Most women track their cycles to know when their moon time will be or in order to track fertility. That’s all good, but our monthly rhythm is much, much more than this. It’s a compass that guides our thinking.

By getting to know your very own internal navigational system, you can more easily track the patterns of your physical energy, sexuality, mental viewpoint, and much more. It will help you get rid of things that no longer serve you while allowing your true gifts to surface.

The 4 Seasons in 4 Weeks (4s4w) approach is amazingly accurate for helping you to prepare and predict how you’ll be feeling from day-to-day and how to make choices that optimize your experience. You’ll be blown away by what you begin to discover.

Accessing and tuning into your daily, rhythmic experiences due to your hormones are important first steps before trying to remember what the hormones actually do.

My observation and experience tells me that connecting with the non-technical first leads to a better understanding of the technical. When we are trying to reach and help every cycling woman on the planet, stories and metaphors are far easier to grasp (and much more interesting) than knowing the difference between the follicular and luteal phases, which are technical terms that have to be remembered, not related to. This is a hugely important distinction. In other words, it’s easier to make better and more mindful daily decisions when one knows and understands she is sexually intoxicated that week and has to be careful, over trying to remember that eggs are developing in her uterus, or her fallopian tubes, or vagina, or someplace down there. !  🙂

Anyhow, this is the point and mission of 4 Seasons in 4 Weeks. I’m helping women tap into the first layer of their experience—how they physically and emotionally feel each day, detecting an actual phase, and feeling actual transitions from phase to phase—and then going deeper into the energetic and symbolic meaning of the choices they are making about who they are allowing into their sacred temple or if they are bringing forth their authentic gifts in order to manifest their optimal life experience and also offer their true medicine for the planet. Whew! Within all of this and somewhere along the line, a light bulb goes off and there is true understanding of the technical/biological science of the hormones. Or not. The only thing that is important is that a woman understands the sequence and purpose of her hormones.

As women, our reproductive hormones create a sequence (they rise and fall) for the duration of a month. Each woman is unique, with her cycle generally ranging from 26-33 days or so. Even with slight variations depending on the mental, emotional, or physical conditions of the woman, this sequence is a pattern that repeats itself over and over again, month after month for over 40 years of the woman’s life (minus pregnancies, nursing, or hysterectomy).

The variations within this repeated monthly pattern can be compared to the variations within the repeated yearly pattern of the 4 seasons. The 4 seasons repeat themselves every year, but each day and each season vary according to the weather conditions. However, we can still count on having 4 seasons, or 4 phases. They come and go whether we want them to or not. Depending on where we live, we come to recognize the unique characteristics of each season.  A woman’s pattern repeats itself in 4 phases each month, with variations according to her personal conditions. I identify these phases with the 4 seasons. I say that women have 4 seasons within a month’s time (each week represents a season).  

First off, let me say that comparing the seasons is NOT at all the most important part of understanding your cycle. It’s more important to understand that you have 4 phases that can be felt and followed for maximum mastery of your lunar rhythmic body. If my way of comparing the seasons doesn’t resonate, then drop that piece and consider the rest. It was meant to make it easier to understand, but if it just confuses things for you, then for sure, use whatever works best for your understanding.

Secondly, I’d like to say that our female cycle and wisdom is its own unique system that doesn’t line up exactly with both sun and moon light in the same way. We have to look at the most important features of all of those cycles and dial in accordingly. 

But back to the question: A case, of course can certainly be made for winter to be considered the resting time. But for the reason of actually feeling each phase of your cycle, I ask everyone to consider the following:

In nature, Fall is harvest time. It is the end of the former growing season. We pick the remaining crops and follow that with cleaning up the garden or field, as well as rake leaves to prepare it for the next round. So, there are 2-3 phases: harvest, and then clean up to prepare, then a brief rest before seeds begin to germinate again underground in the winter. There is relief after the dog days of pressure and the sweltering summer heat. Light-wise, the Autumnal Equinox signals us to go to bed early. Summer began the decent of light, and Autumn finishes it. Personally, when we get rid of the manmade holidays and school activities and just notice what the light does, it is easy to see that it is as if someone pulled the shades down at dusk; as if someone turned out the lights, just like that. Everyone is yawning. We want to go to bed early. 

In nature, Winter is the building beneath the surface time. We are mistaken to think that nothing is happening in nature. Although things seem cold and barren to our eyes, underneath the surface the seeds are germinating, preparing to pop out of the ground at spring. Light-wise, the Winter Solstice triggers the bringing back of light. Personally, we don’t really notice much within our bodies because we’ve already gotten used to the dark in fall.  New Years is the time we begin new endeavors and pick up the phone to make things happen or join classes. We start over. The winter is when we are hunkered down within our homes, but this is the time we want to snuggle up by the fire, connect with our loves ones at coffeehouses, and make love and sleep skin-to-skin/stay warm with our romantic partners. We aren’t bears—we don’t sleep through winter. We actually stay pretty busy creating and connecting.  It’s very much a courting time.

With our reproductive cycle, our bleeding time is the end of the former cycle, shedding the former uterine lining since no pregnancy occurred. Unlike the plants in nature, we shed and rest at the same time during our moon time. We have two systems working at the same time. Our wombs are shedding, which takes a lot of energy, so it is important that we don’t burn up fuel by being too active in other ways. Here, we must rest. It is not a harvest or purging and then rest. 

Toward the end of our fall week, our bleeding week, we empty out the remaining blood and then begin to build the next uterine lining and our energy begins to spike. This transitional time would equate to the Winter Solstice in nature, where the old cycle (fall) ends and the new one (winter) begins.

The only reason we call this bleeding time “Week 1” rather than “Week 4” is because the period is a marker that makes it easy to count cycle days for fertility purposes.

During our 2nd week, we tend to behave as if nothing is happening with our bodies. We are mistaken about this. Our bleeding is over with and we feel good. But SO much is happening below the surface to prepare for ovulation and possible pregnancy; prepare the ground, so to speak, for the egg to burst out of the ovary at ovulation. During this time, we are growing in beauty. Primally, we are trying to attract a mate. We want to make love. We are sexually intoxicated. It is courting time. 

Spring represents ovulation and bursting out into our fullest, most magnificent expression. Everything is great about spring, and everything is great about this this Week 3 of our monthly cycle. ‘Nuf said for this FAQ, but I get into this is a major way in the book.

Summer may be super fun and may feel like our lightest, brightest time. But the Summer Solstice triggers the descent of light. And truthfully, if you observe, there is no season that represents the challenges of PMS like summer does. It’s hot, it’s sticky, and people don’t like to be touched. They are irritable and can’t find relief. It’s also fire season. I actually get rid of the term PMS and call this phase the Fire Walk. 

Again, a case can be made for thinking of the seasons in the way we have, with winter being the resting phase, but I don’t think it is as accurate. 

Love and thanks,

Suz

Suzanne

Yes, right! Thank you for bringing this up.

I failed to mention in the book that women on the Pill need to ditch the “Week” numbers. The 4s4w approach begins the cycle with the first day of the Period, and therefore calls it Week 1. Birth control pills end the cycle with the Period and therefore call it Week 4.

The best thing to do is to look at the phases. Just know that when you’re on your Period, that is the Fall phase, which also compares to the New Moon.

Non-Cycling women would begin tracking on the New Moon.

Right. I apologize for not explaining this better in the book. I only touch on this briefly. Please know that your point is not lost on me and I understand the importance of making sure that the words and phrases we use are said mindfully because they influence the societal point of view (which is a huge part of the message in the book). In this way I blew it, but not intentionally.

Let me explain where I was coming from, what felt necessary to do, and why the focus on dudes as partners.

1) I want you to know right off the bat that this book is first and foremost, for ALL women. The most important point of the book is that each woman learn to track her own rhythm, and then share that, if she desires, with her partner, whatever the orientation. The focus of all of the work I do is for women to be happy and feel empowered. I want all women to find their purpose, be free to do whatever it is they want to do, and love whoever the heck they want.

2)  This book took 7 years to write, which you’d think would have given plenty of time to catch errors or writing that could be misperceived. But focuses change and a lot of chaos happens at the end when editing and rearranging happens. My first focus was that this book would just be for women ~ALL women and women only. Following that would be a small ManGuide, a Couples Guide, a Teen book, and a Guide for Female Partners. But along the way it became clear that it could take awhile before those could be published, so I knew I had to get the info in the book for the men , because I feel clear that it is the straight women who suffer the most with their cycle, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that they have a man as a partner.

3) Why men? Because when surveyed about what their biggest cycle challenges were, women have told me that:  a) they don’t feel well on a regular basis and b) that their man doesn’t understand. My gay women friends weren’t saying that. They have partners who “get” the vulnerability of having a cycle. Straight women have a partner who doesn’t understand at all, which is quite challenging. Male and female partners are not equal when it comes to this topic. Women partners can easy compare a partnership role to what I tell the men. But all of the stuff I explain to male partners doesn’t necessarily need to be explained to female partners. All the female partner needs to do is take what applies when talking to the male partner, apply it, and leave the rest. Female partners are already pretty good at the stuff I talk about. They intuit around each other’s cycles better than a male/female relationship. Their job is to track their own cycles and then merge or cross-grid them.

As a matter of fact, many of the issues in the book that straight women face are not issues that concern gay women. For instance, gay women don’t have the stress of needing to prevent pregnancy and are free to have sex during their most fertile times, enhancing the sexual experience. In these ways, gay women have it made.

Another reason for making the partner “male” is because it got really confusing and complicated to keep saying “he or she”, plus it seemed to take the potency out of the need for the men to understand.

And finally, we’re really talking about a primal blueprint of the female cycle here. When we get down to the primordial essence, an egg is trying to attract a sperm, so I’m going to talk in terms of male/female. I think most gay women get this and can translate the entire picture into something that is theirs.

Thanks and Love,

Suzanne

I “struggle” with PMS. I can’t wait to read your book and apply your insight into my life!

Thank you! Let me give you a little more insight.

This is a non-technical and non-medical approach to improving your female cycle experience throughout the entire month. I consider 4s4w to be the first line of defense – really getting to know your patterns and seeing what can be resolved before adjusting hormones or using medication. Our minds and habits are so powerful. Once you have more knowledge about yourself by tracking your daily experiences (physical, libido, viewpoint, mental cycles, etc), you will then have important information to take to your health practitioner to help with any further investigating. The power here is in recognizing your patterns and getting to know yourself really well , probably for the first time.

I get rid of the idea of PMS altogether, unless a woman is truly suffering. I replace the term with the Fire Walk, because it is actually a culmination of all former weeks and a time to process. Every cycle in the universe has a resting, building, expressing, and deconstructing phase, so it is vital that we women complete our natural cycle with this week of processing. Our uterine “nests” are deconstructing, so it’s important to go the distance. I consider it to be a ceremonial week as we process through this rite-of-passage. The solutions to our challenging woes of this time are generally not in this week at all. The clues and prompts live in the other weeks. After a few months of tracking, one learns how to be more mindful and alert to seeing these clues. By the time she gets to her Fire Walk, she has become a master at navigating the hot spots. This completely changes the way we think about that week altogether.

My main focus is tracking the entire cycle as one system, rather than our current method of avoiding periods or only tracking for fertility.

I’d love to work with everyone who struggles with not doing well the week before their periods to see if we can at least vastly improve the situation, hopefully avoiding any radical medical care.

Suzanne xoxo