Mother’s Blessing Facilitation

The Mother’s Blessing (or Blessing Way) is a way for an expecting woman, her close friends, and family to mark and celebrate her transition into motherhood. Unlike a Baby Shower, which is more baby and gift-focused, the Mother’s Blessing is a sacred gathering centered upon the pregnant woman, giving her focused, nourishing attention and support. Mother’s Blessing includes a sharing circle where participants offer heartfelt wishes (blessings) for the mama-to-be. It is a space where the mama-to-be can share her hopes, fears, and dreams and feel supported and empowered to give birth.

A Blessing Way is a traditional Native American Ceremony that originated with the Navajo People. It is worth mentioning that some people refer to this ceremony as a “Mother’s Blessing”, as they feel it is a more culturally appropriate name based on their connection to Native American Culture. As I personally have no ties to Native American ancestry, I have decided to refer to the ceremony as a Mother’s Blessing. This ritual directs us to experience pregnancy, birthing, and moving into motherhood as a sacred transition. Within the Mother’s Blessing ceremony, we practice being in tune with the cycles of life. We experience the support of our community, be that our friends who may have become mothers first or our elders. These traditions encourage us to become humble as we pass through the gateways of motherhood initiation.

Mother’s Blessing Ceremonies are unified by many elements of the sacred feminine. We include that which is meaningful to us personally, socially, and spiritually. This may be done through song, creative activities, intention setting, meaningful gift-giving, pampering, ceremony, and nourishing the senses with food, smells, textures, and beauty.

So many modern mothers miss a chance to build their village of support at their baby shower. We gather friends and family, play a few games, give gifts for the baby, and make jokes about sleepless nights and parenthood. But what if, instead, we used this gathering to say, “Hey, this is going to be a huge transition for our family, and we would love for you to support us”?

Mother’s Blessings allow mothers to do exactly that: to be vulnerable, to be heard, and to envision a postpartum journey supported by those they trust most. Without adequate support, new mums simply can’t embrace postpartum the way they need to. The foundation of postpartum care is support.

This gathering isn’t about spirituality or “woo-woo” rituals—it’s about returning to an ancient tradition of women gathering to support and uplift one another. Across generations and cultures, women have come together in circles to honour each other’s journeys. Embracing this huge rite of passage can be a transformative act for every mother.

Note: while we are planning your Mother’s Blessing, please keep in mind that I highly suggest we keep this ceremony small, simple, and intimate. Since special friends and family may be in town for your baby shower, in the morning before or evening after the shower, in a quiet space, may be a good time to have your Mother’s Blessing Ceremony.

Each ceremony is customized for a beautiful, unique, and fun experience! I offer a complimentary smudging for the room & circle of guests with Sage to cleanse & purify sacred space for the ceremony (Smudging is optional).

The cost to organize and lead your Mother’s Blessing Ceremony is $300 + travel expenses if you live 30+ minutes out from Richmond, VA. It will be a 3-hour ceremony. We will weave through a selection of rituals that have been selected especially for the mother-to-be and her village. Here are some of the rituals that may be included in a Mother’s Blessing ceremony. A ceremony is not limited to these; each ceremony is unique and magical in its own way.

A pre-ritual meeting, online or in-person, to plan and customize your ceremony.
This is how we start the Mother’s Blessing process. I use this opportunity to get to know both the mother and her community. Together, we can decide which rituals should be included on the day. My primary focus when handcrafting ceremonies is to make it approachable for the entire group. So it is both enjoyable for them and the mother-to-be. I will gauge the group of prospective guests to get an understanding of them ahead of time and what they will respond well to.
I will supply decor, such as candles, crystals, flowers, herbs, and more to set up the space we will use to make it sacred and beautiful.
Guests will introduce themselves & honor the women in their family who have walked before them.
Honoring the matriarchy is such an integral part of the ceremony. Regardless of what stage of motherhood the attendees are in. We can still honor the mother energy within every one of us. Whatever our life may look like, this is an opportunity to express our motherly energy.
This opening of the circle is also an opportunity for each guest to introduce themselves as a daughter and granddaughter, honoring their own lineage of mothers, regardless of the nature of that relationship.
“I am Jodie, daughter of Shannon, granddaughter of Marie.”
‘The exchange of cells between mother and baby contribute to the biological red thread woven through a woman’s female ancestors and into her daughter.’ Anna Watts
The symbolic nature of the red thread helps us to find our way, and take back our rites of passage for ourselves and others.
A mothers blessing is an opportunity to honor the rite of passage from maiden to mother or from mother to mother anew. The red thread woven around the circle connects the chosen village with one another and their maternal ancestors. It forms a deep connection of love, support, knowing and wisdom. A reminder of the innate strength we as women hold within us individually and as a collective.
A ball of red thread is passed around the circle, as it reaches each person, they wrap the cord around their wrist, and then pass it on to the next person. Once the circle is complete, the cord is cut and tied into individual bracelets.
The group is encouraged to wear their red thread until the baby is born or the mama reaches the end of her maternity leave. It is a beautiful reminder to check in with mama through her pregnancy and postpartum journey.
The flower or small token ritual is an opportunity for each guest to share a little of their magical connection to the mama-to-be. Prior to the event, each guest is asked to bring a flower that reminds them of the mama-to-be. As they place the flower in the circle, they share why this particular flower reminds them of her and some words of wisdom for her transition into motherhood. This part of the ceremony often encourages laughter, tears and beautiful pearls of guidance and wisdom. At the end of the ceremony, the flowers are gathered to make a bouquet for the mama to take home. This can also be done with a small token of your choosing like a bead or a charm. The beads can then be used to create a birthing necklace or candle for the mama to wear or burn, to help remind her of the incredible women she has by her side.
Salt has been used in rituals and ceremonies for centuries as it is thought to absorb energy. A bowl of magnesium salts or epsom salts are passed around the circle with a jar of dried herbs and flowers. Each guest adds some flowers to the bowl and massages them through whilst sharing some love, an affirmation, a wish or a mantra with the mama-to-be. These wishes are also written down on pieces of paper and added into the the bowl of salts.
The salts can be used to give the mama-to-be a foot soak during the ceremony and the remaining blend is for her to keep for pregnancy, birth and or postpartum. Each time mama takes a bath leading up to birth or following her birth she can incorporate the love infused salts and pull out a little love note from her village.
This beautiful ritual invites the guests to show the mama to be some love. It can involve hand and foot massage, back and shoulder massage and/or a foot soak. It gives her the opportunity to surrender to accepting love and support whilst enjoying some pampering, giggles and tears with her nearest and dearest.
We decorate flags with positive affirmations, prayers, poems, and pictures, then hang them like prayer flags. Not only is this a creative and fun activity, but it also brings all your love and support into the mother, father, and baby’s world when it’s hung in their home or laboring space.
A beautiful end to the ritual is to share delicious, nourishing food. The ceremony can be catered by the host or each guest can bring a plate of food. Inviting the guests to bring food is a wonderful way to begin the practice of bringing food for the mama-to-be.
A Mother’s Blessing ceremony celebrating the rite of passage from maiden to mother is an ideal opportunity to organise your nourishing home-made meal deliveries from your support village. All who have attended the ceremony have a deep understanding of the love and support you require through this transformation.
There will be recipe cards to take home so the villagers know what to prepare once the baby has arrived.

Optional Add-ons

$45
I will send the host a custom-made invitation as a .jpg or .pdf to email or print & mail to the guests.
$20
I will lead the group through a 30-minute personalized meditation for Mom and her village.
Meditation has multiple benefits. Adding a meditation to your Mother’s Blessing experience will guarantee a grounding and clarifying event.
$10
I will perform a sound bath using singing bowls, percussion instruments, and a calming Chinese bamboo flute.
The vibrations felt in a live sound bath can help reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep, promote relaxation, loosen muscles, and may even alleviate pain and improve mood. This is the perfect activity to prepare the expectant mother’s body for birth.
$20
This is a customized bag of spiritual treasures including stones to enhance a positive pregnancy and labor, herbs, and a written blessing.
$20
This experience includes one 16 × 20 canvas and watercolor paints. Mama gets to keep the painting created for her by her village.

I think it is fair to say (and I know I felt this way), that a lot of women feel that a Mother’s Blessing might be too ‘spiritual’ for them. Or even their group of friends. Yet the magical thing about having a celebrant handcraft your ceremony is that it can be as wild or conservative as you like.

A Mother’s Blessing can be in addition to a more commonly held ‘baby shower’. It can take its place or it can be integrated into a baby shower too. The ceremony itself is used as an opportunity to both honor the mother and her transition into motherhood. It can also be used to educate her village.