My spouse and I became parents in January of this year. After a high-risk pregnancy, a high-risk delivery, our baby spending three days in the NICU, and my spouse an additional day in the hospital, we were finally able to go back home. We decided we would expose our baby to as many cultures and beliefs as possible, including Paganism. So began our journey into Pagan parenting and parenthood!
Sleeping and Nap Time
This first point is special for me. The first thing we noticed is that we have a Faun-loving baby. He loves many of the band’s songs, especially for nap time. I had him in my lap one day while studying, and Ran came up. He immediately started nodding off. I decided to give it a try again another time when we tried to put him to sleep, and it worked. And it has worked almost every single time that we’ve used it so far.
My spouse Casey and I started exploring other songs by the same band because our baby boy seemed to like them when I played them, especially those from their latest album, Hex. With me speaking to him in Spanish and Arabic, and Casey speaking to him in English and French, we shouldn’t have been surprised that he liked music in German, but we were. Our baby loves languages, you can say. I even dance a bit while I have him in my arms, as if we were waltzing, and gently use him as a drum to help him relax. The effects are amazing.
I also tried some Arabic-inspired background music. Sound success! Martia’s Muses is a channel I love, and reconnecting with my Arab roots has been important to me, so including Sand and Sea Ambience and Music was very special to me. Plus, Martia has been diligent about making fully-human-made music and art as of lately! AI has no space in my practice (or Witchcraft in general, if you ask me,) much less in raising my baby.
The Rest of it
Music is a big deal for both of us because we have a difficult baby, one who doesn’t like to sleep. Learning how to help him relax has been a life changing experience for us. However, there are other aspects to Pagan parenting that I’ve sprinkled in here and there.
U is for Unicorn in the Alphabet of Fantastic Beings by Patric Bates [Patric Bates]
Fairy tales and folk tales: Granted, the first story I read to our baby was Rapunzel in Spanish while he was in the NICU. However, I also read to him lots of Arab poetry, then some Arab folk tales, and he has loved all of it. We also have an alphabet book from a local artist that uses fantastical creatures for each letter (sadly, it seems to be sold out).
Nature: We’re including nature as much as we can, in regular walks around the house, trips to the park, organic and all-natural food as often as possible, string-lights that look like vines by his crib, lots of sunlight, and trips to the pool. For his clothes, many are from natural fabric, both for his skin and also for environmental purposes. The same applies for his toys, many of which are stuffed animals, and let me tell you, boy loves his giraffes.
Religious services: While Casey was pregnant, we went to a Pagan service, and afterwards I took our baby boy to a Unitarian Universalist service that included water blessings. We both are on board to take him to different types of services so he can have different types of experiences, always with a strong respect for nature and the Earth.
Reiki: Although not necessarily Pagan or Witchy, many Witches I know are also Reiki masters, and vice versa. When I’m doing a session for Casey, our baby boy also enjoys it, slows down, and falls asleep, especially when I chant mantras.
And Counting
I already gave him some stones to hold while he was with me. He likes singing to music, and enjoys the water and the wind. As our baby grows, we will do our best to include him in a safe, responsible, and appropriate manner in different activities, like meditation, lighting candles, praying, and more.
Including children in magic can be a beautiful experience. From my point of view, it preserves some of the sense of wonder they come to this world with. At the end of the day, however, the idea is to give them the best of the best that you can give them, and for me this means experiences, learning, exposure to other cultures, languages, flavors, and points of view.
I know there’s a lot of material about Pagan parenting, how to include children in rituals, in spells, in celebrations, how to teach them about this and that. I don’t care about any of it at this point. We have a baby, a clean, innocent soul who just came into the world and is learning what a strange yet fascinating place this is. I care that he gets to experience it, all of it.
If he decides to be Pagan, Christian, Unitarian Universalist, Muslim, Animist, Jewish, or anything else, that will be his decision, and his alone. At the end of the day, if he ends up being a person that respects others, treats them with kindness, and cares about the Earth as he grows up, I know we’ll be doing a good job at it. And that’s all that matter to us.
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