Belly Blessing

Needed:

  • Large white pillar candle
  • Smaller blue votive candle
  • 5 white votive candles
  • Holy water
  • Red candle
  • Incense
  • Masking tape
  • Gifts for the prospective mother

Before the ritual, cleanse the area with the four elements.

Stack gifts for the mother by the altar and cleans them with burning sage or other incense.

Place the white pillar candle in the center of the altar with the other supplies close by. Set the red candle on the south section of your altar and light it.

With the masking tape, make a large pentacle on the floor, with the pentacle pointing up toward the altar. Place a white votive candle on each point of the pentacle.

Cast the circle, call the quarters, invoke the deity, then cut a door and bring the mother into the circle, anointing her head and saying:
“May you be cleansed, consecrated, and regenerated in the names of the Lord and Lady. So mote it be.”

Remember to seal the door and take care that no flowing hemlines touch the candle flames on the pentacle.

Have the mother light the white pillar candle and tell her to utter a silent prayer to Spirit for a safe, successful birth and for the continued protection for her child. The blue candle represents the baby. Have her light the blue candle from the white candle, asking for special gifts and protection for the unborn. With the blue votive candle in her hand, lead her to the points of the pentacle. Ask the deity for a blessing for the mother and baby, then light the pentacle candles from the blue candle, visualizing the exchange of energy from deity to mother. The points of the pentacle represent Love, Good Heath, Strength, Harmony, and Wisdom. (Note: You may wish to print these words on a tent card and place the near the respective candles so that everyone, including the mother, knows what you are asking for.)

Return to the center and ask for blessing from the deities by holding the blue candle toward the heavens. Place the blue candle on top of the white candle, saying:
“As we are one with the Lord and Lady, so this mother and baby are one.”

Hold both hands on the stomach of the mother, and say:
“May they remain healthy and safe throughout the birthing process. May no evil, real or imagined, penetrate the sanctity of love between mother and child, and may they be protected in this world and in worlds we cannot see.”

If there are others present, they can also add their blessings.

At this point you may wish to read the Charge of the Goddess or may like to recite the Thirteen Powers of the Witches. Give the mother the gifts. Close the circle in the normal way. Allow the blue candle to burn continuously until it goes out, or snuff it out with your fingers and give to the mother to continue burning at home.