Letter of Initiation
Assignment D

Dear One,

Welcome young sister! Welcome to the beginning of learning of what a woman is. It is a journey of great strength and great blessings. As your body makes this magnificent transition from girl-child to woman, revel in the changes and know that they are good. This marker is just the beginning-point on a journey of laughter, tears, joy, and pain; it is life lived in vitality and fullness. Little sister, know that you are surrounded with loving, older sister-friends who welcome and support you in your becoming woman. It is this common thread of bleeding that connects us all with an unbreakable cord of unity.
Young one, becoming woman is about owning yourself and learning your strengths and your weaknesses. To be a woman is to be strong, graceful, and yes, forceful when necessary. It is also about setting boundaries with others; it is for you to decide what is acceptable to your woman-self. Let no one tell you that you cannot: cannot achieve, cannot create, and cannot be enough just as you are. Do not hide your womanly self, be bold, be strong, be gentle, be fierce and be love.
During your bleeding time, know that you are intimately connected to our mother the earth. Your blood is her blood. Honor her and yourself by giving yourself time alone to rest, relax, and meditate on what your life means and where you wish to go. Do not allow others to tell you what that means or how it should look or be; your gifts of language, creativity, and joyfulness will take you to the destination that you choose. Know Daughter that your very being is essential to the fabric of life and the world cannot do without you. Be your most authentic woman-self. Be grateful for your womanhood. Define yourself and love yourself. You are magnificent. You are perfect just as you are.
You are welcomed with love!
Lori