MilkHoneyOlive oilA lamp kept litA candle for a difficult birth
Invocation Approach
Tone
Steady and practical
Address
EileithyiaLady of the Birth-ChamberShe Who Comes When Called
Relationship
The hand at the head of the bed
Warning
She is called on by the woman labouring and not only about her
Resonance
Midwives doulas women in labour and those keeping vigil
Symbols
TorchBirth caveThe lampRaised hands
Mythology Summary
Eileithyia is the goddess who comes to a woman in labour and brings the child out, or holds it back: she is the power of the birthing hour itself rather than a patron of mothers in general. Hesiod makes her a daughter of Zeus and Hera, and Homer speaks of the Eileithyiai in the plural, which is the older shape of her. In the Heracles story Hera sends her to sit with crossed legs and delay the birth, and the trick is only broken by a ruse; the myth is honest about how little control the labouring woman is granted. Her name appears in Linear B as e-re-u-ti-ja at Amnisos in Crete, which makes her one of the oldest attested Greek deities of any kind.
Modern Practice
She is called on by midwives, by doulas, and by the woman in labour herself, usually with a lamp or candle and very little speech. The practice is practical before it is devotional: a competent hand, a kept vigil, and an offering of milk or honey poured after the birth.