The Archetype of Initiation

An initiation is a carefully constructed ritual that helps us to transition into a new phase of our life, that generate a reorientation in a safe container. It builds down parts of our ego and which then gets replaced by more strength and gravity. An initiation in its nature is never easy, it might scare you, it might create self-doubts or it might try to dismiss your beliefs and integrity. In the space of initiation, you will find chaos. A breaking down of old beliefs, principles, and structure, the world of the ego. If you can not submit you can not die and if you can not die you can not be reborn. The person who always wants to be in control will not transform because he doesn’t submit.

The lack of initiations is shown e.g. in boyhood. Boys perform actions to show themselves and others how brave and strong they are. This oftentimes doesn’t happen in a safe container and often it leads to criminal acts, hurting others or drinking too much. These acts are called pseudo initiations. It’s not led by an elder, instead, its lead by the just the loudest or most dominant person and is not consciously performed to transition.

In our culture, everything tries to get more convenient. It’s a culture where initiation finds no space and often times even no understanding. People wondering why others would bring them into such challenging situations. It brings us closer to our core. It moves us away from the affirmations and security that we find from the outside and instead we find our own core of orientation.