This ritual is done under very specific circumstances: when there is a problem in the bloodline that has been diagnosed by some seidh practitioner or shaman or other skilled person as a curse on the genetic line, and a pregnant woman wishes to turn it from her child. Sometimes these curses manifest as genetic disorders, sometimes as madness, sometimes as rampant bad luck. This ritual can only be done for a child before it is born, and it should be done far enough along in the third trimester of pregnancy that the child will be able to survive should it be born soon afterwards. Once the child takes its first breath, it is too late.

This rite calls upon the goddess Hyndla, Lady of bloodlines and genealogy. She is a very old goddess who knows everything about genetics and family trees, and if she is properly propitiated, she will be able to turn away the cursed ancestral wyrd. Instead, the child will have their own wyrd, separate from that of the family. This wyrd will lead them in a different direction, and no one can tell what that will be until they are older. They may well leave home quickly, however, and go in a direction that no one in the family has thought of. If Hyndla agrees, however, it will free them from any curse on the line. They will not be able to call on their ancestors for spiritual aid, but if their ancestors are badly cursed, this may not be such a bad thing. In order to offset this lack, the family might go out of their way to “adopt” unrelated grandparents for the child, help to foster a bond, and then have the child honor them as ancestors instead when they die – effectively creating alternative ancestors for the child. There are many good people who are approaching death and would make fine ancestors, in exchange for being remembered. Ancestors of the mind or heart or spirit are just as valuable as ancestors of the blood.

For this ritual, the pregnant woman should lie down on a bed or table draped in red cloth (a massage table is very good for this, if you can borrow one). Her belly must be exposed, but the rest of her can be covered or not as she chooses. For this rite, you will need:

Two long strands of red string, yarn, or cord, about six feet long.

A recaning stick to smudge the mother’s body.

Pots of white flour, black soot, and red ochre – the latter for the ancestors, who covered dead bodies in red ochre to send them to the next life.

A fine paintbrush, a wet rag, and a cup of water to dip it in.

A clear glass cup of ice water.

A cup of some clear menthol-flavored strong liquor as a libation.

A large pair of shears.

First the officiant lights the recaning stick and walks around the room with it, doing whatever form of clearing and creating sacred space seems right to them. Then the officiant comes to where the woman is laying and blows smoke gently at her body, especially her belly, saying:

Fire that first kept us warm,

Green that first kept us well,

Smoke around which we first shared community,

Bless this space, this mother, and this babe.

The officiant takes red ochre and a small paintbrush, and traces the rune Othala on her belly such that her navel is centered in the middle of it. The officiant says:

Hail to the ancestors,

Who did what they had to in order to survive.

We would not be here without them,

And if sometimes they made poor choices,

We can learn to forgive them this

As we are sometimes short-sighted in our turn.

From birth to death to birth again,

We hail the bond of blood,

Even as we come to sever it.

The officiant then cleans the paintbrush with the rag and water, and dips it into the soot. Above the Othala, the officiant paints an Algiz rune, and says:

O Wisewoman of the Northern Mountains

Of the coldest reaches of Giant-Home,

A shadow lies on this bloodline.

This mother would save her child from that shadow.

This mother would free her child from that yoke.

This mother would protect her child from that fate.

O Hyndla, hear our plea!

The officiant cleans the paintbrush with the rag and water, and dips it into the white flour. On either side of the Algiz rune, the officiant paints a Wunjo rune, each facing outward, and says:

May light shine through the shadow,

May light glow in the darkness,

May light break down the blade.

One end of each red cord is placed each hand of the mother, and she holds them above her head. The officiant takes the other end and begins to turn them so that they ply together, in a clockwise direction. When they are entirely wound together and the mother is holding the two ends only a hands-breadth apart, the officiant brings the other end up over the woman’s body and walks toward her feet, until the mother is holding the two ends over the Othala rune and the officiant holds the far end past her feet. The officiant says:

The red cord of blood carries our life,

And it carries the deeds of our ancestors.

Those of us who draw breath carry the weight of those deeds,

But this child draws no breath yet.

We ask you, Hagia of the Northern Mountains,

She-hound, Grandmother of all Bloodwalkers,

Cut this life from the shadow that lies here

Yet not from flesh and heart and love.

Mother, how will you pay for this boon?

The mother speaks, and tells what she will pay Hyndla and the other Gods for releasing her child from this curse. Then the officiant takes the shears and cuts the twisted cord, right beneath the mother’s grasp, and says:

Hail to you, Hyndla! May it be so.

Then the mother is helped to her feet and her belly is covered, and she takes the cup of liquor outside to pour on the earth, preferably on some bare rocks that look like mountains, giving Hyndla her personal thanks.