How to create a sacred birth altar

A birth altar is a sacred space you can consciously create at any stage during your pregnancy to represent your hopes and dreams for your birth and your baby.  It’s a place you can gather positive energy as a symbol of power and strength to draw on as your birth nears and throughout labour. 

Your altar can be a simple or elaborate affair, set up on a shelf, window sill, table or on the floor – with a couple of objects or many. It’s totally personal to you and your journey, with whatever holds meaning for you at this time. 

Although she was born at home in the end, as our plan had been to go to a birth centre for Cece’s birth, the altar I prepared (last image below) was downstairs in our cosy sitting room in front of our Ganesh carving and next to the fire – somewhere I spend a lot of time in the Winter so gazed on it often. 

For Raphael’s birth, we consciously chose to stay at home and to set up a pool in our bedroom, so this shelf (main image above), which I would see morning and evening and throughout labour was perfect.

On it I arranged beautiful and meaningful objects which represented fertility, motherhood, family, the five elements, keepsakes from Cece and Arlo’s births and of course all the offerings given to me by the gorgeous women who came to my Mothers Blessing a few weeks before.  These included –

✨ Watercolour moons created by all the women at the blessing 
✨ Offerings of artwork, plants and dried flowersBirth affirmation art from Cece’s blessing
✨ Painted eggs and pressed flower candles for Easter and Beltane
✨ Arlo’s photo, a wisp of his hair and all of our birth bracelets including mine
✨ An ostrich egg from Africa where Arlo and Cece were conceivedSwift art and goddess statue
✨ Tarot card name placements from our wedding
✨ Holy water from a sacred well and a candle lit from Brigid’s flame from my doula
✨ Some of my favourite crystals given by special friends
✨ My Gaia candle and earth goddess artwork

Creating your own altar is such a lovely ritual to honour the sacredness of pregnancy and birth, and will bring you inner strength, self belief and a reminder to surrender as you move through labour.

Let your inner wild woman shine and express yourself in whichever way feels good! 🌀 💖

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