A Pagan Blessing - Rites of Passage

When does your child come of age?

For a girl it is obvious- at menses.
For a boy the transition from boy to manhood is slower and subtler and so the date is usually fixed at the time he has completed twelve solar cycles. (eg: twelve being a solar number and associated with the God and the male aspect). So a boy is thought of coming of age on his thirteenth birthday.

Among some Native American people, a boy came of age before he went into his first battle or before participating in his first dangerous hunt. Both activities involve the drawing of blood. So coming of age for both boys and girls, involved, since ages past, the shedding of blood.

Even today there are ordeals of pain associated with the coming of age. Perhaps having a piercing, a first alcoholic drink or first sexual contact.

Puberty can be a difficult time. Deeply significant for both boys and girls, it is an important time of transition. Unlike our ancestors, however, we rarely mark or celebrate the arrival of puberty.

A special ritual for your teenager will help to east the confusion that often accompanies this time, and signal their new place in your family.