What's a Mother's Blessing Ceremony & Why We Need Them
With my first pregnancy, I had a traditional baby shower. Friends and family gathered for an afternoon. We made prayer flags and drank sweet tea, and everyone watched as I opened gifts. It was a lovely event to share with our close friends and family to usher in the arrival of our baby girl. Yet, I was surrounded by material things instead of soul things. When it was over, I found my spirit craved more.
The thing about a traditional baby shower is it honors the baby but not the massive transformation the mother is about to experience.
Later, after about a year of postpartum ups and downs, I learned about a Mother’s Blessing. Also known as Blessingway from Native American traditions. It's a ceremony celebrating a woman’s rite of passage from maiden into motherhood surrounded by the important women in her life. I knew a ceremony like this would need to happen for our next baby.
On a stunning Saturday morning in August, I witnessed this dream come to life. We gathered on the banks of my favorite and most sacred river. A place where I've found deep prayer, talks with my brother, the changing seasons, and witnessed my own growth.
Two of my closest friends hosted and planned the event. One friend managed the details while the other planned and led the rituals during the ceremony. I allowed for a complete surrender of control and arrived ready to receive the love and nourishment my soul craved.
We sat in a circle and began with everyone going around to share an offering they brought to add to an altar in my birthing room. Treasures and trinkets met with spoken words of encouragement for my journey into birth. They included crystals, handmade teas, and a beautiful ceramic bowl for my placenta. We then dipped our toes into the river, blessing the bowl and all the goddesses surrounded me to help in releasing any unwanted energy or fears.
We made bracelets to wear until the baby arrives and received candles to light while I'm in labor.
To be held in this place by my sisters and mama, was truly a divine and transcendental experience. It not only connected me to the beautiful girl inside me but an added layer of strength to enter the birthing portal with joy, support, and empowerment.
Mother’s Blessings can be done in many ways. But, they must honor the pregnant mama through love, ritual, support, and presence.
If you want to create a ceremony like this, I host blessings at the Coincide studio. Learn more here.
Thank you, Meg Koning, for capturing this moment in time on film. 🎞️