Birthing Circles

From the Congo, a spell for easing the labor of childbirth. This spell can be used for humans or animals and should be performed at least nine days prior to the onset of labor.

You will need:

A beeswax candle
Sweet incense
9 lengths of twine, each shorter than the next, with the longest being no more than 16” long

The spell should be performed during a waxing moon.

Light the candle and then light the incense.

Take each piece of twine, staring with the longest first and hold it so that the smoke of the incense surrounds it. As you do this, repeat these words aloud:

Spirit of pain, with this knot I bind you

Tie the ends of the length together in a knot so that a loop is made of the length.

Repeat this with each length, repeating the words aloud each time before you tie the knot until you have eight loops and only the shortest piece of twine remains untied.

With the last length of twine, repeat the ritual with the incense, but repeat these words aloud:

Spirits of pain, with this knot I bind you all

With that last length, tie all of the loops together, so that you now have eight loops bound by a single piece of the twine.

On the knot of the twine that binds the rest, drop some wax from the candle and repeat these words aloud:

With this wax, I seal your restraint

Extinguish the candle.

Keep the bound twine nearby during the time of the labor.