Last summer I honored my sister friend with a Blessingway.  Perhaps you are familiar with this beautiful way to honor a new mom-to-be  but I had never heard of it until a few months before. It’s a ceremony to show the new mom that she has a circle of women around her and they are supporting her as she prepares for the birth of not only this beautiful child, but a new woman… a mother.

It was my first time planning a ceremony like this so I kept it simple and drew inspiration from a wonderful guide:  Mother Rising by Cortlund, Lucke & Watelet.  I took into consideration the values and beliefs of the mother-to-be while putting it together.  The ceremony took about 4 hours.  This is how we did it:

• Smudging.  Cleared the space in preparation for the day.  (Music – Earth Chants)
• Salt Water Purification.  As guests arrived, they were offered a salt water purification and blessing.  They were then invited to walk into the forest and collect something from nature that personified for them something about the upcoming birth or the guest of honor.
• Circle Time.  As women returned from their walk, the circle came together in sacred space.
• Reading.  (On Children from The Prophet)
• Prayer.
• Purpose of the Circle.
• Guided Meditation/Imagery.
• Releasing Fear Exercise.  We each wrote any fears we had and went around the circle and shared our fear aloud.  We then burned it in a bowl to release it.
• Pamper Time.  We made a crown for the guest of honor/mother-to-be from flowers picked from outside.  She soaked her feet and then I massaged and used reiki on her feet and ankles.  All the while, the women shared their birth stories and anything they wanted to share.  We also each brought a special piece of fabric that was to be made into a blessing quilt for the baby.  Each piece had special meaning and a story with it.  The baby’s grandmother pieced it together soon after.
• Gifts from Nature.  After pampering, we got out the nature gifts we collected at arrival and reflected on what it meant to us and how it related to how we would welcome and embrace this new child and mother.
• Birthing Bracelet.  Each guest brought a bead to make a bracelet that the mother-to-be would wear during the birth.  We each blessed our bead and gave it to her.  Initially it was put onto a simple stretchy band but later was made into a fabulous silver charm bracelet by her sister.  This was then worn during the birth. 
• Belly Blessing.  Played Minnie O’Shirva’s Cradle Song as each guest chose a card from Angel Cards: New Edition.  We then read our cards as we laid our hands on the baby belly. 
• Weaving a Web.  Each woman circled her wrist with a ball of yarn and tossed it to another woman to wrap around her wrist until each woman was “connected” with the pregnant mama.  Then the yarn was cut and tied off on each wrist as a bracelet to be worn until after the baby was born.
• Closing Ritual.  We closed the ceremony by going around the circle and each person reading a blessing over the mother-to-be.
• Feast!  We enjoyed a simple healthy meal together.
  

There is no right or wrong way to facilitate a blessingway.  All that matters is that the intention has been set to support and honor the mother-to-be and that she feels safe, supported, and loved.  This ceremony can be adapted to honor a mother regardless of how motherhood comes to her.

The Birthing Bracelet.

 

The Blessing Quilt. I wish you could see the details and the love that went into each piece. Wonderful, touching stories came with it.