Naming Ceremony

Last Friday June 28 I had a small Naming Ceremony for my son Kyan. My friend Heidi and I and her son Sage all gathered in a great semi-private spot at a local park and did a ritual. The main idea was to celebrate Kyan's birth, welcoming him, blessing him with the elements and presenting him with a small basket of stones and symbolic treasures. His name is of Celtic origin and it means "ancient". I have no idea what spiritual faith Kyan will find in his life, but for me this was a way to acknowledge him on his path. I hope he will treasure the basket if only because I worked on it for him, whether he becomes a pagan or not. Some of the things I included in the basket: Turquoise stone the birth stone of December. A stone of grounding that brings peace of mind. Petrified Wood to represent his Dad. Something earthy and also grounding because they are both earth signs. Citrine the birthstone of November to represent me. A stone of abundance and creativity. I hope my biggest gift to him besides love will be to find/see joy in all aspects of creation. Moss Agate was given to him by Heidi and Sage. It is a stone of strength and it aides with self-esteem. Heidi was at Kyan's birth and is one of my best friends. She will be there for Kyan as if he were her own and Sage and Kyan already have a great bond that we are sure will grow with time. I embroidered two cloths from his extended family. Each with his four ancestral names. The backs each had fabric meaning something to our families. From my side a piece of Scottish tartan and from Dave's side a piece of fabric from South Africa where he and his family were born. I also embroidered his sun sign Capricorn onto a little altar cloth. And finally a symbol for each element was included. A small child's cup for water, a feather for air, a handmade candle for fire and a small sack of rice for earth. We also read out virtues from each element that we hope he has. Such as: imagination from air, passion from fire, courage from water, and health from earth. I made him a Rosemary wreath for protection from negative fairies which I have hung in his room. I made one for Sage's Naming 3 years ago and it only just fell apart. Rosemary is a very sturdy plant. We circled the treasures chanting "We all come from the Goddess". We finished with a feast of water, strawberries, cherries and chocolate chip cookies. The spot we chose had lots of dappled light and a lovely summer breeze graced us. It was a perfect day and both the boys napped while we talked of Kyan's birth and the birth of Heidi's new son expected this November. It was a fantastic day enriching to the soul.