Disclaimer: The following document fragment is presented from an in-character perspective, it should not be taken as the truth of the setting.
Context: Mages are still people, and people like to make themselves feel special. Here are two excerpts from a book describing the various “rituals” mages participate in, since childhood. These rituals have no major arcane meaning and exist only to celebrate the mage, the mage’s family, or some particularly important dates through the year.
Passage of the Birth Star:
The passage of a mage’s birth star shall be observed. Upon its culmination, a candle shall be set alight and placed in the highest window of the mage’s dwelling. There shall be merriment and celebration.
While Norma celebrate the day of their birth, we instead celebrate the culmination of their birth star. The day on which the star shines highest in the night sky, or at least there-about.
Traditionally, a candle used to be set in a window to signify this, but over time we adopted the way of the Norma. So now, we instead put the candle upon a cake, but as there is always only one candle, it can be a more elaborate one.
Young mages receive presents from their family. In particular, on the 16th and 20th birthday, it’s common for the young mage to receive objects of esoteric and arcane importance: wands, orbs, ceremonial blades or grimoires. These objects are sometimes passed from generation to generation, being the same items received by their parents at around the same age. It’s generally accepted that if both the mother and the father stem from a lineage, one of the gifts should come from each parent.
If multiple children in a mage community celebrate their rite of passage on the same day, it is not uncommon to have them celebrate together.
For magi that have reached maturity, the rite of passage takes on a more personal and subdued form. If it is observed publicly at all, it is an event celebrated only with the circle of closest friends and family. In such a case, it’s common to light a candle placed upon the table by which the meeting transpires or return to the old tradition of putting it in the window.
Mages steeped in this culture more strongly associate their age with the number of times their birth star culminated, rather than based on their birth date, as Norma do. Among mages more removed from the culture yet still partially observing its traditions, instead of the exact day of a star’s culmination, a mage selects a date within the symbolic bounds of its zodiac sign. This date also serves as their fictional birth date.
The Robe Ceremonies:
Upon reaching certain thresholds of their journey, mages receive a robe coloured after the four stages of the magnum opus. These robes symbolise the steps taken by the mage towards self-actualisation and self-perfection.
As a young, fledgeling mage first manifests their Cauda Pavonis, it becomes unavoidable that they will wake up to the sacred world around them. That is the time for the child’s mother or father to speak with them about the nature of reality and the unavoidable destiny of their bloodline. Usually, this is the time for the young mage to receive their first robe. The black robe many of us have worn in our childhood as we began the studies of the arts and took our first steps into the society of mages.
Once the young mage is ready to begin their independent studies, they shed their black robe and replace it with a white one. This signifies the point where they are prepared to commence their studies in a subject of their choice, either beginning their great work or learning to continue an already established path of study.
When a mage gains recognition within the general society of magi, they receive their third, yellow robe. These robes are bestowed upon a mage in recognition of their research and require a publication history on the cutting edge of a field of arcane study.
The final robe, which many mages do not even aspire to wear, is the red robe. These are bestowed only on those who have either reached a conclusion or significant breakthroughs in their great work.
In particular, the first two Robe Ceremonies are often conducted as celebrations involving a small party thrown in honour of the young mage. Cake and presents, and in particular, the passing down of a focus for the young mage from their parents. For many more prominent European families, it is considered a tradition to bestow a wand in addition to the black robe and a ceremonial dagger with the white.
The latter two are, more often, kept away from the public eye. Those attending the more prominent centres of magical education might still relate to smaller, official ceremonies. However, it is much more common for them to be conducted in privacy, with few attendants.
In some circles (the aforementioned centres of magical education), the Robe Ceremonies also correlate to the bestowal of academic titles. The white robes indicate a Master of Arcane Art, the yellow robes are reserved for a Doctor or Arcane Art, and distinguished academics wear the red robe.
These four robes symbolise the stages of the great work, in particular, as understood to be the transmutation and refinement of the self.
It should also be noted that not all mages honour this tradition, and there is no taboo related to the colour of the robe one wears as long as it is not worn to deceive other mages.
Esoteric Musings... 