Has anyone here done any fertility magic (I'm hoping so seeing as we are all Pagans and fertility is a pretty big part of the equation)?

What did you do? Did it work?

You mean to have a child? Basically, once the decision was made, the ritual was sex twice every day whatever the cycle, legs up in air for the female to help the wigglies get there, good food and good fun, lots of laughing, sharing of showers and baths.
Nothing else required, no correspondences or deities or any of that stuff, just a will and a way and within weeks, hola! As you say, fertility is part of the equation and good health is all that is required. 'Extra' magick doesn't really come into it when the energies are so basic and magickal anyway.
As it happens the conception was felt, but you can never be sure of that except in yourselves (the joint experience helps that) and I am sure so many of the cynical wankers, sorry, wowsers here will say it was an unproveable POV and all that crap. The feeling was of quiet grace and awe in a shared telepathic experience of timelessness and transparency. We were both impregnated by something else and we both picked up her chosen name, Rosie-Ann, at the time. Could describe it in more detail but what the hey, if you been there, you know it, if you ain't, keep trying.

However when there are health issues that may mean problems?

Er, why would pagans care any more about fertility than anyone else? Sorry, doesn't answer your question I just found this an inexplicable remark so I'm curious.

Marto

Well traditionally fertility was a great concern to pagans...fertility of crops...fertility of people. Look at Beltane, the maypole tradition, jumping the Beltane fire for fertility, the importance of the Vanir deities (deities concerned a fair bit with fertility) in the North, the heavily pregnant Willendorf Venus statues....I know it is a leap to say that just because the original pagans were heavily concerned with matters of fertility, that neo pagans might be but you know....worth a try...

Dunno mate, I only assume that poor health equates to poor fertility. But poor health would certainly affect other physical matters negatively and that connects to the spiritual to put it crudely.

Relating it back to magick, much of the fertility context you mention would seem to celebrate or be intended to ensure healthy earth fertility with correspondence to the tribe/family/Land. So I would suggest that the use of ritual practice intending health would help in cases where couples want conception, and also that much of the Wiccan or similar neo-pagan festival celebration is intended to work along with the cycles of earth fertility.

The conception I spoke of was certainly magickal in experience and has also been found to be part of later magickal experience. But that would take a lot of explaining that isn't necessarily relevant to your post. I will happily tell you of it privately if you wish. And I do have some particular beliefs around fertility and magick but have become wary of posting about my belief in this forum because of the ridicule and insult it sometimes incurs. Did you have a specific reason for this thread as there have been others about fertility enhancement before, or was it general?

It was kind of in general because I think it is a good topic anyway (something that seems to get glossed over in the whitewashing of Paganism) but yes I do have a kind of vested interest lol

So you mean not so much to get pregnant but possibly to stay that way and keep both mother and child as healthy as possible in the face of unrelated heallth issues?

Never tried obviously, but it's certainly worth thinking about. I'd also be interested to hear if anyone has done this.

I can't see where pagans were anymore concerned with fertility than anybody else. When one looks at times and places where rites and rituals for fertility are high one usually sees high rates of infant and child mortality. Same with crops: People who can pop around to Waitrose are not as likely to do rituals for life-saving abundant harvests and animal health. People didn't stop trying to ensure fertility by 'spiritual' means if they changed beliefs or religion - they just used the tools that new belief supplied them with.

(when did they decide the 'Venus of Willendorf was pregnant for sure?. That's news to me . Could you source that please? Thanks )

Marto

Nice.

Just use the ignore function, no?

Ach Jape !! You know you're only going to get in trouble yourself now !!

Anyhoo back to topic: I did some to try and refocus after a miscarriage. It's in this thread in the Alternative Therapy bit:

Fertility Thread

Aye, I hate being so 'considered' but yup, best not said out loud I guess.

I wasn't being negative about anything, merely pointing out historical and still operative aspects of fertility magic and rituals.

I certainly said nothing about the rituals themselves.

For myself I find a question becomes more interesting when it is more 'inclusive' and multi-dimensional. One can also get a different P.O.V. when looking at something from a different angle. For example, one could compare different kinds of rituals from different parts of the world or even just in the U.K. but in different time periods.

That's just my view though. I don't expect others to share it.

Marto


Edited by Herneoakshield to remove the quote

lol, I removed that post so as not to get told off, but happy to see it there still, your call.

As you quite rightly pointed out Marto, people are still divided} on the Venus of Willendorf issue as to whether she is pregnant or just obese.

The following university museum link seems to consider her to be pregnant http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/ar...sfigurines.html


Anyone up for discussing roman phallic charms?

I have little constructive stuff to add to this thread, but as a person with a family history of fertility problems, and a biological clock that's about to go 'ping' I'm following it with interest.

I seem to remember a lot of african stuff linked in with fertility from when I was studying art at school. Lots and lots of carefully carved statues with little foetuses (foeti?) inside big healthy pregnant bellies. Might have been from the Yoruba culture.

If in doubt I always seem to turn to poppet magic. There doesn't appear to be much that can't be improved by the addition of clay and imagination

I've heard of poppets being used. Make a mummy poppet with womb and "lala" (sorry ), make a baby poppet, mummy poppet gives birth to baby poppet. I believe the trick is to use something from both mum & dad when making the baby poppet.

On the Venus of Willendorf, has anyone seen Hellboy 2, there's a whopper of the Venus at the start, now she's a big girl.

That's an interesting idea, Marto. So do you have in mind e.g. that fertility magic to encourage crops became Rogation days in the Western Christian Church? I wonder how Islam or Judiasm handed that.

I know the Western Christian Church (i.e. what is now the RC and the CofE or similar protestant churches) tends to have a 'harvest home' celebration. That possibly covers the agricultural side of things, but not the pastoral. What, do you think, became of all those rampant phallises so beloved of e.g. the Roman and Greek (I'm thinking there of Herms) cultures? Or any other cultural imagery or more aggressive magic or ritual designed to promote fertility among animals and people?

Lol




Can I just add a point to this, trying to get pregnant is obviously stressful and many people forget just how much the physical effects of stress hamper the process . Relaxation, having fun and not obsessing (hard tho I can imagine that'd be) will really help your mental and physical wellbeing. When you consider the effects of stress hormones for a start and how things turn away from pleasure and to a boring duty(according to friends and the agony aunts accounts). Which causes more stress and doesn't help anyone

Good Luck