The birth of a child is a sacred time for a family. It is an important rite of passage in many cultures. Pregnancy and childbirth may be a universal experience, but each culture celebrates a baby’s arrival in its way. Before we look at the birth celebration that I used for my children, we are going to take a look at how others celebrate a new soul entering the world. Did you hold any rituals at the time of your child's birth? In the Hopi tradition in North America they believe that a baby's true parents are the Earth Mother and the ) with their human parents acting as surrogates who help to usher in the new life. It is from there that the human parents help them to reconnect to their true parents, through stories, and rituals. Babies aren't aware, of the importance of these rituals. Yet it is we adults, who understand what significance these rituals hold to not just the parent, but to their community. We are deciding the importance of establishing this connection with not just the community, but the Deities. Birth is one thing that all human beings share in common, although our birth experiences are all unique. Some pagans hold "Blessing" ceremonies on the last full moon before a woman's due date. During the ritual friends gather, brush the woman's hair and wash her feet with herbs. Each woman in the circle presents the mother with a prayer or spiritual gift, before concluding with a ritual feast. Many birthing rituals have been performed for generations. The placenta is an organ that develops in the uterus during pregnancy, providing essential oxygen and nutrients to the growing baby. After the baby's birth, the placenta leaves the body, having fulfilled its purpose. While most hospitals today simply dispose of placentas after childbirth, you can choose to keep them. Many traditions will hold a ritual and then either bury or eat it. In Jamaica, the placenta and umbilical cord are buried in the ground. A tree is planted there as the child grows he is charged with taking care of the tree. This is to teach the child of their connection to the Earth and the importance of responsibility. In Hinduism, the ceremony called a mundan, will shave the child's head. They would then take the baby's hair to release in the holy river Ganges. This is believed to rid the baby of negativity from their past life and cleanse the child's body and soul for their current life. In the Catholic faith, they will hold a baptism. During a baptism, the priest pours water over the child's head or sprinkles a few drops on their forehead. Like the mundane, it is a cleansing ritual. Baptism is a form of ridding the child of any of the original "sins." The originals sin is Adam’s sin of disobedience in eating from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. Many religious and cultural traditions have some ceremony surrounding the naming of a newborn. During this ceremony, the parents announce the name and its significance to them. Naming a child can be a lengthy process. Some choose to use family names. While others choose names that have meanings of behind them like Aubrey or Alaric names that embody power. In the Shinto tradition, where parents and grandparents take the baby to visit their family shrine, within 30 to 100 days after birth as a way of welcoming them as a new soul. They hold a ceremony called a miyamairi to present the baby to the deities and ask for their protection on behalf of the child. This is a lot like this ritual. We are introducing our baby to the Deities, and asking them to watch over our child. Pagans celebrate the arrival of a new baby just like other cultures and religions do. A Wiccaning is a rite of passage held for a baby born to Witches. The origin of wiccaning rites is unknown. This wiccaning ritual is a combination of many different cultures, including Pagan. One big difference between a Wiccaning and a Christening is that we aren’t committing the child to our religion. We wouldn’t impose the parent’s will on that baby’s spirit. This wiccaning rite is one I created and used for all three of my children. For my first born we had a gathering, but for my other two, I simply performed it in the hospital. All three wiccanings were beautifully different. The first is more elaborate with candles and loved ones. The second is a little simpler with stones and ribbons. The last was very simple with only magical words, Deities, and the Universe watching. In our celebration, we ask for the protection and blessings of the infant from the Deities and Universe. In this ritual, we are welcoming a new soul onto the earth. There’s no right or wrong way to perform a wiccaning. Wonderous WiccaningWhat You Need
Cast a circle and create a safe, we do this by holding hands in a circle around the parents and child. You can first start by welcoming the God and Goddess in a formal setting. We usually will invoke them with our family invocation blessing. Once we have invoked the Deities it is time to give thanks for the new blessing of the child. I suggest here that you speak from your heart. If words are failing you in the moment, you can use this simple thanks. We give thanks God for this new life form to us We give thanks Goddess for this new life form to us We gather today to bless a child, A new life that has become part of our world. Now it is time to announce the purpose of the gathering. We gather today to name this child. To call a thing by name is to give it power The decided parent first whispers in the child's ear We welcome you _________ into this world We then announce to the Deities that we thank them for showing us the child's name. We then introduce the child to the Universe and Deities. Then you light the God candle and say Mighty God, I introduce you to _________ Then you light the Goddess candle and say Gracious Goddess, I introduce you to _________ Then you light the Universe candle and say All-encompassing Universe I introduce you to _________ We then ask for blessings from the Deities and the Universe. We ask for them to be shown kindness from the God. We ask for them to be shown wisdom from the Goddess. We ask for them to be shown the beauty of the Universe. Now it is time to begin to close and celebrate this new life. Welcome baby, to our home. May the gods love you as much we do. This child is a member of our family, we welcome you We go around the circle and each guest approaches and bestows words of blessing on the child. To close the circle we do a group hug around the baby. “My mother groaned, my father wept,
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As a mom of three boys who go to public school I started to notice that some things were not being taught in detail so I decided to create lessons for them. Many of these lessons cover science, history and of information about Paganism. I share crafts for the all different holidays and cultures as ways that they can learn and have fun at the same time.
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