Learning about and working with your cycle featuring Rachel Moranis of Stardust
We can learn so much about ourselves through our monthly cycle, especially when we consider how it syncs up with the moon.
Rachel Moranis is the CEO and founder of Stardust, a period tracking app that dives deeper into the meaning of our cycles.
She grew up in New York City, studied History of Art and Architecture Art at Brown and then went on to get a degree in architecture at the Harvard Design School.
"A few years ago, I was searching for a period tracker and couldn’t find one that I liked. They all seemed so overly pink, clinical, cringey and mostly about fertility," says Rachel.
"After doing some research I was surprised that many of the trackers out there are created and owned by men. I set out to design a better one that acknowledged all the phases and nuances of the cycle and taught you how to work with fluctuating hormones. I wanted to create a cycle tracker that was for daily use and not just for tracking the period. As menstruators, our hormones are different everyday and I wanted to make an app that explored, educated, and celebrated that!"
Stardust began in 2020 during the pandemic as a design project and quickly scaled into a business. Today, it is a hormone health platform that teaches users how to work with the phases of their cycle. The app integrates science, ancient wisdom, astronomy, and artificial intelligence to help users understand the magic of their cycle, track experiences, manifest goals, and befriend their body.
Whether you're trying to predict periods, get pregnant, understand your symptoms, or just want to form a deeper connection to your body, Stardust has you covered.
The app is founded and led by women, "We're committed to best-in-class privacy practices and will never sell or divulge your data."
Keep reading Rachel's Q+A to learn more.
Q. How does the moon cycle play into our own cycles?
A. Both the moon and menstrual cycle are an average of 29 days. Nearly every ancient culture around the world has acknowledged this mathematical alignment and thus the moon has often been associated with the "divine feminine.’’
There is a rich cross-cultural archive of indigenous folklore and astrological traditions that we incorporate in the app. Several studies have come out including this one two years ago that does prove synchronization between the moon and menstrual cycle, although it’s hard to determine if we would be even more synchronized without electricity.
Q. What are the witch types and what do they mean?
A. The witch types are based on folkloric meaning behind how you cycle with the moon. It’s worth noting that people with irregular cycles may change witch types often and that’s okay! Every witch type is great and it’s a gift to get to try them all out ;)
* White Witches are typically in sync with the new moon. They bleed around the time of the new moon and ovulate around the time of the full moon. White moon witches are thought to be creative and nurturing.
* Red Witches are typically in sync with the full moon. They bleed around the time of the full moon and ovulate around the time of the new moon. They are thought to embody the priestess / shaman archetype.
* Purple Witches are typically in sync with the waning crescent moon. They bleed around the time the moon transitions to a new moon and ovulate around the time of the waxing gibbous moon. Purple witches are thought to have heightened intuition and psychic abilities.
* Pink Witches are typically in sync with the waxing gibbous moon. They bleed around the time the moon transitions towards a full moon and ovulate around the time of the waning gibbous moon. Pink witches are considered to have heightened ambition and to be enthusiastic around trying new things.
Q. How does tracking our cycle with the moon help us gain a better understanding of ourselves?
A. Tracking your cycle is one of the most empowering things you can do. Understanding where you are on the rollercoaster of hormones feels incredibly validating and allows you to plan your life ahead of time knowing how your energy will be on a given day.
By tracking your cycle to the moon, you are forming a deeper connection between your body, the earth, the cosmos and all the people throughout time who have done the same.