RITES OF PASSAGE AND MAGICAL NAMES (SHAMANISM)

 Dear readers and friends,

Today I present to you a fascinating topic albeit as a small introduction:  rites of passage and magical names from the point of view of shamans in general.

A Shaman knows that life is constantly growing, evolving, changing and that who you are today is the result of your past thoughts, feelings and actions. What you will become is determined by what you think, feel and do now, in the present. As you live you grow and learn and this has a direct result on tomorrow's results. Life is cyclical and follows a rhythm and as you change and learn you move from one life cycle or stage to another.

This thought or lifestyle does not depend on age but on evolution, growth, learning and change. Many of the steps can be associated with certain ages, but this is not the rule. The system is more related to the way you think, feel and act than a number of years, because everyone is different and grows at its own pace. Some learn and grow quickly, some slowly go through the different stages of life: choosing to cling to the past, to what is no longer there, for fear of changing. When you move from one stage of life to another, changes take place that depend on many external factors that influence our thinking and consequently our personal and spiritual growth.

The transition from one stage of life to another depends on the work you do on yourself (the hardest work to do). The passage through the stages of life indicates the overcoming of increasingly difficult tests until reaching a state of evolution close to enlightenment. 

Chaos may ensue at the beginning of the change until situations stabilize, but once the initial change has taken place, you have moved into a new stage or phase in your life. This is called rebirth.

Rebirth occurs by letting go of the old to embrace the new, usually of ideas, people, places, etc. which was a staple in your belief system. This "letting go" is equivalent to death in Shamanism because you will no longer be who you were, but you have changed and been reborn to begin a new cycle of life.

Many Shamans take on a new name at every stage of their life. They do this because the old name no longer represents who they are now. Thus, as changes and transformations occur, Shamans generally let go of who they were to embrace the new self.

Great passing ceremonies often take place, especially during the transition from childhood to manhood. Marriage is also seen as a rite of passage, because when married you are no longer who you were before: the change has taken place a death and a rebirth, and you enter a new phase of life.

In all the status transitions of your life where there is a substantial change of status such as graduation, graduation, divorce, new job or career, moving to a new home and anything that brings transformation in your life, they are all new beginnings in your life. Shamans take new names as a result of the change and they do it to express to others that they are no longer the same as they used to be but also to identify themselves in this new state that the power of the new name gives them. They take on the new name during the rite of passage from one phase of life to another. This is taken very seriously as the name has great significance and is sacred.

Magical Names represent the real you. They have power in how much you identify with them. Some feel that the name should be kept secret because if someone else knows your name he can use your power against you if he is angry or resentful of you.

I personally have magical names that I use and that everyone knows, but I also have a special one that no one knows and that I have dedicated to the Spirit. It must be your personal choice depending on your preferences. There is magic in a name. Names have positive or negative meanings and connotations for yourself and for others.