It’s the beginning of a new year – 2013, the year of snake. In religion, mythology and literature, snakes represent fertility, or the creative life force. As snakes shed their skins, they symbolize rebirth, transformation, and healing.

The ancient Chinese developed a sophisticated model – the Five Element Theory – to understand the various energetic cycles of the universe, and applied it to achieve health, harmony and happiness.

I menstruated around the full moon. And what a powerful harvest moon it was. I was thrown off-balance by waves of overwhelming emotions – sadness and anger that I hadn’t experienced for quite a while.

The moon is full again. And I have been fighting a stubborn cold for six days now. Generally I take pride in my strong immune system, and I can’t even recall the last time I had a cold.

I light candles and meditate with the moon during my cycle. The main focus of the activity is to loose touch with reality and misconceptions about the female body and the menstrual cycle, and to get in touch the deepest part of my soul; my feminine power.

Recently, I’ve been feeling disconnected from my inner goddess due to some high stress from work and study. She used to speak to me regularly during meditation, but I haven’t heard from her in a while.

Many years ago I was searching for who I was and what I was here to do. So I explored and experimented, on many fronts. One of which was a trip with psychedelic mushrooms.

I read that in some ancient cultures women got to retreat into a Moon Lodge, Menstrual Hut or Red Tent during menstruation. It was a sacred place for women to renew, recharge, connect with one another and receive spiritual guidance.

The moon is full again. And tonight’s moon is special. Because it’s 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons this year, it’s called a “super moon.” I wonder if you’ve felt its powerful effect on your body and your mind? I surely have.

On a beautiful Easter Sunday I went to a spring picnic with a group of friends at Will Rogers State Park. With a glass of red wine in hand – and after a couple of yummy cupcakes – we ladies began to chat about food and health and everything else.