Archetypal Cycle & Your Unique Cycle

When I first started learning about the cycle, my journey began with Red School and their first book, Wild Power. It introduced me to the Archetypal Cycle — the Inner Seasons as patterns that reflect the outer seasons, but also the rhythms we commonly share as women. Hence the name “archetype”: universal patterns we all move through.

Inner Winter / Menstruation: Surrender, reflection, the Crone energy — a time to pause and integrate.
Inner Spring / Follicular Phase: Renewal, curiosity, planting seeds, and creative energy.
Inner Summer / Ovulation: Expansion, expression, connection, leadership, and the full power of the self.
Inner Autumn / Luteal Phase: Harvest, discernment, boundaries, and reflection on what worked — a time to refine and release.

While these archetypes provide a map, your unique cycle is shaped by your lifestyle, environment, character, and cycle length. No two cycles are exactly alike. Recognizing your personal patterns — how each Inner Season expresses itself for you — is where the self-development and healing in this work begins.

Tracking your cycle, noticing the rhythms, and understanding how the archetypal patterns show up in your life gives you practical insight, embodied wisdom, and language to work with your cycle consciously. It’s the foundation for aligning your work, relationships, and self-care with your own inner seasons.