Among the Goddesses

About the Author

86 Convey your messages to the baby aloud. Read letters, talk about pictures, and perform any music or dance messages. Add the four elements to the altar: Earth (perhaps a special rock or stone), air (your letters or pictures, or a feather), water (a little can be poured on the altar or left in a receptacle) and fire (a crystal is good for this). Choose a simple song, such as “The earth, the air, the fire, the water, return , return, return, return.” (This is a common chant and the tune is available online at youtube and elsewhere). If you are in a group, sing it together standing still, then in a round (perhaps with female/male parts or however you want to break it up), then together again while holding hands and circling the altar (counterclockwise for releasing). Scatter grain around the area to symbolize the life-force (or goddess or god) who gave the baby life, gave each of us to our parents, and is the source of life. You can sing another song together while doing this (a child in our family chose “Happy Birthday.”) Tell the baby goodbye, thank you, and that it will always be a part of your family. Open (disband) the circle by reversing whatever you did to cast it. Say thank you and goodbye to any ancestors or spirits you invoked. Be sure to allow some quiet time together afterwards to absorb the ritual. 87 Biographical Note Annie Finch is the author of four books of poetry, Eve, Calendars (a finalist for the Forward Poetry Book of the Year Award), The Encyclopedia of Scotland (Salt Publishing), and Among the Goddesses: An Epic and Libretto (Red Hen Press). Annie’s book of poetry Calendars was short-listed for the Foreword Poetry Book of the Year Award and in 2009 she was awarded the Robert Fitzgerald Award. She has performed her poetry across the U.S. and in England, France, Greece, Ireland, and Spain. Annie lives on the Maine coast near Portland where she directs Stonecoast, the low-residency MFA program in creative writing at the University of Southern Maine. 88 This page intentionally left blank. ...