Reflections on Initiation

Initiation is always powerful. It's a beginning to things, and I've now done enough of them to be aware that I never quite know what will really happen. This was doubly true for my Initiation into the Divine Spiraling Rainbow Tribe, since I was simultaneously initiating into a tradition and initiating the tradition itself. That is, the Divine Spiraling Rainbow Tribe (Rainbow Trad for short) became a tradition as I initiated into it.

One extremely noticeable difference between this Initiation and previous Initiations was that, starting about a week prior, I began getting two sets of messages. The first set of messages were personal: an ancestor wanted to talk to me, a certain animal appeared in a dream as a potential ally, my dedicated deities offered insights or asked for offerings. These were all occurrences that were familiar, though perhaps more frequent than is typical for me. I expected them to a certain extent.

The second set of messages I began receiving were Tradition based. These messages had what I can only describe as a different flavor. Or perhaps a tint...a rainbow tint? On top of my particular ancestors, allies, deities, and general preparations, the Tradition let me know that it wanted certain things, too. A particular tool was to be dedicated as a Tradition tool, a certain theme was to be explored, Initiates (starting with me) would do such-and-such an act as part of their Initiation. This second set of messages has not slowed post-Initiation. It remains very present.

At the time, I described a sensation that I experienced immediately after initiating as the feeling that a rainbow, with a strong white background, had encompassed me about a foot and a half outside of my body. I suspected that the tradition was trying to download into my body and couldn't quite fit, which would certainly match with the atypically ungrounded feeling that lasted most of the night for me. It's as though I have an unknown number of zipped files in my head that unzip themselves whenever is appropriate to them. It's a very exciting adventure!

One final note: there are a lot of traditions out there. To my knowledge, this is the first tradition to be rooted in and centered around mxgender Mysteries. As I see the faces and hear the voices of more and more people who identify as non-binary in pagan spaces, the need for a space that celebrates the unique ways we are sacred becomes urgent. It is this desire, to make and hold that space for my kindred spirits, that draws me onward. I work my magick and pray to the Goddessx that it may be so.