Are these once-a-month period pills or the pills you take once a season to actually cause your period?

Seasonale and Seasonique both have 84 active pills and then 7 inactive pills. The idea is that you only get 4 periods a year (seasonal periods instead of monthly). But you are right, seasonique has 10 ul of estrogen type hormones instead of being really inactive.

The goal is to lessen bleeding during the seven days of inactive pills, and to lessen side effects. So you will have 84 days of no period, and then seven days of a light period. In case the previous period free months weren't enough, seasonique makes your period go away even during the period week. It's for people who get really bad cramps or migraines or something during their period, or just don't want the inconvenience of that week of heavy flow.

Or that's the idea.

By period pills she mjust meant inactive pills.