Across many ancient cultures, menstruation is strongly associated with the moon. This is because a menstrual cycle is typically around 28 days—the same length of a moon’s natural cycle.
The word ‘menstruation’ is derived from the Latin word ‘mensis,’ meaning month, which comes from the Greek word ‘mene,’ meaning moon. In many cultures, moons are associated with fertility and femininity. Even in ancient Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the moon, as well as fertility and childbirth.
In today’s age, it’s easy to forget the connection between ourselves and nature. But an innovative app is striving to help us rekindle that connection. Stardust is an app that tracks both menstrual cycles and the moon’s phases. The app promises to “sync your period with the universe” and help you understand your period in relation to the natural cycles around you.
Like most period-tracking apps, Stardust allows you to track your fertility, predict your period, and take notes of your symptoms. This can help plan your life around your period and energy levels. But, unlike most apps, it also looks at the cosmos.
“Almost every indigenous culture associates women with the moon and the magic type of the moon,” says the founder, Rachel Moranis. “And the moon is this divine feminine thing.” As a designer and architect, Rachel wanted to create a period-tracking app that cultivated body awareness.
Over the years, Rachel researched the mythology and folklore associated with menstruation, and realized it could be incredibly powerful to create an app that tracks both the moon and the body.
Stardust uses a unique naming system to label different phases of your period.
- The witch during your period
- The virgin for the follicular stage
- The mother during ovulation
- The enchantress during the luteal phase
Labeling these phases helps you tune into yourself and your biology. It also helps identify what kind of cycle you may be on. There are currently two phases of menstruation cycles on the app, the red moon cycle and the white moon cycle. And they are working to add two others in a later version—the pink cycle and the purple cycle.
“Based on how you cycle with the moon reveals a lot about who you are and how you utilize those insightful powers during your period,” Rachel explains. “If you bleed with the new moon, you’re very aligned with the Earth’s energy.” This is called the white moon cycle.
“And then if you have the opposite, if you bleed with the full moon, you’re a red moon witch. Meaning you’re the opposite of that,” she explains. “Your energy is directed in a more powerful way. It’s directed toward you.”
The purple and pink moon cycles will fit those who menstruate with the waxing or waning moon.
Although this system was developed by Rachel and the Stardust creators, it’s based on extensive research on a wide range of cultures and mythologies.
So, how exactly does labeling your cycle help you? We all know that our energy levels and moods can change during your period. Predicting your period can help you schedule downtime and avoid strenuous tasks when your energy levels are low. Adding cosmic tracking to this means taking it a step further.
“Living by the moon just grants you access to and really being sensitive to it, living in a way that’s in tune with your energy and the Earth’s energy,” Rachel explains. If you know you’re on a white moon cycle, you might learn to lean into your nurturing traits around your period. If you’re on a red moon cycle, you can wield that energy for your own benefit and that of those around you.
For example, if you figure out that you have an assertive power during ovulation, you might want to use that time to negotiate a raise, embark on an ambitious new project, or try an extreme sport you’ve always wanted to try. This way, you’re harnessing your own unique energy.
Also, the app can be used in a few different ways. If you have your own religious or spiritual beliefs around the moon cycle, Stardust can be a handy tool for tracking the phases of the moon while taking your own energy levels into account.
Stardust’s ultimate goal is to help people cultivate an awareness of their own bodies and the natural world around them. “I’d love for people to just become more connected to their bodies, to the cosmos, and just really benefit from an awareness of themselves and their bodies and their energy,” Rachel says.