Winter: Season Of The Crone The third aspect of the Goddess is that of the Crone. With the exception of Pagans, Goddess worshipers and some others, the Crone has become, or been made to be, the most feared aspect of the Goddess. This is mainly because of the Crone's function, which is death and dying. The crone is known as the dark mother, woman of wisdom, magic, and power. She aids the sick and dying as they prepare to pass over. The Crone is the ebbing moon, autumn and winter, the time for the soul to journey. She is teaching, healing and letting go, so that new cycles may form. She plants the seeds to ensure another tomorrow. She is the transformer. The Crone brings the unformed universe before us. She is the bringer of change. The Crone's function as destroyer of life is natural rather than sinister. Within her aspects as Maiden and Mother, the Goddess is the giver or bearer of life and the nourisher and protector of life. Since life ends, the function of the Crone is natural and necessary too. In most, if not all, female-oriented religions of nature there are cyclic patterns ruled by karmic balance. Everything that develops has a decline. "There could be no dawn without dusk, no spring without fall, no planting without harvest, no birth without death." The Goddess never wasted her substance without recycling. Every living form served as nourishment for other forms. Every blossom fed on organic rot, perpetuating the ever-turning circle of life as we know it. Society has tried to deny old age and dying in all possible ways. This is the purpose of the Christian heaven and hell concepts; the immortal soul lives on for eternity. This is not a denial of the immortality of the soul. Most pagans believe in other planes of life besides the physical one on earth, and in reincarnation. Many worshipping the Goddess have no fear of death or of the crone. They realize the Crone's function is natural in the birth-death-rebirth cycle, which they see throughout all of nature. One example is the seasons. In the spring, everything buds to take on new growth - seeds are planted and germinate, flowers and trees grow and bear fruit. In late spring and summer, different crops are harvested; in the fall other crops are harvested, while dead growth is cut away and burned off. During winter, many things seem to die, yet, in early spring, this cycle begins repeating itself once more. To many Pagans, death is the going home to the embrace of the Goddess. This was also the thought concept of the ancient matriarchal and agricultural cultures. Every facet of life evolved around the yearly seasons. This is mainly why these cultures were worshippers of the Goddess. Their thought concepts were cyclical like the seasons. When societies began changing from matriarchal to patriarchal, a different thought concept was produced: a shift from cyclic to linear. This change was brought about by two things. The thought concept from cyclic to linear coincided with the advancement of the patriarchal religions such as Jainism, Christianity, etc. About this time man began thinking of his life in the terms of one straight line; birth to death, assuming that death was the "final end." Some thought it meant extinction or obliteration. Added to this came the Christian concepts of heaven and hell, damnation and redemption within a single lifetime. Since most had now given up the cyclic idea of birth and rebirth, the thought of the extinction of their lives seemed intolerable to them, so it was easy for the eternal life concept of heaven or hell to become embedded in their minds. Once they held these concepts and they were in the control of the Christian Church, they made every effort possible to eradicate the Goddess in all forms. Anyone who has studied witchcraft and paganism knows the road that the Church took in its effort to destroy the world of the Goddess. The means used come readily to mind at the mention of the Inquisition and the witch mania that produced the hunts and the burnings. The ironical part of this whole series of catastrophic episodes is that the Church called itself the "Holy Mother Church." Never has it been known that the Goddess needlessly killed her children the way that the Church has. In ancient times, Crones were particularly important and valued members of communities. They were artists, leaders, healers, midwives, and counselors. They were seen as the fulfillment of female life experience and wisdom. From the youthfulness of the maiden through the life-giving importance of the mother, to the calm, evolved and confident wisdom and compassion of the old woman, a lifetime of commitment to caring and listening and connecting was revealed. Today, old women are once again discovering the strength that comes with knowing who they are in being a crone. They are freeing themselves from having to be something for someone else; freeing themselves to see one another just the way they are, not through the eyes of other's expectations. They are also accepting that "old" is not a four-letter word; that "old" is not a statement of a decline, but one of time. Crones are learning to grow and grow old together. Women using the name of Crone are restoring the image of strong, wise Old Women to their rightful place of honor and respect among the communities. To become a Crone is to proudly personify an archetype that has been demonized by a culture that only values women as sexy young Maidens and domestic, ever nurturing Mothers, but disregards and dismisses them when they dare to live beyond those roles. We should find ways to celebrate one another's descent into the Darkness as a sacred gift from the Goddess, rather than fear and mourn this inevitable rite of passage. When we begin to embrace the Darkness as the potential realm of revelation, we will have come a long way in healing our souls and integrating our Maiden, Mother and Crone selves. In the name of the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone, may we have the courage and the strength to receive Her many blessings, in her many different aspects. ~*~ Woodmouse ~*~ copyright ©2000-2001 Woodmouse29 This Article First appeared in Echoed Voices, Stop by and take a peek there.

NEXT