Cute young redhead woman winking at the camera as she relaxes on a sofa in a bright red winter sweater

Oh, how densely packed your head is, my sweet,”sighs Grandmother Growth. “I’m afraid there is no room for new growth. If you could empty your mind, leave off worrying and planning for some time, and give in to the chaos and its random pleasures, just for a brief while, I think you’d feel less pressure and your head would hurt less. The energy of your womb now circulates inside you and throbs in your head. Sit quietly; breathe out through the top of your head and imagine the breath falling gently down to earth. Rest your forehead against the ground. Place this cool stone on your third eye. Your Crone’s Crowning comes closer. This is the work of your own body; let your brain rest.”

Do Nothing

      • Follow your natural instinct: lie in complete silence, in total darkness, and sleep, if possible, until the headache is gone.
      • Like tiredness, a hassle, particularly a migraine, is a way to have some time alone. Is finding time for yourself usually a hassle?

Collect Information

      • Menopause often brings relief to the girl who has had migraine headaches since adolescence. Other women experience headaches for the first time during menopause, usually caused by exhaustion, anxiety, rapidly changing hormone levels rushing through the liver, and rushes of kundalini moving to the crown area.
      • Menopausal headaches may also be triggered by abrupt (and generally short-lived) allergies to particular foods.
      • Headaches and migraines are a frequent complication of ERT/HRT.

Engage the Energy

      • Rub a drop of lavender or chamomile oil briskly between your palms. When palms are warm and tingly, set them on the part of your mind that aches. (It’s also wonderful to have someone do this for you.)
      • If it is tolerable for a person to hold your mind, try this: sit in a chair or lie down. Lean your head back to your friend’s hands and let them support your head in their palms (fingers pointing down, thumbs over the ears) for up to five minutes. Breathe fully.
      • Blinking red lights can alleviate severe or extreme migraines, within one hour, 72 percent of the time. Wear goggles that limit side vision for greatest effect.
      • Women with chronic migraines often benefit greatly from the support of a skilled feminist therapist.

Nourish & Tonify

      • Tea, infusion, or tincture of garden sage leaves provides instant relief from a headache and helps prevent future ones.
      • Black cohosh root tincture or a vinegar of new willow leaves will alleviate a headache with pain-killing methyl salicylate. Ten drops of the tincture or one teaspoon/15 ml.
      • Vervain (Verbena officinalis) was a sacred herb in the ancient matriarchies. Menopausal women use the tincture of new vervain blossoms, 20-40 drops in water, before bed and as needed, to strengthen the nerves, relieve insomnia, dispel depression, treat nervous exhaustion, and mild headaches, such as migraines.
      • Lady’s mantle, another ancient sacred plant, has many magical features, such as an ability to assist women that are carrying on or leaving the role of mother. What a wonderful friend for an emerging crone! Try 10-25 drops of the tincture of the fresh herb many times each day to relieve headaches.
      • The gorgeous spring primrose (Primula veris) provides relief from menopausal headaches if taken regularly. The gold carpet of Schlesselblume on Bavarian pastures and roadsides is one of my favorite memories of Germany. If you don’t see or reside in Bavaria, you are able to grow and gather the blossoms of Primula officinalis rather; they are also a fantastic source of pain-killing salicyn. Make a tea of the dried blossoms and drink a few cups a day for a number of months. CAUTION: Sip your cup mindfully and slowly, as some people are allergic to primrose. NOTE: The origins of the majority of primroses contain oil-soluble estrogenic variables and cell-softening saponins, suggesting use as an ointment for tender, dry vaginal tissue.
      • Connections between headaches and foods are sketchy. There’s very little evidence that plants native to the Americas, such as chocolate and nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, tobacco) contribute to breakouts. I really do suspect that chemicals in processed foods (like aspartame, MSG, and nitrates) and in certain organic ones (aged cheeses, miso (red wine) can cause headaches. With different foods, you are the best judge.

Stimulate/Sedate

      • Avoid alcohol. It’s an established headache trigger.
      • Keep cool. Being sexy, from hot tubs, saunas, hot flashes, exertion, or air temperature, is the next most frequent headache trigger. Stay cool. Stay in the shade. And just say “no” to hot tubs.
      • Sedate headache pain with tinctures of skullcap, 3-5 drops, and St. John’s wort, 25-30 drops. I take them collectively, as often as needed, up to half a dozen times every day. Migraine sufferers take them when the air begins, before there’s pain, and repeat every ten minutes for 3-6 doses.
      • Anti-inflammatory, hormone-rich wild yam eases the aching heads of menopausal women. A dose of wild yam root tincture is 10-30 drops around 6 times each day, or infused, 1-2 teacupsful each day. The lower dose, taken daily, relieves chronic headaches. In acute conditions, use the higher dose.
      • Soak your feet in cool water with a few drops of lavender oil. Breathe deeply.
      • Migraines are most frequent between 6 a.m. and noon. Take headache remedies before bed and on awakening to ensure maximum impact.
      • To banish simple headaches, soak a couple of fresh lemon balm (Melissa) leaves in a glass of wine for an hour, or drink a tea of dried leaves. If you would like sleep as part of your headache cure, substitute catnip (Nepeta cataria) for the Melissa.
      • Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium) is a much-publicized cure for migraine. It is best as a preventative measure: consume a sprig of the new plant daily. For acute headache, 2-4 fresh leaves or a cup of tea can help. CAUTION: May irritate skin.

Break & Enter

Some women say their headaches are so bad that they need to blow their brains out. Perhaps menopausal headaches, like insomnia, are a part of the physical “mind-altering” process of becoming a crone.