First Blood Rite
By lynn Gosney
First Blood Rite
The day was dry and there was a chill in the air. The women of the House of Heron waited for the girl child and her mother to join them. They chanted, their voices rising in harmony. The energy began to weave the magic that was about to unfold. The crone waited by the doorway as the girl, dressed in white and with a garland of white flowers upon her head, approached on the arm of her mother. “What is your business here today?” the crone asked. The mother replied, “ I come with my child to lead her with honour into the face of her womanhood.” To the child the crone spoke, “Are you ready to embrace the beauty of your blood flow and the sacredness of your womb; to embrace the passing of your childhood into your maidenhood?” The child replied that she was ready and with grace and ease mother and child entered the House of Heron where the women of the clan waited.
Chanting, and with beautiful grace, the women sprinkled the girl with red and white petals as she was gently laid upon the white furs.
The woman gathered around and decorated her young body with art and spirals; patterns emerged as the voices sang out in joyful celebration.
The child was sat up and the crone spoke to her of the beauty of her sacredness, of her ability as a woman to bring forth life from within her womb if was a part of her journey in this lifetime. Crone offered her a silver spoonful of honey and told the child of the sweetness of life and what it can bring. Crone then gave her slice of sour apple and spoke of the bitterness of life that she would taste.
The Girl was then walked to the four quarters where she was questioned about her intentions; she was given a blessing as the spirits of Earth, Air, Fire and Water welcomed her. More chants were heard as the women sang their joy of the girl child who had become a woman.
Gifts were exchanged and laughter and happiness filled the air. The mother had given her daughter a white necklace as a gift before the rite and now she stood before her daughter and took the white necklace away and replaced it with a tiny red stone
as a mark of recognition of her first blood flow. The women gathered around the girl to encase her once more within a womb. They chanted a birthing chant and with grace and ease the mother’s legs parted and her child was reborn a woman.
The crone’s hands delivered her to her mother and her words were “ Hold your woman daughter and embrace her as you did at her birth, as she was born to you from your sacred womb years ago”.
As the mother held her daughter a red cord was placed around her waist. She was instructed to tie a knot in the cord each day until her next flow. Her white headdress was removed and in its place a red garland was placed. The girl later made an offering of her white headdress to the Goddess who sits in the corner by the altar in the women’s house.
Great joy and stories were shared. Bread and mead were blessed and shared in celebration. This rite of passage was made complete with the presence, love and blessings of the ancestral women of this land who walked here before us.
A truly beautiful day of great celebration. The girl child had walked into the arms of her womanhood, blessed by the spirits of her bloodline and spiritual heritage, blessed by her family and her community.
Charlottes Mother spoke these words: “ How perfectly wonderful, just the thought of a rite purely to celebrate our daughter’s first blood. We felt that there could not be a better or more fitting way for Charlotte to embrace such a fundamental change in her life. Long before Charlotte became of the age, there was no doubt in either her father’s mind or mine that she would be given an informed and educated choice to partake in such celebration. The day was a blessing for all of us. As for charlotte, she seemed to change from that day; she became more confident and self-assured with a sense of belonging that helped her step into her womanhood with ease. All young women should have the opportunity to experience a rite like this, which was so profound and enjoyable.”
Charlotte then commented: “ Before my rite I participated in the woman’s group and ceremonies when I could. Basically I was part of my mother’s group (or at least that’s how I saw it) Then after my blood rite when I attended I felt that I was there for me and as me. I came because I wanted to and felt that I belonged. The day was so special, I felt special, I was showered with beautiful gifts that I keep in my wooden chest, not just conventional ones, but ones I would keep for life with a memory, and not just material things, but a sense of acceptance as me and who I had become. At first I felt a little awkward celebrating something I had been told by my school friends was a burden, something horrible you just have to deal with. But I will never forget that day, how special it was and how life changing it was for me”.
Lynn Gosney
This article was posted by lynn gosney
