, smells.
Trust what you experience.
• Continue to breathe and be in your womb, in your
center. Feel the connection with the moon. Breathe into this
connection, remaining open to emotions. Sounds are welcome.
• On an exhale extend a cord of energy (whatever color
feels best) from your womb, your second charka, deep down
into the earth’s core, rooting you.
• Send love and gratitude to the earth, to the moon,
and any other energies you feel drawn to at this time.
• Bring your focus back to your womb.
• Breathe here. Be here.
• Open your eyes.
There are many ways to be in tune with our fertility. Find
the way(s) that work best for you…and have fun doing
it!
Recommended reading:
Wise
Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun S.
Weed
Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler
www.sisterzeus.com
Contact your local midwife for more guidance,
or contact me at summerayne@wildmail.com
to set up a consultation.
Join
shaUna Owlsong at the Wise Woman Center this summer!
Her
Sacred Yoni
on July 17th, 2004
Wisdom
of the Fertility Goddess on July 18th, 2004
For registrations, contact:
Susun Weed and The Wise Woman Center
PO Box 64 Woodstock NY 12498
phone/fax: 845-246-8081
Or register online at www.wisewomanbookshop.com
Click here to send an
email for more info.
excerpt from Wise
Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year by Susun S.
Weed ©2002
HERBAL BIRTH CONTROL
by Susun S Weed
$14.95
Herbs have been used to control fertility for as long as
there have been women who desired to do so. Our desire is
as great as ever, but our knowledge base is far from large
or strong. This workshop is both a sharing of what I know,
and an open ear to hear what you know. May we reweave the
healing cloak of the Ancients. Further discussions on herbal
birth control can be found in my book Wise Woman Herbal for
the Childbearing Year (Ash Tree Publishing, 1986) and in Contraception
and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance, John
M. Riddle (Harvard University Press, 1992)
FOR HIM:
Hot balls make no babies. If he sits in hot water for 20-30
minutes every night for at least a month, he will shoot duds
for the next 8-10 weeks. Don't laugh. This is effective and
inexpensive.
FOR HER:
Ovulation Prevention
• Reduce fat intake
• Increase exercise
• Bring down body weight
• Caution: A fertile woman who is too thin to ovulate
can lose as much bone mass in one month as she would in one
year post menopause.
• Consider: The many health benefits of birth control
pills
Fertility
Signs
• Basal body temperature
• Cervical mucus
Timing is Important
• Hormone cycles and herbal birth control
• Fertilization, implantation, early pregnancy, and
more hormones
Implantation Prevention
• Wild carrot seed (Daucus carota)
• Morning after birth control pills
• Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)
• Rutin (good sources include buckwheat greens, elder
leaves, and rue)
• Smartweed (Polygonum hydropiper); drink infusion of
dried leaves freely.
Spirit-life Poisons
• Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)
• Rue (Ruta graveolens)
• Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)
• Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
• Pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides); and a word about
essential oil dangers.
• Saffron (Crocus autumalis); one half gram daily for
four days; ten grams is fatal.
• Vitamin C; take 500mg as often as every 30 minutes,
up to 10 grams daily
Uterine Contractors (oxytocin)
• Birth root (Trillium pendulum); caution, do not use
Aristolochia (birthwort)
• Blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)
• Cotton root bark (Gossypium)
• Dosages, cautions
WHAT ABOUT GINGER?
For YOU BOTH:
Sterility promoters include stoneseed root (Lithospermum ruderale),
Jack-in-the-pulpit root (Arisema triphyllum), and thistles
(Cnicus and Cirsium species). Green Blessings
Legal
Disclaimer: This content is not intended to replace conventional
medical treatment. Any suggestions made and all herbs listed
are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease,
condition or symptom. Personal directions and use should be
provided by a clinical herbalist or other qualified healthcare
practitioner with a specific formula for you. All material
on this website/email is provided for general information
purposes only and should not be considered medical advice
or consultation. Contact a reputable healthcare practitioner
if you are in need of medical care. Exercise self-empowerment
by seeking a second opinion.
Susun
Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax: 1-845-246-8081
Visit Susun Weed at: www.susunweed.com
and to purchase a copy of
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year
by Susun S. Weed,
go to www.wisewomanbookshop.com
For permission to reprint this article, contact us at: susunweed@herbshealing.com
Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered
an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures,
teachings, and writings on health and nutrition. She challenges
conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her
vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine. Unabashedly
pro-woman, her animated and enthusiastic lectures are engaging
and often profoundly provocative. Susun is one of America's
best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches
to women's health. Her four best-selling books are recommended
by expert herbalists and well-known physicians and are used
and cherished by millions of women around the world.