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COMING-OF-AGE: GIRLS
When a girl reaches menarche and she has her first period, she can be accepted into the circle of women by her female Pagan relatives and friends by doing a special ritual. This can be devised however the girl and the older women like, but it might involve removing a white veil and putting on a red hat, or dyeing a white flower red and ceremonially pinning it to the clothes, or anything else deemed appropriate. A semi-formal ritual should be conducted in a circle of women for the young lady; it calls for four gifts to be given to the girl, each symbolic of one of the elements. If possible have the four gifts come from (or at least be presented by) four different women (especially effective if each is given by a woman who feels a particular affinity for the element their gift represents), and possibly a "spirit" gift presented by the girl's mother or the High Priestess. A co-ed celebration can take place later if desired, but as this is a woman's experience, the circle should be only women.
I am not going to put a complete ritual here because I have not participated in a ritual anything like one of these, but for the elemental gifts, here are my suggestions:
The gift of air and wisdom could be a particularly nice vial of oil or a feather quill pen to write with.
The gift of fire and love could be particularly nice candles in "mother" colors or an appropriately colored pair of stockings or womanly set of jewelry.
The gift of earth and creativity can be her own pretty pentacle or Goddess plate or a notebook to write in (using possibly the quill pen that may have been given her).
The gift of water and intuition can be a beautiful goblet or her own deck of Tarot cards or set of runes.
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