There was a time when menstrual blood was considered sacred even in Western societies.

As late as the 17th century, the menstrual blood was believed to be a magical elixir and aphrodisiac, and women let their blood flow freely down their legs. In the lore of the Irish goddess, the first blood at the altar was menstrual blood. In the Traditional Chinese Medicine, menstrual blood is called “heavenly water.” When a girl bleeds for the first time in South America, she begins to “florecer” (flor is flower). To this day, Tibetan lamas use menstrual blood in their rituals for the goddess Tara. 

Fun fact: The original meaning of the word ‘taboo’ was ‘sacred’ and ‘katharsis’ meant ‘menstruating’.