DISCALIMER: This handbook is not intended for medical reference.

The natural remedies (herbal,

homeopathic and aromatherapy) are meant as basic beginners guide only. Always consult a qualified
practitioner for prolonged and serious problems.
The author disclaims all responsibility for adverse reactions caused by inappropriate, incorrect, or adverse
reactions caused by any remedy suggested.

“Listening To The Whispers”

Listening to the whispers

 That come through time and space,
The voices of the Ancestors
Of every creed and race.
Our silent spirits are waiting:
Inspiration is our desire.
The spark of understanding
Will set our hearts on fire.
Within that fiery vision,
The whispers call our names,
Asking those who listen
To carry the Eternal Flame.
The Flame is illumination
Of the love that lies within,
All creatures, Tribes and nations
Become family once again.
Are we really listening
To the whispers all around?
The voices within the circle
Are calling for common ground.
Where peace is the message,
Where no child stands alone,
And no hearts are broken,
Because we’ve all come home.

By Jamie Sams, Earth Medicine.

MOON and EARTH CONNECTIONS:

A Mother and
Daughters Guide To Menstruation The Moon and Mother Earth

Chapter 1: Your Changing Body

Chapter 2: Moon Month

Chapter 3: Ovulation Moon Time (you make eggs!)

Chapter 4: The Earth Connection

Chapter 5: Reason to Celebrate

Chapter 6: A History of Menstruation & Absorbers

Chapter 7: The Goddess is Back!

Chapter 8: Health and You Now You Are a Woman

Chapter 9: Body Image, Breasts and Blemishes

Chapter 10: Sex, Babies ‘n’ Boys

Chapter 11: Simple Meditation

Chapter 12:Reclaim your Femininity through the Moon (for mum!)

Introduction: Where My Journey Begun

“Why am I here? What’s the meaning of life? I sobbed and cried, lying on the
spare bed at my Grandmothers house. I felt alone and confused. At age eleven
I was starting to wonder about the BIG question most of us ask at some stage in
our lives. I remember my dad coming into the room to see if I was OK. I don’t
remember any answers to my questions at the time, but a few days later he gave
me a beautiful card with the message: “The most important thing in life is to love
and to be loved”. This, somehow, calmed my confusion. I now interpret those
words as: love your Self first, then others and love Mother Earth, with all of her
beautiful creatures, plants and oceans filled with life.

So I sit. Pen in hand; mind whizzing, full of memories and scars of the past. I
wonder of the future for me and my family, Mother Earth and all our Relations
and I realize that I can make a difference in this world (as we all can). So I’ve
decided I will write this book for mothers and daughters.

I have faith that you will gain the knowledge needed to help make a difference on
this planet and a change, in understanding, and respecting your bodies.

This is a guide to what happens to your body when you start menstruating (your
periods). It includes a different way of understanding this process by showing
you how your body is affected by the Moon and her changing cycles. How you
as a bleeding women can help save this beautiful planet, by being aware of the
pollution to her and your body when you use disposable pads and tampons.
Moon and Earth Connections explains rituals and celebration ideas for your first
period (Menarche) and for any woman young or old who would like to celebrate
the sacredness of menstruation and womanhood (it is never too late!)

Our Western world has dragged many of us kicking and screaming away from
who we truly are: Divine Beings of peace, beauty and love. If we lived naturally
and in harmony, we would no longer
require material wealth and status, we would just be, we would live in the
moment and connect with the awesome environment around us.
May we peacefully reunite with our true selves…
This guide may open your hearts and minds to unfamiliar ideas, and help you
find out who you are, a Sacred Being living in conscious union with Mother Earth.

Note to Mothers Dads and Guardians: This handbook is largely written in a way
that is directed towards your daughter. However, it is also for you to read and
enhance your own understanding of the subject matter so that you may be
involved with, and explain things that may not be clear to your girl(s). There are
a few more “notes to parents and guardians” throughout this book, so please
take the time to read them.

Chapter One: Your Changing Body

From girl to woman

Menarche is the Latin word for “first blood” and translates into
“Moon Month”

When you begin to menstruate (your first period), many things have happened
inside of your body for this bleeding to take place. This is when the blood, fluid
and uterine cells from your uterus are released and flow down your vagina and
out of your body for a few days once a month.
Before the start of your first period however, your body has been preparing in
many ways. Fat deposits have a major role in your development and until you
reach the 48kg mark your body is not ready to handle the influx of hormones that
are produced when you reach Menarche. Fat is deposited around your hips and
thighs. From around the age of 10 your hips have started to grow and become
wider.
Your breasts and nipples have started to develop. The hormones oestrogen and
progesterone stimulate breast development so that your milk ducts begin to
grow. (Breast development is usually irregular to start with and this can cause
some girls to experience lumps or unequal breast size. Your breasts are not fully
developed until a few years after your first period).
You probably have grown in height and you would have started to grow pubic
hair as well. Your ovaries, womb and vagina have also developed and started to
prepare for womanhood.
Girls can be as young as 9 or 10 or as old as 16 when they start their periods.
Everyone is different, and you should not worry if all your friends have their
period before you. Your time to celebrate will surely come!

Here is a Time-line of the complex process that triggers your period:

1. Your PITUATARY GLAND in the base of your brain releases a hormone called
FOLLICLE STIMULATING HORMONE(or FSH for short). FSH flows into your
blood stream and heads towards your ovaries (or egg sacks).
2. FSH stimulates your OVARIES and your eggs start to develop.
3. Your egg follicles produce a hormone called oestrogen.
4. Oestrogen stimulates the lining of your womb to grow with nourishing cells and
fluid.
5. Oestrogen also triggers your PITUATARY GLAND to release another hormone
called LUETINISING HORMONE (or LH for short).
6. LH flows back to your ovaries where the biggest, ripest egg bursts out and
travels towards your womb via your fallopian tubes (see diagram). This is
OVULATION and occurs about 2 weeks before you bleed.
7. The empty egg follicle in your ovary then produces PROGESTERONE, a
hormone which when mixed with the OESTROGEN continues to build up your
womb lining.
8. When you DO NOT become pregnant the hormone levels slowly drop until this
causes the lining of the womb to break down. It begins to shrink. As it shrinks
the tiny blood vessels that supply it get “kinked” and break, causing the bleeding.
It is a fact that blood only accounts for no more than half of the total menstrual
discharge. It is a mixture of blood, fluid and uterine cells.

“It is said that menstruation is the uterus {the womb} weeping because pregnancy
did not happen. Bleeding from the crumbling of the lining of the uterus is the
culmination of a series of interlocked events that prepare the uterus to accept a
fertilized egg. If pregnancy does not occur, this prepared lining is shed from the
uterus...” (1).

The actual bleeding can last anywhere between 3 - 7 days, depending on the
individual. The blood should be a reddish brown colour and sometimes a
brighter red. The average amount of loss is 30ml, this differs in all women and
some of you may lose up to 80ml.
The menstrual cycle is counted from the first day of bleeding to the beginning of
the next period. The average cycle is 28 days, but a cycle can be as short as 25
days or as long as 35 days. AMENORRHOEA is the absence of a period, and is
common in young girls who have just reached Menarche. It may take 1-2 years
before a regular menstrual cycle gets happening. Other factors such as stress
and anxiety, bereavement, a poor diet, to little or too much exercise can cause a
period to be missed.

(FEMALE ANATOMY AND CYCLE CHART TO BE HERE.)

COUNTRY AND CITY WOMEN - Some interesting research has been done as
to why city girls seem to reach menarche earlier than country girls. This research
found that city girls bleed about 6 months earlier than country girls. In the 1860’s
girls reached menarche at around 15 or 16. In the 1990’s the average age for
Western girls to get their period was 13.
One possible reason for earlier menarche is better nutrition. Better food means
that girls’ bodies reach the necessary weight and percentage of body fat three
years sooner.
One possible reason why city girls may reach menarche earlier could be due to
the fact that they are living among millions of men. The pheromones (from
millions of mature men), might speed up puberty in girls. Therefore country girls
who live around fewer men are not triggered by as many male pheromones and
mature later.

THE REST OF THIS HANDBOOK IS AVAILABLE FOR SALE AS AN E-BOOK

AT www.moonandearthconnections.com