| The purpose of this dissertation, utilizing a phenomenological and heuristic approach, was to explore the essential nature of the experience of six midlife women (ages 45--57) when they enacted ritual to remember and commemorate life milestones. This research emerged from awareness that crucial periods of feminine psycho-biological transitions are given little acknowledgment in present-day culture.; The literature review offers a broad exposition of themes involved in the practice of ritual linked to rites of passage. Perspectives from depth and archetypal psychology, ethnology, and alchemy, with consideration of sacred and soulmaking aspects of ritual are presented. The deleterious effects of the absence of initiatory rites and the concept of the initiatory wound is explored. Areas of women's concerns are presented with special focus on the image of the medial woman from the work of Wolff.; The experiential aspect of the study consists of three phases addressing areas pertaining to the women's remembrances of transition periods of adolescence, adulthood, and midlife. In phase 1, the women as co-researchers were individually interviewed by means of audiotape and asked to reflect back to the physical/emotional markers and defining moments of major life transitions. The women then came together as a group to plan, devise, and enact ritual to recognize each of the life passages. In the last phase of the research through audiotaped interviews, the women described the impact and effects of honoring their life transitions as seen through the lens of ritual. During the study, the researcher actively participated as documentor, facilitator, and co-researcher.; The findings provide glimpses into amplification of archetypal motifs, deep soulwork, and attitudinal shifts experienced by co-researchers. Several meaningful themes emerged during the ritual process, including: authenticity of intention, relatedness within the group, the security of sacred space, engagement in soulwork, psychic healing, integration, and personal validation . The final consensus of the co-researchers was that the practice of ritual opened up a potent process to put their lives in context by offering imaginal and soulful ways of looking into the significance of life passages. |
