A Woman's Wisdom
Stages : Maiden, Mother, Crone
A woman's life is filled with stages, milestones ushering in wondrous
experiential apexes like the coming of fertility, motherhood, and
wisdom. Three aspects, maiden, mother, and crone, have traditionally
represented the bounties and new beginnings represented by each stage.
The maiden is the aspect of new beginnings, youth, playfulness,
spontaneity, and learning. A woman in the prime of her life can be said
to be living under the aspect of the mother, who personifies fertility,
strength, and stability. She is the gentle nurturer as well as the
fierce lioness. Lastly, and by far the most misunderstood and yet in
many ways the most deserving of reverence, is the crone, who holds
within her all of the wisdom of the journeys of womanhood within her.
The word crone once meant simply 'wise woman' and, in antiquity, was a
term of respect. The crone was a voice of wisdom, an elder, a healer, a
counselor, and a teacher, who had traveled the paths of maiden and
mother and possessed the accumulated wisdom of youth, adulthood, and
old age. She represented the fulfillment of maturity and the knowledge
that could only be obtained through a life well lived. The transition
to cronehood was a rich and empowering experience, and an important
rite of passage, though not one associated with a specific age. Today,
though it seems eternal youth has become an obsession, women are
reclaiming the status once associated with cronehood by recognizing
their evolution and acting upon it. In awakening the crone, as she once
was, women are acknowledging the extraordinary wisdom, grace, dignity,
and beauty that comes with age.
In embracing the aspect of the crone, it is important to be aware of
the fact that age, experience, knowledge, and power are profound gifts
that can never be taken from you. Each stage in life is yours and yours
alone, and should be embraced as a vital part of life's journey. As you
pass lovingly through each stage, coming finally to the remarkable
crone, you will gradually be awakened to the mysteries of each, until
you hold within you the keys to them all...... |
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