The Arc of Initiation
“What if the notion that we have to go out and do our initiations is the same patriarchal narrative that tells us we have to do our lives in a particular way to be of value? I am not saying that women must only stay at home to vision quest, whilst men go out on grand adventures…But, my curiosity is: why is it that the outward journey is sold as desirable, whilst the actual stuff of our lives and the inward journey are so undervalued?
The heroine’s journey is the other path, the one right under our noses.”
— Carly Mountain, Author of Descent and Rising: Women’s Stories and the Embodiment of the Inanna Myth
Initiations are not one-and-done experiences.
Initiations, or Spiritual Awakenings, are how we innately engage the process of development and maturation. With each initiation cycle, we are being invited to become more whole and true to our essence.
What is an Initiation?
The Deep Dive
Initiations are a process of transformation that signal that we are transitioning from one stage of life, identity, or consciousness to another. It is not a single event but a series of experiences that often involve deep change and sometimes, heartbreak and crisis.
Experiencing an initiation is about crossing a threshold—leaving behind what is familiar and stepping into the unknown—where your understanding of yourself becomes utterly altered, and the world as you know it is fundamentally restructured.
One — Psychospiritual Death and Rebirth
In essence, experiences of initiation are about undergoing a psychospiritual death and rebirth. These experiences involve the dissolution of old identities, beliefs, or ways of being that are not supportive of who you’re becoming. They create space for something new to emerge within and around you.
“The divine feminine knows that a birth sometimes demands a death, and that the personal self sometimes has to die if the world is to be made sacred.” — Sally Kempton, Author of Awakening Shakti
Two — An Opportunity for Alchemy + Greeting the Shadow
Initiations often involve a symbolic or literal descent into the very depths of your psyche or soul, where you are invited to confront your shadow aspects—your fears, wounds, and any unresolved conflicts that have been buried deep in your unconscious. Initiations can also lead us to confront any illusions and “die” to past versions of ourselves that have no place in the new stories we’re consciously weaving from our lives.
Through initiatory processes, we move through powerful alchemical transformations—where the raw materials of our experience—pain, loss, uncertainty—are transmuted into wisdom, strength, and a renewed sense of presence and purpose. The initiatory process is inherently cyclical, mirroring the passage of the seasons, the sun, and the lunar cycles. We will move through initiations multiple times throughout our lives.
Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes calls this the “Life / Death / Life” cycle. Each time we transit through an initiatory process, we deepen our understanding and integration of our true self.
Three — The Life/Death/Life Cycle of Emergence and Integration
As we emerge from an initiation, we can often feel more alive and in resonance with our soul’s true nature, purpose, and path. Initiations, for all the lack of clarity, mystery, and disillusionment they can provide, can also offer us a greater sense of clarity, rootedness, and connection to the larger Earth story and cycles of life. When we move through initiatory cycles, who we were before the initiation occurred and after are different. Initiations offer us an opportunity to become more whole and authentic in our experiences of ourselves and can prepare us to feel ready to contribute our gifts to the world.
Four — A Sacred Invitation into Vision / Adulthood / New Seasons
In many cultures and traditions, initiatory experiences are incredible vehicles into our adulthood. The way we walk through initiations are the sacred rites that would ideally be guided by elders or spiritual mentors. However, in our modern world, initiations can also occur through personal experiences, such as breakups, medical crises, death, and deep change. These experiences are also often not well-witnessed for many in the West. The work we do inside of the Void seeks to shift that experience and invite us to calibrate to new ways of walking through visionary and creative initiations and into more integrated identities.
Five — A Sacred Invitation to Engage Our Wholeness
As we emerge from an initiation, often feeling more alive and in resonance with our soul’s true purpose, we recognize that the journey of initiation is not a single event, but rather an ongoing process that occurs repeatedly throughout our lives. Each initiation invites us to engage with life more deeply, to surrender what no longer serves us, and to step into the unknown with courage and trust. This cyclical nature of initiation mirrors the rhythms of nature—the passage of the seasons, the waxing and waning of the moon, the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
Initiation is an ever-present force in our lives and we are called to embrace it as a practice—a way of walking with what is already happening—again and again with understanding and grace for ourselves.
