Through the ages we have followed stages of ritual and initiation, a tribal outlook and shamanic structure, adhered through time and served generations and cultures. A stepping stone, with rites of passage, a sign of age and maturity (childhood to adult) and initiation in life. An initiation where boys became men and girls, women.
Rites of passage were classified into five groups.
- Birth right
- Adulthood
- Marriage
- Eldership
- Ancestorship
Cultures and religion continue the practice of initiation and rites of passage around the world.
- Initiations are commonly initiated with a coming-of-age marking the passage to a new phase of life. Christian rites include Baptism and Confirmation (a sacrament) and in Eastern Orthodox (chrismation).
- In many African tribes, initiation involves physical actions – circumcision for boys, genital multination for girls. The Jewish religious tradition includes circumcision for males after birth. For girls, tribal initiation starts at puberty.
- Once 15, Central and South American young girls celebrate ‘Quinceanera’ which involves a Catholic mass and a renewal of vows.
- In Malaysia, the prestigious Muslim celebration of Khatam Al Koran demonstrating growing maturity of young girls.
- Brazilian Amazonian indigenous tribes mark their coming of age when 13, with hunting etc. The Satere-Mawe tribe send their boys to look for Bullet Ants in the Amazon for their initiation.
- To strengthen intuition and spatial awareness, Inuit boys go out hunting with their fathers aged 11-12. As tradition dictates a shaman would open lines of communication between men and animals.
- These days, modern initiation celebrations are usually in groups; parties, dancing (representing the hunter gatherer). The different traditional stages of maturity are being lost and the real message of initiation are being lost. Passing on knowledge and confidence because education was part of the initiation. Traditions become initiations, setting standards for society in the process.
- In Egyptian times, giving your son or daughter over to a temple of education was seen as a privilege. For the parent, it was an emotional sacrifice to lose your child at the age of 5-7. With a rare occasion to see their child again, bonding was lost, and the parent and child became strangers.
- Writing this, memories come flooding back of my visit to the Edfu and Kom Ombo temples in Egypt. Members of my group, both men and women, cried when they entered; tears streaming down their faces. It triggered memories of losing family ties deeply buried with trauma. Through young eyes they recalled the feelings of ‘abandonment’ when their parent gave them away for education and elite position in society.
Boarding Schools
The stories of people with boarding school educations are full of living ‘shock and trauma’. They remember wanting to go home and describe their shock, adverse trauma and grief at being left in an unknown environment. Feeling Isolated; belonging nowhere, they felt ostracised in/out of school. With no understanding of their emotional trauma, they have experienced they often mature emotionally inept, struggling with relationships.
Internal initiation
The first initiation begins in the womb. Birth is the ‘official first initiation’ for every human and animal. Hormonal influences are linked to formation and birth. Having a challenging formation and birth can ‘mess up’ our spiritual and zodiac alignment, putting us ‘out of kilter’ physically, emotionally and mentally and affecting us through many lifetimes.
Root chakra and Initiation.
As we grow in learning and consciousness our root chakra evolves, gifting us the confidence to ‘leave the tribe’ instead of stoically being kept in outdated ways. We move out of ‘survival mode’ and become more independent.
Our energetics can be caged in ancient and old tribal ways that have no place in our lives or society today. However, it does not stop people reliving tribes, intolerances, expectations, old thinking, and actions.
Progressing out of the Piscean age
We have become more independent of initiation, control, and ritual. We have moved away from outdated practices and evolved consciously and spiritually. Perhaps this is what some people are afraid of; taking that step to individual progression without tribe structure and thinking for themselves with no rule book to follow and just internal instinctive 6th senses and Soul life guidance.
The Elder original objectives,
Wisdom, understanding and knowledge from our Elders has been diluted through the ages. Some parts remain, but we are missing the full spectrum of original idea and reason of those times. Some teachings and thinking have been upgraded to the times we live today, for our future consciousness growth. Invariably new thinking moves with evolving times. Thankfully circumcision and genital practices are looked upon as abusive and unnecessary today.
Are outdated thinking and traditions holding us back instead of evolving our future selves on different spectrums of Aquarian growth?
The Atlantean Way
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the days of Atlantis and frankly, the Lemurian way of living, a time of future advancement and internal awakening, would not suit us today. Continuing to live by ancient ways delivers mixed results. Etheric chains hold us back from the evolved Aquarian acceleration of life.
Moving to the Aquarian Way
Today, it is all about engaging in consciousness and spiritual advancement. Initiation is more about the internal state of evolvement, awakening energetic and alchemical internal states, switching on ‘rites of passage’ and opening higher states of cosmic and Galactic consciousness. The aim of the Aquarian Age is to live in a state of ‘super consciousness’, with spatial awareness, higher energetics in Unity and Oneness. The internal state is the key. Initiation comes through the heart – feel the wonders of Heart Acceleration instead of feeding the mind with ritual. Feeding the mind with ritual. Will hold us back and limit our potential.
Embrace future evolvement with Aquarian age ZEST of Life, Soul guidance.
Joy Wisdom offers designed to be different ‘ZEST of LIFE’ training programmes, advancements and liberation, pioneering New Era Universal approaches to health, wellbeing and spiritual advancement. New ways of embracing profound future horizons for new you.
Article by More to Life Elder – Joy Wisdom
Article published in More to Life – Edition 66
