moon Rise

Coming of Age for Young Women

Two Sessions in 2024!!

Ages 12 - 14  | July 20-27 OR August 10-17, 2024  | Return to Youth Programs

“I can't even begin to describe how amazing this has been for me. I was able to really get to know myself and figure out what I wanted in my life. If I ever experience hard times I will be able to come back to the experience [of my solo]. It was truly life-changing. Now I have a clear picture of who I want my friends to be, how I want to act, what kind of relationship I want, and many more qualities I want to keep and let go of.” - Emily, Age 14

 

Program Details  |  Sample Itinerary  |  Skills Introduced  |  Program Staff  |  Other Programs

 

 

Adolescence can be a turbulent and trying time and most of our young people are launched into it with little consciousness and even less preparation. 

How could it change the teenage years of a girl to have mentors, who have walked the path before her, guide her with love and wisdom into adolescence? To have her family walk beside her on that journey, honoring and celebrating her step out of childhood? To have a group of peers supporting her and sharing the journey with her? To be welcomed into young womanhood by an older generation of women who share with her the gifts and strengths and beauty of womanhood?

Coming of Age for Young Women was created to bring these vital experiences to more adolescent girls, to help them cross the bridge between childhood and youth in love and beauty. It will help them reach young womanhood with a deeper sense of themselves, their own inner and outer beauty and the gifts they bring to the world, so that they may walk through their teen years with strength and self-confidence. We will use heart-centered conversation, art, song, reflective activity and ritual to deepen girls' relationships to their inner selves, their families, their communities and to their own version of what is sacred.

This group of up to 9 middle school girls will explore what it means to step out of childhood and into young womanhood with the guidance and support of three fabulous female mentors. The group will spend a week at a moonlodge, engaging in a rite of passage experience to honor and celebrate the conscious step into young womanhood with a sweat bath ceremony, an 8-hour solo in the woods, and a ritual welcoming to womanhood. Parents and/or guardians will be involved in a formal parting and reconnection with their girls at the beginning and end of the retreat, so that each young woman may be recognized and supported by her family as she takes this important step, and so that the family may enter into the adolescent years together on a strong footing.

FAMILY PARTICIPATION

Family plays an important role in The Coming of Age Journey. Moon Rise begins with parents and guardians ceremonially sending their child off. Then, parents/guardians circle together to eat lunch and spend several hours exploring the changes they themselves must undergo as part of this process.  At the conclusion of Moon Rise, parents/guardians and family gather with the greater Sacred Groves and Journeys community for a day-long Incorporation Ceremony to welcome back their youth as Young Women. We will hear their stories, and their reflections on who they now know themselves to be, and then spend time in family groups learning practices that will support the continued re-imagining of the family dynamic that will allow the new person who has returned to continue to flourish.

 

This journey welcomes all who identify as female, trans girls, and non-binary youth, knowing this journey is an initiation through the female lens. Please check out our welcome statement on gender identity here. Not sure which trip is right for your youth? Contact Us and we’ll help figure it out.

 
 
 

PROGRAM DETAILS

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Ages 12 - 14

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Session 1: July 20 - 27, 2024 Deming, WA
Session 2: August 10-17, 2024 Bainbridge Island, WA

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Session 1: River Root Farm (Deming, WA)
Session 2: Sacred Groves (Bainbridge Island, WA)

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$1495.00; Deposit $400.00
Financial Aid is currently available

This journey welcomes all who identify as female, trans girls, and non-binary youth, knowing this journey is an initiation through the female lens. Please check out our welcome statement on gender identity here. Not sure which trip is right for your youth? Contact Us and we’ll help figure it out.

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Questions? Check out our FAQ page or send us a message!


Participants engage in heart-centered conversation, art, song, reflective activity, ritual and an 8-hour solo in the woods.

Participants engage in heart-centered conversation, art, song, reflective activity, ritual and an 8-hour solo in the woods.

Participants spend a week at a moonlodge, engaging in a rite of passage experience to honor and celebrate the conscious step into young womanhood.

Participants spend a week at a moonlodge, engaging in a rite of passage experience to honor and celebrate the conscious step into young womanhood.

Sample Itinerary

Day 1  |  Participants and families arrive at camp (either Sacred Groves or River Root) for a gear check and send-off ceremony. Once the severance ceremony is complete, parents gather for a chat about what this rite of passage means for them and the larger family, while the participants set up their camp, play games, make dinner and prepare a fire together.

Days 2 - 3  |  Time to get to know each other and find the best berry picking spots! These are the days where we focus on creating community with each other and with the land of Sacred Groves or RiverRoot Farm. We will identify plants, make delicious meals for each other, build fires, learn about each other’s ancestry, share songs, trade stories and play lots of games in the woods!

Days 4 - 7  |  Now that we know a bit about who we are on this journey with, it is time to dive deep and challenge ourselves! We will use art, song, poetry, ceremony and movement to prepare us for a Wisdom Lodge, an 8-hour solo, and a Maiden Ceremony. Participants will have one-on-one time with Program Mentors to address concerns and explore hopes for this exciting and courageous part of their journey. Our days will still be filled with fun games, tide-pooling and lounging in the warm summer sun. A community of women, including elders Tere and Therese of Sacred Groves, will make these experiences special and full memories that will last a lifetime.

Day 8  |  This final day is  all about integrating everything we’ve learned and experienced. The trick to wonderful summer experiences is learning how to make it a part of the rest of our lives. How do we carry sisterhood, community practices, creativity, nature exploration and our unique gifts with us into busy teenage lives? We will answer these questions together and with our families.

 

Skills Introduced

 
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Teamwork  |  Self Reflection  |  Nature Connection  |  Campfires  |  Hiking  |  Ceremonial Leadership

 

Moon Rise Staff

Guides for Moon Rise 2023

 

Aimee frazier

Program Coordinator

Exploring relationships with this beautiful world - rivers, mountains, plants, sea, human community - has been Aimee’s passion and purpose throughout her years of living in the Pacific Northwest…

 

Jeni Roland

Program Guide

Jeni grew up on the lands of the Lakota peoples on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota. She spent summers in the lake and winters on the frozen lake! Her family loved being outdoors and she grew up boating…

 

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