Women’s Rites of Passage
Initiated Woman Course
The Call of Initiation for Girls & Women
Join Dr. Mendy Neralic for seven pre-recorded sessions to welcome you into a clan of diverse women, all working towards the call to initiation.
an offering of space and time to engage with wisdoms, practices, rituals, stories, and dialogue that activate the Initiated woman archetype.
An experiential offering - to dabble with, gather and explore essentials that will act as balms and fortifiers for your past, present, and future efforts to return to unfinished passages, re-story your experiences, and re-emerge through the passages.
These provisions are to support you as you navigate and re-navigate Passages by calling in and catalysing the qualities of the Initiated Woman within, supporting personal and collective efforts for healing and change, and enriching your daily, creative, and spiritual life.
During these gatherings, Dr. Mendy will introduce you to the archetype of the Initiated Woman by sharing methods, practices, and experiences to enhance your personal and collective connection to the Initiated Woman as an inner guide— and to do this in dialogue, connection, and community with others.
Please note, this workshop is not about guiding you through the archetypal Passages, but is important preparation for Passage Work.
What does it mean to be a woman today?
In my work with women of all ages, I was noticing a recurring theme. I witnessed women feeling separate from themselves and lost. Of women experiencing confusion and lack - as if something is off or missing or lost, but difficult to articulate. A vague but painful experience of being dissociated from their bodies, cut off from their voices, and disconnected from their soul.
In an attempt to heal the disconnect, women would turn to an array of healing modalities to address the issue. But then, even after all this work on themselves, that lingering sense of separateness would remain. That they still haven’t “healed enough” and that it was somehow their fault. Defaulting to this self-blame then amplified feelings of frustration, loss, isolation and burnout.
For over a century, psychotherapy (in all its evolving guises - talk, somatic, art, depth...) has been the primary guide and support for people through difficult times, picking up the banner where religion and culture have failed, to treat mental illness, mood disorders, and chronic stress conditions. An approach that individualises the problems and perpetuates the myth that our wellbeing is a strictly personal issue.
There is an unacknowledgement of greater collective experiences beyond the “I”. The relational, ancestral, cultural, political, ecological, and archetypal.
In individual-focussed healing modalities (which I am a part of!), there is little opportunity to ask, explore and grasp the idea of their whole womanhood, and how to navigate life and transform it within that limited framework.
To ease the burden on each woman, the answer may be found beyond what you do and how you see yourself as an individual.
An Ancient Cycle
The Rites of Passage are the different stages, thresholds, life chapters, or lessons that girls and women traverse throughout their lives. They symbolise the particular tasks, lessons, and skills important to learn for each phase of a woman’s life development - and help facilitate changes through shifts in values, attitude, perspective, focus and how to act and relate.
In this work of Rites of Passage, I ask:
What happens when you share the weight by recognising that you exist within a greater context, which includes your culture, politics, and environment?
What happens if you begin to frame your healing and transformative processes within the archetypal cycles and Rites of Passage that you and every girl and woman journey across the lifespan?
The Modern Problem
We are all daughters and sons of the patriarchy, and live within a culture of competition, hyper-individualism, and secularity (simply put).
This has led to a skewed and limited idea of the Feminine, with an internalised belief that femininity and womanhood are inferior subsets to the Masculine and manhood.
We’ve lost the diverse wisdom about who girls and women are and what their vital roles are within the community.
As such, many of us have remained unguided and so uninitiated through important life stages. This leaves us feeling lost and disconnected on a very deep and impersonal level.
The lack of knowledge about the archetypal journey of initiation has left girls and women without proper guidance and resources to support them as they travel through the ups and downs of life.
These gatherings will offer a template for the development and nurturing of core skills, qualities, and attitudes, helping to bolster confidence, create inner strength, and tap into source creativity and intelligence—fortifying these journeys and the quest for awareness.
So what can we do?
Re-initiation is a process of going back and working through the passages we have missed or been stuck in, and relearning the lessons and rites of that age.
We also rewrite - restory - our hurts, so they can be woven into the greater context of our lives - rather than carried as unprocessed burdens.
When we do this for ourselves, this allows us to ensure that other girls and women in our communities have better guidance. We become the new initiated elders.
As a culture, we need time to rebuild and lay down the wisdom for this modern age.
WHO IS SHE?
Initiated Woman Archetype
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Who is this workshop for?
Women who wish to understand the archetypal cycle of growth and initiation into womanhood across the lifespan.
It’s for women who want to tap into the core qualities of being Initiated Women so they can continue to explore, weave, and nurture this seed wisdom into their daily lives, relationships, and communities.
The Syllabus
This 7-session journey combines pre-recorded content—including audio teachings, video modules, and guided practices—where Dr Mendy shares from her apothecary of psychology, encompassing transpersonal, depth, and archetypal, somatic and embodiment practices, yoga philosophy, energy medicine, spirituality and religion, and the mythic imagination. This is where you reflect, explore, and delve into how the materia alchemises through you.
What’s Included?
Audio & Video Lessons (7+ hours) | Each session includes 4-12 segments of audio and video lessons to explore the awakening of the Initiated Woman Archetype and to bring her into your daily life.
Recorded Practices (3+ Hours) | Supplementary resources can be found in the course material, including breathwork, meditation, visualisation, movement, and yoga practices.
PDF Worksheets | Downloadable worksheets and supplementary materials provide additional information to deepen the experience.
Lifetime Access* | You’ll have lifetime access* to the self-study content, for as long as the material remains relevant and hosted.
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We begin. We meet each other. We open with a simple ritual to set our intentions for making meaning together. We cross the threshold and establish ourselves as rooted and tendrilled to Self, the community, and to timeless wisdom as an anchor to the work. We explore our raw experience of the Initiated Woman Archetype.
We meet the myth: Persephone ~ Demeter ~ Hecate
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We learn that the Initiated Woman is embodied. We explore the breath and the body as essentials; in their capacity to gather disparate thoughts, energies, and histories and to help us come home. We connect with a sense of inner strength, power, and vitality, and locate our core - and experiment with how we can operate from there. We explore the metaphor of the Tree as intimate with the cycles of life and movement through the Passages, and the Tree of Life as a way to map our journey through the Gatherings.
We deepen into the Myth - part 1
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We learn that the Initiated Woman has an agile mind and seeks the truth. We reimagine our mind. We explore the spells we are under and play with the seeds of re-storying as spell-breakers. We build knowledge about the dynamic relationship between what we know and don't know about ourselves and our world, and explore themes and practices in ways of seeing, knowing, our public self, secrets, and hiding. We play with tenderising the heart to tap into a Greater Source through prayer - developing questions and telling stories to help lead us toward a new theology with the gravitas to hold the great Mystery—beyond new-age spirituality and patriarchal dogma.
We deepen into the Myth - part 2
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We learn the Initiated Woman’s domain is liminality. We see how the mind works best when it is holistic, with reason and logic, imagination, and symbols, all acting in friendship with each other. We reframe intuitive wisdom as a power. We are guided in how to work with a dream and play by dialoging (with each other) and the dream elements and characters. We explore ritual as theatre— acts that bring the symbolic and inexplicable into the world.
We learn that the Initiated Woman Speaks from her core and listens deeply — she has gravitas. We understand and value women’s ‘different voice’. We understand and value your ‘original voice’ as ‘original medicine’. We learn how to discern these from the voice of the culture and retrieve them from exile.
We deepen into the Myth - part 3
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We learn that the Initiated Woman is androgynous. We explore creativity and art, beyond what we commonly think of as such, to ensure we live a creative life. We discover "our project", and learn to recognise the Inspiritrix when they come. We come to understand and honour the creative cycle and learn to tend the creative fire. We reframe creative practice and discipline as bringing forward a healthy inner masculine force that supports and encourages your feminine nature.
We deepen into the Myth - part 4
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We learn that the Initiated Woman does not work alone - she is part of a triptych of the Wise-Wise-Initiated. We remember that the Initiated Woman archetype shows us the ways and means of going through the Passages - the rites and practices of initiation. We'll work with the Stages of Change. We deepen into re-storying. We understand the value in writing a new life myth. We remember that we grow and transform in collaboration and by building mutual networks - that only initiated women initiate other girls and women. We begin planning for the closing ritual and ceremony.
We deepen into the Myth - part 5.
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We learn that the Initiated Woman Archetype is always available to us. We close our work in ritual and ceremony. We prepare for Life after Liminality. We articulate what has been alchemising across the Gathering time and space so we can bring the energy and character of the Initiated Woman into our lives and communities. We frame how the Initiated Woman Archetype can be used in Passage work - our initiations and reinitiations of incomplete, current and future Rites of Passage.
We explore how the reimagined Myth can work through us in mythic imagination - Final.
When you sign up for this course you will gain FREE access to the Rites of Passage Masterclass Bundle ($21 Value).
FAQs
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Allow around 60–90 minutes per week to engage with the pre-recorded content (audio/video + practices). They are offered as smaller ‘bite-sized’ mini-lessons and practices. If you are doing self-study only, you can manage your own schedule. If you are doing self-study + live calls, you can do a little each day, or all at once, to cover the content before the live call. The live calls are approximately 60-75 minutes long.
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You’ll have lifetime access* to the self-study content. Recordings of the live dialogue sessions will be available for 6 weeks after the final session, to allow for revisiting and integration.
* this is for as long as the material remains relevant and hosted. -
Absolutely. The course is designed to be accessible for both newcomers and those familiar with symbolic or archetypal exploration. All key themes are introduced with clarity, and you’re encouraged to engage at your own depth and pace. If you are interested in an ongoing exploration of Women’s Rites of Passage, this course is a prerequisite and good preparation.
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The course includes optional guided practices in breathwork, movement, or yoga-inspired somatic exploration. Please listen to your body and energy levels, and make any necessary adaptations. If you are working with an injury, medical condition, or complex trauma, you’re encouraged to consult a healthcare provider before beginning these practices.
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Yes. This offering is open to participants worldwide. All live sessions are scheduled with time zones in mind and recordings are available to accommodate global participation.
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No, this course is not a therapeutic service. While it invites personal reflection and may feel deeply meaningful, it is not a replacement for therapy. If you are currently under the care of a mental health professional, be guided by their advice as to whether this course is appropriate for you. Please seek professional support if you are navigating significant emotional distress.
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The live option closes on the day the Gatherings begin. If you change your mind before this date, reach out and we can amend your enrollment. After this date the Gatherings are closed. Other live Gatherings will be offered at different times of the year. Stay subscribed to hear about these offers.
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Not at all. We’ll enter the myth together, in stages. It will be offered in a way that’s alive and resonant, even if it’s your first time encountering it.
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Yes, this course is curated for women and those who identify with feminine rites of passage and have had the encultured experience of girlhood and womanhood.
Women’s Rites of Passage
Initiated Woman Archetype
The Call of Initiation for Girls & Women | BEGINs SEPTEMBER 10, 2025
Join Dr. Mendy Neralic for seven pre-recorded sessions to welcome you into a clan of diverse women, all working towards the call to initiation.
This 7-session journey combines pre-recorded content—including audio teachings, video modules, and guided practices— where Dr Mendy shares from her apothecary of psychology - transpersonal, depth and archetypal, somatic and embodiment practices, yoga philosophy, energy medicine, spirituality and religion, and the mythic imagination.
This is where you reflect, explore, and delve into how the materia alchemises through you.
Both the Course and the Gatherings will be underpinned by the mythic ground of the Persephone–Demeter–Hecate story.
You are invited to choose between two pathways of engagement [see the Syllabus below]:
COURSE (Self-Study Only) – access to all pre-recorded content to explore in your own time.
(DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED) COURSE + GATHERINGS (Self-Study + Live Dialogue) – full access to the content plus participation in weekly live calls, offering a held, dialogical space to integrate and expand your experience in community.
An offering to demystify, reimagine, & restore connection to the cycles and rhythms across her lifespan.
I envision women and girls from different walks, places, and times coming together to investigate what‘s known of old rites of passage, bear witness as they re-story their lives, and share what they discover in that context.
We work to re-initiate each other and re-write what it is to be a girl, a young woman, and an aging woman in the modern age.
I invite you to join me in seeing this as a calling—as an initiation in itself—to create a culture of collaboration, meaning-making, and healing that goes beyond each of our individual needs and journeys so we can see ourselves as humans and souls embedded in greater cycles of life, death, and rebirth.
“The psyches and souls of women also have their own cycles and seasons of doing and solitude, running and staying, being involved and being removed, questing and resting, creating and incubating, being of the world and returning to the soul-place.”
DR CLARISSA PINKOLA ESTES