An Answer to My Purity Question

So apparently, there is already an answer to my purity question posted on the forums: yes, purity is disrupted during all parts of a woman’s period because the flow of blood is as much an issue as the germs/hygiene. The issue isn’t in the blood but in the hemorrhaging of it.

I read the rest of the conversation. Then I did some reading online at various women’s health organization sites. Then I did some further reading on other medical sites and a few government sites. My conclusion: I respectfully disagree.

Full disclosure—the explanation that follows is going to be considered graphic by some and contains clinical terminology for various body parts people sometimes prefer not to speak of.

Menstruation is not a “flow” any more than menstrual fluid is “blood”. The terms are misleading and that seems to largely be overlooked in the course of the discussion. A menstruating woman is not “bleeding” but rather excreting a combination of cervical mucus, various vaginal secretions, endometrial tissue, and yes, a token amount of blood. This is why the color, smell, and texture of menstrual fluid is so different from that of blood. My point is that a woman who is menstruating is not “hemorrhaging” as put forth in certain conversations on the forum—a woman is not injured and is not ‘losing’ blood from her circulatory system during her menstruation period.  

Do not misunderstand me: the residue of excretion is still a purity issue, whether is it fecal matter oozing due to diarrhea, nasal mucus oozing due to head colds, or, yes, menstrual fluid oozing due to menstruation. But just as one can adequately clean one’s anus and one’s nostrils, so too can one adequately clean one’s vaginal opening and surrounding area. And just as purity is not broken by fecal matter still in the back bends of the bowels and mucus still locked up deep in the sinuses, I personally feel that purity is not broken by menstrual fluid still in the uterus. If the passages are clean and no fluids are currently secreting from the opening of the passage, it is my opinion that purity is unbroken until secretion begins again.

Now, on a heavy day of one’s monthly cycle, that secretion might begin again immediately even after thorough cleansing. On a light day, as I mention in the prior post, it might begin some amount of time after cleansing. If one knows with some certainty, from experience and observation, that one has a given amount of time before secretions begin again, I see nothing wrong with taking advantage of that brief span of purity.

From what I have read on the HoN forums, this is not an opinion which is shared by this particular branch of the faith. As such, I will mind the taboo to its full extreme and avoid Senut during the entirety of the menstruation period. It’s ultimately a state ritual, and as such, is subject to state rules not my personal opinions on the matter. 

That said…it does have the effect of making Senut less a part of my personal faith practice and more a part of my organizational religious practice. To be expected, I suppose, but a bit disappointing.