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Conclusion

Perhaps the most significant gift I can offer a young woman is the wealth of information and knowledge I have acquired over the past several years. This information is empowering; I can only hope that it will be of use towards helping others make informed choices on what to believe in and what feels right. I have been blessed to be able to study with some amazing women who are teachers, priestesses, shamans, healers, and visionaries. This knowledge is not easily available to most young women, so I have included a list of books I might recommend for further study and exploration.

Knowledge can take many forms. There are many things one can’t learn from a book. Young women, and women in general, are the authority on their own experience. Yet everyone else wants to claim or define it for us, tell us how to look, who we are, what we need to be beautiful, how to act to be popular and well-liked.

Our body, however, remembers another way of defining what it means to be a woman. Many people believe that it holds certain memories going back to ancient times. Have you ever known something with all your heart, yet you hadn’t learned it in school, from a book, or from another person? Maybe it came to you in a dream? Spend some time listening to the memories that are stored in your body. You may find it helps if you are very quiet, or you may prefer to dance or do something physical. What do your body memories say? What sort of stories do they have to tell? What do you "know " that you couldn't possibly have learned anywhere else?

We've all been brainwashed to believe that patriarchy is natural — that male domination is the way it always has been, and always will be. This is simply not the truth. Patriarchal religions substantiate their positions by referring to scriptures written by men that say that man shall have domain over women, children, animals, and the Earth — that he has a God-given right to control everyone and everything simply because he is "man." Think about this for a minute. Isn't it interesting that all men are brought into this world and raised by women, but they tend to assign us inferior status and show us no respect? Trust your gut. Listen for the voices of your female ancestors. Make your own decisions about your body and how you want to be in the world.

Questions for Reflection

What follows are some things to think about; there are no right or wrong answers. I encourage you to keep track of your dreams during your moon cycle. Be sure to pay close attention to any visions or strong intuitions you experience during this time. You may want to have a special notebook or journal where you write down some of your feelings and personal stories. Note the following questions and your answers to them:

• What does it mean to you to be a woman?
• Who teaches you, or has taught you, to be a woman and how have they done so?
• How did you or will you know when you finally become a woman?
• Would the world be different if men bled every month? How?
• What sort of ritual would you prepare (if any) to honor your daughter's or your own menarche?
• How do you talk about sexuality with your daughter; or how would you like your mother to talk to you about it?
• What might be some other important times in life where we could celebrate rites of passage?

If you have any comments you'd like to share, please e-mail me! I'd love to hear what you have to say.