I watched an episode of Tribe with Bruce Parry the other day, I find it fascinating, (even though there are elements that I find slightly grating). I wish there was a female equivalent of Bruce Parry that showed us how the tribe functions from a female perspective too.
I really enjoyed losing myself in the Amazon jungle for 45 minutes and when I turned the telly off I experienced something I often feel when I read or learn about initiation cultures: a sort of loss or longing. A feeling like I had witnessed a way of life that feels so much easier, natural, right and coming back to sitting on my own in my house, surrounded by stuff felt jarring.
I've also been feeling this way as I've been reading the brilliant Boudicca series by Manda Scott. She fleshes out a pre-Roman native British culture, complete with singers, dreamers, warriors and their rituals. I feel like it's giving me back a cultural heritage that I've always felt is missing. It's got me thinking about rights of passage.
A right of passage is a ceremony or event marking an important stage in someone's life, when you leave one group and join another. Birth, reaching adulthood, marriage, childbirth, death are just a few.
We have rights of passage in western culture too, traditions and practices to mark moments, especially if you're religious.
But what if like me, you were brought up in a non-religious home? What if you didn't really feel part of your community growing up? Has your birth or graduation to adulthood actually been marked in any way? Have you been through matriarchy? (becoming a mother) and was your transition recognised formally?
I imagine the recognition, ritual and acknowledgement from your community being deeply validating. Offering you community support, spiritual connection and cultural identity. Helping you feel like you belong.
I often feel a separateness, a lack of belonging and I know I'm not alone. I'm not sure if I have the capacity to find any solutions to any of this, but it really has got me wondering and considering the function of the artwork I've been creating.
My Spell paintings are rituals as much in their creation as in what they represent. They are acknowledgement, connection to nature, spirit and a way of you validating your transition from one stage of life to another. Be that a major milestone, or your personal awakening and choice to change the dance in your life.
A new collection is coming your way, I’m releasing each painting as I finish them. You saw the first of the of the 8 new paintings last week (click here if you missed it) and I hope the next is coming soon. Make sure you subscribe to get priority access.
If you also feel that you have missed out on marking important changes, growth and roles in your life, you can use these paintings as a way to honour your journey for yourself. That self-validation is also very powerful. Imagine seeing the reflection of who you are and what you are growing into as you look at the painting, holding the space for you.