The menstrual cycle has been preoccupying one Cambridge geography lecturer. “If we’re not in relationship with this natural rhythm of the body, then the body falls apart,” Céline-Marie Vidal says. A volcanologist by day at Fitzwilliam College, Vidal has also become a qualified ‘menstruality mentor’, a yoga instructor, and a period-painting artist.

Yet, for Vidal, menstruality – defined as the “life process of menarche, the menstrual cycle, menopause and the mature years” – is not detached from this academic work. Instead, both ventures tie into a broader worldview. “What connects them is the same aspiration to reconnect to cyclical wisdom … the life force that makes us live and breathe,” she says. “I teach the Earth, right? The nature of the Earth is cyclical – it creates, it destroys. What I’m really trying to do is to create spaces for women to reconnect to that cyclical rule of the whole of creation.”

This year, Vidal wrote a children’s book that presents understanding the menstrual cycle as the ‘key’ to life. The Temple’s Secret, illustrated by Trinidadian artist Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné, is a bold way of educating young girls – she says “above the age of six or seven” – about their periods. Indeed, an excerpt from Vidal’s website employs metaphors of ‘temples’ to describe the female genitals and ‘red rivers’ to symbolise period blood.

“You carry a temple inside of you. It is small but magical. It is delicate but powerful. It holds the secret of creation. The key of Life. You can feel this Temple inside. All the way down into your belly,” the book, yet to be published, reads. “Someday, when enough women listen to the sacred song of the temple, humans will find balance with nature again.”

“I am convinced that there is war in this world because we are at war with our inner selves”

Although she does not want to put anyone off by a “graphic” approach, Vidal finds it necessary to be direct with kids about menstruality awareness. “I’m not a children’s educator, I have no skills there, but I am a human, I have nieces … When I had my first period, I was told I have to wear Tampax and I couldn’t play sports. For me, it felt like a curse. The point of the book is to tell young girls it is not a curse, it is a way of initiating them to be a women in this world.”

Since 2023, Vidal has been a qualified ‘menstruality instructor’ with menstruality organisation Redschool. She regularly hosts ‘Menstrual Cycle Awareness’ workshops in Fitzwilliam College for both staff and students and launched a three-part 2024-25 workshop series in early December. In these workshops, Vidal teaches participants to “track their cycle” with a chart on how they feel, and then, three months later, revisits these charts to observe patterns. Alongside this, she hosts women’s circles that are more focused on “discussion and self-care.”

“I’ve noticed how much of a need there is for these women’s circles and workshops. For mental health issues, to start with, they change everything. There are very few spaces where women can gather and talk about these things. It is great for men to be educated about it [menstruality] but most women are uncomfortable talking about their cycles in front of men.”

Vidal notes the reception among these circles in Cambridge has been positive. “There has been good attendance, the college has been very supportive, and people have said this information has changed how they see things. This [student] generation has been very open.” This month, a Cambridge University Menstrual Health Society was set up by students, attesting to student’s openness.

“Someday, when enough women listen to the sacred song of the temple, humans will find balance with nature again”

Last March, Vidal organised a paid ‘Spring Equinox’ menstruality circle in Fitzwilliam, pledging entry proceeds to a Palestinian charity in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza. Although the event was cancelled “due to numbers,” the invitation read: “In honoring the [period] blood through acknowledgment and celebration of its significance, we heal the war within our very self.”

“It was a circle to make peace; I am convinced that there is war in this world because we are at war with our inner selves. It might sound very woo-woo to say it like that but we are constantly fighting off against our bodies,” Vidal says. “The way we use vocabulary about our own bodies supports this. For instance, with viruses, we are seen as fighting them off. The reason why we’re fighting anything is we’re always considering ourselves disconnected … from our families, the Earth, everything.”

“From the moment we recognise that feminine wisdom in the body, we can repair everything in the world, the climate, everything that is not functioning right now.”

Vidal is clearly unafraid of confronting taboos head-on. She has even produced several paintings made with her own period blood, with one being exhibited at the Cambridge Guildhall in November. One of these pieces was captioned on her Instagram with: “The only blood that should be shed is the original blood. The blood that runs down our temple every moon. Honoring the blood is like a prayer, a reclamation of who we are in the flesh and where we come from.”

She reflects, “Everyone is uncomfortable with it. I don’t want to provoke, but just to to invite reflection that menstrual blood is not something dirty.” Period.

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