The fear of menstrual blood is a phenomenon that has existed for centuries across many cultures. Women were considered impure, unclean, and even dangerous during their menstrual cycles. This fear and stigma have had a significant impact on women’s lives, causing them to feel ashamed and hide their periods. You’ll be shocked to learn how the myths, taboos, and ancient beliefs surrounding menstruation have silently shaped women’s lives for centuries.
War On Women
Anthropologists believe that the first sexual prohibitions in history developed against having intercourse with women during menstruation. However, these prohibitions seem to be based on a deeper basis than hygienic measures: fear and hatred toward women
Eric Berkowitz summarizes this situation in his book Sex and Punishment:
“The sudden flow of menstrual blood reminded men that, despite their superior physical strength, they could not bring about human life on their own. As time passed, men’s fear of women turned into outright hostility, and menstruating women began to be viewed as both dangerous and dirty.”
So the war on women didn’t just start with Salem Trials, it was way before. According to Berkowitz, it wasn’t until around 9000 BC, approximately 185,000 years after Homo sapiens appeared, that people confirmed the connection between sexual activity and pregnancy. He also agrees that the first sexual restrictions might have been taboos in the Paleolithic era against having sex with menstruating women. As time progressed, men’s apprehension toward women turned into open hostility. Women were viewed as dangerous and unclean while on their periods.
Over the centuries, menstrual blood became a component of love potion recipes. During the Middle Ages, European mothers would gather and keep their daughters’ menstrual blood, eventually using it in aphrodisiacs for their sons-in-law.
Fear Of Menstrual Blood Around The World
“It is better to lie down on an empty stomach than to eat the meal prepared by the menstruating woman.”
-An Ivory proverb
If we look at historical examples, we see that this hostility is often displayed in various variations of a single pattern: the fear of contamination.
- In the Brahmans, meeting a menstruating girl was considered one of the seven sins. Women who had come into contact with a man during their menstrual days were beaten with whips. Those who saw a menstruating woman were forbidden to eat.
- In Babylon, it was believed that everything women touched on their special day – objects or people – became contaminated.
- In the Assyrians, the word “menstruation” was synonymous with the word “unapproachable”.
- In the Hebrews, not only the things touched by the menstruating woman but also the men who touches the women were considered unclean. At the end of menstruation days, it was necessary to wait seven days for purification and to sacrifice two pigeons: “… but if the bleeding stops, the woman will wait for seven days, then she will be considered clean. On the eighth day, she will bring two doves to the priest. The priest will offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. Thus he will purify her before the LORD from the impurity of her bleeding.”
- The Macusis Indians of South America used to lay first-menstruating young girls in a high hammock and beat them with a whip.
- Among the Carrier Indians, the menstruating girls were in seclusion for three or four years, living alone in a hut made of branches, far from their village. The young girls, who wore long and loose dresses, carried bands on their arms and legs to protect them from the evil spirit within.
- When we came to 1875, the debate on “whether a slice of salami would spoil with the touch of a menstruating woman’s hand” was lasting six months in the British Medical Journal, one of today’s respected scientific journals.
Menstruation Taboos, Rituals, and the Return to Sacredness
While the history of menstrual blood is often wrapped in fear and superstition, many cultures also recognized its spiritual significance—even if only in fragmented, ritualized forms. By expanding our view beyond Western religious traditions, we begin to see that not all menstruation taboos were rooted in disgust; some were actually designed as rituals of rest, reflection, and reverence.
The Empress, Venus, and the Sacred Flow
In tarot symbolism, The Empress sits upon the Venus glyph—an emblem of love, pleasure, beauty, and creation—reminding us to approach life’s path with devotion to joy and sensuality. Unlike most goddesses chosen by the gods, Aphrodite (Venus) is the only one in Greek mythology who chose her own lover, defying convention and following desire. In this way, she teaches us to surrender fully to what we love and to lose ourselves in its creation. The deep red beneath The Empress is not the same as in other cards—it is the color of blood as sacred life force, a throne supported by feminine energy and cyclical renewal. In ancient times, menstrual blood was revered; it was even used in ancient menstruation rituals, such as watering the first crops with it to ensure the earth’s fertility. Like the moon’s phases, each cycle is a throne of renewal—an invitation to honor our own sacred flow.
Fertility Rites Reimagined
Interestingly, while widespread evidence of using menstrual blood to water the first crops is scarce, cultures across time have attributed potent, sacred qualities to it. In Ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder both feared and respected its power—writing that menstrual blood could dull mirrors or wilt bees, yet paradoxically held healing properties when used carefully. In mythic traditions, menstrual blood was sometimes portrayed as a life-giving red wine of the gods, a symbol of cosmic power rather than mere impurity. In Indigenous Australian communities like the Dieri, menstruating women applied their blood around the mouth as a ritual marking their cycle—perhaps one of the earliest forms of symbolic adornment. These fascinating threads remind us that menstrual blood was once understood not as a curse, but as a magical gift—and even if not literally used to bless the first seeds, its symbolism has always been fertile.
Why is period blood taboo?
In many traditional societies, menstrual blood was misunderstood, seen as powerful, mysterious, or dangerous. These misconceptions led to deeply embedded menstrual taboos in religions and cultures—not always because blood was viewed as “dirty,” but because it was considered potent.
For example:
- In Nepal, the ancient practice of Chhaupadi required menstruating women to sleep in isolated huts, as they were believed to bring misfortune if they remained inside the household.
- In Orthodox Judaism, niddah laws restrict physical contact during menstruation, and women must complete a ritual bath (mikveh) before resuming intimate relations.
- In Islam, menstruating women are excused from prayer and fasting, reflecting both a recognition of physical exertion and a view of ritual impurity.
- In parts of Africa, menstruating girls are kept from preparing food or participating in ceremonies due to fears of contamination.
So, what are the taboos when menstruating? Across history, these included being forbidden to cook, touch sacred items, or even enter certain buildings. Even today, echoes of these restrictions persist in everyday superstitions.
How to honor your body during menstruation?
The modern reclamation of menstruation involves not just breaking silence, but creating intentional rituals to do on your period—acts that acknowledge menstruation as a natural, cyclical source of power.
Some examples include:
- Creating a menstrual altar with red candles, flowers, and stones like garnet or moonstone
- Journaling or meditating to connect with intuition during this liminal time
- Performing moon rituals, especially if your period aligns with the new or full moon
- Resting and unplugging as an act of resistance to productivity culture
These personal practices are modern evolutions of ancient menstruation rituals, where women were often removed from communal spaces not only due to fear, but to give them sacred space.
First Menstrual Period Rituals Around the World
Which cultures celebrate menstruation?
Not all societies viewed menstruation with dread. Some honored it with community-wide rites. First menstrual period rituals marked a girl’s transition into womanhood and were often sacred, festive, and communal.
- Among the Apache of North America, the Sunrise Ceremony is a four-day rite of passage performed after a girl’s first menstruation, celebrating her new identity as a woman.
- In South India, Ritu Kala Samskara marks the first period with a traditional ceremony where the girl is dressed in new clothes and receives blessings and gifts.
- In parts of Japan, mothers traditionally cook sekihan (red rice with beans) to subtly announce and celebrate their daughter’s first menstruation.
- How did the first woman deal with periods? While we can only speculate, archeological and anthropological evidence suggests early humans used absorbent materials like moss, sea sponges, or animal hide, and likely practiced their own rituals of isolation or healing.
These rites, though varied, highlight one truth: menstruation is not just biological—it’s cultural, spiritual, and deeply human.
Turning A Blessing Into A Curse
Sounds funny, right? How could such a thing be controversial? You are wrong if you think these funny days are well behind.
Superstitions about menstruating women are still carried over into modern times by tradition. During menstruation hair does not get dyed, nails are not cut, the dough does not stick… You must have heard these and similar superstitions around you.
That’ why understanding the deep roots of why menstrual blood is considered impure can help dismantle this centuries-old stigma.
Reframing menstrual blood not as a pollutant but as a symbol of life, renewal, and cyclical wisdom is a powerful act. Whether through sharing stories, creating rituals, or challenging silence, we begin to shift the narrative—from shame to sovereignty.
