Reclaiming the Rhythm

The other day, while casually scrolling through Instagram, I stumbled upon a random reel that caught my attention. It spoke about a calendar I had never heard of before — one with 13 months, each 28 days long — mirroring the menstrual cycle. I can’t say how historically accurate it was, but the idea was so fascinating that I ended up watching the whole thing. And here’s what it shared:

For much of human history, time wasn’t measured by the rigid 12-month Gregorian calendar we now follow. Instead, it was cyclical, lunar, and deeply connected to women’s bodies. The average menstrual cycle lasts about 28 days, just like the moon’s cycle. With 13 moons in a year, women quite literally carried a living calendar within them.

Archaeologists point to artifacts like the 20,000-year-old Venus of Laussel — a carving of a woman holding a horn with 13 notches, believed to represent lunar and menstrual cycles. Many Indigenous cultures saw menstruating women not with shame, but with reverence. They rested in “moon lodges,” and returned with wisdom for their communities. Even language reflects this link: the Latin mēnsis (month) gives us the word “menses.”

The reel made me pause. Menstruation wasn’t always taboo — it was celebrated as power, as renewal, as a connection to the cosmos. Full moons often aligned with ovulation, new moons with bleeding. Life itself — agriculture, rituals, community rhythms — revolved around this cycle.

But then came the shift. As patriarchal systems took hold, moon-based calendars were replaced with solar ones. Along the way:

· 13 became an unlucky number.

· Menstrual blood was cast as “impure.”

· Sacred goddess rituals disappeared.

· The womb, once seen as humanity’s natural clock, was pushed into the shadows.

Watching that reel, I realized: the shame surrounding menstruation today isn’t natural — it’s cultural. And culture can change. What if instead of fighting our cycles, we honored them? What if bleeding, resting, ovulating, and renewing weren’t interruptions, but part of a healthier rhythm of living?

The thought that stayed with me was this: the goddess’s calendar was never destroyed — only renamed. Beneath centuries of silence lies a memory of a world where menstruation was a compass, not a curse.

Reclaiming that rhythm isn’t just about periods. It’s about remembering that life itself is cyclical, sacred, and sustained by the same pulse that flows through both moonlight and the human body.

Bela Sharma

Manager, Communications

Sulabh International

Note: This blog is a personal reflection inspired by a reel I came across on Instagram. The ideas shared here are symbolic, not presented as verified historical fact.