How to Track Your Cycle for Fertility
When you're opening to conceive, understanding what’s happening in your menstrual cycle can be incredibly empowering. Each month, your body moves through four phases—follicular, ovulation, luteal, and menstrual—each with its own signs, energy, and purpose.
Tracking your cycle using the Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) not only helps you identify your fertile window, but also deepens your relationship with your body’s natural rhythms.
Below is a simple, cycle-based guide for fertility awareness.
The Follicular Phase
(Day 1 through ovulation)
The follicular phase marks new beginnings. It actually begins at the same time menstruation starts—day 1 of your cycle—and continues until ovulation, usually around day 14.
Hormones rise gently during this time. Many women notice more energy, clarity, and creativity. This phase carries the energy of the waxing moon, the Maiden archetype, and the freshness of spring—a time of ideas, planning, and feeling your energy return after bleeding.
Ovulation
(Your fertile window)
Ovulation is the most fertile phase of the cycle. In a 28-day cycle, this typically happens around day 14.
Signs of ovulation include:
slippery, egg-white cervical fluid
a slight rise in basal body temperature after ovulation
increased libido or desire to socialize
Symbolically, this phase mirrors the Mother archetype, the brilliance of the full moon, and the season of summer. For conception, this window is key—the fertile window usually lasts just a few days, so noticing these signs is essential.
The Luteal Phase
(Post-ovulation → pre-menstruation)
After ovulation, progesterone rises to support a possible pregnancy. If conception occurs, this hormone helps the embryo implant. If not, the uterine lining prepares to shed.
This phase often brings a natural shift inward. Many women feel the desire to rest more, simplify, or become aware of emotions that were easy to ignore earlier in the cycle.
Energetically, this is the waning moon, the season of Autumn, and the Queen/Wild Woman archetype—direct, discerning, and aligned with truth.
The Menstrual Phase
(Bleeding → completion)
Menstruation is when the uterine lining sheds and the body moves into an inward, deeply intuitive state. Many women find this an ideal time for reflection, rest, and listening closely to the messages of the body and spirit.
This phase corresponds to the season of winter, the Crone archetype, and the quiet energy of the new moon—a doorway into rest, visioning, and renewal.
Herbs to Support Each Phase of the Cycle
(Always check with your provider or herbalist if you have conditions, take medications, or have irregular cycles.)
Follicular Phase — Nettle Leaf
High in iron
Restorative and nourishing
Supports adrenal energy after menstruation
Ovulation — Damiana
Supports libido and pelvic circulation
Calms the nervous system
Helps the body stay receptive
Luteal Phase — Vitex (Chaste Tree Berry)
Supports progesterone balance
Best taken consistently over time
Menstrual Phase — Raspberry Leaf
Rich in minerals (iron, calcium, magnesium)
Supports uterine tone
Helps replenish after blood loss
Pregnancy safety note:
Once pregnant, it’s generally advised to stop vitex and damiana and wait to use raspberry leaf until the second or third trimester. Nettles are safe for preconception and pregnancy.
Tracking your cycle is a beautiful way to understand your body, your fertile window, and your monthly energetic patterns. As you grow more familiar with these rhythms, your cycle becomes less of a mystery and more of a trusted partner in your conception journey.
If you’d like help exploring the emotional or energetic layers of fertility, you can pair this work with womb healing by schedule a session with me.
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