Two Rite-of-Passage Rituals in One Day!

Saturday, October 22, 2016 was a full day of rite-of-passage rituals and sisterhood. We kicked it off with a Mother-Daughter Red Tent in the morning. Our monthly Red Tent was later in the evening -- but this one was extra special because we also performed a Blessingway ceremony!
This was our second Mother-Daughter Red Tent. We had 8 mothers and 8 daughters in our circle. One of the moms, Elissa, contacted me several months ago from Australia. She’s from Portland and wanted very badly to bring her daughters to a Red Tent but they were too far away. I’m happy to say her wish was fulfilled! They moved back to town and Elissa was able to bring one of her daughters to this Red Tent and the second daughter will come to a future one. Many of the moms had a lot to share and it made the experience very rich. We even got to do an impromptu menarche ceremony at the end just like at our last Mother-Daughter Red Tent!
Our Red Tent sister Morghannah, for whom we did a Blessingway ceremony for in the evening, also attended the Mother-Daughter Red Tent in the morning with her daughter Serenity. Morghannah is a strong and powerful sister and I’m so grateful she is a part of our Red Tents. She blessed us with the concept of the “Sovereign Queen” -- the stage of life between matron/mother and crone/wise woman. In other words, there are really 4 phases of the moon and there are 4 phases of women’s life, not only 3 like in the “Triple Goddess.” Many of the women related strongly to this concept and felt it brought a sense of relief and empowerment. Not feeling like they were quite crones yet and knowing they were past their matron years left them feeling unsure of where they fit in. I’m looking forward to us exploring the Sovereign Queen further.
Learning about the Sovereign Queen was perfect leading into our evening’s theme: “Standing in our power.” We had some rich sharing. Perhaps we got to go even deeper than usual with more time to share due to a smaller group.
It was my first time hosting a Blessingway let alone attending one. Morghannah loaned me a book all about Blessingways, so that helped! It was very sweet.  I’m so happy I could be a part of it and that we were able to do it at the Red Tent, because, well, what better place to do one?! Rachel Emery created a beautiful henna tattoo on Morghannah’s belly. A few days before, Morghannah hired Rachel to be her backup doula and separately, Rachel had agreed to tattoo Morghannah’s belly at the Blessingway not knowing each other beforehand! How’s that for synchronicity? We are holding good thoughts for Morghanna – that she may have a relatively easy, healthy birth with her daughter, Lotus, coming right up in the next couple of weeks!
I’m looking forward to our next and last Red tent of 2016 on November 19th. I am planning a special fundraiser in December and all of next year’s monthly Red Tents, so stay tuned!