Mother Blessing Ritual: Birthing Wreath or Basket
The creation of a birthing wreath or basket can be done in place of the Birthing Necklace or in addition to it. You can either make your own wreath or buy one from a craft store. If you choose to do a basket, you most likely will want to buy one. Whether it is a basket or wreath, it should be made from natural materials, ideally You will need:
- Guests who have brought beads or trinkets OR
- Small slips of paper nice paper (such as scrapbook paper) and pens
- A natural fiber wreath or basket, from craft supply store
- Craft wire, beading thread or ribbons to attach trinkets or wishes to wreath or basket
How To Make A Birthing Wreath or Basket
If you wish to decorate the wreath with trinkets, on the invitation, ask each guest to bring a small trinket or bead that symbolizes their wish for the mother and baby in labor and birth. If you are already doing a birthing necklace and do not want guests to have to bring two trinkets, you can simply have guests write their wishes on a slip of paper and attach that to the wreath. You can always have some paper and ribbons on hand so that if any guests forget to bring a trinket they can still participate in this activity.
At the Mother Blessing, going clockwise around the circle, have each guest explain the significance of their bead or share their wish they have written on paper and then attach the trinket or paper to the wreath. The result is a wreath or basket full of good wishes for the mother to focus on while she is in labor. A wreath should be hung in the room where the mother plans to do most of her laboring, in a spot where she will easily be able to view it.
TIPS:
- If the expecting mother is planning to give birth at a hospital or birthing center, a basket may be more practical as it can be carried more easily and be set down on a table or chair (the hospital probably isn’t going to let you hang a wreath in the labor room!). A basket can also be packed with other labor easing items such as aromatherapy misters and labor-friendly aromatherapy essential oils to bring to the hospital.
- You can decorate the wreath or basket with beads and trinkets that your guests have brought OR you can have them write a wish for the mother’s labor on a small slip of paper (with a hole punched in it) and tie those to the basket or wreath with a ribbon.
- If you are using paper wishes, as you have your guests write their wishes on paper, make sure you point out that they will be expected to read their wish aloud to the group.
For the details, please go to this link.
Have a great 15th February and birthing wreath making!
For the month of February, I have the help of several volunteers who kindly offered to guest post many of the remaining craft posts for this month. I would like to personally thank them here, on the blog–dc, Heidi, Christine, and members of the ICAN Board, your assistance is much appreciated!
