Ceremonies are a huge part of the culture in Warriors and its fan-fiction spin-offs. You can either use the original canon ones, or create ones unique to your world. I'll get to the latter part later; scroll to the bottom to learn how!

If you are going to use the canon Clans, I suggest sticking with the ceremonies used in the books. Here they are, fresh from Warriors Wiki!

Apprentice Ceremony

Leader: (Kit), you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as (new name, ending with the suffix "paw"). Your mentor will be (name of warrior or medicine cat). I hope (name of warrior or medicine cat) will pass down all he/she knows on to you.[3]

The chosen mentor is then called forward.

Leader: (Warrior)you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from (former mentor), and you have shown yourself to be (quality) and (quality). You will be the mentor of (apprentice), and I expect you to pass on all you know to (apprentice).

Warrior Ceremony

Leader: I, (Leader), leader of (Clan), call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn.

Leader: (Apprentice), do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?

Apprentice: I do.

Leader: Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. (Apprentice), from this moment on you will be known as (new warrior name). StarClan honors your (virtues), and we welcome you as a full warrior of (Clan).

Medicine Cat Ceremony

Medicine Cat: I, (name), medicine cat of (Clan), call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. (He/she) has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help (he/she) will serve (his/her) Clan for many moons. (Apprentice), do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?

Apprentice: I do.

Medicine Cat: Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your true name as a medicine cat. (Apprentice), from this moment you will be known as (new name). StarClan honors your (virtues), and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of (Clan).

Leader Ceremony

There isn't exactly a script for this one. The deputy, soon to be the new leader, is taken to the Clan's sacred place and "wakes up" in StarClan. Nine cats appear and grant the leader one life each based off of a virtue. Each time a life is recieved, the leader feels a physical surge of power. At the end, the leader's new name is chanted. The leader now has until moon-high to select the deputy, which leads us to our next ceremony.

Deputy Ceremony

Leader: I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors (or former deputy name) may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of (Clan) is (warrior's name).

Now, for the fun stuff! When you create an original Clan, you may choose to create a new ceremony unique to your world. I have done this, and it's really easy.

Here are some questions you need to answer when writing a ceremony or ritual:

So, who is going to hold the ceremony?

It could be the leader, deputy, medicine cat, or another role that you created yourself that leads it and says the words.

What's the religion? Is StarClan being addressed, a god, or some other celestial realm of the dead?

Who is the recipient of the ceremony, and what are they becoming?

What circumstances must the ceremony be held under? A full moon? Sun-high? Dawn? Dusk?

Are there any objects used in the ceremony? Some sort of sacred plant, berry, stone, or dead animal might be a part of the ritual.

Who is present at the ceremony? Where is it being held?

Let's take a look at SadClan and answer these questions.

• StarClan is the dominant religion thing.

• All ceremonies are held by the medicine cat.

• For this example, an apprentice is becoming a hunter.

• All ceremonies are held at sunrise.

• The blood of a blue jay is used.

• It is held in the camp in front of everyone.

Fantastic! We've got all the questions answered. Now, we must determine what is said. I honestly wing it and write what's at the top of my head. However, this is a good pattern to follow:

Right away, the leader will address their ancestors. Here's the first part:

"StarClan, cast your gaze upon this apprentice."

Noice, huh?

Next, what has this apprentice been working on?

"Footpaw has trained hard for moons under the tutelage of Angrythroat to become a hunter."

Here, the recipient typically swears an oathe.

"Footpaw, do you swear to uphold the code, feed your Clan first, and to be a fabulous kind of guy?"

Okay, great. Footpaw agrees! Yay!

Now, the medicine cat acknowledges their holy and epic power granted by StarClan, and then gives Footpaw his name!

"Through the powers blessed unto me by StarClan, I give you your hunter name. From this day forward, you will be known as Footstripe."

Don't forget to use your object or material, and the ceremony holder will now praise them for their virtues.

Leader: *Casually smears dead bird juice across Footstripe's forehead* "StarClan honors your tenacity, courage, and humility."

I'm going to combine the entire ceremony now:

Medicine Cat: "StarClan, cast your gaze upon this apprentice. Apprentice has trained hard for moons under the tutelage of Mentor to become a hunter. Apprentice, do you swear to uphold the code, feed your Clan first, and to be a fabulous kind of guy?"

Apprentice: "I do." *whispers* "The most fabulous."

Medicine Cat: "Through the powers blessed unto me by StarClan, I give you your hunter name. From this day forward, you will be known as Warrior." *Casually smears dead bird juice across Warrior's forehead* StarClan honors your tenacity, courage, and humility."

Now everybody cheers!

Obviously, it doesn't have to go in that exact order, but that's what I like to use. The ceremony can get as complex as you like; that's just a more simple example.

Maybe you want to do an intense and complex ceremony for leadership. This could involve live animal sacrifice, chanting, praying, a visit to another realm, you name it.

I would love it if you shared your original ceremony below!