Your Rites Of Passage

Rituals give us meaning, confidence, comfort and joy. When convention and religion don’t offer an uplifting and purposeful celebration, we can create our own. Do you want to celebrate your wedding in a unique, unforgettable way? Do you want to mark the launch of a new business or creative project, welcome a new child to the family, or honour a departed friend with a cheerful funeral? Do you want to bless an occasion society doesn’t deem worth observing, such as divorce, menopause or a new pet?

This book brims with inspiring ideas and practical advice. You’ll find suggestions for new ways to celebrate, express how you feel and create beautiful, lasting memories, as well as tips on how to phrase inclusively and fill people’s hearts with sincere intent.

As an ordained priestess of the Fellowship of Isis, a multi-faith spiritual organisation, I’ve led many rituals. Each event was as different as the individuals for whom it was held, moving and meaningful: handfasting for a couple who were barred from getting married in church, a cheerful funeral celebrating the conclusion of a life, a spiritual housewarming party and a divorce for partners setting each other free. During my life and travels, I’ve participated in the rituals of many cultures, both religious and secular, and launched a publishing business in Mongolia, a vegan restaurant in Britain, a butterfly habitat in Bulgaria and more. I’ve combined my experience to create rituals which are inspired, but not bound by, beautiful traditions.

I wrote the first version of this book over twenty years ago under the name ‘Christine Hall’, and it was published by Capall Bann, a publisher specialising in Pagan spirituality books. With the closure of that publishing house, the rights reverted to me, and I decided to improve and publish it myself. I expected this to be a matter of quickly updating references to ‘cassette players’ and correcting a few typos, but as I started the revision, my vision grew. In the time since writing the first edition, I had gained two decades of experience with life, rituals and non-fiction book writing. I decided to make the new version more inclusive; adaptable to different faiths and personal circumstances. I have also made it more positive, practical and powerful.

Rewriting the book in its new form was a far bigger undertaking than I had planned, but I believe the result is worth the labour. I hope you, and many others, will be inspired to create rituals which are just right for your situation.

I’ve created this book to empower you. You can adapt the rituals to fit your personal situation, your faith, your values, your choices, your needs. This is your life: claim your rituals!