Baby's First Haircut :: Rituals

Learning on ‪#‎sacredbeginnings‬ practices and ‪#‎sacredrituals‬ from around the world I have found that the first hair holds a very special meaning.

For example in India, the baby's fist hair is supposed to be shaved during the first three years; like the Mongolian, between two and five years of age; or the Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish, at three years old. This kind of ritual is present in so many cultures: in China the head is also shaved at the time of baby's first full moon; like with the Maasai after the first month of seclusion (and here both baby and mother shave their heads)... Some Native American tribes mark the first haircut with a ritualistic dance, and for most Yazidis (from Turkey, Armenia and Syria) the bisk ceremony is performed when the baby is 40 days old, and regarded as the central initiatory ritual.

For most cultures and beliefs a long, open hair is a sign of beauty, power and freedom (yes, associated with witches and other magical beings), and a shaved head a sign of renunciation (for most religions, for widows...). It was apparently custom to shave enslaved people's head because this was believed to diminish their power... And if we think about it all this might come from the fact that the hair itself IS a powerful thing!
Hair is literally protein, have you tried to tie it around a tree or a plant? It's amazing how it will feed it.

For the Sikh - amongst other hair lovers like the Rastafari, the sadhus and some sects of Sufi - hair never gets cut, believing that would be a waste of pure energy. 

Hair is our pranic antenna, it absorbs energy from the sun during the day, and magic from the moon during the night. It takes approximately three years from the last time your hair was cut for new antennas to form at the tips of the hair.

Hair up, hair down, cut ends or dreadlocks it is - apparently - not the same! It is not a trend or only a practical matter...
There is spiritual significance to hair, many different rituals to get it cut, washed or groomed and deep meaning to being exhibited or hidden away.

Hair up, coiled on the crown of the head during the day energizes the brain cells. A ‘rishi knot’ (like the Sikh do) energizes your aura and stimulates the pineal gland in the center of your brain. It is said that the sun energy, pranic life force, flows down the spine and Kundalini rises up, creating balance.

So when you shampoo your baby's hair imagine the meltdowns being washed away.
When you braid your daughter's hair think of sadness entangled there, safe and quiet, not moving, keeping it from going inside and damage sensitive hearts like her's.
When you comb your son's hair, feel the softness of the head and the bones in the forehead, and know that they transmit light to the pineal gland and should no be covered.
Use wooden comb whenever you feel low in energy.
Braid your hair at night to help your electromagnetic field balance out from the day.
Wash your hair if you've had a hard day, it will help to process emotions.

In India it is believed that hair can be used for black magic, and you can see people in hairdressers asking to take the cut ends with them. 

In Hindu tradition the hair from birth should be shaved by a pandit, and offered to the holy waters of a river, as this hair is believed to carry past lives karma.
In Muslim traditions after the child’s head is shaved it is given to charity the same weight in gold or silver.
In china the baby's first hair is called "hair from the womb", and after it's cut both the mother and the baby bathe (in water mixed with pomelo leaves) to symbolically wash off evil vibes (this hair is used to make a special calligraphy brush, engraved with wishes of wisdom, health and happiness).

Did you know if left uncut your hair will grow to a particular length and then stop all by itself, at the correct length for you?

How about your traditions? What did you do with your child's hair and these ‪#‎firstSacredRituals‬ ?
‪#‎sacredhair‬