Magic in the Midlife: Embracing Menopause as a Sacred Transition

With hot flashes and my period stopping, I knew I was in menopause but having seen my doctor it is now official. I have very mixed feelings about this, from curiosity to fear and I think many women my age probably feels the same. So, I want to step into this new era of my life by embracing menopause as a sacred transition, a path that many ancestors have walked before me. It is a sacred time in a woman’s life, and I really hope as we approach world menopause day, together we can help us all experience it in a better way.  

This year’s World Menopause Day focuses on lifestyle medicine in menopause, which is a good thing because this is something I am most interested in learning more about. This topic is supported by a white paper which showed that lifestyle like healthy eating, physical activity, sleep and mental health can ease menopause symptoms. These are all areas that I take very seriously as you know if you follow the blog here, and so deepening my understanding of how I can do more to help my body through this transition is so important.

Seeing Menopause as a Sacred Transition

In the West, we tend to not do much to mark transitions in our lives like they do in many traditions around the world. However, in witchcraft, we see life as following a path that takes us to wisdom, respect and a deep connection to our intuition. The crones in our community are given love and respect; we sit at their feet wanting to learn all they have to teach. This is in stark contrast to how our society seems to see the older generation as a burden that should be pushed away and ignored.

I think this is why I feel fear as I face menopause, because I do not want to be left out of life even more as I age. Society already sees me as a burden as I have chronic illnesses that leave me disabled, the idea I would have that twice is a lot.

However, I want to see this time as a chance to reclaim my confidence, and as just another cycle of my life. I have lived a good life full of experiences, and I have learned a lot, this is a time to honour that and to honour the person I have become. I do not want to see through society’s lens and to instead learn to show the world how powerful and wonderful it is to grow older!

Lifestyle Medicine Meets Witchcraft

I love that this year the focus is on lifestyle medicine as it gives me a chance as someone new to the process to start to research. Of course, I knew this transition was coming, but to be honest I didn’t really know where to start. Thankfully, the International Menopause Society has factsheets that cover so much information and can be downloaded from their site.

Personally, I am going to be using my witchcraft as a big part of this by using my intuition to listen to what my body needs. Finding rest when my body needs it, just as I do with my chronic illnesses and finding a new rhythm in my life. I want to be even more connected to my body and how it is feeling as I age, and now is the perfect time to learn this.

Learning more about foods that can support my aging body will certainly help as well as utilising supplements and maybe even herbal teas that can help my body. It is so important to support my body as it tries to keep balance of hormones and to do it mindfully and with research into the plants and herbs used in them.

I am also going to be trying to move my body more, I already have my accessible exercise playlist which is full of exercise routines that will not push my body beyond what it can do. As well as this, my husband and our puppy Twig want to start taking a short local walk once a week to get out into nature to support our bodies and our mental health.

If you have been watching my weekly vlogs on YouTube, you will have seen my nightly routine which includes an affirmation card pull and burning a chamomile and lavender wax melt, so the room is relaxing. Getting into a good nightly routine is so good for sleep, and I have definitely noticed a difference when I am able to do my routine and if that is interrupted.

Finding Magic in the Everyday

Embracing menopause as a sacred transition is going to be so important to me as I move forward. I want to turn my everyday life into small rituals that will bring more mindfulness and joy into the cosy every day. I remember a while back I learned about hygge lifestyle in Denmark, which is about enjoying the good things in life with the people you love and creating a warm atmosphere.

Slowing down and making the small moments in life into a ritual can bring so much magic into life. I am a spiritual being experiencing a human life, this is incredible and magical and something I want to remember as I go through this next stage of my life. Finding ritual and warmth in my life really inspires me and makes me want to think of so many ways to step into the crone energy.

To me, menopause is a magical time of life, a spiritual step that women have taken so many times before me. I am lucky to live in a time where I can find so much help and understanding and for that I will always be thankful. I am excited to start embracing menopause as a sacred transition instead of thinking of it with fear and dread. I hope that if you are facing menopause that this post helps you to step into your power and not to hide from it.

Spoons and Sparkles xx

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