Mother Blessing Rituals from a Blessingway Ceremony

Here I am, one year to the day since I had my mother blessing.  Last year, March 30th was a new moon - the perfect time for a blessingway.

"Restfully, gently the world prepares for new.  To embrace the potential of darkness we must surrender to the unknown and let go of our attachments to the future.  For it is in darkness, this place of the unknown, that all things sacred, all things of joy and beauty and pleasure come.  From darkness, life is born." 
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~ Brittany Nickerson, Thyme Herbal

Of all the rites of passage I've experienced, both formal and informal, my blessingway stands out as the most significant, and perhaps the most powerful. I was so grateful to have six of the dearest women in my life, including my mother and sister, come together to bless my journey into motherhood just 11 days, it would turn out, before I gave birth.

Birth Affirmations

One of the most cherished gifts from my mother blessing were the affirmations for my birth. Full of powerful wisdom, encouragement and faith, these blessingway affirmations stayed with me through birth and continue to offer guidance as I journey deeper into motherhood.

May their words bring you strength and confidence!

Read some of their wonderful affirmations here.

I specifically requested touch; birth is, if nothing else, a physical experience and I wanted to honor that in the blessingway.  The woman decided to take turns massaging my belly with lavender oil while offering their blessings to my soon-to-be-born daughter.

Mother & Child card by Maxine Noel

​I ask that the new child/woman
be filled with light
all her days,
that she be treasured
in the arms
of Hannah and Alexander, and that she be sheltered
and lifted up
in the hands
of the Goddess.

They also included a fear release exercise from "The Pregnant Woman’s Comfort Book," adapted slightly by TalkBirth.  One idea she suggests for a blessingway ritual is to circle around the pregnant woman holding hands and then read the following together:

There goes all fear you hold about giving birth. The birth will be perfect.

There goes all fear you hold about healing. You will heal beautifully.

There goes all fear you hold about not being a good mother. You will be enough.

There goes all fear of never being creative again. You have a deep well of creativity within your soul.

There goes the deepest, most private fears you have about giving birth. You will be enough.

You will be enough. You are strong enough.

As a writer, one element that was particularly meaningful from my blessingway were the readings and poems my mother, sister and oldest friend shared with me.  You can read those and along with a labor prayer here.

Last and most dear is this doll my mother gave to me, along with the story of Vasilisa the Beautiful. In the Russian fairy tale, on her death bed Vasilisa's mother gives her a tiny wooden doll to carry. With the help of the doll, Vasilisa was able to perform the many tasks set before her.

My Vasilisa doll stays by my bedside where I see it every day, and I live each day blessed by my mother's wisdom and love.