Wiccan Birth Rite

“Ing was first among the East Danes seen by men, until eastward over the sea he departed; his wagon ran after. Thus the Heardings named that hero.” – Old English Rune Poem

“Great was the joy of Freya when Hearhden placed Brosingamene once more about her snow-white neck. Great were the cries of joy from Drëun and above. Great were the thanks that Freya, and all Men, gave to the gods for the return of Brosingamene.” – The Myth of the Goddess of Saxon Witchcraft

“The ship, or ark, is peculiarly significative of the feminine principle, and wherever found is a reminiscence of the Matriarchate.” – Matilda Joslyn Gage

Witchcraft, as an essentially matriarchal religion, recognizes and honors that all life is born from a mother. Even Witches unable to have a relationship with their physical mother can turn to the pantheistic Mother Goddess of the Wica. A new baby born to a Seax Wica Gesith or “Companion” is immediately recognized by that coven as a Ceorl or “Free Man”. The Birth Rite that introduces a child to the Wiccan Lord and Lady is as much an indication to a Witch Sister (and ideally Brother) that she, the child’s father, (and/or any other guardian(s) the child may have), also have the support network of the coven. With this in mind, here is the Birth Rite of The Tree, as slightly adapted for our coven.

(This rite may be performed at any of the rituals, prior to the Ceremony of Cakes and Ale.)

Scribe: “There is an addition to our number. Let us give him/her due welcome.”

(Mother moves to stand between the Priest and Priestess. If the Father is present he stands behind her. Mother holds the baby.)

Priest: “What is the name of the child?”

(Mother gives the child’s name—the name by which he or she will be known in the Circle until old enough to choose his or her own name.)

Priest: “We welcome you, …(Name)…”

Priestess: “Welcome, and much love to you.”

(Priestess dips her fingers in the Salted Water and gently wipes them over the baby’s face. Mother then passes the child through the smoke of the incense.)

Priestess: “May our Lady Freya and her Brother Frey smile ever upon you. May they guard you and guide you through this life. May they help you to choose that which is right and shun that which is wrong; that no harm may befall you, or others through you. So be it!”

All: “Welcome!”

(Illustration of “Ing”, another name of the God Frey, by German artist Carl Emil Doepler, 1905.)

Resources for Wiccan Families

Books:

• The Algonquin Legends of New England compiled and commented on by Charles Godfrey Leland (1884) – At the outset, it is worth noting that there are other North American tribal cultures outside the Algonquin language family touched on in this book due to their proximity, making “Algonquin” somewhat a misnomer at times, but Algonquin lore is the vast bulk of material recorded here. Leland, as a man concerned with how little interest had been shown in the Native mythologies of New England, (and personally anticipating this lore being lost), went directly to Indigenous narrators (and credits them) to record these stories. While Leland perceived a great deal of Christianization in many of the myths he recorded (the evil witches attempting to seduce the hero Glooskap and Glooskap’s traveling to France to have his mother baptized as a Catholic—for example), he also saw a lot of similarity between the myths he recorded and the Eddas (“Grandmothers”), also known to be Christianized to some extent, and was therefore actively seeking to find pre-Christian American worldviews through his knowledge of pre-Christian European ones. Leland’s speculations about a more nuanced pre-Columbian cultural contact between the Thule people and the Vikings may be controversial (and between the Vikings and the ancestors of the Mi’kmaq even more so), but nevertheless this book is of immense practical religious value to many American Wiccan families. Magical singing is a major theme of these hero-tales.
• The Oz books and The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum (1900-1920) – There is no escaping Christmas and Santa Claus. Baum, (himself a theosophist inspired by his mother-in-law), presents Claus as basically a demi-god from a fairy forest complete with a “King of the Light Elves”. His explanation for Claus commonly being called a “saint” is just that this is a designation of him being a really awesome dude—which according to Baum, any mortal can strive to be. My son in particular loves this book. The Oz books, which my children enjoy just as much as I and my mother before me did, of course famously feature good witches, and featured them before good witches were cool.
• Poetic Edda trans. Henry Adams Bellows (1923) – Young kids will find this boring and fidget a lot when you read aloud from this. Do it anyway. Pure poetry.
• Reincarnation: The Ring of Return ed. Eva Martin (1927) – English language sourcebook of writings on reincarnation compiled by a theosophist. A very useful resource for Wiccan parents having to navigate discussions about death. A book in Gerald Gardner’s library.
• The White Stag by Kate Seredy (1937) – Found this one in my paternal grandmother’s library. Middle Eastern mythology is included here by depicting the legendary ancestor of the Hungarians—the Asian conqueror Attila the Hun—as a great-grandson of Nimrod, a mythical hunter and pagan king of southern Mesopotamia. The author (and illustrator) was retelling a legend told to her by her father. The significance of the “Moon Maidens” and Alleeta, Attila’s mother in the story, hits different from a Wiccan perspective—I suspect.
• The Faraway Lurs by Harry Behn (1963) – Definitely for older children entering puberty, (I first read it in 6th grade), this is a Bronze Age Romeo and Juliet. Not only a beautifully imagined setting for a tragic romance, it doubles as a useful book for addressing the unpleasant reality of human sacrifice in the ancient heathen world. A very early influence on my personal interest in Wicca.
• Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin (1976) – Hippie women in Tennessee were bringing midwifery back to mainstream America just as Wicca was also gaining an American foothold. The documentary movie on this movement, Birth Story (2012), is also inspirational and highly recommended to expectant parents.
• Gods and Heroes from Viking Mythology by Brian Branston (1978) – Brightly illustrated retelling of Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda (1241) by the Wicca-friendly British author of Gods of the North (1955) and The Lost Gods of England (1957).
• Balder and the Mistletoe by Edna Barth (1979) – Wonderful retelling of a Yule myth that is surprisingly honest about the pre-Christian origins of Christmas.
• Everyday Life of a Viking Settler by Giovanni Caselli (1986) – A pagan Danish boy settles with his family in medieval England. From the illustrator of Gods and Heroes from Viking Mythology.
• The Magical Language of Runes by P.M.H. Atwater (1986) – Good book for Wiccan parents looking to contemplate runes in a mystical sense. The set of rune stones the author received from a Wiccan priestess in the ‘70s were a comfort to her after experiencing intense personal trauma. She then took up casting the runes for others.
• Candlelight Spells by Gerina Dunwich (1988) – Good traditional American Wiccan recipes in here. Also candle-making instructions and pretty solid herbal knowledge in the home remedies portion.
• Wicca by Scott Cunningham (1988) – Good introduction to Wicca in a general, individual sense even if essential oils, crystals, and colored candles have nothing inherently to do with Witchcraft, and even if Cunningham was not always entirely clear about the fact that there are not only Christian magicians, but Jewish and Muslim magicians as well. In fact, the vast majority of the world’s magicians do not consider themselves to be “Witches” or “Pagans” of any kind. Nor did the famous 20th century magician Aleister Crowley consider himself to be either of these things. In fact, Crowley wrote very disparagingly of “witches” in his magnum opus Magick in Theory and Practice (1929), and had his publicist P.R. Stephensen defend his essential Christianity in 1930. This is something to keep in mind not only when it comes to Tarot-reading grandmothers (yes, I had one too, but my maternal grandmother was definitely a Protestant Christian), but also when it comes to the resurrected Ordo Templi Orientis (Crowley himself died in 1947), as it would probably not exist at all if not for riding on the coattails of Witchcraft’s (and even more specifically) Raymond Buckland’s personal publishing success. Buckland of course managed to snag a professional literary agent in 1969 in a publishing industry much different than what exists today, which has unfortunately historically caused many to unfairly characterize him as a “grifter”. The reality is, even Starhawk inscribed a copy of The Spiral Dance (1979) to Raymond Buckland, thanking him for introducing her to Witchcraft through his books, and it was Starhawk’s book that inspired Doreen Valiente herself to join the Covenant of the Goddess. And as far as so-called “Thelema” goes—read The Magical Dilemma of Victor Neuburg (1965) and Crowley’s own published diaries and autobiography for a more complete historical picture of why modern Witchcraft is ethically incompatible with Crowley’s posthumously resurrected O.T.O. cult. Practicing “ceremonial” or “folk” magic(k) does not make one a Witch/Wiccan. Witchcraft/Wicca is its own religion with its own distinct combination of 5 inter-linking characteristics that the “endless knot” of the Pentagram so neatly symbolizes, which are: 1) Goddess-worship (the Goddess Name will vary depending upon the Tradition, but for example, the Goddess is typically known as Freya among the Seax Wica, in some covens however as “Frig”), 2) Reincarnation, 3) Retribution in the Present Life, 4) Initiation, and 5) Esbat and Sabbat (practiced either solitary or in a small worship group known as a “Coven”). Esbats are, as an aside, when/where distinctively Wiccan magic is practiced (i.e. “power-raising” which is done by a variety of methods depending on Tradition and Coven). My own personal “Wicca 101” inserted into this book review out of the way, my main caveat about Cunningham’s book for the Saxon tradition of Witchcraft specifically, (which advocated self-dedication even before Cunningham so successfully did with Buckland’s support), would be to disregard Cunningham’s teachings about the Witch Tools, as the Seax tradition has its own teachings which directly relate to the way the Hierarchy of a particular Seax Wican coven a solitary Ceorl or Gesith may (or may not!) seek to join actually functions as a very small (i.e. fitting within a nine-foot Circle) worship group. Unlike the many oath-of-secrecy possessing “Mystery Cult”-style Witchcraft traditions out there, the Saxon tradition also has a very clear and very public democratic method of addressing conflicts internal to a coven that is equally accessible and appealable to all, whether as a Ceorl or Gesith within the tradition. This was designed to prevent anyone from using the Seax tradition in an abusive manner in a religion where covens are also as decentralized and autonomous as individual Wiccans themselves. Scott Cunningham, who firmly believed himself to be initiated into Witchcraft by a fellow seventeen/eighteen-year-old named Dorothy Jones on August 17, 1973, also has a good recipe for “Crescent Cakes” when you want to serve something a little fancier at an Esbat. Maybe at a Birth Rite!
• Living Wicca by Scott Cunningham (1993) – Even more useful than his first, this is a contemplation on what Wicca is on a fundamental level, both beyond dogmatism, but also without “doing your own thing” to the point that you are no longer practicing Wicca at all.
• Wicca for Life by Raymond Buckland (2001) – Lots of great advice and ideas for Wiccan families in here.
• The Witch Book by Raymond Buckland (2001) – Encyclopedia of Witchcraft/witchcraft in both its religious meaning and in its various cultural meanings more broadly. While focused mainly on European understandings of “witchcraft”, Buckland also importantly includes an African entry on the concept that can also be reclaimed. Buckland’s bibliography of witchcraft/Witchcraft at the end is enormous.
• The Wheel of the Wiccan Year by Gail Duff (2002) – More ideas for celebrating the Wheel. Given the highly individualized nature of Wiccan covens on the one hand, but with the religion originating in England specifically on the other, this book is the best resource I have found for explaining the religion in a very general sense—no easy task.
• Liliane Grenier’s Wheel of the Year Coloring Book (2019) – Enough said.

Media:

• The Moon Stallion (1978) – Delightful family serial set in early 20th century Oxfordshire at Beltane. Very Wiccan, with both many references to the Moon Goddess, and with the Horned God himself appearing at Wayland’s Smithy.
• Robin of Sherwood (1984-1986) – Wiccan Robin Hood.
• Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea (1985-1987) – Blindungsroman of an orphaned Canadian girl adopted by a farmer and his sister living on Prince Edward Island, (likely part of what the Vikings called “Vinland”). The simultaneous emphasis on romanticism and feminism—and with Anne herself being described as a “heathen” make this late 19th century historical a timeless family favorite.
• Witchcraft Yesterday and Today (1989) – History and practical “how-to” of Wiccan ritual.
• The Halloween Tree (1993) – Seasonal movie for kids focused on friendship that teaches the cultural history of American Halloween—including briefly noting its religious importance among Witches.
• Drawing Down the Moon (1997) – Unusual movie set in contemporary Pennsylvania with a solitary Wiccan as the main protagonist. Encourages religious tolerance.
• Viking Voyages: Wings of the Dragon (2002) – Documentary on the last European explorers to be Christianized. It is important to remember that while “Viking” may be a North Germanic concept, it is not an ethnic concept. For example, there were ethnically Irish Vikings and ethnically Slavic Vikings who would have been included in heathen worship. This understanding in the religion of Saxon Wicca is reflected in the concepts of Gesith, Ceorl, and Theow.

Kinuko Y. Craft’s annual Women of Myth & Magic calendar has the eight Wiccan Sabbats included as the “Pagan/Wiccan” holidays, right alongside Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Bahá’í holidays. This helps children to know that their family’s religious holidays are just as legitimate as the holidays of other religions.