Planting the period blood: How it can help your plants

Disgusted by your own blood? Not here, baby! Find out how the practice of using menstrual blood as a fertilizer came about and what its benefits can be to strengthen your plants in a natural way.

Among the numbers of taboos that involve the female body, menstruation is one of the largest. After all, we have always learned, with a society, that talking about our period was wrong, that blood was disgusting and that our cycle was a time to protect ourselves (more for the sake of others than ours).

But let’s face it: there is nothing more natural than that! Ours are temples built especially to generate, bear and give life, and to appropriate this fact as the true miracle that frees us from many of these prejudices.

There are practices that can help us to reframe this moment, which affects our physical and mental and can be very exhausting for many. We gardeners can use our blood to make our plants stronger, helping in their healthy growth and development, through an action that, in brazilian portuguese, we call “planting the moon”.

In this post, made especially for mystical growers, we will tell you a little more about this ancient practice, which has been gradually recovered – as we are freed more and more from so many impositions of patriarchy. Come and understand what it is, where it came from and how to plant your Moon!

What is planting the moon and how did it come about?

To understand the act of planting the Moon, we need to remember that, until very recently, there were not so many types of hygiene products to contain menstrual blood. Therefore, people bled freely – and that blood reached the same land where they planted their herbs and food. This was seen as a devolution: all the nutrition and life that we remove from the earth, comes back to it at some point. It is the end of a perfect cycle, of connection between the body that nourishes and generates lives and nature.

In older and more matriarchal civilizations, it was common to use this blood for rituals, offerings and even tributes to the Goddesses, the Moon and the Sacred Feminine. But, with time and with the impositions of patriarchy, we started to be ashamed and even disgusted by this cycle so important to us.

Fortunately, today we have gone through a great deal of work to rescue these ancestral wisdoms and their great teachings. And that is where the “planting of the Moon” comes in, which is nothing more than returning your menstrual blood to the earth – whether in plant pots, in a garden, or wherever else your heart commands.

We are adept at this practice – Alice, for example, always water her basil with her blood to make the plant stronger. But the movement is collective, and there are many others that also study and advocate for this cause that goes well beyond the act of putting blood in a vase. Body therapist and writer Morena Cardoso is one of them: founder of the DanzaMedicina project, created the World Day of Planting Your Moon, which took place on August 2nd of this year.

According to her, the practice existed among indigenous people in North America and in countries like Mexico and Peru. In rituals, menstrual blood was mixed with the earth to make it more fertile, in addition to symbolizing spiritual communion among women and still being part of rites of passage in the girls’ menarche.

What does it do for plants?

Here on the site, we have already talked a little about the nutrients that cannabis – and all other plants – need, in greater or lesser amounts, to develop well and happily. The main ones are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (the famous NPK trio that most experienced gardeners should already know). To remember very quickly:

Nitrogen: absorbed in the form of ammonia or nitrate by the roots, it is used to manufacture proteins (in the form of enzymes) and nucleic acids. It is the second most important substance for plants, right after water, and directly affects the development of plant tissues and their reproduction. Because it is part of chlorophyll, it has a direct influence on photosynthesis.

Phosphorus: it is associated with the transformation of energy in the plant and the regulation of protein synthesis. When added to the soil, it promotes root growth and gives resistance to cold. So, like nitrogen, its synthesis is also important.

Potassium: is an enzyme activator, which makes the plant have better control over its vital functions – such as breathing, water loss and resistance to pests. This makes the roots stronger and increases the resistance to aridity.

And menstrual blood contains it all, in addition to being an organic and sustainable material. That’s why it can be such a rich substance – but you need to know how to use it!

Step by step – how to plant your menstrual blood

Step 1: To plant your moon, you will need to collect menstrual blood in some way. Two very practical ways are the menstrual collector or absorbent cloth, which are also more sustainable (here’s the tip, girls).

Step 2: in a glass or clay container, mix with about ⅔ of water to ⅓ of blood. Keep this container covered with a cloth, in a ventilated environment, until planting.

Step 3: at the chosen time, water your plants with the mixture made. Remember not to take too long to do this, as the blood is organic and starts to decompose as soon as it comes in contact with the air.

This is the basic part, but we know that many of you like this more mystical part that involves planting the Moon. We believe that there is not a single correct ritual, but a mixture of practices that can make you more comfortable at the time of doing that and create a deeper connection with the earth and with yourself. You can:

• Create an altar with candles, your favorite incense and crystals;

• Thank the earth, chant songs or words of power;

• Keep your feet on the ground, to connect even more to the energy of the element.

Ritual and liberation

In addition to promoting this very genuine connection with the wonderful Mother Nature, this is also a way to find our roots. We all suffer from the consequences of menstruation becoming disgusting in our society. The beauty industry has made us distance ourselves from this process, from these cycles that our bodies go through and other such natural issues.

In any pharmacy or even supermarket, we can observe the quantity of products only aimed at inhibiting some things that are natural for us, such as vaginal perfumes, baby wipes, specific soaps … all far from what we necessarily need, and which are not exactly healthy. Therefore, we believe that reconnecting with our blood and our internal cycles is almost a slap in the face of patriarchy. To understand that the world comes out of the womb, and that it is a power – not a shame.

And the message is not only for those who have a uterus, but also for partners of the other sex. It is very important that we can rediscover all these issues together, in a more open and respectful way, so that we can feel not only comfortable with everything that happens to us, but also empowered by it.

Menstrual blood is no reason to be ashamed of our own body.

And this barrier is not always easy to break, but a process of continuous deconstruction – and incredible.

So, guys, did you like today’s theme? We love being able to talk about it with you and knowing that this knowledge will pass on. And you already know: any questions or comments, you can talk to us here or on Instagram @ girlsingreen710.

Until the next meeting!