Croning = “Crowning” or “Crow-ing”. 🙂
The wind whips in and brings us the winter, shaking off the few remaining dried leaves. They fall and then gather in a whipporwill, spinning in a tiny cyclone, and then crawl along the ground where they find rest. The wind whistles around a tree where the crow is perched, calling. It whips around a fire where She sits, hunched – over the steaming pot, hands curled, long white hair blowing all about her. She chants and adds her cultivated plants to the brew. The smell, raised up by the blows, brings a mouse closer. The wind whistles. The crow caws and She chants. She is the third eye, She is the death grip of winter, She is the breath of life, She is the all-seeing, She is the healer, She is the wise woman, She cuts the cord, She is the third direction and She is all three at once. She is our grandmother. She is the Crone.
We all know this image, the powerful conjurer. The wise old woman who could look into you, right through you, penetrating your entire being, as if she knew everything about you, all your secrets. Over time, this image has come to be viewed upon with loathing, disdain, hate, malice and regret. It is the weakening of this image into a negative concept that has come to weaken women. As our entire lives are now spent fighting aging we have forgotten to recognize the beauty in this phase of our lives. Anti-aging skin care products, botox, cellulite removal and plastic surgery, all methods to fight aging. We fight it, holding onto our youth as being the most enjoyable, the most sacred. We live in a world which does not accept the beauty and grace in aging.
But long ago, this image of the old lady working magick in the Winter, this was embraced by community. This was not seen as a threat but as a fundamental and necessary part of cultures worldwide. This old woman time was seen as THE most powerful and sacred of a woman’s journey and was coveted in many cultures. Those needing great assistance sought out the Crone. Grandmother was always viewed as the person who taught us the most and loved us endlessly. The shaman was the traditional archetypal White Witch, elder, Wise Woman, Sage.
We are here to invoke the honor of the Crone. We join in with those before us who have also tried to reincarnate the Crone as a positive entity in our lives, to embrace aging as a powerful magick and begin using these gifts gained from our wisdom.
With one week until the Croning ceremony, I am brimming with the anticipation of this awesome rite of passage for the two initiates whom have requested this honoring.
Blessed BE!
F’delm