Yana Cortlund - Mother Rising

Copyright 2006 by Tatyana Cortlund Feasey, Barbara Lucke, and Donna Miller Watelet
Photography copyright 2006 by Dawn Mamikunian

First published by Seeing Stone Press

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form, except brief excerpts for the purpose of review,
without written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cortlund, Yana.

Mother rising: the blessingway journey into motherhood/
Yana Cortlund, Barb Lucke, and Donna Miller Watelet.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN: 978-0-307-81628-3
1. MotherhoodMiscellanea. 2. Birth customs.
3. Self-help groups. I. Lucke, Barb.
II. Watelet, Donna Miller. III. Title.

HQ759.C7454 2006
392.12dc22 2006007790

Celestial Arts
Box 7123
Berkeley, California 94707
www.tenspeed.com

Distributed in Australia by Simon and Schuster Australia, in Canada by Ten Speed Press Canada, in New Zealand by Southern Publishers Group, in South Africa by Real Books, and in the United Kingdom and Europe by Airlift Book Company.

Circle symbol illustrations by Ann Miya

The authors of gratefully acknowledge permission to reprint the following: Adaptation of Prayer for Clarity, by Shea Darian, from Seven Times the Sun 2001, reprinted by permission of Gilead Press. Adaptation of material excerpted from Celebrating Motherhood: A Comforting Companion for Every Expecting Mother by Andrea Alban Gosline, Lisa Burnett Bossi, Ame Mahler Beanland with permission of Conari Press, an imprint of Red Wheel/Weiser, Boston, MA, and York Beach, ME.

v3.1

DEDICATION

For our children: Sean, Carly, Evan, Claire, and Lyra
because without you, we wouldnt be here.

O N THE DAY OF THE BLESSINGWAY , we arrive like flowing water: first a trickle, then a stream. Soon, our current builds to that of a great river, and by the time the last one of us has come, gathered together, we create a vast and powerful sea. As we drop our bags and smooth our flowing skirts, a bell chimes. Silence descends as we quiet our bodies and our minds.

We line up from eldest to youngest, and one by one we are smudged by a beautifully adorned woman who holds burning herbs and a feathered fan in her hand. We dip our fingers into rose-scented water, release our lingering cares, then walk into the sacred space that has been set for the blessingway. Circle formed, we stand, quietly swaying to soft music. Once the youngest of the women has joined us, we are led in prayer to cast our circle, then invited to be seated.

Elemental energies are evoked all around; the Goddess is called to the center. Together as one, we begin to sing: our music connecting us to the center of ourselves, to each other, to Spirit. We are guided to empty our expectations and fears into the flames that create space for the work to come.

As we let go, we fall softly into a state of sweet reverie. We gently lead the mother-to-be to a grand seat, a place of power and of honor. Here she is bathed, she is caressed, and with loving hands, she is made ready for her journey

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1
Creating New Traditions

CHAPTER 2
Planning a Blessingway

CHAPTER 3
Designing Your Ritual

CHAPTER 4
Ritual Stage 1: Beginning

CHAPTER 5
Ritual Stage 2: Shifting

CHAPTER 6
Ritual Stage 3: Focusing

CHAPTER 7
Ritual Stage 4: Completing

CHAPTER 8
Ritual Stage 5: Feasting

CHAPTER 9
Leading a Blessingway

CHAPTER 10
Afterthoughts

APPENDIX
Tools and Resources

FOREWORD

I T IS OFTEN SAID that what Western culture needs more now than ever are rituals to mark important transitions in our status. In fact, it is not that we need rituals more now; conscious, socialized human beings have always needed rituals! For many reasons, celebrations of birth as a sacred rite of passage in the West have been absent for too long.

Somewhere inside every woman is a deep knowing, even if it is barely conscious, that giving birth is a multi-layered, mysterious rite of passage. Many women realize it only after they give birth, in private moments when they reflect on what happened to them and within them. It is then they secretly wish that they had been prepared differentlythat in some way they had honored the event that would completely change their mind, body, and soul. This wish often turns to grief, and then is gradually forgotten as caring for the baby consumes their life.

Whether they realize it or not, everyoneparents, babies, and birth professionalsis feeling the wounding impact of the ritual of childbirth preparation having been reduced to medical orientation. In recent years there have been rebellious ripples of remembering that birth is a sacred rite of passage; an increasing number of courageous and creative women have modified or abandoned baby showers altogether to experiment with blessingways that honor the mother.

The parched, ritual-thirsty soul of society is calling for a change. In the absence of tradition and elders, we desperately need new direction. I applaud the authors of Mother Rising for answering that call. I cannot praise the authors enough for their voice and vision. Mother Rising gives our generation the sweet, nourishing nectar to inspire the creation of rich, soulful, memorable blessingways that bless not only the mother, but every participant and, ultimately, everyone in society.

A womans experience in birth and the outcome of her birth is influenced by a vast web of influences. We see only a fraction of the threads that make up the fabric of a birth. It is influenced not only by what the mother eats, but what her mind and soul is fed from the time she is playing with dolls until the day she is in labor. It is mysterious and complex.

We are led to believe birth outcome is largely determined by prenatal care or safe medical management; that belief has made us as a community of women incredibly passive and disconnected. While it is true we cannot absolutely control the outcome of a birth, we must not believe that we are not without power or influence.

Even if you have never led a sacred ceremony, by following the clear guidance in