Equinox Birthday Celebration

Ivy turned one on Saturday and I don't quite know how it can be true. I spent the night reliving all of the details and feelings surrounding her birth, recalling who-arrived-when in the dark hours of past-midnight to whisper excitedly and giggle over sandwiches in the kitchen as my labor progressed. It was a magical night that all culminated in this little babe being born in our bathtub at 9:45 in the morning.

Friday night was spent stringing a special necklace of coral and seashell beads for her, ironing her little Springtime frock, and packing for our journey to the mountains. I also made a string of tobacco prayer ties, for each member of our family, along with a turkey vulture feather, to hang in the circle of sacred trees, which has become like an altar to we who visit it.

My beloved friend Sarah Jane hosts a Spring Equinox circle each year, so naturally, this is where we headed on sweetpea's birthday.

We arrived at the meadow, a favorite spot of ours when we lived in this wonderful community, to a drumming heartbeat that felt so perfectly fitting.

Untangling prayer ties while M prepares to rattle his seashells. I feel so close to the sea now that I have a Pisces baby. She has brought me so much closer to water, which I need, (there is not a single droplet of water in my chart) and have grown to appreciate so much. So all of the little shells and sea bits that made appearances felt even more symbolic on this day.

 

My children will always be sacred beings to me. I am forever committed to practicing a lifetime of honoring them, hearing their truths, offering them empathy and understanding above all, and showing them how to fully express themselves. I do not fear anything that they may show me, and I expect them never to silence themselves or adjust to please me, but to grow in the direction their own hearts command. Where I am weak, I intend to grow stronger, because they deserve a strong mama, and I know I am capable. This is my promise to them.

Miles gathers rocks as we all take a break for berries, just before we began to place our offerings and bundles on the altar and hang the prayer ties.

 

Eight years ago I lost a very special pregnancy and it was in this circle of trees that Sarah Jane brought Brandon and I for the first time to hang a white feather in honor of that precious being. I returned with Turkey Vulture today because it was she who flew over my head in numbers in Big Sur when I retreated for healing, and to face stuck fears, abandonments and rage from my own childhood, that were triggered by the loss. I learned then that she is a symbol of Motherhood and of the cycle of life. She taught me that no experience we ever have is wasted. She teaches me to value keeping my communication clean; I honored her here in the circle for seeing me through dark times and for the circle that has become complete with the births of my two beaming children.

 

The altar is a giant peace heart with many heart rocks, rocks representing the four directions and elements, with symbols of life and hope gathered around it. It brings me so much comfort and hope for a world in which children will be protected, treated with respect, and held sacred.

My heart soared as songs were chanted, pow wow drums beat, seeds planted in egg cartons, and new life welcomed back to this side of the planet. It was a beautiful warm day and the perfect ceremony to honor the plants, the earth, the season, and my little spring flower. I am so lucky to be surrounded by sisters who honor my children in a sacred way, and equally blessed to feel cherished by them simultaneously for bringing them into our world. 

It was an extraordinary day.