With full respect to each and everyone's own decisions and lifestyles, I do not speak of an altar in this series in a religious way. Throughout religion, an altar was a place where sacrifices were carried out and religious rites performed. Here, I speak of an altar as a table or space where one can honour, celebrate, and connect to the magic and beauty in conception, pregnancy, and birth.
As you would have seen in my previous post, I spoke about how to create a space to invite communication and connection with your fertility, prior to conceiving. This can be carried through for your whole journey into parenthood, and really anything in life.
Creating this sacred space can help in so many ways, and bring depth and enjoyment to the experience that you otherwise might not have had. I feel as though pregnancy and birth are so common, we are forgetting about the miracle it truly is. Through creating this space, you can reconnect to the magic of this experience, and really honour it as it should be.
Not to mention, you gain an incredible understanding of your own body, breath, and baby, which is incredibly helpful during the labour and birth, and well into parenthood.
Self-confidence is something we, as women and birthing people, severely lack thanks to the many unrealistic expectations placed on us. Instead of loving the body, we are in, the brain we use, and the heart we trust, we strive to be something we inherently are not. I implore you to use this sacred space to connect with your baby and body, but also use it to instil the trust and love you can have for yourself.
As a parent, this is one of the most beautiful things you can role model for your children.
So, where to create this pregnancy altar?
Find a nice, calm, and restful place in your home. Whether it be a shelf, a side table, a chest (as seen above), whatever works! You really want this space to be free of distractions or other people's energy and influence.
When you have found the perfect place, spend time in it prior to the setup, cleanse the area with Sage or Palo Santo, and create the intention for this space. It may be that you want to connect with your baby, you want to release fears about birth or parenthood, you may want to meditate and visualize here. Whatever it may be, make sure you make your intention clear.
Some things you can set up for this altar:
- Sonogram picture of baby
- Sage or Palo Santo
- Candles, incense, essential oil diffuser
- Affirmation flags or notes
- Statues or images of pregnancy
- Inviting the pregnancy goddesses (through statues, printed images, verbal invitations or visualization). Some goddesses to invite may include: Demeter, Gaea, Isis, Cybele... to name a few. It is important to learn about the Goddess that resonates with you to attune to her energy and become familiar with her
- Crystals such as Moonstone, Amethyst, Black Onyx, Carnelian... or any others that draw you in
- Pregnancy journal
- Mirror (to connect with body, practice the mirror exercise I have described on my Instagram account)
- A very comfortable cushion or exercise ball to sit on
- Baby blanket, toy or clothing
See Moon Birth Sculptures to purchase some beautiful fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth statues for your altars!
Some ways to use your altar may include, but are not limited to:
Connecting with your baby
Through visualization, meditation, breathwork, or verbal communication, you can use this space to come to and speak with your unborn baby. It may be about what you hope for them and their life, how you will support them through their human experience, your hesitations about being a parent, your promises to them. Connecting with your baby before birth is such a beautiful way to experience the magic of pregnancy and create a sense of confidence in yourself as a parent.
Acknowledge fears
This space is most definitely not somewhere to leave feeling tenser, however, pregnancy and becoming a parent inherently brings up a lot of unfamiliar thoughts, emotions, and concerns. This is a natural and healthy sign of your humanity. The unknown to humans can be quite confronting, and by acknowledging these feelings you avoid stagnant energy within the mind and body. You can come to this space and speak about any fears that arise, use visualization as a way to move through the fear or journal about the concerns to release their hold on your mind and body. Call upon your Goddess and ask for her strength or clarity.
Become in tune with the body for birth
As a birth doula, my one wish for every single birthing person is that they do their very best to connect with their physical body prior to birth. No matter your decision or the outcome of the birth path, connecting with your body gives you a whole new sense of autonomy in this space. Though we really shouldn't need to go to extra effort to put this in place, body autonomy can be hard to gain when birthing within the system. We have been told over and over that we are not the experts of our own body, so of course, we hand over control of decisions to those that are medically trained. In many cases, this may be needed as dangerous circumstances can arise, however, by knowing your body before the birth YOU will be the one that knows when something is going right, wrong, or in a bad direction.... because you know your body.
This then creates a satisfying and positive experience, because you were making the informed decisions for your body, baby, and birth.
How to do this?
When you have found the perfect place, spend time in it prior to the setup, cleanse the area with sage or palo santo, and create the intention for this space. It may be that you want to connect with your baby, you want to release fears about birth or parenthood, you may want to meditate and visualize here. Whatever it may be, make sure you make your intention clear. powerful practices to connect to your body. Again, use pregnancy-specific meditation and visualizations.
Document Pregnancy
A pregnancy journal is a perfect tool to document your experience. Whether it be felt like a fun, positive experience, or one full of aches and pains, documenting this time of your life won't be a waste of time, I promise. There are various pregnancy journals available to purchase, or buy a blank journal and feel the pages in when you're called to.
Affirmations for a healthy pregnancy and upcoming birth
Writing down affirmations is not as cliche as social media and the internet make it seem. By repeating these words, you may begin to feel them to be true within yourself. Be sure to write affirmations that relate to you and your pregnancy specifically. The more specific to you they can be, the more effective they will have. Some ideas include:
- I am safe
- My baby and I are working together
- My baby is healthy and safe in my womb
- My womb is the perfect environment to grow my baby
- The birth of my baby will be beautiful
If you would like to learn more about creating an altar for your pregnancy experience, I strongly recommend these books:
The Conscious Pregnancy: A Spiritual and Practical Approach to Creating a Zen Baby by Shivani Gupta
The Pregnant Goddess by Arin Murphy-Hiscock
Mindful Pregnancy by Tracy Donegan
With a special interest in natural fertility, conscious conception and conscious relating through starting a family, I offer Birth Doula and related services to encourage more depth and awareness in your journey. I educate on the menstrual cycle and encourage women to reawaken their confidence and trust in their bodies, and show an understanding of how all of these experiences are interrelated and must be considered on your journey to starting a family.
To get in touch, email me at:
hello@caraburns.com.au or visit my social pages:
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