Many people who come to my website are looking for Menarche ceremony ideas. Would anyone like to share their experiences here? I haven't done one yet (although my daughter is greatly looking forward to hers already!), so I will leave that to more experienced women to share about.

I did go to a beautiful little blessingway ceremony for a 7 year old girl once, which had some of the elements of a menarche ceremony. The ceremony was to celebrate her weaning, her growing from a baby to a young girl. One of the parts I liked the most was that the mom incorporated a lot of flying imagery, symbolizing the girl's newfound wings and ability to fly separately from her mother through her life. It was quite nice.


Please share your experiences or even just your ideas here!
~Kelli

Hi :-)

Well I'm afraid I don't come bareing ideas or experiences .. only more questions!! I was wondering if anyone ever has Menarche ceremonies long after the event has occured (well... 8 years after anyway!). Even young as I am, there was still negative assocaitions with starting ones periods (why is the term "the curse" still used??!!). I'm not sure whether attending an all girls school at the time was a more positive or negative influence. I guess I'm sort of looking for a way to change my negative associations and honour my moontime. Can you "back-date" your ceremonies?!

blessings and thanks,
Kate
xxx

Of course you can have a ceremony "long after" the fact! :) I've assisted at a few ceremonies,each beautifully unique and difficult to convey in a short message. It is, as Kelli points out, a blessingway... a portal of being. Anything symbolic of change is appropriate...the maiden carries in a flower in bud stage and is presented with a flower in full bloom....she enters with a white cloak or cape and drops it to the ground to have it replaced by a red one. (red being a prominent color theme) A clay soaking pot is a wonderful gift, even if she is not using cloth pads (or a keeper/diva cup pot) as she may still keep tampons or cotton pads in it. Flowers or a tree can be planted.... one beuatiful ocean ceremony I attended had the girl place a little doll she had made on a leaf and send it out to sea...
Maybe I should gather some of this memories/images and return to the subject later! :)

Blessings!
Dawnella

I know there is a company out there that makes jewelry (http://www.womanrare.com/menarche_jewelry.htm).

I just found it doing a Google search. I am looking for another site that has a box that celebrates Menarche too....here it is: http://www.mysticmoonpdx.com/MMoon_html/MMoon_Boxes.html. This site also has a box about reclaiming one's moon time (someone asked).

Here is another site that (possibly) has info and history http://www.ciis.edu/academics/wseviewbook/grahn.html

Here is a book.....(http://www.ankemai.co.uk/firstmoon.html)

..and another (http://www.santamonicapress.com/catalog/menarche/more.html)

A web-site with projects: http://www.sun-wolf.com/Talismagick/things.html


I know that traditionally, the celebration constitutes all women - family and close friends. The color theme is red (decorations, cakes, drinks (like Kool-aid, punch - feel free to 'spike' the non-alcoholic drinks with soda so that the punch has some fizz and seems more grown-up). The woman share women stories, and not the horror stories of their Moon times or the child-birth ones! This is supposed to bring the woman together and share in this wonderful time....

Gifts can be anything, from ideas for when cramps hit (perhaps tea's and such for comfort and relief), a special pair of pj's (with bottoms) in red for that time (hides leaks), perhaps a nice thick dark red towel for the bed, red mug for tea or whatever, red sweater, red comfy throw, red robe, red slippers, ANYTHING CHOCOLATE! lol....

Many places on the web to find info....Oh, yes..When the woman come together for this celebration, a lot of things should be talked about, but not a lecture. Sexuality, sex, intercourse, masturbation, abstanance, (ALL AGE APPROPRIATE), the female anatomy, the history of menstration, how the moon affects the tides - just as it effects we women, (there is a cute site out there for purses called The Velvet Vulva (www.artgoddess.com). Very cute.
PS: SORRY about misspellings! My spellcheck wasn't working.....

I love this idea of "blessingsways" especially for menarche. I had my bridal shower tonight and one of the pics used as a decoration was of a naked women with a tattoo on her belly and a lions head. Obviously she was sekmet. The fact that she carried 2 snakes made her a goddess also. One of my guests was offended by this picture. Luckily, she was outnumbered by my goddess friends but it reminded me of how hard it is for the attitudes about women's bodies and bodily functions to change. I hope that when my children come, I will honor their rites of passage in a positive way!
Allison

Okay... can we all just "pretend" I'm a little thick here What exactly is a clay soaking pot and where would you find one to buy?
thanks,
Kate
xxx