Your four inner seasons: living your month in cycles, like the moon

We've been taught to live as if every day were the same: the same energy, the same productivity, the same mood. But a woman's body doesn't work in a straight line; it works in cycles, like the moon and like the year.

A beautiful way of seeing it, popularised by authors such as Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer, is to think of the month as four seasons.

The four seasons

Winter · menstruation. Low energy, a wish to draw inwards. It's the time to rest, listen and let go. Like the new moon: fertile darkness.

Spring · after bleeding. Energy gradually returns. Curiosity, new ideas, a wish to begin. Like the waxing moon.

Summer · ovulation. Fullness, confidence, a wish to be with people and to show yourself. Like the full moon.

Autumn · before menstruation. Energy drops and a more critical, more honest gaze appears. It's a good time to tidy up, finish things and say no. Like the waning moon.

Not every woman has regular cycles, and not every woman menstruates. If that's you, you can follow the same four seasons with the phases of the moon.

Why it helps to know them

When you know which season you're in, you stop fighting yourself. You don't expect summer's energy from your autumn, or punish yourself for needing winter. You can plan with yourself, not against yourself: important meetings in summer, clearing out in autumn, rest in winter.

How to start noticing them

1. Note the first day of your cycle each month.
2. Each night, a little face for your mood and one word about your energy.
3. By the third month, look back: you'll see the days repeat in their own way.

In my journal, each month has a wheel with every night's moon and a ring for your mood, plus a table for listening to your body. It was, in fact, what taught me to know my own seasons.