Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings. Today’s post is about the Monstrous Feminine and how it relates to the Moon cycle and, by extension, the menstrual cycle. That is why I will be focusing on Mermaids and Female Werewolves!
The Moon is so influential on the emotions of all people, the pull of the ocean’s tides, and the menstrual cycle of women. The Moon is also what controls the transformation cycle of Werewolves in many versions of the lycanthropy mythos. That means we can link the Moon and her cycle to the Monstrous Feminine and the Dark Feminine through the link to both Mermaids (and especially darker Mermaids like Sirens and Vampiric Mermaids) and Werewolves!
While the cycle of the Moon and the menstrual cycle of our bodies are both beautiful things, there is a darker side. The Moon is also linked to lunacy, and many people harshly judge menstruating women! This was even worse in many cultures hundreds of years ago, where menstruation was viewed as truly dirty, something that could cause ill omens. Thankfully, the judgment is much less harsh today, and many people are learning the true innate and natural beauty of the menstrual cycle, but this fact had to be acknowledged to show why menstruation was linked to the Monstrous Feminine so long ago! Furthermore, this links to the dichotomy between the womb and the tomb. The Great Mother is both the one who births us as well as the one to whom we are returned to upon our deaths!
Everything I just discussed is why it is so interesting that the Moon cycle has ties to the Dark Feminine and Monstrous Feminine via Mermaids and Werewolves. Mermaids are seen as beautiful and enchanting, but they have also long been feared as beings that can lure men to their deaths. Female Werewolves have increased aggression and increased sexual allure. They are sometimes more feared than their male counterparts because the aggression they exhibit is not normally associated with the feminine. Female Werewolves are, therefore, an example of the energies of the masculine and feminine coming into a new alignment! This is similar to Mermaids when we view them as bloodthirsty, as bloodthirsty energy is more often associated with masculine energy.
I think we can see that much of what drives the view of the Monstrous Feminine is having an uncommon balance of masculine and feminine energy that serves to disturb the status quo! We can see this energy presented in television series like H20: Just Add Water, where the Mermaids sometimes go under a moon spell, causing chaos on the Full Moon. Of course, that series did it in a very light-hearted way, but the links between Mermaids, the Full Moon causing madness, and even an allusion to menstruation are obvious. What I consider to be the best example of this for Female Werewolves is in one of my favorite films, Ginger Snaps, where the Werewolf nature is examined through the menstrual cycle! They also keep the Moon alignment in that film, as Ginger begins her menstrual cycle on the Full Moon and is attacked, leading to her own transformation taking place over the next Moon Cycle.
I hope you have enjoyed this very short examination of the Monstrous and Dark Feminine in relation to the Moon Cycle. What is your favorite aspect of the Monstrous Feminine in relation to the Moon Cycle? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of this post is Ginger from Ginger Snaps, with this screenshot being an ideal example of this energy. I found the picture on https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3501080/sisters-united-blood-ginger-snaps-trilogy/.
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: https://patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Further Reading/Watching
- Mysteries of the Dark Moon by Demetra George
- Ginger Snaps (2000)
- H20: Just Add Water (2006)