Poems, Prayers and Readings for a Blessingway Ceremony

At this time last year I was eagerly awaiting the birth of our daughter.  The labor and birth - not to mention finally getting to meet her and hold her in my arms - occupied my entire being.

The blessingway or mother blessing the dearest women in my life held for me was the turning point in my emotional and spiritual readiness for birth and motherhood.  

You can read more about my own blessingway here and the special birth affirmations here.

Remember mother blessings can be anything from an intricate, scripted ceremony to a few women gathering together with the simple intention to bless the mother-to-be. One element that was particularly meaningful from my own blessingway were the readings and poems my mother, sister and oldest friend shared with me.

It wasn't until after I gave birth that I fully understood their powerful beauty and truth.  I hope you treasure these words as much as I have.

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Willow Tree
~ Anonymous

I am a willow tree,
Strong, yet fluid
graceful.

I can bend with the wind,
but my roots are tough,
indestructible.

Opening to birth my child
is flowing with the wind:

from a soft and gentle breeze
to a stormy gale
back to a soft and gentle breeze.

My body is strong, but flexible.
It is my friend, it knows how to open.

I am a friend to my body
eating well, walking, and loving myself.

I shall birth safely, freely, openly . . .
among my loved and trusted ones.

I am the willow, flexible
beautiful resilient
endowed with the power of surrender
to the wind rustling through my leaves,
my branches.

My roots reach deep into Mother Earth
Anchored in Her strength
I bring forth life
In joy!

---

From the book Joyful Birth: A Spiritual Path to Motherhood
by Susan Piver

The path of motherhood has a beginning but no end. It’s constantly changing and constantly challenging. Along the way, we encounter our personal limits over and over. We fall in love over and over. We ride the sharp edge of hope and fear. On this path of discovery, as on any spiritual path, our pretensions are shattered, our minds are blown, and our hearts are opened. We cry, we laugh, we bumble around and make countless mistakes. Through it all, we are gently—or abruptly—poked into greater honesty, loving-kindness, and understanding. It is a truly joyful path.

The memory of my children's birth has become a talisman that I hold in my heart as I journey deeper and deeper into motherhood. For these moments come again in every mother’s life—the times when we are asked to walk straight into our pain and fear, and in doing so, open up to a love that is greater than anything we ever could have imagined: all life’s beauty and wonder, as well as all the ways that things can break and go wrong…Again and again, motherhood demands that we break through our limitations, that we split our hearts open to make room for something that may be more than we thought we could bear. In that sense, the labor with which we give birth is simply a rehearsal for something we mothers must do over and over: turn ourselves inside out, and then let go.

---

A Prayer for One Who Comes to Choose This Life
by Danelia Wild

May she know the welcome
of open arms and hearts

May she know she is loved
by many and by one

May she know the circle of friendship that gives
and receives love in all its forms

May she know and be known
in the heart of another

May she know the heart
that is this earth
reach for the stars and
call it home

And in the end
may she find everything
in her heart
and her heart
in everything

---

My Birth Altar

There's one more prayer I want to include here.  It arrived unexpectedly in the birth kit my midwives had me order from www.inhishands.com.  It was a purple bookmark with prayer written by Donna Wilson.  I don't identify as Christian but my father was (he died when I was 10), and we were raised going to church.  Something about this prayer reminded me of him and it found a home on my birth altar; it's the kind of prayer I hope he might have said if he'd lived to see me become a mother. 


A Labor Prayer
by Donna Wilson

Dear Father, thank you for this new baby.
Would You protect and nurture this baby
and bring this pregnancy to full term. 

In labor, would You remove all fear
and replace it with faith and expectation. 

Please give those attending the birth
wisdom to take the best care of mother and baby. 

Please let this baby be born normal and whole,
healthy and strong, and at home
with no complications with baby or mother. 

Father, thank you for hearing my prayer,
for I pray in the name of Him who is called
Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God,
The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 
Amen.