RITES OF PASSAGE
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Rites of passage are ceremonies that mark an important change in a person’s life.
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Ceremonies that celebrate the natural transitions that all humans experience: birth, puberty, maturity, the elder stage and death 足 hopefully in that order.
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What is the first main event in a person's life?
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BIRTH
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STARTING SCHOOL
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COMING OF AGE
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FINISHING SCHOOL
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MARRIAGE
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RETIREMENT
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DEATH
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The Tree of Life Imagine the stages of the rites of passage as a Tree. Each one of us is in a particular stage of development, somewhere on this Tree.
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CONCEPTION: The seed is planted, the soil is fertile, the seed dies for the new life to be born.
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BIRTH: Even as its roots stay well within the darkness of the Earth, the tiny plant knows which way to grow. It peeks up through the Earth and always moves towards the light.
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CHILDHOOD: Its roots grow stronger and deeper, or wider and shallower. The little sapling bends with the wind as it grows stronger. As it adjusts to its environment and receives the nourishment it needs, its leaves and branches appear.
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ADOLESCENCE: The tree is vibrant, full of life and potential, its essence bursting; flower buds appear and begin to open.
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ADULTHOOD: Fragrance wafts through the air, and pollen is carried by bees and the wind to fertilize and impregnate new life. The blossoms begin to develop into fruit.
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ELDER: The fruit has ripened. There is now an abundance of food to nourish and nurture new life.
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DEATH: It has lived its life. What is left returns to the Earth in honor of all she has given. This in turn replenishes the soil with nutrients. Death gives new life
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