Answers many of the questions that one had never thought or dared to ask. From the Foreword by Margaret Drabble This best-selling classic is now back in print after ten years. A groundbreaking study of the facts, fantasies and taboos surrounding menstruation, "The Wise Wound" has helped bring about a profound shift in women's attitudes towards a natural phenomenon that has been despised and denigrated for centuries. "The Wise Wound" explores the historical and cultural legacy of this repression, from its effects on the way medicine treats women to the displaced appearance of menstrual imagery at all levels of our culture. Thoroughly researched yet highly readable, combining psychology, anthropology and poetry, their theories are illustrated using examples ranging from "The Bible" to the cult film "The Exorcist. The Wise Wound" also offers practical advice for women on how to get in touch with the hidden energies of their own moon cycle. First published in 1978, "The Wise Wound" has gone through numerous editions, with 100,000 copies printed. This is an important literary event. Other books on menstruation have followed, but this was the first and still has the broadest appeal. " "The first accessible book about menstruation as a human reality ... entirely praiseworthy."?"The Sunday Times" "It could bring about a major change in our understanding of the sexes."?"Psychology Today" Penelope Shuttle is a noted feminist poet and novelist. Her acclaimed novels, including the most recent "The Mirror of the Giant," are published by Marion Boyars. In 1996, Peter Redgrove received the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. His highly praised manifesto on the Gaia hypothesis, "The Black Goddess" and the "Sixth Sense" first appeared in 1987.

In ancient fertility carvings, artists would drill holes into the woman’s body to signify penetrability, which is the basis of Autobiography of a Wound: allowing those wounds and puncture marks to speak through the fertility figures. The wounds are chronicled through letters and poems addressed to F (F stands for the fertility carvings themselves, which are being addressed as one unified deity), and A (Aphrodite, who is being referenced as a general deity of womanhood, a figurine that reappears throughout the poems, and a symbol that is referenced or portrayed in almost every fertility figurine or carving). Autobiography of a Wound reconstructs the narrative surrounding female pathos and the idea of the hysteric girl.

"I have heard a call across a million years. I will answer it." Here is a book of women's rituals surrounding and embracing menstruation. With sensitivity, author Celu Amberstone gathers prayers and spiritual experiences from women celebrating their bodies and their profoundly personal experiences. Readers looking to support personal identity and strengthen a sense of community will find much of interest in Blessings of the Blood: a Book of Menstrual Lore and Rituals for Women. "May the works of your hands and the meditations of your heart be healing." This edition is a new release of a celebrated book previously released in 1991 from Beach Holme Press. For years, readers eagerly sought the book through used book dealers. Celu Amberstone and Kashallan Press are proud to release this new edition by popular request. Blessings of the Blood is available in an affordable ebook version for the first time, to complement the handsome trade paperback. For anyone interested in possibly feeling better about their blood, I highly recommend the book "Blessings Of The Blood" By Celu Amberstone. It is a wonderful book with personal stories of menarche, menopause and creativeness. It really opened my eyes to just how sacred and beautiful our blood is. -review on Mum website This is one of the best books on the subject of menstruation, and I wish they would reissue Celu's masterpiece! Filled with anecdotes, storytelling and empathy. -SMB, review on Amazon