birthing a new version of self
maiden/enchantress/mother/crone...and author
One month today and the book I’ve written, The Call to the Far Shore, is released. This has been a long sojourn, and I’m both surprised and delighted by it. And more than a little overwhelmed. Here I thought the work was over, and I discover that in many ways it’s just begun. I’m needing to adjust to this new version of self as author.
Now here’s the plug I’m obliged to make re purchasing a copy of my book. I’ve been told to ask everyone on my email list to consider ordering a copy. I haven’t turned on subscription rates for my postings; all my substack writing is free of charge. You can also check out past articles by going to the home page and accessing the archives. Purchasing a book for yourself and perhaps a friend would be a most appreciated way for you to support my work. Good sales at the outset ensure greater visibility, so if this appeals to you, information on how to order follows at the end.
I do have another preoccupation right now as well. Our daughter’s baby is due soon, and I’m cooking and helping with preparations for this happy event. What has so far been a weekly posting is now likely to change.
Our country women’s group came for lunch yesterday, and we regaled Elena with mother wisdom tales, passing around pictures of ourselves with our first babies. We acknowledged that behind each of us stood our own mothers and grandmothers, that what they said and did endures and sustains, that past and present link hands. Farm women especially, of course, know the importance of good food to nourish both mama and baby, so Elena was showered with baskets of homemade food for her freezer: chicken pot pie, quinoa stew, cabbage rolls, soups, preserves, waffles…
In a simple ritual, we passed around a beaded bracelet for Elena, each person holding it and offering a silent prayer. She’ll be wearing it during childbirth; I’ll be wearing its counterpart. We are all linked, the generations interwoven one with another, the circle unbroken. We concluded with a blessing that I took from the beautiful online resource How to Lead a Motherblessing by Kimberly Ann Johnson and Jessica Connolly. Check it out at https://mothercircle.com/motherblessing/
Daughter, sister, friend, you are about to give birth not only to your baby, but to another version of yourself as a mother.
May you enter these last few weeks with grounded confidence and deep knowing.
May you feel the power of trust and surrender.
May you know the strength and courage within you.
May you trust the ancient wisdom and instincts of your body.
May you be guided by your intuition as you walk through the sacred door of motherhood.
We extend our hands out to you and offer the wisdom within us to hold you, love you and to bless you as you become a mother.
These words honour the immensity of the transition from maiden to mother. We have scarce ways of marking these transitions, ones that are initiations really. Bringing some acknowledgement of the maiden/enchantress/mother/crone phases of life prepares our psyche for the changes ahead, and can be a welcome into a new circle of belonging.
It’s both ritually satisfying and fun coming together like this. And thankyou daughter for being willing to receive the outpouring of enthusiasm from us older women. Village-making, in all its shapes and sizes, is a wonderful antidote to our troubled world.
Art credit: oil painting Birthing Selves by Nancy—many versions ago
More on these themes are found in Nancy’s book, to be published by Inner Traditions, April 8th, 2025.
Pre-orders of The Call to the Far Shore: Carrying Our Loved Ones through Dying, Death, and Beyond are now available through your local bookstore, Amazon, and most major booksellers.
https://www.amazon.ca/Call-Far-Shore-Carrying-through/dp/B0D9TMVNL9
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Call-to-the-Far-Shore/Nancy-MacMillan/9798888501092
“Nancy MacMillan is an expert observer of dying. The Call to the Far Shore is both remarkable and personal. Her Celtic colours shine through this book with wisdom and insight. For her and hers, death is a homecoming.” —Diana Beresford-Kroeger Ph.D., author of To Speak for the Trees and Our Green Heart, and creator of the documentary Call of the Forest
that is an exceptional painting nancy!
Birth. Will be thinking of yours again.
Such beautiful beginning. Call in those ancestors that will already be there. Call in the strength of other women birthing the same time you are. Ride that energy in your way.
You are beautiful