{"id":391,"date":"2011-09-13T09:00:42","date_gmt":"2011-09-13T16:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganfamilies.com\/?p=391"},"modified":"2012-12-12T20:42:34","modified_gmt":"2012-12-13T04:42:34","slug":"responding-to-ina-may-i-was-the-goddess-at-that-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paganfamilies\/2011\/09\/responding-to-ina-may-i-was-the-goddess-at-that-moment\/","title":{"rendered":"Responding to Ina May: I was The Goddess at that moment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Editor\u2019s note: This week we\u2019re trying something new.\u00a0 I asked some of our regular contributors to each respond to a quote from midwife and natural birth advocate Ina May Gaskin.\u00a0 In her new book <\/em>Birth Matters<\/a> Gaskin wrote:<\/em><\/p>\n

Birth\u2026 matters because the journey through pregnancy and birth offers an irreplaceable way for women to explore their deepest selves \u2013 their minds, bodies, and nature\u2026 There is a sacred power in the innately feminine capacity of giving birth.\u00a0\u00a0It is one of the elemental, continuing processes of nature that women have the chance to experience, and it is the one act of human creation that is not shared by men.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This short passage stimulated some quite different responses.\u00a0 In the next few days we\u2019ll have responses to the same passage from some of our other Pagan Families contributors.\u00a0 Today we hear from Suus:<\/em><\/p>\n

I actually don\u2019t know Ina May Gaskin\u2019s work\u2026..we have wonderful midwives here in Holland\u00a0where giving birth at home is\u00a0very common. As long as you have no medical indication\u00a0your pregnancy is monitored by a midwife, who also does the birth. The mother has the free choice to either give birth at home or in the hospital with the midwife. I decided to give birth in the hospital; my daughter decided otherwise and was born in my own bed at home.<\/p>\n

Regarding the quote:
\nThis is how I experienced pregnancy, and giving birth. I\u00a0felt really, really thankful that I am a woman, and that\u00a0just being that made it possible for me to have this experience. I watched my husband being on the side and felt kind of sorry for him that he could never, no matter what he would do, be able to have this experience.<\/p>\n

Pregnancy made me so aware of my body.\u00a0 The power\u00a0a woman\u2019s body has is amazing \u2014 just look at\u00a0to what extent a uterus can stretch! Extra blood was pumping through my veins, and my body took\u00a0care of two individuals. Also, with the growing belly power grows. Pregnant women have a special place in society, most pregnant women I see are radiating with power.\u00a0 They shine because they are full of life force and KNOW it. I think that is why pregnant women are always so beautiful. I know I felt truly beautiful for the first time in my life when my pregnant belly was really showing. Their radiating aura turn pregnant women into magnets, everybody just has to look at them.<\/p>\n

At a certain point in pregnancy I noticed a moving inward.\u00a0 The outside world didn\u2019t matter that much anymore.\u00a0 It was just me and my baby, going with the flow of how mother nature had\u00a0designed\u00a0human pregnancy.<\/p>\n

And then birth\u2026.well I often describe it as: I was The Goddess at that moment. I was so aware of how powerful I am during childbirth, and I remember thinking:\u00a0ok, this is how it feels to be God Herself, to give life. It was by far the most spiritual experience in my life and I enjoyed every second of it (yes, I was lucky and had a very easy childbirth). My husband was there, but again, he stood at the sideline, which I think is also a very powerful task \u2014 it is\u00a0the magic of deep witnessing. So I think both mom and dad have their own pregnancy and childbirth powers.\u00a0 It was a shared experience, but I don\u2019t think that he felt what I felt and I didn\u2019t feel what he felt. It is different. That doesn\u2019t mean one thing is more powerful than the other,\u00a0maybe\u00a0women and men just get the experience that fits their make-up.\u00a0But as said: I am really glad that I am a woman and got the woman-side of the experience!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Suus<\/em><\/strong> is a Dutch witch who has been fascinated with magic her entire life. As a child she thought life was filled with mysteries, and guess what, it is!<\/em><\/p>\n

She has studied magic for over a decade now, has trained with people in various traditions, varying from Gardnerian to Reclaiming. Suus now calls herself a Feri practitioner and Morningstar student in which she currently holds the White and the Blue Cord. Besides that Suus has studied psychology and is a Reiki master. She loves working with the energies that are all around and in us and loves to sing!<\/em><\/p>\n

To her leading a magical life means that everything we do carries magic in it and she tries to be as aware of that as she can. Suus finds life in all its wonderful shapes and forms is sacred. Aside of teaching others, Suus remains a student because she believes that we are never done with learning. She loves to deepen her knowledge of the mysteries and her connection with the Gods to whom Suus is eternally grateful for this wonderful life.<\/em><\/p>\n

Suus lives in a suburb in the east of The Netherlands with her husband, daughter, dog and cats and has made it a goal in life to incorporate magic in everything she does.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: This week we\u2019re trying something new.\u00a0 I asked some of our regular contributors to each respond to a quote from midwife and natural birth advocate Ina May Gaskin.\u00a0 In her new book Birth Matters Gaskin wrote: Birth\u2026 matters because the journey through pregnancy and birth offers an irreplaceable way for women to explore […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,9],"tags":[78,136,30,158,230,248],"class_list":["post-391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-birth","category-pregnancy","tag-birth-matters","tag-gender","tag-goddess","tag-ina-may-gaskin","tag-sacred","tag-suus"],"yoast_head":"\nResponding to Ina May: I was The Goddess at that moment<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Editor's note: This week we're trying something new.\u00a0 I 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