What is Celebrancy?

Celebrancy is the creation and officiation of rite-of-passage ceremonies.  Rituals take place in sacred space, outside of the ordinary, and thus have the ability to transform us from deep within.   As a certified Celebrant, I work in partnership with you to customize a ceremony based on your own story, beliefs, feelings, and personal symbology.  Even things as specific as favorite colors, flowers, music, poetry and food can be incorporated into a moving and transformational ceremony.  We'll draw from many different sources to make your ceremony uniquely yours. 

We are almost always in transition, and sometimes on many levels at once. Holding a ceremony for your rite of passage, with strong intention, is an empowering way to ease the difficulties of transition from one state to another, or one phase of life to another. It enables us to embrace what we've been through, good and bad, and enter into our next phase with joy, clarity and readiness. 

Although Celebrancy is well known in countries like Great Britain and Australia, the movement is relatively new and growing in the United States. I am a graduate of the Celebrancy Foundation and Institute in Montclair, New Jersey, which has certified over 400 Celebrants in the USA and Canada, and performed over 4000 ceremonies, since 2002.

In addition I am a Reiki Master/Teacher, singer/songwriter, artist and bookmaker. I have been a professional actress since 1979.  I see the art of ritual as a matrix in which these other skills can coexist and develop.  You might choose to have your house purified, or yourself grounded, with Reiki energy prior to a ceremony, or to have your remembrance copy of the ritual beautifully hand-bound with elements from nature, or symbols that are meaningful to you.  I or my acoustic trio can provide special music for the event if you desire.  I am respectful of your belief system and lifestyle, and your ceremony draft will not be finished until you are perfectly happy with it!

Here are a few types of ceremonies you might consider:

House blessings/purifications/moving to a new town
Milestone birthdays
Downsizing/job loss ceremonies
Survivor ceremonies (sickness, trauma)
Baby blessings/baby namings/adoptions
Pet memorials
Heart healing ceremonies
Divorce ceremonies (This is a rite designed to reclaim one's selfhood --
by honoring and showing gratitude for the past and its lessons,
and moving forward into an intentional and positive future.)
Comings of age
Retirements
Anniversaries
Cronings
Epiphanies
Career changes
Transitions to Assisted Living