The Placenta

[mmcxristidis]

I am interested to know what the practice is in Orthodoxy, if there is one, with disposing of the woman's placenta after the birth of a child. I know Orthodox are not permitted to have their bodies cremated after death, but what about this ?
I know in some cultures the mother will actually eat the placenta, as it is believed it will benefit her heath, as strange as this may sound. Some cultures make religious ritual of burying it and planting a tree over it which would become that child's "tree' among other things
I suppose most people just let the hospital incinerate it as waste material since they don't want to deal with it, which doesn't seem to me to be the right thing to do. A doctor told me they use to sell the placenta to cosmetic companies for 25 cents a piece, to be make into cosmetics. Now that seems really sick and twisted.
I'm planing to take it home with me after my wife gives birth and bury it, perhaps plant a tree also. Does anyone know what is or what was done with it by Orthodox believers in times past or present ?

[Catherine5]

For once, I agree with you, based on what sounds by far best of the options.
Good you are thinking about this; important question indeed.

The trash or cosmetic - i.e. vanity industry - sound horrible.

I have a friend in Eastern Europe whose very young wife is also getting near her delivery time.
I recommended they get a cat because spiritually speaking, the time after a birth is a very difficult one.
Despite initial grumbling that a cat might damage their "chateau floors", whatever those are, they found a gorgeous Angora kitten that was too nervous and hence given away.

That's the perfect type for this need. The nerves have to be highly attuned to invisible "visitors".

You can all start frowning here, but it's in one ancient culture -- though long forgotten by even those people today -- that demons are attracted in and attack the mother in the days, weeks and months after delivery. Hence traditionally the new mother is kept in seclusion so as to be safer. The intention is that she won't "catch" any bad spirits from unwelcome guests, nor will outsiders beyond the family catch any bad spirits, which can literally "jump" from human to human.

To me this is the best explanation for the rather strange phenomenon of "post-partum depression".
So the kitten's claws and teeth deter demons from getting anywhere near your wife and child!

Lots of extra prayers would help vastly as well, needless to say.
But there can be this attack around the clock and cats are awake at odd hours.
Time to cat-shop right now to be ready in time, if you remotely agree with the idea.

Have you decided on her name yet - will it be Philomena Aisha or Fatima Philomena !!!
My "hand of Fatima" brought back from one of my trips just moved when a cat climbed on it, so I think these are heavenly hints for the wise...!

---Others may weigh in with sensible theological replies now !

[mmcxristidis]

Catherine5 : "For once, I agree with you, based on what sounds by far best of the options.
Good you are thinking about this; important question indeed.

The trash or cosmetic - i.e. vanity industry - sound horrible".

Me : Thanks for a balanced and intelligent answer on this point

Catherine5 : "I have a friend in Eastern Europe whose very young wife is also getting near her delivery time.
I recommended they get a cat because spiritually speaking, the time after a birth is a very difficult one.
Despite initial grumbling that a cat might damage their "chateau floors", whatever those are, they found a gorgeous Angora kitten that was too nervous and hence given away.

Me : When i started reading this I got a little nervous, I thought you were going to suggest feeding the placenta to the cat

Catherine5 : "That's the perfect type for this need. The nerves have to be highly attuned to invisible "visitors".

Me : You mean like a mouse ?

Catherine5 : " You can all start frowning here, but it's in one ancient culture -- though long forgotten by even those people today -- that demons are attracted in and attack the mother in the days, weeks and months after delivery. Hence traditionally the new mother is kept in seclusion so as to be safer. The intention is that she won't "catch" any bad spirits from unwelcome guests, nor will outsiders beyond the family catch any bad spirits, which can literally "jump" from human to human."

Me : Is this a Islamic (or Pre-Islamic) culture your talking about, you mean like a Jinn ? I have heard about the evil eye, in Greek as well as other cultures and I do believe there could be something to it, since Christ spoke about removing the evil from our eyes. My Mother had told me that sometimes people will give others the evil eye and not even realize they are doing it, has to do with jealousy.
I'm sure you must have heard that a woman must not enter a church for 40 days after giving birth, has to do with healing from issues of blood and recovery I believe.

Catherine5 : "To me this is the best explanation for the rather strange phenomenon of "post-partum depression".
So the kitten's claws and teeth deter demons from getting anywhere near your wife and child!"

Me : The kittens claws and teeth deter the demons !.... oh Ok,if you say so

Catherine5 : "Lots of extra prayers would help vastly as well, needless to say.
But there can be this attack around the clock and cats are awake at odd hours.
Time to cat-shop right now to be ready in time, if you remotely agree with the idea".

Me : Extra prayers i can agree with. I suppose you may be one of those cat ladies, am I right ? I prefer dogs but i don't think it's a good idea to keep any animal in close proximity of a little infant.

Catherine5 : "Have you decided on her name yet - will it be Philomena Aisha or Fatima Philomena !!!"

Me : Have I decided on whose name yet ,the baby ? the cat ? If the baby what makes you think it will be a girl, have you been talking to someone who knows me, perhaps. If it's just a balanced and intelligent guess, you had a 50/50 chance of getting it right. I suppose, but yes, the baby is a girl.
Are these the names of your cats or your kid's, BTW, your middle name wouldn't happen to be Layla would it ?

Catherine5 : "]My "hand of Fatima" brought back from one of my trips just moved when a cat climbed on it, so I think these are heavenly hints for the wise...!"

ME : Are you talking about the pilgrimage to Mecca or Medina ?

Catherine5 : "--Others may weigh in with sensible theological replies now !"

Me : Thanks for taking the time to not answer my question, Haji-Catherine, I do appreciate your balanced and intelligent anecdotes though. BTW are there five of you ?

[Catherine5]

I laughed so much tears came !

I'm not as organized as you, but let me tackle a few questions to start.
Five of us? Well - unless you are saying I have multiple personalities - yes, there will be 5 Inshallah. There are right now four: me and the 3 ferocious demon-hunters. Actually, one is well-seasoned, and the other two are still learning. They train when they sleep - angels teach them if you pray for this. Otherwise a cat may be lax in this department.You understand, a perfectly fine companion but not on the same level of high alert. I wait for a fiance. My middle name is actually one of those listed as a suggestion, but Penelope would fit best.

That figures into the next question. I did apply for a Saudi visa to visit those two - heh heh, holy cities - but was rejected owing to the requirement that single women have, or be, * 3 * M's:
Mahram, Married, Muslim

I still, however, do qualify for the honorific title. I have made epic trips into dangerous lands order to see the following shirins: Jerusalem 2 Dome of the Rock, al-Aqsa - these are regarded as the third holiest because they were where the prayers were first directed; Samarra [tomb of Imams including the special place where the last Imam is believed to have disappeared- shh don't tell Prav!], Najaf, Karbala [important Imams both of these too], Kufa, Kazimiya [7th and 9th Imams there, in Baghdad], Mashhad [8th Imam- I will post a couple videos so you can see visually how extraordinary that place is. It may stop even you from complaints ! If nothing else, it will expand your horizons to see marvels of other cultures], Qom [shrine of sister of 8th Imam, Fatima Zahra = Fatima the Immaculate]. They are ALL stupendous, beyond words!

There are also what are called Imamzadehs [sons and daughters and descendants of Imams and Saints] all over Iran, such as the one in Ray - yes that's the name of city, a great one in earlier times - where the shrine of the daughter of the final Shah of the Sassanian dynasty, Yazdigerd III, is buried. Her name was Shahbanou I think and she is much loved by Iranians because they believe that she married Imam Hussein, thus uniting the highly advanced civilization of Persia under its Kings with the new lineage of the Imams. I missed that one unfortunately.
Then of course, I have traveled far out of my way to visit every Sufi Saint imaginable from Turkey to Pakistan to Central Asia. Have any questions about any of them, I can answer - IF asked even semi-politely.

Yes! The evil eyes, they ARE so helpful. I always carry one around me, in car, yes, to ward off that jealous instinct which turns immediately to black magic if not averted. I'm serious! Older cultures know! They put evil eye beads around the newborn's crib, and do not permit neighbors or stray people to see the child for something like 40 days. To this day, they are VERY conscious of the damage caused by the bad thoughts directed at a good person by another human. Partly this practice reflects how children are so sought after that one must be vigilant to protect because others will be envious. In the Western world, it seems almost opposite these days. People are not envious, prefer not to have children. But even here, it's so much better to be on the safe side. There is a nice selection of anti-evil eyes available online. It's funny to see advertisements : "What's new in our evil eyes" - I browse through anti-evil eyes occasionally, as you can see.

The older culture? No it was not anywhere in this particular region, perhaps even an older tradition than these, which gives weight. I plan to try to look again and see if I can find out any more details, as the instructions were quite specific about this problem, and the delicacy of that particular juncture around the delivery time and immediately after.
I suspect the Church custom is related not to medicine, but to something quite similar to the threat I mentioned.
The Kafir Kalash, by the way, whom I was fortunate to see several times in their remote valleys, have similar rules as the Orthodox Church regulating these things. I find those rules VERY important and completely RIGHT. Feminists don't know what they are talking about there.
Who are the Kalash? That's another subject I would be happy to explain if you are not ready to launch a war against a poor, defenseless Haji....I have an evil eye out and ready in case there is any backlash from this post!

[mmcxristidis]

No Catherine5, you definitely have at least five personalities or you would be called Catherine4. Given your fascination and defense of Muslim practices, "saints and holy places", even to the point of contradicting the true Orthodox view of the satanic Islamic religion, I would say that you should have been granted a visa to visit the "holy cities" of Mecca and Medina as I have no doubt that your other four non-orthodox personalities must be practicing Muslims, with one also being a Laura Croft, Tomb Raider type, another a Buffy the Vampire Killer type, another a Catwoman type, demon hunter and one, perhaps a man, a Anthony Bourdain travel host, writer, chef type.
BTW, being the scholarly world traveler and adventurer that you are I'm wondering if you've taken any time out to visit Orthodox churches and shrines in Orthodox lands, or is that too tame for you.
I'm looking forward to watching your video's and hearing about your next great travel adventure, may I suggest you go to, say...Java
Your fan,
Minas

[尼古拉前执事]

Cats are curious and a new baby may be something they want to investigate. Babies give off warmth and a cat may try to climb into the crib to share that warmth. Babies may have traces of milk around their mouths and a cat may try to lick it off. But it is unlikely that a cat would harm a baby, let alone suffocate it.

Of course it is not recommended that cats and babies sleep together and you should not leave your cat alone in the same room as your baby.

[Catherine5]

You are quite right - I, too, think there is no danger from a cat for a baby, only advantage.

However, if Minas already has a dog or dogs, hoping to stress that these can not substitute for a cat in THIS field fending off various negative phenomena.

Dogs have their special qualities, but they distinguish themselves more for OUTER defense, like of one's property. Cats defend against the invisible threats. Cats also can be amazing in that that they can remind you of things you need to do, call your attention to potential problems by wandering to that particular area and making sure you note them making a point to show you things which need to be addressed - that overdue bill for example!
This proves how cats are actually NOT selfish but very giving.
Dogs are warmer outwardly, but not quite this sensitive.

I will answer the rest later or tomorrow, as I didn't finish even the original questions.

However, I woke up with the guilty thought that I had been remiss by forgetting to includes 2 shrines of early women who were related to the Imams, which are like a royal lineage. These are Zeinab and Ruqaiya in Damascus. They were nice earlier too, but Iranian architects redesigned them and they are spectacular now. So when visiting the Chapel of Ananiya, where St Paul was cured from his blindness, one can always take these in at the same time.

Helpful as always,
Cat-herine 5 -
[the one 'n only personality here!]