The Rites of Passage Institute notes that the educational system rarely provides a significant passage ritual. Many families are now creating their own. The Institute suggests that it incorporate a number of elements:
Contact with the natural environment: One or more days spent in nature, experiencing isolation, beauty and grandeur.
Ordeal: A test of strength, self-discipline, and endurance: a fast, an all night vigil, a difficult task.
Solitude: A complete physical withdrawal from the pressures of life.
Public recognition: An "...announcement, ceremony or gathering with family and friends..." to acknowledge the person's new status.
Symbolic representations: Some object that symbolizes the person's new status: a totem, ring, etc.
Apache Girls
Land Divers
Initiation with Ants
Designing your own coming-of-age ritual:
The Rites of Passage Institute notes that the educational system rarely provides a significant passage ritual. Many families are now creating their own. The Institute suggests that it incorporate a number of elements:
Ordeal: A test of strength, self-discipline, and endurance: a fast, an all night vigil, a difficult task.
Solitude: A complete physical withdrawal from the pressures of life.
Public recognition: An "...announcement, ceremony or gathering with family and friends..." to acknowledge the person's new status.
Symbolic representations: Some object that symbolizes the person's new status: a totem, ring, etc.