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Dear Delriece...
A dear friend is turning forty, with much
angst. Although she isn't a Wiccan, she's close enough, as are all her
friends. I want to create a passage ritual; I've already got a few
ideas. Do you know any others? Thank you, blessed be, and I will donate to
Friends of Animals in your name.
Qat in Long Beach CA
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Dear Qat,
Such rituals are called "Croning" or "Saging" rituals and they are representative of another stage of life. Some suggestions I have are for her to light a candle for each stage of life (Maiden her past, Mother her past, Wise Woman her future). Also, a black cord tied around the waist would be representative of the Crone. Any rite of passage ritual can also have a symbolic rebirth where she crawls through the legs of another woman. I can also recommend the following "Charge of the Crone" written by Gypsy if it isn't too serious for you!
Hear the words of the Grandmother of Time:
She who has been known as
Hecate, Erishkagel, Cerridwen, Kali-Ma,
Anna, Perenna, Spider Woman,
and many other names
- some feared, and some loved,
but none ever ignored.
She it is who brings wisdom and
the awareness of eternity.
She has been the Maiden, and remembers that joy.
She has been the Mother, and recalls that pleasure.
But age has changed her,
and taught her the mysteries of
the Wheel that is ever turning,
the Wheel that is life, death, and rebirth.
She is the whirling tornado, the erupting volcano,
the rising tidal wave, the trembling of the earth's crust.
With age comes an understanding of the past,
and a glimpse of the future.
For, in the turning of the Wheel,
the past is the future,
and the future is the past.
She is the Learned One, the Teacher,
the Bringer of Inevitable Change.
She is the Dark of the Moon, the Hidden One,
the invisible unknown that lies ahead.
But do not fear her for she is not malicious,
and her touch, however harsh, is love.
Only in ignorance is she scorned and reviled.
Those who do not know her,
parody her as the ugly old woman
whose powers were said to blight crops
and sour the milk in the cow.
It is fear that turns her age into abomination,
her wrinkles into hideous deformity,
and her voice into an evil and manipulative cackle.
For those who sought power over the earth were afraid
to face her wisdom and her unalterable truth.
But in the old days, we sat at her feet to learn the most ancient lore.
From her came the knowledge of the healing herbs,
and the chants and songs that shaped our lives.
She sat in honour at our councils, our marketplaces, in our homes.
She governed our governing, and interpreted our laws.
She gave focus to our changing seasons.
She was our teacher, our oracle, our promise of rebirth.
Come, honour her as of old,
listen now to the words of Wise One,
the ancient Seer, the Crone!
I'd also like to thank you for your donation. I appreciate your contribution to the general well-being of our world and the creatures in it!
Light!
Delriece
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