Rites of Passage are spiritual journeys that symbolize you moving from one phase of your life to another. They typically represent personal and spiritual growth where you begin walking the path as one version of yourself and come out another, more clear version of yourself. They are a certain type of ritual
or ceremony taken with the intention of honoring the personal transformation taking place. You can read more about ritual in the article I wrote here.
If you think of the Self almost like an onion, where layer by layer that we shed, we get closer to our center, our core, who we really are. Or if you think of the Self as our exoskeleton, and as we grow we need to shed one layer to make space and room for the bigness of who we are now.
Spiritually, Rites of Passages take you into the unknown, take you to a place within and outside of you that you have never been before so to meet a version of yourself there. It’s a way for us to act on the changes we feel internal. It’s an external movement and announcement to the world of the changes we’ve made.
There are many rites of passages that we walk in society today: girls beginning their menses, graduation, retirement, marriage, divorce, menopause and coming of age celebrations of 18, 21, 30 etc. Though we may note feel the spiritual richness of these socially accepted rites of passage, they still have a bit of celebration and energy around them. Perhaps the lacking of spiritual richness has more to do with our society as a whole. Has the western world forgotten the power and importance of The Mystery, and all that comes with it? Perhaps.
Embracing the unknown can feel scary and certainly is out of our control. In a world that is so data driven, worshiping science as the newest religion, there is a lot of room to welcome back spirituality into our lives. Giving the time, attention and respect to the Rites of Passages we are already walking in our lives is one way to do this.
There are 3 phases to the Rite of Passage: Preparation, threshold and incorporation. These stages can all take place in a day, months or years if you consider all that is gone through and prepared for the graduation rite of passage.
Preparation begins setting the stage for the changes taking place. It can mean spending time away from others to feel what moving within you, reflecting on where you have been up to this point, and all the changes that will ripple in your life once you step through the threshold.
Threshold is the place where ritualistically one steps through a doorway towards another way of being in the world.
Incorporation is where one re-enters into society as this new version of the Self. This can often be the most challenging aspect of Rites of Passages because there is where you begin living out your life at this version of yourself.
Rites of Passage are physical actions we take to represent the changes we want to make. They are specific rituals of transformation and thus can greatly support us when we are in times of change. Rites of Passage are the spiritual answer to changing your habits that come together in changing your life. They spiritually honor you in your changes. Rites of passages are very artistic and creative in nature and they have been practiced since the beginning of times within human systems.
Time can be a wonderful ally for you as you walk the Rite of Passage path. By giving yourself time to announce to yourself and others that you are making a change, sitting with what you need to do to prepare for this change, making it and incorporating it, you greatly increase your chances of success. Perhaps the lack of success in new year’s resolutions come from the lack of time, thought and attention given to these changes.
Further, taking care of your physical, emotional and spiritual needs during times of change also greatly increase your chances of a smooth and successful integration of changes into your life. Take care of your being as you walk the Rite of Passage path is feminine wisdom in action. Especially for women it is important to care for and tend the being as one is making changes. This is a very different way of making changes than what is typically heard in life today and thus it is revolutionary in nature. Women’s wisdom is deeply held within their bodies and the more women can listen to, honor and respect the wisdom of their feelings, the more successful they will be in living a fulfilled and happy life. Weaving spiritual, emotional and physical together in equal importance is what creates resiliency and strength to live the life you want to live.
Rites of passages apply to our modern world and life through the spiritual support and wonder they bring into existence. In a world that is increasingly less spiritual, Rites of Passages remind us that there are unseen forces helping and supporting us in changing our habits, in becoming who we want to become. And the Rites of Passages actually call these supportive energies to us to bring us strength when we feel like we want to slip back into old unsupportive habits. After all, our habits are what color our world and make it what it is.
Rites of Passage carve out intentional time in our busy days to let the world know we are making changes in ourselves. Wouldn’t life be so much better if we didn’t have to carry everything on our own? Well, rites of passages remind us that we don’t. When you embark on a Rite of Passage, you connect up with everyone from all past and future times who have also embarked on a rite of passage. This strength supports you in having the courage to continue and it’s also there for you to lean on in times of difficulty and uncertainty. It shares your burden with the Web of Life so that you only need to carry what you are capable of, and nothing more.