CHOOSE YOURSELF: The ritual of choosing yourself even when it hurts
Article · 3 min read ·
Menstruation, regulation and discernment: an integrated perspective.
The menstrual phase archetypically represents the witch. It also symbolizes the New Moon: the fertile void, the dark moment where everything seems to pause so it can begin anew.
It's a stage of deep introspection. During these days, energy descends and the body invites us to look inward. And it's there that one of the most difficult questions emerges: am I living in alignment with what I truly desire?
Choosing ourselves isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it means leaving behind people, places, or versions of ourselves that we also once longed for. It means accepting that not everything can coexist at the same time. That we must decide where to plant our seeds and what daily life we want to cultivate.
And the quality of that decision depends deeply on our level of awareness: on how well we understand our cyclical nature and how regulated our nervous system is.
•When we're dysregulated, fear shouts.
•When we're regulated, intuition whispers.
The voice of intuition isn't intense or dramatic; it's calm, subtle, and clear. It comes from a nervous system that feels safe. And even when fear is present—that sensation in your chest, that urge to flee—there's also a deep tranquility telling you: this is the way.
Menstruation as a portal of regulation.
In the menstrual phase, the body naturally descends into a more introspective state. If we support this moment with small conscious practices, we can transform fear into discernment.
It's not about elaborate rituals. It's about returning to the essential.
New Moon / Menstrual Phase Ritual: Choosing Yourself
During your menstruation, give yourself 20 minutes.
- Sit in silence.
- Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
- Breathe deeply and slowly.
- Ask yourself:
•Where am I abandoning myself?
•What decision have I been avoiding out of fear?
•Does this choice arise from calm or from fear?
Observe what happens in your body.
The answer won't be in your mind, but in the bodily sensation.
Then write a sentence that begins with:
"I choose myself by…"It can be small. It can be simple. But let it be honest.
Cyclical nature and nervous system: the internal alchemy
Our cyclical nature reminds us that nothing is permanent. We're not making decisions forever; we're making decisions aligned with who we are today.
Choosing yourself is releasing identification with inherited patterns. It's recognizing that your nervous system has tried to protect you for years, activating fear to ensure survival. That bio-intelligence is elegant. It's not your enemy.
But now you no longer just want to survive.
You want to live.
Regulation doesn't happen overnight. It's daily work of compassionate self-observation. It's breathing when the impulse is to flee. It's staying when the old story wants to repeat itself.
The menstrual phase immerses us in depth so we can return with greater honesty and autonomy. From that fertile void, we can write the next chapter.
And that chapter isn't born from noise.
It's born from silence.
It's born when you choose yourself.
