Mothers and Daughters - Menarche Initiation Ceremony

Mothers and Daughters - Menarche Initiation Ceremony

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This ceremony is open to any girl who has had her first bleed. This could be a year ago or yesterday.

The way that menarche is handled in our culture, families and communities influences how our girls learn what it means to be a woman. My aim for this work is to initiate our girls with honour, respect and ritual and empower them with information and choices about how best to embrace their menstrual life.

Native American cultures understood the power of a girl entering womanhood and held rituals and ceremonies for their girls which often involved getting them to pay attention to the dreams around their first bleed, which are said to contain important visions for their life.

At menarche a young woman enters her power, throughout her menstruating years she practises her power and at menopause she becomes her power.’ – Native American Saying

This ceremony is an opportunity for mothers and daughters to bond and share, for mothers to initiate their daughters into womanhood and for girls to enter their wild power ceremonially.

In putting this ceremony together Cherry and I have reflected on our own menarche experience and what we would have wanted it to be. I have then gone out and consulted many women with daughters to discover what they would most want this afternoon to involve. Huge thank you to the women who have helped us to put this together.

What to expect:

• Information and guidance on menstruation, self-care, environmentally friendly bleeding and more
• Sharing experiences between each other and as a wider group
• Space to share her concerns and ask questions
• Cycle tracking Seasons and cycles
• The role of the inner critic and coping strategies
• Yoga Nidra (Story telling and visioning)
• Crossing the threshold ritual and ceremonial presenting of jewellery
• Yoga practices and self-care practices for different stages of the cycle
• Chocolate!

What is included:

• Tea, dates and chocolate
• Ceremony and ritual
• Ritual item of jewellery made by Rising Tides Jewellery (worth £15)
• Menstrual tracking charts

There will also be an altar of environmentally friendly sanitary products, information, sacred ritual items, self-care items and books available for purchase.

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About the facilitators:

Carly Slade is the founder of Moon Forest Flow, a yoga and yoga nidra teacher and women’s circle facilitator with a passion for menstruality and nature.

Cherry Jeavons-White, a 3rd generation witch and silversmith and will be providing beautiful rituals and ritual jewellery for our ceremony.

To read more about this work: www.moonforestflow.com/about

To read what women have been saying: https://www.moonforestflow.com/testimonials

Giving back:

These gatherings help to raise funds for our chosen charity: TreeSisters.

Planting trees and supporting the women planting them across the globe.

www.treesisters.org

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Booking:

Register and pay online via Paypal or BACS

Exchange (includes beautiful handmade ritual jewellery worth £15)

Mother + 1 daughter £45

Mother + 2 daughters £60

Bigger family deals available, contact me for details.

What to bring:

• Journal and pen each

• Yoga mat and blanket plus anything you like to make you comfy and warm for the nidra practice

• Drinking water (no running water in the yurt)

• Mug for tea (herbal tea provided)

• A nourishing and healthy food offering or a delight for the senses to share with the group if you're staying for tea afterwards or the evening circle

*veggie/vegan food, flowers, incense, poems, song, crystals, candles, something you’ve made, anything at all!

What to wear:

Red! Anything red. It could be a beautiful dress or red pyjamas, whatever makes you feel comfortable and at ease.

Location information and detailed joining instructions will be sent out closer to the date to all those booked on.

Carly and Cherry xx