The Placenta - The Tree of Life, The First Mother, a Twin or Guardian Angel?

They say a Beloved Child has Many Names & the Placenta has been Revered & Honored throughout the Ages.

An organ created for the sole purpose of nurturing and protecting the baby. This blog post is here to honor and bring focus to this most Sacred Organ.

For nine months, it nourishes, protects, and sustains life.
It is the first altar, where mother and baby meet in the quiet intimacy of the womb.
And yet, in modern birth culture, it is treated as medical waste.

Thrown away.
Discarded.
Forgotten.

But in many cultures, past and present, the placenta has always been honored as the Tree of Life, a bridge between earth and heaven, between ancestors and descendants, between the seen and unseen.

I'm here to remind you of this...

... if you have forgotten.

The First Mother

The placenta teaches us the blueprint of mothering.

She Exists Only for the Baby.

Selfless giving, the constant nourishment & the sacred protection.

In her form, we can see the patterns of nature itself.

Her veins resemble the branches of a great tree, the roots of a forest, the rivers that flow across the earth.

She is the Tree of Life within the womb.

She has two sides that meet in sacred collaboration.

🌿 The maternal side, that draws nourishment and oxygen from the mother’s blood to give to the baby.
🌿 The fetal side, that absorb what is needed and releases the waste to sustain the growing baby.

It filters waste, delivers nutrients, produces vital hormones and even provides immune protection.

It is both gatekeeper and guardian, a living bridge between two beings who share one rhythm, one pulse, one field of love.

The placenta is the baby’s first mother.

She offers everything of herself until her purpose is fulfilled, then releases her hold with quiet grace.

The Sacred Symbolism

Spiritually, the placenta represents the deep truth that all life is interconnected.

It is the link between heaven and earth, between soul and body, between mother and child.

Many traditions see it as a spiritual twin, a double, or an extension of the child’s being.

Some say it carries the child’s life map, others call it the guardian of the soul’s journey through the birth portal.

The placenta is also seen as a vessel of mana, prana, or life force energy.

Its field is luminous, its vibration strong.

To handle it with reverence is to honor the very source of vitality that sustained a human being into existence.

In certain cultures, midwives whisper prayers over the placenta, thanking it for its service before returning it to the earth.

In others, it is washed and wrapped like a newborn, treated with the same care and dignity as the baby itself.

Wherever these practices appear, they carry the same message: life is sacred, and every part of its unfolding deserves reverence.

Indigenous and Cultural Reverence

Across continents, the placenta has been seen not as an object, but as a relative, a being with spirit and power.

In Māori tradition of Aotearoa, the placenta is called whenua, the same word for land.

It is buried in ancestral soil, connecting the child forever to their people and to the earth that sustains them.

In Bali, the placenta is called ari-ari and is believed to be the baby’s guardian angel and companion.

After birth, it is lovingly washed, placed in a coconut shell, wrapped in white cloth, and buried near the home.

Offerings of flowers, incense, and prayers are made for forty-two days, honoring the ongoing bond between the child and their spiritual twin.

Among the Navajo, the placenta is buried within tribal land so the child will always find their way home.

To them, the placenta is the link between body and spirit, ensuring that wherever the child roams, a part of their essence remains rooted in their people.

In African traditions, the placenta is often buried beneath a fruit tree, symbolizing fertility, abundance, and continuity of life.

It is said that as the tree grows, so will the child thrive.

In ancient Nordic and European midwifery, the placenta was washed and anointed with herbs.

Midwives believed its treatment affected the child’s future, and rituals of thanks were performed before it was buried.

In parts of Central America, the placenta is called el compañero, the companion, and is believed to guide the child through life as an invisible friend.

Across these cultures, the common thread is reverence.

The placenta is not to be forgotten or disposed of.

It is to be thanked, returned, and remembered.

Lotus Birth - Modern Practice rooted in Ancient Reverence for the Baby/Placenta Bond

The modern practice of Lotus Birth carries this ancient wisdom into the present.

In a Lotus Birth, the umbilical cord is not cut after birth.

The baby remains connected to the placenta until it naturally separates on its own, usually within three to ten days.

The placenta is cleaned, salted, treated with herbs, and wrapped in a dedicated bag.

It rests beside the baby as both slowly transition into new life.

This practice was introduced in the 1970s by Clair Lotus Day in Australia, who felt intuitively that her baby should stay connected until separation happened naturally.

Her experience inspired a global reawakening to the sacredness of this connection.

Lotus Birth honors the placenta as sacred, alive, and deserving of respect.

It offers the baby a gentle transition from womb to world and reminds us that not everything in birth needs intervention.

It is a ceremony of trust in the wisdom of the body.

Modern Ways to Honor the Placenta

Even without a Lotus Birth, there are countless ways to remember and revere this first mother.

✨ Create a placenta print on paper to capture the image of the Tree of Life.
✨ Bury the placenta beneath a tree or in your garden, returning it to the earth with herbs, flowers, or prayers.
✨ Make a tincture or homeopathic remedy for long-term emotional and hormonal support.
✨ Prepare placenta capsules or smoothies to restore nutrients and vitality after birth.
✨ Hold a family ceremony to thank and release the placenta, marking it as part of your birth story.

Each act, whether small or elaborate, becomes a ritual of remembrance, a way to honor the unseen mother who gave so much.

Remembering the Sacred

The placenta teaches us that motherhood begins long before the baby is born.

It is a story of service, protection, and unconditional giving.

When we pause to honor the placenta, we honor the mystery of life itself.

We remember that every birth is a meeting of worlds, a merging of elements, a sacred exchange of love and spirit.

To restore reverence for the placenta is to restore reverence for the feminine, for the earth, and for the divine intelligence that animates all of creation.

The placenta is not waste.

It is wisdom.

It is life.

It is the first mother.

Want to Learn More?

Inside The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship, we explore both the science and the spirit of birth.

We study herstory, birth physiology and skills, ritual & ceremony throughout conception through to postpartum, and the sacred symbolism of the placenta, the womb, birth, woman and the rite of passage from Maiden to Mother and so much more.

If your heart stirs as you read this, you are already remembering the ancient ways of women and birth.

Come join us in the next cohort of The Sacred Birth Worker Mentorship >>> Learn more Here