In recent years there has been an upsurge in interest in the connection between the moon phases and the menstrual cycle. I share about this rhythmic intelligence and the reflection of Mumma nature’s cycles on our own cyclic nature in my books, but a question I get asked a lot in response to this is: “how can I sync my cycle to the moon?” By which the person usually means: “how can I make it so that I ovulate with the full moon and bleed with the dark moon?” Yep, this is a THING. I’ve been doing this for over 17+ years - blood, power, vaginas, wombs, blame, shame, grief, misrepresentation, trauma, vulvas, sex, spirituality, magic, cults, the whole SHE-bang.

Witch — The Sassy She

Witch is what we all remember when we close our eyes, when we’re unafraid to own our power, when no one and nothing outside of us is as convincing as the force of light we can only find within. Witch is a reclamation, a reparation and mostly a revelation that love cannot be burned or buried. The love that witches have always been can only ever rise, and expand. Witch reveals a lineage of love we inherit when we dare to fully embody and become unapologetic about how much we know.’ While there were parts of this I disagreed with, there was a lot of this I felt spoke quite loudly to me, she has a great turn of phrase and way of putting things that made me think a lot about women, their role in society and how it's been messed with. I wasn't fully in agreement with her but overall it was a book that I took a few thoughts from that will stay with me. Read moreShe’s in touch with the dark. She knows how to be the witness, how to let things go and how to follow her own counsel. Most importantly, though, she questions EVERYTHING. Edit: changing the review, because after further thinking about it I don't think it really deserves a four especially with the transphobic remarks, potentially dangerous information and toxic feminism. She dares you to open Pandora's box (and your legs), because she knows that it's where the powers lie. It's where YOUR power lies. Yep, your power lies between your thighs."

Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic. by Lisa Lister

The word, of course, is “witch,” and as a third-generation hereditary witch and wellness practitioner, you could say Lister has a personal interest in the concept’s current reclamation. Her book on the subject, Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic., was released a little more than a month ago, and thanks to its honest and approachable tone, is already becoming something of a modern-day handbook for those who, as Lister puts it, have “heard the call.” ANOTHER NOTE: I often get asked, specifically in response to my books: ‘why SO MUCH womb talk? Am I less of a woman or witch without a uterus?’ Oh wait, what? This book just came out this year? Gross. Seriously, this book even made me as a cis-woman, the audience the author goes out of her way to mention the book is for (she seems to express in her intro that she doesn't think trans-women are women), uncomfortable.I had to negotiate the world from THAT place: the loss, the pain, and being plunged into the depths of perpetual darkness, thinking I’d never return. More importantly, I didn’t want to return, having felt like I’d been thrown into the flames, submerged underwater AND been buried alive all at the same time. It’s being someone who trusts her inner authority, and doesn’t look outside herself for validation and/or approval. It’s being someone who uses her own personal magic to navigate and negotiate the environment she currently finds herself in.” This book is good for someone who's just starting and needs education, but I think "older" witches might already know everything included in this book.

Podcasts to Listen to — The Sassy She

Discover and work with five different aspects of the witch: the Force of Nature, the Creatrix, the Healer, the Oracle and the Sorceress

This book will help women to remember, reconnect and reclaim the word 'witch' and its power. It explores the many different versions of witchcraft and their core principles and practices, and shares ancient wisdom made relevant for waking witches, including how Joining us on the podcast today is the Beyoncéof Witches (yes I did say that to her) - the wonderful Lisa Lister!