Menopause as a sacred initiation

Summary – This week I am sharing my reframe on the process of menopause (and beyond into your Wise Woman phase) as a sacred initiation and divine alignment rather than a decline.

Menopause has never been just a medical event. Across cultures, it marked a woman’s transition into elderhood, wisdom, and authority.

In modern life, we’ve stripped it of meaning — and then we wonder why it feels so destabilizing.

This blog explores menopause as an initiation:

• why intensity is part of transformation

• how symptoms can mirror energetic shifts and

• what it means to step out of the "good woman" role

Initiations are uncomfortable by design. They break identities so something truer can emerge.

Menopause isn’t asking you to fix yourself. It’s asking you to listen.

You can listen to the podcast episode by clicking on the link or the image below: https://open.spotify.com/episode/03Bn6xeE4RBJ9kDVwGpLU5?si=IAFcSvERSR2ycsOBJs1diw

There are some cultures around the world who still celebrate the start of a woman’s menstrual cycle, marking it with deep ritual and welcoming it with joy.

It is a revered time. It is a sacred rite. It is the beginning of the womanly journey.

Of course, there is a focus on the “now you can get pregnant and have babies” element, but the deeper invitation is to step into your new chapter and embody the strength, grace and sacredness of being a woman.

This ritual is missing from most Western women’s menstrual phase.

So, if there is not ritual or reverence for the start, which could be argued as the “more exciting part” … well that’s what people say is the more exciting part of a relationship and a job, right? … the celebration – or let’s be honest even the acknowledgment - of the end of the menstrual phase is like tumbleweeds in an abandoned town of a Western movie.

What a travesty!

Unfortunately, our usefulness and worth as women has been enmeshed with the ability to give birth to humans, and the sacred wisdom of our true divine nature has been ignored and denied, not just by the men but … we have done it to ourselves. (PAUSE)

Menopause marks a divine pivot point in our lives. It is an important and sacred transition into elderhood, wisdom, and authority. But if we have stripped it of its meaning, firstly, we feel the intuitive pull to change and reset, but because we are expected to behave “normally” during this time of flux – that’s emotionally destabilizing. Secondly, because menopause has been hidden and ignored by society, most of us don’t know HOW to move through this transition to experience the divine delights and juicy joy on the other side.

*Yes, you know I love alliteration. 😊

So, as someone who coaches others through menopause (and has been through it myself), I want you to know that I am committed to loudly acknowledging the reality of menopause with you.

I am committed to deeply honouring your Wise Woman intuitive awakening. And I am committed to supporting you through this sacred transformation to the empowered sage years beyond.

I am committed to this because I know how limited the spiritual and emotional support is during this time. There is medical support (which focuses only on the physical symptoms and that has its flaws) and there is online ‘expert’ support (don’t even get me started) and then there is your friends and family (who are not always helpful, as they were conditioned like you were to hide, ignore, shame and pretend).

So, let me speak the truth, as the menopause phase insists that we do.

Transformation in its essence is intense.

When the caterpillar goes into the cocoon to become a butterfly it does not just grow a tiny pair of wings and then fly off a month later, like in the movie ‘A Bug’s Life’ … cute … but totally misinformation. The caterpillar DISASSEMBLES itself and then REFORMS as a butterfly. Seriously! Completely, from the inside to the outside.

I am inviting you to embrace that when you make this important transformation from fertile woman to wise sage woman the intensity is going to increase. In fact, you cannot stop it. Your hormones are going to change, whether you want them to or not. And if you try to stop it, or interfere with it, there will be pain. Any time we resist something, rather than flow with it, there will be pain.

The interesting thing is that as your hormones are changing, and you begin to experience the physical symptoms of menopause, there are mirrored energetic and spiritual shifts happening too.

Have you noticed:

• Your intuition is igniting

• Your sense of smell and taste are more activated

• Your tolerance for bullshit is decreasing

• Your ability to say no is rising

• Your desire to nurture others is decreasing

• Your desire to nurture yourself is increasing

• Your need to find meaning for your life is increasing

• Your connection to the divine realms is expanding

• You may even have people saying that you are “different now” or becoming “difficult”

All these shifts are the triggers for stepping out of the identity of the “good little woman” and an invitation to allow a more authentic version of yourself to emerge.

I know this brings up a whole lot of questions. It did for me too.

What does it mean for you to step out of that “good woman” role?

How does that feel?

Does it feel scary? Exciting? Inspiring? Uncomfortable?

Who will like the changes you are making? And who won’t?

Who will support you? And who won’t?

The people around you can sometimes surprise you.

When you make adjustments that are kind to yourself and you feel happier, freer, lighter, you are more likely to be kind and loving to the people around you. Everyone wins!

The “good woman” role does not healthily serve you or the people around you. It reinforces the servitude model of a woman to us and our families (and society).

So, Earth Angels, I invite you to contemplate this … and know there is no judgement here.

This is a quiet and gentle reminder that menopause is the gateway to remembering your Wise Woman Self.

Initiations are uncomfortable by design. They break identities so something truer can emerge.

Menopause isn’t asking you to fix yourself. It’s asking you to listen.

And you are NOT alone. You don’t have to do this by yourself.

Please feel free to reach out if you’d like to share your own experiences.

www.pipcoleman.com/contact

Blessings Pip

p.s. If you have travelled past the phase of menopause and you feel that you haven’t fully embraced the opportunities of this sacred initiation, it’s not too late. Your Wise Woman Self is waiting for you when you feel called.