Honoring the Red Path: A Sacred Menarche Ceremony for Naleʻa

In Los Angeles twelve years ago, I gathered with a circle of wise women to hold space for my dearest of dear sisters preparing to birth her daughter into this world. It was a Blessingway filled with love, intention, and deep reverence for the journey ahead. A Salt bowl infused with prayers, wishes, and blessings for this baby girl, woven with the collective wisdom of those present.

And now, all these years later, I found myself standing in the presence of that very child ~Naleʻa, not just as the baby once cradled in our circles but as a young girl who had grown up within them. From the very beginning, she sat among women, absorbing their stories, their wisdom, their way of moving through life. She became my little apprentice, eagerly assisting me in creating ceremony, carefully setting up the center altar, and listening with a quiet attentiveness that revealed her deep respect for the sacred. Always willing to learn the ways of women, she honored the rituals of those before her. But on this day, it was her turn. Her day to be honored. Her day to step fully onto the sacred path of maidenhood, surrounded by the love and support of those who had witnessed her journey from the very beginning.
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This weekend, we gathered once again, this time to honor her first blood, her first moon, her Sacred Menarche.

We sat in a circle, a sisterhood of generations, weaving her into the lineage of women before her. We held a salt bowl of intentions, infused with the very same infused salts from her mother’s Blessingway, carrying the echoes of those early prayers. Each of us added our own blessings into the salt, whispering words of wisdom and protection for her journey ahead.

To guide her into this next chapter, we shared the tale of Vasilisa the Great, a story of courage, trust, and the deep wisdom of intuition. We spoke of the inner seasons of the menstrual cycle, how our bodies ebb and flow with the moon, and how to track the rhythms of her own cycle. The moon, our ancient timekeeper became her compass, a guide to understanding her body’s wisdom.

With loving hands, I washed her feet with blue cornmeal, honoring the sacred path she now walks. She was adorned with words of empowerment, affirmations of strength, grace, and beauty. We crafted a flower crown, each participant adding a bloom, symbolizing the collective love and support that surrounds her. And as the final touch, she left behind a piece of her childhood her beloved little bunny, marking her transition from girl to maiden, witnessed by all who came to celebrate her.

One of the most moving moments of the ceremony was when Naleʻa and her mother, Kahiliana, stood together and recited a poem, a shared expression of love, gratitude, and the passing of wisdom from mother to daughter.

This was followed by a cord-cutting ceremony, a sacred act of shifting their bond from mother-and-child to mother-and-maiden, honoring both the deep connection they share and the new independence blossoming within Naleʻa. 

This was not just a ceremony; it was a remembering, a reclaiming of what it means to honor our daughters as they step into their power. It was a sacred weaving of past, present, and future, a reminder that our rites of passage are meant to be held in community, in love, and in deep reverence.

Naleʻa, may you walk boldly on this red path, always listening to the voice of your own wild, wise heart. You are held. You are seen. You are loved.

For those of you interested in creating beautiful menarche ceremony for the maiden's in your life, I invite you to check out my online course Sacred Menarche below. 

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Sacred Menarche Course