initiations
Rites of entry
Initiations are ceremonies or processes marking entry into a group, status, or phase of life.
Fraternity initiations welcome new members, often through rituals or ordeals.
Religious initiations mark spiritual transformation.
The word also covers first experiences that introduce someone to something new: her initiation into the world of competitive chess.
The singular initiation is more common.
Formal event marking occasions
- riteCeremonial act or practice
- passageSegment of text
- tribeSocial group sharing ancestry
- elderSenior figure of authority
secret · sacred · ordeal · tradition · coming-of-age · hazing · fraternity · sorority
Formal admission process
- admissionEntry or confession
- enrollmentAct of registering officially
- joiningLinking into one
- welcomeHospitable greeting offered
orientation · onboarding · pledge · acceptance · entry · recruit · novice · neophyte
ceremony
Formal event marking occasions
elder · secret · sacred · ordeal · tradition · coming-of-age · hazing · fraternity · sorority · induction
induction
Formal admission process
- admissionEntry or confession
- enrollmentAct of registering officially
- joiningLinking into one
welcome · orientation · onboarding · pledge · acceptance · entry · recruit · novice · neophyte · introduction
commencement
Act of starting
opening · kickoff · genesis · introduction · embarking · origin · spark · catalyst · trigger · pioneering
mystery
Something unexplained or unknown
lodge · degree · enlightenment · arcane · hidden · knowledge · mystical · hermetic · adept · illumination
- Greek ritualslibation, libations, animal sacrifice, blood sacrifice, votive offerings
- customscustoms, customs clearance, wedding custom, customs declaration, burial custom
- occultwitchcraft, sorcery, necromancy, black magic, tarot
- shamanismshamans, shaman, spirit guide, medicine man, medicine woman
- traditional religionancestors, ancestral spirits, deities, rituals, sacrifices
- FreemasonryMason, Masons, Freemasons, Freemasonry, lodge
initiationsconclusions
Judgments reached through reasoning
endings · terminations · completions · ends · finishes
initiationsexpulsions
Formal removals from membership
ejections · dismissals · excommunications · banishments · departures
initiationsterminations
Acts of bringing closure
cessations · halts · stoppages · discontinuations · suspensions
- gang initiationEntry ritual for crime group
- initiation ceremonyFormal admission ritual
- initiation ritesFormal admission procedures
- initiation ritualCeremony marking group entry
- initiation feeCost to join organization
- initiation ceremoniesRituals admitting newcomers formally