Rites of passage

Virtually every culture provides ceremonies, rituals, or rites of passage, which assist the individual to make the transitions necessary for development, transitions which may be seen as death to the old circumstances and rebirth in the new. This may be marked by the initiated passing into a stylized embryonic state. A celebration invariably consists of three stages (although not every stage may receive the same emphasis) – separation, transition and incorporation – which can be thought of as corresponding to the three stages of the mystical life: purification, illumination and union; or the three stages of realization: experience, reflection and understanding. In many cases, the details of the rite are kept secret from the uninitiated, thus increasing its mystery.

The special circumstances surrounding a rite of passage raise an individual to a transitory sacred state and enable him and society to cope with the transition. Once incorporated into the new circumstances (mature status, marriage, warrior, motherhood), the public recognition of the change assists the individual on his to return to a mundane state and supports him in integrating the previously unencountered archetypal processes into his psyche.

Primitive culture divides life into a series of well defined positions with a definite rite of passage from one position to the next. The incidence and belief in the efficacy of such rites decreases with loss in belief in magic and with increasing secularization of society. It has been postulated that the absence of rites of passage in modern Western society and the decline in ceremony and ritual make it more difficult for the individual to overcome regressive and immature attitudes, leading to psychological problems, aggressiveness and immature behaviour.