+ closing ceremonies +

through ceremony, we mark the closing of the 40 day period or Golden Month, honor and uplift the woman/birthing person’s transition into motherhood, and support the body to return to a “closed” state after the immense opening that is pregnancy, labor and birth. this ceremonial process is also encouraged for postpartum people who have experienced abortion and miscarriage, as an important ritual for honoring loss, transition, and transformation.

ceremony is collaborative and emergent, providing structure through which spirit, intuition, and spontaneity may flow. elements of the ceremony may include: herbal baths, vaginal steams, moxibustion (the application of mugwort smoke to bring heat and circulation to the womb), abdominal massage, other forms of body work and energy work, the closing of the bones (a practice echoed throughout many postpartum traditions but specifically rooted in the midwifery traditions of mexico), and a medicinal soup to nourish and comfort the body following the ritual process.

this ceremony marks the threshold between the deeply internal period of the golden month, and the return to engagement with life beyond the mother-baby diad. the somatic practices allow the body to integrate this moment of transition, continuing to support the warming and healing of the body, the return of the uterus to its prenatal position, and the invitation of qi and vitality into the energy centers. we cocoon her, inviting her to emerge consciously into motherhood through her own ritual birthing process, and we offer loving witness and celebration of her new role and identity within the family and community.

please reach out to begin a conversation about the process of co-designing a closing ceremony for yourself or your loved one, and to discuss exchange rates that make this work accessible and sustainable for both of us.