Before sharing this article with you I thought it would be nice to share my Croning Ritualor to some because it was when I turn 50 years old it might be a Wise Woman Ritual. Which ever way you want to think of it be my guest, to me it was a Croning.
My eldest daughter lived in a rural area of Indiana at the time and had a beautiful yard filled with many types of flowers, flowering plants, green plants, bird feeders, etc besides her son’s little pool, swing set/jungle gym and sandbox. So a cool mixture of both generations. As my birthday is on Beltane we had planned on doing a simple ritual that afternoon with planting a few flowers and explaining to her boys what Beltane was all about. We did this and it was great fun. Then in the evening my daughter and I had picked out a special plant for my Croning ritual. I did not jump a broom as many pagans do to mark going from one stage of life into another, instead together we planted the ? plant (sorry I do not remember the name of it) just outside her kitchen window in an area set aside with a small manmade pond, bird feeders, and other plants and flowers. As we planted our plant I told her stories of my childhood through her birth. After we had tapped down the last bit of soil around the plant she presented me with a smooth flattish stone that was egg shaped and told me it was for all my eggs that had been born and for those that now were forever silent as I entered into my life as not only a mother with all grown children but as a grandmother to help raise the next generation.
When my own mother crossed into the Summerlands almost two years ago, this same daughter came up to me at the cemetery and handed me 13 small stones. She said the represented my legacy of children and grandchildren and to remember to keep them close as I was now the matriarch of our family. I think that brought as many tears to my eyes as the crossing of my mom did. I have the stones put away in a special pouch but take them out to look at when I feel the need to. Although my Croning ritual and becoming family matriarch were seven years apart, I do not think I would have handled my mom’s crossing at all if I had not already taken my place as an elder and crone in our family.
Remember the ideas in the following article are suggestions for Blessingways. If you feel called to do a Blessingway differently then follow your heart and spirit as there is no wrong way to welcome in another phase of your life or someone else’s.
Now for the article…..
As I prepare to give birth to my second daughter, I am more conscious than ever about the importance of the six main rites of passages that women go through.
I want both of my daughters to love being a girl and celebrate becoming a woman. I want them to know in every cell of their bodies that it is an honor to be born a female. To not think of their period as dirty and gross, to not think that giving birth is a horrible thing, to not think that their lives are over with once they stop bleeding.
I want every little girl to grow up proud of her changing body and honoring the transitions she goes through throughout her life. To see each change as a rebirth process, accepting that death is a part of life and only helps us to find more meaning in our lives.
And I believe that the way to create this new culture of celebrating what it means to be a woman is through Blessing Ceremonies, also know as Blessingways, to honor a rite of passage.
What is a Blessingway
To finish reading this article please click on this link: Blessingways
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