The Crone
The Crone's title was related to the word crown and she represented the power of the ancient tribal matriarch who made the moral and legal decisions for her subjects and descendants. It was the medieval metamorphosis of the wise woman into the witch that changed the word Crone from a compliment to an insult and established the stereotype of malevolent old womanhood that continues to haunt elder women today.
-- Barbara Walker, The Crone (Women of Age, Wisdom and Power)Researching rituals for this section of the "Rites of Passage" has proven to be a rite of passage, itself! While there are ample rituals dedicated to the Maiden and Mother in us, there is a large void of those dedicated to Croning.
Perhaps this is because the ancient Crone archetype has been buried for thousands of years; replaced by the "old hag" as defined by Webster's Dictionary. Perhaps we are hesitant to delve into this archetype because of Her juxtaposition to death; or perhaps it's because she is the embodiment of life's wisdom, and therefore, threatening to society.
Women are beginning to awaken to the realization that turning Crone doesn't mean one is on death's door. Nor does it mean the end of power, beauty, and sexuality. Celebrating the Crone is all about understanding and accepting that one is now at the threshold of the fulfillment of female life experience and wisdom - that one is now becoming a fully actualized woman. While this time of life is often the most feared and disregarded in today's society, it is paradoxically the richest in feminist potential.
We are beginning to see an unprecedented number of women embrace cronehood, thanks to us babyboomers. We are women of power and influence; women who have broken out of the old mold society had cast for us, thanks to the efforts of our mothers and grandmothers. We are beginning to talk openly about menopause, sex, and female-specific, age-related cancers and other health issues. We are exerting pressure on the medical field to turn attention to our bodies and our needs; to research medicines and therapies to aid us in this transition, and to research dosages of medicines already on the market for tolerance and efficacy levels in women. For far too long the medical field has been dominated by men, with therapies designed for and tested on men; the results then extrapolated to fit women. This is now changing. While we boomers may not reap the full rewards in our lifetime, we can at least know that we have left a legacy for our daughters.
Women are also turning towards the old ways in record numbers today. Some are embracing the old Pagan religions, immersing themselves in Goddess spirituality and finding a peace and strength they'd thought long lost. Some women are fighting for the feminine to be recognized and celebrated within their own lifelong religions, and are making long strides towards that end. Many women are supplementing medicines and therapies prescribed by doctors with herbs, minerals, foods, and healing techniques as taught for centuries by the wise women of many lands. We are creating a new society for ourselves; a society that is redefining women in terms of intellectuality, wisdom, creativity, and strength rather than through age, hair color, and body weight.
Evidence of this redefinition is no farther than the ubiquitous television set, no less! A recent episode of "Dharma and Greg" showed a brief croning ceremony, firmly ensconced within a humorous skit. While humor is most important through all Life's phases, I find it sad that croning ceremonies are so new to our society that they must be introduced to us through comedy, in order to avoid society's unreasonable fear of the unknown.
There have been other plays, as well. "The Three Wise Women" chronicles the conversation of the wives of the three Magi who set off to find the baby Jesus. As more and more of these plays, comedies, and dramas find their way into our lives, once more women can openly embrace this stage of their lives with confidence, eagerness, and anticipation.
When our elders step across the threshold of the Grandmother Lodge, leaving their bleeding behind them, they become the Keepers of the Law. No longer is their attention consumed with the creation and rearing of their own family... Thus their attention turns to the children of all Our Relations: not just their own children, or the children of their friends, their clan or tribe, but the children of all the hoops: the Two-Leggeds, the Four-Leggeds, the Wingeds, the Finned, the Green-Growing Ones, and all others. Our relationship with this great circle of Life rests ultimately in their hands. They must give away this responsibility by modeling, teaching, and sharing the living of this law -- in everyday life -- to men, women, children -- that all might come into balance.
-- Brooke Medicine Eagle, Women Of The 14th Moon