What does it mean, to be a Crone? An old witch, woman who bleeds no more…are we all old and grey and wrinkled and bent? Not necessarily, though we can be. By most current Pagan standards being recognized as a Crone is both an honor and a responsibility. The Crone has earned the badge of honor as she has gained the wisdom born of experience, and in accepting this honor she also accepts the responsibility of passing on her wisdom to any who ask it of her.
A big part of the wisdom that comes with age is realizing that I don’t really know much of anything, because the more I learn, the more I realize just how much more there is to learn – so that what I have learned grows in direct proportion to what I have yet to learn; you end up feeling dumber instead of smarter.
I see young people running around so sure of themselves and their goals; they’re going to save the world. I was like that once. Now just watching them makes me smile. Should I tell them? I think not, I wouldn’t have believed it if someone had told me that all my crusades would lead only to Wisdom. If they ask me, I’ll tell them, otherwise I’ll let them find their own wisdom.
Something else that comes with age is the discovery that I am not immortal. Oh, I knew that all along, but I did my best to ignore the fact, and it doesn’t really sink in until you see the wrinkles on your face and the signs of age that make you look like you remember your grandmother looking, and the aches and pains that limit what you are comfortably able to do. I have come to terms with the fact that I am no longer young. I accept with humor what I look like and how I feel now. I have seen this face grow old in my Magic Mirror so I know that I may well live another decade or more. I’m not quite ready to die yet, though I have experienced death in this lifetime twice already, but that’s a story I’ll tell later in another blog.
I firmly believe that everyone should experience death at least once in your lifetime because it removes all fear of death. Dying, on the other hand can be painful especially if you are afraid of death. Accepting Death as normal and even desirable when the time is right is a big part of being a Crone. It could be that helping people through that final passage falls to the Crone naturally because she is close enough and experienced enough not to fear it. I’ve watched friends and family and loved ones die, young and old, those who were ready to die and others who weren’t. Death doesn’t care about our perceptions of justice, our age or our unaccomplished goals, he’s totally unprejudiced.
As a member of the family circle, tribe, coven, etc. the Crone is the one who sees into the future and talks to the dead and dying. She should give guidance when it’s asked of her and share her wisdom when it’s needed.
But that’s not all a Crone is good for. She is also the story teller, the web weaver who connects us all to All That Is around us.