Sunday 21 October 2012

A Pagan Baby Naming celebration - thats not overtly Pagan?

I was asked yesterday if I could come up with a Pagan Naming Ceremony for a friend's grandchild, but one that wasn't overtly Pagan as the other grandparents are very religious (christian), so using an online available template I came up with the basic format below..........

The Naming Ceremony
(Celebrant)
We gather today to bless and name this child in the name of all that we hold individually Sacred, honouring a new life that has become a part of our world.
To call a thing by name is to give it power, and so today we shall give this child a gift. We will welcome him into our hearts, our homes and our lives and bless him with a name of his own.
(Parents - together)
To be a parent is to love and nurture, to lead a child to be a good person. It is to guide them along the right path and to both teach them and learn from them.
It is to rein them in, and to give them wings. It is to smile at their joy, and weep at their pain. It is to listen to them and make time for them. It is to walk beside them, and then one day allow them to walk alone. To be a parent is a great gift we have given ourselves and the greatest responsibility we shall ever have.
(Celebrant)
We call upon All here present, both in flesh and in Spirit to witness that from this day forwards You are known to Us and to all we hold Sacred as (Baby's Name). This is your name, and it has power and meaning. Bear your name with honour, and may the Divine bless you on this and every day.

May you always have good fortune, may you always have good health, may you always be joyful, and may you always have love in your heart.
(All Present)
Welcome, (Baby's Name), to our family, to our world and to our hearts.
Your parents love you, and we thank them for giving you the gift of life.
We ask the Divine to watch over you, (Baby's Name), and over your mother and father, and we wish your family love and light.
(Celebrant)
May Mother Earth nurture you as you grow tall and strong,
Providing sound grounding and strong personal roots,
May the Winds of Fortune blow favourably upon your life,
Carrying you from harm to safe haven when you have need of it,
May the Heat and Light of the Sun show you Your own Path,
To walk forth in joy as you follow your journey along life's Trails,
May gentle mists of Summer Rain nourish you as you grow,
Providing succour when you need it at every stage of Your life,
May you learn and grow in light and love, changing as do the Seasons,
From Spring and Youth, a time of energy, growth and promise,
To Summer and Manhood, a time of plenty and of satisfaction,
To Autumn and Maturity, a time of harvesting what you have sown,
To Winter and Age, a time to reflect and take joy in your achievements.
May You have Love, Light, Health and Joy wherever you may Walk!

What do you think?

I've emailed it to the Grandparents and asked for their feedback, to see if this is the sort of thing they are looking for, or whether I am wide of the mark, but we shall see what they think, just thought some of you may appreciate it for what it is!

Hugs
Suzanne

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is lovely!

Kat said...

Thank you for posting this. I had a naming ceremony for my son 4 years ago but I didn't want to use the exact same words for my daughters next month. This is perfect.

Mrs Dobby said...

You are both most welcome, glad it has been of use to you!

Anonymous said...

my daughter is having her daughters naming day and this is just lovely style, gives me ideas as I would like to say a few words at the ceremony :) thankyou