Our day-to-day lives are filled with events that touch upon the emotions – birth and death, sickness and grief, to name a few. A woman’s life, however, is punctuated by several very different types of event, full of richness and complexity. Conception, pregnancy, the birth of a child, breastfeeding and mothering are experiences unique to the woman.

Conception is a particularly spiritual event. There are many different opinions as to how the soul is attracted to the body, my own view being that it is magnetically attracted to the mother’s aura. According to Parahamansa Yogandanda, “When the sperm and ovum unite there is a flash of light in the astral world. Souls there that are ready to be reborn, if their vibration matches that of the flash of light, rush to get in” (From Conversations with Yogananda).

Many women are aware of the moment of ovulation in their bodies each month, but some women also claim to be aware of the moment of conception when it is taking place. This is a profound form of conscious mind awareness. The woman’s eyes may close, and there is a brief feeling of bliss, accompanied by a pulsation in the genital tract. She just knows that she is going to conceive. The woman’s characteristics may change according to the type of soul that has been attracted and changes within the home may also be noticed.

We can deduce that the soul is attracted by the energy emanating from the chakras of the two lovers. It is obviously desirable to attract the right kind of soul and tantra and meditation provide us with the means to do this. Many rituals exist to ensure that we attract only good souls.