Trigger warning: this is a discussion of miscarriage, and I include some intense emotions and strong imagery. Please be cautious if this is a triggering subject for you.Last week was the fifth anniversary of my first miscarriage. I remember this horrible moment throughout the year - the day I found out I was pregnant, the day my baby was supposed to have been born - but none stands out more than this day. I was three months pregnant, supposedly beyond the danger zone, but I had been bl … [Read more...]
Children Who Rest with My Ancestors: Part 1
February 25, 2015 by Leave a Comment
10 Great Reads of December on Paganism, parenting, social justice, and celebrating the season
December 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment
A monthly round-up of the best links shared and discussed on our active Facebook and Twitter streams.On Paganism and bringing babies into the world:"This Life Is Important" by J. Brown: "As a professional yoga teacher, I almost never use the term: “Life Force.” It just feels too woo-woo or cheesy and triggers my revulsion for new-age fluff. However, in attempting to describe the experience of witnessing my wife giving birth to our second child, I can think of no other term that fits more … [Read more...]
July Link Round-Up: Body theology, parenting, loss, and the spiritual path
July 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Pagan Families facebook page gets lots of requests to share other pages and links. In order to maintain the quality and focus of the page, I only share them if they have something to do with Paganism and pregnancy/parenting/family life (you'd be surprised how far off-topic some requests are). There were plenty of great on-topic links in July:On being embodied:"She offers us the possibility of understanding and experiencing the menstrual cycle that we embody as kin to the cycle of mo … [Read more...]
Birth as Initiation
January 21, 2014 by Leave a Comment
“Childbirth is a rite of passage so intense physically, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, that most other events in a woman’s life pale next to it. In our modern lives, there are few remaining rituals of initiation, few events that challenge a person’s mettle down to the very core. Childbirth remains a primary initiatory rite for a woman.” –from the book MotherMysteries via Thesis Tidbits: Birth as a Shamanic Experience | Talk Birth. I just finished reading a short book called Return t … [Read more...]
Annual Spirit Babies Ceremony + Pantheacon
December 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment
I've received word that this year's Spirit Babies ceremony will take place on Sunday 12/15 in Berkeley, California, from 12-2pm. It's an interfaith service for those who've been touched by abortion, miscarriage, or stillbirth. The organizers say on their Facebook page: Up till now, there has been little like this in the US. Women experiencing these losses have mostly been alone and isolated. There is a stigma around pregnancy loss, no matter what the cause, and little opportunity to share s … [Read more...]
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day
October 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day is October 15. At The Amethyst Network, we've been working on making some new images for the purpose of sharing either in advocacy or support. There you can find different buttons designed for sharing on social media or blogs on both Facebook and Pinterest.Tonight, I went to a candlelight vigil in my town in honor of this Remembrance Day. I took my little rainbow daughter with me and we spent some peaceful time at dusk in the park with my friend and … [Read more...]
Birth as a Spiritual Experience (Thesis Project)
August 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
“Here is your sacrament Take. Eat. this is my body this is real milk, thin, sweet, bluish, which I give for the life of the world… Here is your bread of life. Here is the blood by which you live in me.” --Robin Morgan (in Life Prayers, p. 148)“…When I say painless, please understand, I don’t mean you will not feel anything. What you will feel is a lot of pressure; you will feel the might of creation move through you…” – Giuditta Tornetta in Painless Childbirth“I am the holy mot … [Read more...]
Birth Song, Life Song, Death Song
July 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
"A woman can spin a primal umbilical rope within her womb through which she passes life-energy to the future." --Melissa Raphael "In some indigenous cultures of the Americas there is the practice of finding one's death song while alive. This song becomes the ally of the person throughout their lives, so that they become very acquainted with what the song means in their lifetime. Death then, is a companion of life, and is never forgotten. In the hour of death, these people would, if they were … [Read more...]
