QUOTE(Vagrant Dreamer @ Jul 10 2012, 05:37 PM)
Okay, I'd like to hear some others weight in on this... I've had conversations with my very best friend, who has offered me the use of her womb should the need arise (after she has spawned at least two of her own), and she has had some dubious but thoughtful reactions to my wild ideas about birthing babies magically. I mean, of course, surrounding the process with magic, from ritual surrounding the baby-making, to meditations and blessings throughout gestation, to executing some kind of magic during the birthing process itself, related to the nature and wellbeing of the child, invocations to Divinity and Destiny. A kind of Mystical Baptism as it were. I am also interested to know if anyone has encountered cultural artifacts of this nature.
Indians from around the Nepal border have a number of practices in this vain. Set times to conceive which have good signs and will result in a baby at a complementary set of astrological conditions. Also stories and rumors of people trying to change the destiny of a child before it is born (normally by forcing the birth at a proper time, but also in other ways). Once the kid id born all kinds of things are possible with charms, magick jewellery, spells, energy work and the like. In Shri-Vidia there is a yantra what is carved in to stone and placed in the crib, bed, or simply in the room with the child to wash away its Karma. I am unaware though of any particular practice to change destiny before there
is one. Once born you can can do what you like with relative impunity. Birth in a single moment and the rest of the life warps and skews the forces that work on us determining the expression.
QUOTE(Vagrant Dreamer @ Jul 10 2012, 05:37 PM)
On a separate thread, I outlined a hypothetical method for rigging a newborn's natal chart by invoking the forces of the signs, the planets, and the AC/MC currents to establish a magical version of a natal chart to be impressed upon the newborn rather than the 'natural' natal chart. Though it seems an act of hubris, the same thing can be accomplished in the creation of certain magical objects to great effect, and it was said by Bardon I believe, or maybe Agrippa, that it is the Magician who rules the stars, rather than they what rule the magician.
This gets at it the heart of it though. The stars (and every other bloody thing) has an effect but not one of them is the whole picture. Any undertaking like that would have to consider not just the energetic forced at play during birth (and before if you like) but also Samskaras, karma, gunas and the issue of why the kid was born into those circumstances, not to mention mundane circumstances that have a more noticeable effect. It is said that how one ends life determines how we start it, and a lot of baggage is taken along.
I consider destiny to be somewhat less iron clad than people often make it out to be. As the some total of forces working within and without which if unskillfully managed will end exactly where you would expect them too; destiny only applies to sleepy people who do not know about are do not care to manipulate the forces at play. The skillful managing is the hard part though. If one is not disposed to going though all that trouble then it won't no matter how much magick is done on their behalf. They will find themselves in the same trouble over and over.
You can make their life a little easier and produce useful talismans as the need arise but to fix a destiny in the place of one that would normally occur seems like it would be a never ending hassle. On the other hand,I like the idea of nurturing the child with energy work during pregnancy and using magick to reduce the complications therein.
QUOTE(Vagrant Dreamer @ Jul 10 2012, 05:37 PM)
Do you think that this approach to baby making is something to reasonably consider, especially within a practicing family (that is, mom and dad both practice)? Do you think it is a reasonable request for, for instance, a surrogate?
In family sure and you can always ask your surrogate. No harm in that.