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Rites of passage are rituals that are done in celebrations of the changes of life. These rituals help to feed our spirits, and make them richer, and deeper. Here are some rites of passage rituals to mark and celebrate the changes, and growing done within ones lifetime.

Wiccaning
A wiccaning is a ritual done when a person is declaring themselves to be wiccan. In some traditions this term is only used when the ritual is done for a child being declared under the wiccan faith. Traditionally a child around the age of three would be wiccaned due to infant mortality rate, but in modern times we are seeing more and more infants, and some adults as well whom find their way to the wiccan path.

Vision Quest
When a child reaches adolescience, and is nearing the time when a coming of age ceremony would take place they should embark on a vision quest, which is done through a supervised meditation. During this meditation the child would be seeking information from the Goddess that will speak of their inner most self. The information received in this vision quest could be a magical name, or symbols that would reveal their magical name and perhaps help them on their journey in life.

Coming of age
The coming of Age ceremony usually coincides with the onset of menstration, or puburty. This is not the end of adolescence, but the beginning journey into adulthood. This ceremony is done with adult famliy, and friends of the same sex as the person that the ceremony is for. This is because the young person is now being accepted into this group as a young adult.

Initiation
The Pagan/Wiccan initiation is done when a person has didicated themselves to a spacific tradition, and Deity, and has learned the begining stages of that traditio along with commiting themselves to further learning about the old ways, and the Deities.

Handfasting
A pagan handfasting is similar to a marrage but can be done between a man and woman, two from the same sex, or multiple partners.Some of the handfastings that are preformed are done as a legal ceremony, and are subject to the same laws as are in the states in which they are preformed. Some of these handfastings are done on a purely liturgical basis, and these would have standing only within the religion under which they were preformed.

Handfastings are not usually though of as perminate as some other religions percieve them to be. In the pagan community it is perfectly respectible if a union is dissoved if it no long is a positive relationship. In some parts of the pagan community couples will set a length of time for their handfastings, like a year and a day, or five years ect. although some have handfastings that are life long.

HandParting
A Handparting is when a married couple of group wish to be seperated (devorced). The purpose for this is to give closure, and a release for the parties so that they may move on with their lives hopefully amicably.

Croning
The Croning ceremony is done to celebrate a womans change in life cycles, as baby turns to child the adult woman turns to older wiser woman. There is no one set age when this occurs but is ussually just after menapause probably between the ages of 40, and 60 as all women go through their cycles at different ages. The term Crone is use to describe an ancient archetype, which is an aspect of the Triple Goddess. The crone would be a woman whom is in her third phase of life.

Funeral
The Pagan Funeral rite is to celebrate the life of the person whom has passed, and to aid in their journey into the Summerland, or otherworld. Death in the pagan community is not looked at as an ending of life but rather the begining of a new stage within the souls life.

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