Dictionary:

initiation

  (ĭ-nĭsh'ē-ā'shən)

1. 1. The act or an instance of initiating.
   2. The process of being initiated.
   3. The condition of being initiated.
2. A ceremony, ritual, test, or period of instruction with which a new member is admitted to an organization or office or to knowledge.
3. The condition of being knowledgeable.

noun

1. The act or process of bringing or being brought into existence: beginning, commencement, inauguration, inception, incipience, incipiency, launch, leadoff, opening, origination, start. Informal kickoff. See start/end.
2. The act or process of formally admitting a person to membership or office: inaugural, inauguration, induction, installation, instatement, investiture. See accept/reject.

Definition: start, introduction
Antonyms: close, completion, conclusion, end, ending, finish, termination

The process of entry into a secret society, an occult group, or a mystical stage of religion. The idea of initiation was inherited by the Egyptians and Assyrians from Neolithic peoples who possessed secret organizations or "mysteries" analogous to those of the Medwiwin of the North American Indians or those of the Australian Blackfellows. Initiation was a stage in the various grades of the Egyptian priesthood and the mysteries of Eleusis and Bacchus. These processes probably consisted of tests of courage and fidelity (as with the ordeals of primitive peoples) and included such acts as sustaining a severe beating, drinking blood, real and imaginary; and so forth.

In the Popol Vuh, the saga of the Kiche Indians of Guatemala, there is a description of the initiation tests of two hero-gods on entrance to the native equivalent of Hades. Indeed, many of the religious mysteries typified the descent of man into hell and his return to earth, based on the corn mother legend of the resurrection of the wheat plant.

Initiation into the higher branches of mysticism, magic, and Theosophy is largely symbolic and is to be taken as implying a preparation for the higher life and the regeneration of the soul. Typical of such rites are the ceremonies for initiation and advancement of Freemasons.

The great religions instituted initiation rituals, such as the baptism and laying on of hands in Christianity, and the circumcision and bar mitzvah in Judaism.

The ordeal rituals of initiation into Freemasonry echo older ceremonies symbolizing the mysteries of birth, pain, death, and the life of the soul. Many trades also have traditional ordeal ceremonies for the initiation of young apprentices, similar to those instituted by college fraternities.

In esoteric traditions, both Eastern and Western, initiation refers to the entrance into various levels of purification of the individual through development at all levels of experience— body, mind, emotions, and soul—as discussed in various forms of magical and mystical traditions. Initiation can be used in a somewhat watered-down sense, and is adaptable to any new insight brought about by the ups and downs of living. However, it more properly is used to refer to those insights created by a planned system of inner development while the individual is involved in mastering a particular system of esoteric teachings.

Sources:

Allen, M. R. Male Cults and Secret Initiation in Melanesia. Melbourne, Australia: Melbourne University Press, 1967.

Alli, Antero, et al. All Rites Reversed: Ritual Technology for Self-Initiation. Boulder, Colo.: Vigilantero Press, 1987.

Danielou, Alain. Yoga: The Method of Re-Integration. London: Christopher, 1969. Reprint, New Hyde Park, N.Y.: University Books, 1956.

Duncan, Malcolm C. Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor. New York: McKay, 1976.

Eliade, Mircea. Rites and Symbols of Initiation: The Mysteries of Birth & Rebirth. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1968.

Fortune, Dion. The Training and Work of an Initiate. 1930. Reprint, New York: Samuel Weiser, 1972.

Hall, Manly P. Secret Teachings of All Ages. Hollywood, Calif.: Philosophical Research Society, 1962. Rev. ed. 1977.

Heard, Gerald. Training for the Life of the Spirit. Hankins, N.Y.: Strength Books, 1975. Distributed by Steiner Books.

Huxley, Francis. The Way of the Sacred. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1974. Reprint, New York: Dell, 1976.

MacKenzie, Norman, ed. Secret Societies. London: Aldus Books, 1967.

Oliver, Rev. George. The History of Initiation, in Twelve Lectures; comprising a Detailed Account of the Rites & Ceremonies, Doctrines and Discipline, of all the Secret and Mysterious Institutions of the Ancient World. London: Richard Spencer, 1829. Rev. ed. 1841.

Sédir, Paul. Initiations. London: Regency Press, 1967.

Stewart, R. J. UnderWorld Initiation: A Journey Towards Psychic Transformation. Wellingborough, England: Aquarian Press, 1985.

Underhill, Evelyn. Mysticism. London: Methuen, 1911.

Young, Frank W. Initiation Ceremonies: A Cross-Cultural Study of Status Dramatization. Bobbs-Merrill, 1965.

The beginning or introduction rites. In cell biology, the first stage of transcription.

• i. codon — the codon AUG which specifies the first amino acid, methionine, in protein synthesis. Called also initiator.
• i. complex — is formed at the initiation of protein synthesis and includes initiation factors, tRNA, mRNA and the ribosomal subunit.
• i. factors (IF) — a group of proteins that are required for initiation of protein synthesis to occur.

Initiation ceremony, Korogo Village, Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, 1975. Franz Luthi

Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense it can also signify a transformation in which the initiate is 'reborn' into a new role. Examples of initiation ceremonies might include Christian baptism or confirmation, Jewish bar or bat mitzvah, acceptance into a fraternal organization, secret society or religious order, or graduation from school or recruit training.

A person taking the initiation ceremony in traditional rites, such as those depicted in these pictures, is called an initiate.

Etymology

The English word derives from the Latin, initium: "entrance" or "beginning," literally "a going in." The related English verb, initiate, means to begin or start a particular action, event, circumstance, or happening.

Religious and other spiritual initiations

A spiritual initiation rite normally implies a shepherding process where those who are at a higher level guide the initiate through a process of greater exposure of knowledge. This may include the revelation of secrets, hence the term secret society for such organizations, usually reserved for those at the higher level of understanding. One famous historical example is the Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece, thought to go back to at least the Mycenaean period or "bronze age".

Freemasonry initiation. 18th century

In the context of ritual magic and esotericism, an initiation is considered to cause a fundamental process of change to begin within the person being initiated. The person conducting the initiation (the initiator), being in possession of a certain power or state of being, transfers this power or state to the person being initiated. Thus the concept of initiation is similar to that of apostolic succession. The initiation process is often likened to a simultaneous death and rebirth, because as well as being a beginning it also implies an ending as existence on one level drops away in an ascension to the next. Initiation is a key component of Sant Mat, Surat Shabd Yoga and similar religious gnosis traditions. It denotes acceptance by the Guru and also implies that the Chela (student or disciple) agrees to the requirements (such as living an ethical lifestyle, meditating, etc.)

Profane social organization initiations

In unionised organizations, the "initiation" is typically no more than a brief familiarization with basic procedures and the provision of a copy of the appropriate collective bargaining agreement that governs the work performed by members of the union. Some unions also charge a one-time initiation fee, after which the joining person is officially deemed to be a member in good standing.

Naval and military initiations

Some communities on board a military vessel and also of military soldiers tend to form a closed 'family' which absorbs in members, who are often formally accepted, generally after a form of trial or hazing.

In addition, there can be similar rites of passages associated with parts of naval and military life, which do not constitute true initiations as the participants are already and remain members of the same community. One such rite is associated with crossing the equator on board a naval ship, but it can even be taken by passengers on board a cruise liner, who aren't and don't become members of anything but the so-called 'equator crossing club'. Another form, “Kissing the Royal Belly” or “Royal Baby”, calls for initiates to kneel before a senior member of the crew, who wears a mock diaper. This “Baby” usually has a huge stomach covered with greasy materials ranging from cooking oil to mustard, shaving cream, eggs, and oysters. Junior sailors must lick the Baby’s navel area, while the "baby" grabs and shakes their head to better smear the goo onto their faces.^[1]

Tribal initiations

Tribes often have initiations. The initiation done in the Bapedi tribe of South Africa is normally regarded as a stage where a boy is to be taught manhood and a girl to be taught womanhood. In many African tribes, initiation involves circumcision of males and sometimes circumcision/genital mutilation of females as well. Initiation is considered necessary for the individual to be regarded as a full member of the tribe. Otherwise, the individual may not be allowed to participate in ceremonies or even in social ritual such as marriage. A man will not be allowed to marry or have any special relationship with a woman who didn't go to an initiation, because she is not considered as a woman.

Initiation may be thought of as an event which may help teens prepare themselves to be good husbands and wives. Where modernization is occurring, initiation is not taken so seriously as before, although there are still certain areas which still perform initiations.

In some African tribes, boys take about 3-4 months participating in initiation rites and girls take about 1-2 months.

Australian Aboriginal tribes usually had long periods of time to help prepare adolescent boys, teaching them the Law before they were ready to attend large elaborate ceremonies at the time of initiation when they were finally recognized as fully-fledged men in their society. Most tribes had circumcision and scarification as part of the male initiation rituals, while many Central Australian tribes also practiced subincision.

Resting after initiations, Korogo Village, Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, 1975. Franz Luthi

See also

• Rite of passage
• Diksha
• Hazing
• Baptism

References

1. ^ Sailor Men: Are Navy rituals, like Kissing the Royal Belly, homophobic or homoerotic?.

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Common misspelling(s) of initiation

• initation