Baby gift for Wicca religion

March 30, 2005 8:51 PM

I have been invited to a "baby presentation" for a Wicken friend. I asked what is customary to bring to it (as a gift), and she said "something that will help the child through this world and is spiritual in nature". Help!

This is my first encounter with someone of this religion. Bring on the great ideas for a gift, please!

posted by 6:1 to society & culture (18 comments total)

Well, it's "Wiccan", first of all. (Not snarking you, but thinking you might be inscribing the gift or adding note to it.)

What she's saying, is pretty much anything goes, so long as it can be construed as "spiritual".

Get the kid one of those baby xylophone things, and do some hand-waving about the "music of the spheres" and the "natural harmony of nature" and the "chords of our lives that bind us each to each other and to the Divine Presence". Meaningless, but mostly harmless.
posted by orthogonality at 9:05 PM on March 30, 2005

Books. I'd ask a children's librarian about good JE (picture books) books on different mythologies. Most of the Wiccans I know love books, and while the baby won't get immediate use out of them, it does get kiddo off to a good start.

Wicca varies greatly, and the Wiccans I know don't have this custom. I assume they know you aren't Wiccan, and will accept gracefully any gift given that isn't overtly Christian. Just about anything can be spritual, so if you focus on 'useful', you should be fine.
posted by QIbHom at 9:14 PM on March 30, 2005

Yeah.. this is a new one to me, too. Though I've been out of touch with most of my Wiccan friends for a while, so who knows... that community in general comes up with new ancient traditions on a daily basis. This being one of the reasons I left that community.

Picture books on various world mythologies would be pretty much perfect. Most Wiccans are--or fancy themselves to be--literate people, or at least heavy readers. I'd suggest books within the Celtic, Greek, or Norse mythologies, as those tend to be the most popular amongst Wiccans. Alternatively, if you'd like to take a little more time with it, you could get a nicely-bound blank journal, and get various friends of the parents to write a little something about what spirituality means to them. It'll be something the kid can start writing in as s/he gets older, and could be an interesting introduction.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:43 PM on March 30, 2005

I would find a river rock or other stone and paint it with acrylic paints and seal with with lacquer so that the paint doesn't rub off. Pick a stone too large for a small child to choke on. Present it as a talisman or symbol of your good wishes for the child. It will have meaning for the mother and it will be a beautiful object for the child to cherish. As an adult I can hardly remember the store-bought toys I had when I was young but the unique handmade things I received as gifts left lasting memories. Giving a child that kind of memory is certainly one way to help them in this world.
posted by rhiannon at 9:46 PM on March 30, 2005

You should give them a goat's skull, and then when they look at you quizzically, just make a sheepish, palms-up shoulder-shrug.
posted by cadastral at 9:52 PM on March 30, 2005

IANAW but, could you get them a long-living and easy to care for plant or have a tree planted somewhere in the child's honor?
posted by drezdn at 10:16 PM on March 30, 2005

Top Gifts for Pagan Kids

But I agree with most of the others - anything useful and lasting is sure to be a hit.
posted by LadyBonita at 10:35 PM on March 30, 2005

Orthogonality, thank you for correcting me. I did a Google search and thought the spelling I used was correct. I appreciate all the input, and think I'll end up getting books for the child.

Thanks everyone!
posted by 6:1 at 10:39 PM on March 30, 2005

Why do people use Google instead of dictionaries to check spelling? :-(
posted by grouse at 5:12 AM on March 31, 2005

One of those tree planting kits (to plant when the baby is born) would make a very nice gift, I think.
posted by Melinika at 8:02 AM on March 31, 2005

That "Top gifts for pagan kids" is amazing.
posted by scazza at 8:03 AM on March 31, 2005

Money to start a college fund would be a good choice, too, IMHO.
posted by cass at 8:11 AM on March 31, 2005

I would go with something musical in nature, perhaps a child-safe tambourine or other hand percussion instrument.
posted by ElfWord at 8:54 AM on March 31, 2005

if you got a tree planting kit, you might have to worry about what kind of tree it was (like avoid yew trees, for example, i guess; i have no idea what else).
posted by andrew cooke at 9:29 AM on March 31, 2005

Oh, wow... I love the tree-planting idea, though andrew cooke does point out that you'd likely want to look up any symbolic associations.

yowza... me? best answer? Thanks guys! :)
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:55 AM on March 31, 2005

Re: tree planting. Some have planted trees over the placenta. This has that sort of nature-power-magic feel to it. Symbolic too, as in that is YOUR tree.
posted by edgeways at 11:37 AM on March 31, 2005

Why do people use Google instead of dictionaries to check spelling? :-(

Because, often, if you have no idea how to spell a word, a dictionary is less than helpful (even an online dictionary) because you have no idea where to look.

Google, on the other hand, is fast and makes educated guesses for you.
posted by anastasiav at 2:32 PM on March 31, 2005

Exactly, anastasiav. RE: the tree and placenta, good idea but the baby is already 6 mo. old. The placenta is long gone.
posted by 6:1 at 2:54 AM on April 1, 2005