Mother Blessing for Marie

November18

gratitude – love – miracle – precious
These are a few of Marie’s own words, used to describe her transition into motherhood. They also formed a basis for the feeling of her Mother Blessing Ceremony, held last weekend with a circle of close friends, at her favorite beach.

Marie on a reflective walk before her ceremony

Marie has taken on the courageous work of becoming pregnant with her entire heart and soul. Her ceremony then, had to be incredible, like her. The small circle of us who experienced it together became transformed in the afternoon light. We read meaningful poetry, shared our mothers’ wisdom, shared our own sincerest wishes for her as she completes her pregnancy and gives birth and then shared hot tea plus some symbolic food, too!

Here is an excerpt from my spoken words:

“This ceremony upholds an old tradition of reverence for the sacred in motherhood, loosely based on the Navajo Blessingway. For centuries, women have nurtured, blessed, supported and assisted each other through the transition from maidenhood to motherhood. In our western ways today, we tend to get very caught up in the medical and commercial aspects of pregnancy, getting lost in the shuffle of doctor appointments and baby showers with people we hardly know.

Today we step out of that white noise. We leave behind the distractions. We are here to support and love you, Marie. And we stand in complete wonder of the miracle that you and your baby boy truly are.”

Kristine blesses Marie with sandalwood oil

And step out of the ordinary shuffle we did! With seals poking their heads above water to visit us, herons flying past and the pleasure of each others presence, we savored every moment. I burned sage and smudged Marie to help her release whatever she felt was not serving her highest good as she carries her baby. We celebrated Marie with a couple of songs – one to especially call on the presence of Goddess Kuan Yin – known for her compassionate care for mothers and children. We presented symbolic beads to Marie for her birthing necklace, explaining the meanings one at a time. Then we closed with a special circle activity and an oil blessing to help Marie stay centered in her daily living as she becomes a mother.

After having experienced some fear in her journey to conceive and the early weeks of pregnancy, she said this ceremony truly helped her “release my anxiety and step into really feeling joyful about being pregnant.”

A Mother Blessing Ceremony may serve highly individualized purposes for many women. This outcome for Marie is better than any I could have anticipated for her. I send you heartfelt congratulations Marie, and my sincerest wishes for your continued joy in this amazing phase of your life.