Last week, I participated in the simple yet transformative Rite of the Womb. Six women stood on the shores of Sentosa, looking out over the Singapore Strait. It was sunset, and the light filtered through the palm trees all warm and golden.

Was it the light? Was it being by the sea? Was it the peace of this beautiful ritual? Or was it some combination of all of the above? Whatever it was, I left that half-hour ceremony with a sense of warmth radiating from within me, of the potential for good, and of wonder at this incredible planet we live on.

The Rite of the Womb is a simple yet powerful shamanic ceremony that intends to restore the creative power of the womb space — *Making offerings to the sea after taking part in the Rite of the Womb*

What is the Rite of the Womb?

The Rite of the Womb is a shamanic initiation received by Marcela Lobos. I received it as part of my initial shamanic energy training with the Four Winds Light Body School, and I received it again last week through one of my fellow graduates, Roseta Urda.

Through this gentle, loving ceremony, we reset the womb space as a place of creation, and ourselves as powerful creators.

By womb space, by the way, I mean the energetic ‘womb’, that space held by your pelvic bowl, above your hips and below your intestines. You can receive the rite regardless of whether you have a uterus or not. All genders can receive it.

Why we need it

For many of us – again, regardless of whether we’re men, women, transgender, gender fluid – the womb space has become a dustbin for our emotions. We don’t know how to face heavy emotions such as fear and anger, so we end up dumping them in the womb without realising it. They stay there, stagnating and quite probably contributing to all kinds of physical symptoms, from discomfort, pain and heavy bleeding to serious health conditions.

And then there’s childbirth and all the pain and fear it can bring with it. Not for everyone, of course; for some, it’s a joyous, wonderful experience. For many of us, though, it’s far from it.

Rethinking childbirth

I carried and birthed two beautiful, healthy children, thank the Goddess. But both birthing experiences were difficult in their own ways. They were bewildering and full of fear.

Despite all the Hypnobirthing training I did, I felt completely out of control, asked to hand over total trust to someone else, or several someone elses, rather than trusting myself and my own body. In those moments, I felt powerless.

Let me say here that I appreciate all that modern medicine has done for our ability to bring children into the world. I’m grateful for the fact that my son emerged healthy despite the difficulties of that particular birth process, and the expertise and support of the doctors and midwives was invaluable here. I’m not suggesting we go backwards, or that women would have an easy time of it without medical interventions. Not at all.

What I am saying is that the modern process of childbirth lacks something significant. It leaves many of us sad, disappointed, angry or frustrated… or some combination of all of these.

Years later, many of us are still recounting our birthing experiences to other women. I believe that’s because we’re still trying to process challenging, often disempowering experiences, while feeling guilty for saying anything negative, because society has told us we should “just be grateful for what we’ve got.”

Bringing ceremony back to the birthing experience

In my view, a big part of the problem is that there’s no longer any ceremony in what should be a deeply ceremonial moment. It’s a rite of passage, of total transformation for mother, father, child and families, and yet we’ve reduced a profound life moment to something clinical and cold.

Why aren’t we honouring the arrival of new life into the world as it happens? The odds of emerging alive and kicking onto this planet at this time in these bodies are astounding. Why aren’t we celebrating that for all it’s worth?

*Let’s honour life as it enters the world, as well as in the moments afterwards. Image by Alexander Grey for Unsplash*

And why aren’t we celebrating the incredible capacity of women’s bodies to hold and grow humans for more than nine months? Why aren’t we celebrating the guts and strength it takes to birth children, whether that’s naturally or via C section, in 2 hours or 32?

What could happen if we turned childbirth back into something to celebrate, rather than making it something to fear?

Other rites of passage

Of course, there are so many other moments in life that deserve to be honoured, and that lack the ceremony they deserve. Particularly so in the West. When we honour these moments, we restore their value and we move through them with much greater ease.

Let’s take menopause, for example. What if we could stop seeing it as something to dread, and instead see it as a time when a woman enters her true wisdom and power? Why don’t we see and appreciate the beauty of old age?

*There’s power in celebrating life’s transitions in all their forms. Image by Mike Labrum for Unsplash*

It is these questions and many more like them that draw me to working as a ceremonialist, and to honouring all of life’s transitions through sacred ritual. It’s a privilege to hold space for others as they walk through the gateway of initiation, in whatever form it comes.

3 takeaways from this post:

1. The Rite of the Womb is a beautiful, gentle shamanic ceremony that restores the creative power of the womb space, for all genders.

2. Modern childbirth processes have been reduced to just that: processes. How can we restore the ceremony they deserve?

3. Life’s transitions should be honoured, met joyously through ceremony and ritual rather than approached with dread and fear.

Are you looking for a way to honour transition in your life or that of your loved ones? Drop me a line if you’d like support, or book a transformational coaching or shamanic healing session here.