EMBRACING THE CRONE

The ancient Celts believed in the Triple Goddess concept in which the Goddess is split into three aspects - Maid, Mother, and Crone or the three phases of a woman's life cycle. These aspects correspond to the three phases of the moon - waxing, full, and waning.  I get this and understand the meaning behind it, however I must admit embracing the crone has been a hard pill for me to swallow.

Recently I turned 46 years old and discovered that I had developed a condition called hyperthyroidism.  This condition with my thyroid threw me directly into menopause.  Now let me tell you THAT is a shock to the system to go from full steam ahead to a dead stop in zero to sixty seconds.  The body needs time to adjust to these changes, not to mention the mind.  A little warning would have been nice, but apparently that wasn't meant to be.

Before this happened I had never given much thought to the crone stage.  I figured it was far away and I didn't need to concern myself with it.  Besides, other than the gained wisdom, it held no appeal to me whatsoever.  I mean really, what do YOU think of when you consider the word CRONE???  Well, personally, I envisioned an unappealing, wrinkled, dried up old hag with no sensuality, no sex appeal, and no charisma and THAT my friends, was not a path I was ready or willing to walk.

But now that I am physically IN the crone stage, my mental Maiden is going to have to make some moves to catch up, for although my body screams crone at me, my mind cries maiden. There is a Mother stage in there somewhere that must be found also.  Physically I am a mother and I know I have some of the mother qualities such as fierce protection and nurturing but in many ways I am still stuck in the Maiden stage of life, rebellion, outspokeness, "pissed off passion", as my Shaman teacher, Jeffrey Pierce, calls it.

So how does one get from point A to point C and somehow touch on point B in the process?  That is what I am trying to figure out.  I realize that I must rethink my opinion of the crone because I absolutely refuse to consider myself a dried up old hag at this stage of the game.  And I think this is my biggest stumbling block in embracing the crone.

In order to embrace the crone, I must let go of ego.  Society sees youth as beautiful.  Society has little use for the dried up old crones.  I have fallen for the lies that society has fed me.  I have fallen for the lie that if I am no longer young, and beautiful and fertile, then I am of no use.  If I listen to society, I am not appealing and I am not desirable.  I must find the beauty within me.  I must reconcile within MYSELF what makes me desirable and beautiful and let go of the world's definition of beauty.  I must recognize that the wisdom of the crone is a beauty all its own.  I must see the crone as beautiful, then I can find peace.  When the Maiden no longer fears the Crone then the Mother can be found.  (Jeffrey, you will get this last part:)

Embracing the Crone

The ancient Celts believed in the Triple Goddess concept in which the Goddess is split into three aspects - Maid, Mother, and Crone or the three phases of a woman's life cycle. These aspects correspond to the three phases of the moon - waxing, full, and waning.  I get this and understand the meaning behind it, however I must admit embracing the crone has been a hard pill for me to swallow.

Recently I turned 46 years old and discovered that I had developed a condition called hyperthyroidism.  This condition with my thyroid threw me directly into menopause.  Now let me tell you THAT is a shock to the system to go from full steam ahead to a dead stop in zero to sixty seconds.  The body needs time to adjust to these changes, not to mention the mind.  A little warning would have been nice, but apparently that wasn't meant to be.

Before this happened I had never given much thought to the crone stage.  I figured it was far away and I didn't need to concern myself with it.  Besides, other than the gained wisdom, it held no appeal to me whatsoever.  I mean really, what do YOU think of when you consider the word CRONE???  Well, personally, I envisioned an unappealing, wrinkled, dried up old hag with no sensuality, no sex appeal, and no charisma and THAT my friends, was not a path I was ready or willing to walk.

But now that I am physically IN the crone stage, my mental Maiden is going to have to make some moves to catch up, for although my body screams crone at me, my mind cries maiden. There is a Mother stage in there somewhere that must be found also.  Physically I am a mother and I know I have some of the mother qualities such as fierce protection and nurturing but in many ways I am still stuck in the Maiden stage of life, rebellion, outspokeness, "pissed off passion", as my Shaman teacher, Jeffrey Pierce, calls it.

So how does one get from point A to point C and somehow touch on point B in the process?  That is what I am trying to figure out.  I realize that I must rethink my opinion of the crone because I absolutely refuse to consider myself a dried up old hag at this stage of the game.  And I think this is my biggest stumbling block in embracing the crone.

In order to embrace the crone, I must let go of ego.  Society sees youth as beautiful.  Society has little use for the dried up old crones.  I have fallen for the lies that society has fed me.  I have fallen for the lie that if I am no longer young, and beautiful and fertile, then I am of no use.  If I listen to society, I am not appealing and I am not desirable.  I must find the beauty within me.  I must reconcile within MYSELF what makes me desirable and beautiful and let go of the world's definition of beauty.  I must recognize that the wisdom of the crone is a beauty all its own.  I must see the crone as beautiful, then I can find peace.  When the Maiden no longer fears the Crone then the Mother can be found.  (Jeffrey, you will get this last part:)