Early Rites of Passage – Otto’s Story
written and shared by Natalie (Otto’s mom)
I took Alison’s Rites of Passage class geared towards children ages 5-7 and was able to craft a Rite of Passage for Otto that Tyler and I hosted for him a couple weeks ago.
The shifts we’ve seen in Otto since have been mind-blowing.
I feel like he’s stepped out of the little cocoon of his boyhood and is experiencing his centered, strong, calm self in a grounded, spiritual new way I didn’t see in him prior.
I believe that Rites of Passage are actually magic…
The gift of this awareness being brought by Alison has such tremendous power to transform our children, and our community.
In the class with Alison, we learned about what Rites of Passage are, why they’re so important, and how to facilitate them for our sons.
Otto, our older son, has a driven, strong-willed, active Spirit. In Waldorf terms, he is wholly choleric.
Per this temperament, Otto is prone to frustration and impulsivity when feeling imbalanced. This led to him often appearing unsettled in his second grade class at the beginning of the year.
We were thick into this season of unsettledness when Tyler and I began taking the ROP class.
As I learned about Rites of Passage, I could see immediately how creating a spiritually-based challenge to mark Otto’s transition into middle childhood could be pivotal.
Tyler and I excitedly crafted the details of the event:
Otto would walk a quarter of a mile to and from the end of our field. This walk would be through the trees, at night, in the dark.
At the end of the field, there would be three items to choose from: a bag of coins (to represent The Way of the Merchant), an axe (The Way of the Warrior), and a locked chest with a key (The Way of the Wiseman).
Each item weighed about 25 pounds. Otto’s task was to choose the one he found most meaningful and hike the uphill trek back to our fire pit.
On the night of his Rite of Passage, the energy was nervous and excited for us all.
Tyler, Otto, Otto’s little brother Theo, Otto’s grandpa, and I all gathered around the fire in our yard. Tyler explained very clearly what Otto was to do.
As Otto absorbed his task, staring into the fire, Theo began to cry in fear of his brother having to walk so far alone in the dark.
Tyler asked Otto, “Do you understand?”
Otto nodded his head, stood up, clicked his headlamp on, and disappeared into the trees.
We all could see the glow of his lamp flickering in the field and lighting his path as he journeyed.
He took about 25 minutes to complete his task. Breathing heavily and dripping with sweat, Otto returned and delivered the axe back to the fire pit.
He fell to his knees as we all descended upon him, laughing and congratulating him, in one giant celebratory hug.
Otto said, “I feel different!”
In the days to follow, Otto’s Spirit seemed to settle into his body in a way that I can only describe as magical.
The challenge he’d overcome seemed to connect him with a deeper sense of himself.
He was able to actively, independently push through the cocoon of his dreamy little boy self so that he could expand into the fullness of his new Being.
To learn to craft an early childhood Rite of Passage for your 5-7 year old, join this 3-class program!