As I age, I realize there are no accidents and everything happens for a reason.
Last winter I told myself I’d get away to someplace sunny and warm for a few months and that’s exactly what’s happening.
My show If I Were Me… I’d Know What I Want was chosen to be part of the Tucson Fringe Festival on January 12th and 13th. I drove away from Sequim, WA on January 1st deciding to combine this adventure with a vision quest of sorts. Claiming my Cronedom.
Since I’m turning 60 when I get back I’m claiming the wisdom of my age, rather than feeling like a victim of it. In many circles, the word crone has taken on a negative connotation. Merriam-Webster defines crone as a cruel or ugly old woman. The original meaning of it
(and one I choose to embrace) is from CroneCounsel.org below.
Crone, hag, and witch once were positive words for old women. Crone comes from crown, indicating wisdom emanating from the head; hag comes from hagio meaning holy; and witch comes from wit meaning wise. Crones, hags, and witches frequently were leaders, midwives and healers in their communities. The meanings of these three words, however, were distorted and eventually reversed during the 300 years of the Inquisition when the male-dominated church wanted to eliminate women holding positions of power. Women identified as witches, who were often older women, i.e. crones and hags, were tortured and burned, and the words witch, crone, and hag took on the negative connotations that continue in our language. The Crone Movement, however, is re-claiming the positive meanings of these words.
The Crone began re-emerging into our consciousness in the early 1980s, and today many older women are embracing this connection. We are tapping into the ancient crone’s attributes of wisdom, compassion, transformation, healing laughter, and bawdiness. The ancient crone archetype strengthens our belief and confidence in age-accumulated knowledge, insights and intuitions enabling women to stand up for their rights.
Everyday on this trip I’m randomly choosing a card from Wisdom of the Crone card deck and making a short video about the theme of the card. There are 54 cards, about the length of my trip. Follow along the adventure starting with day number 1 at my youtube channel by clicking here.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments.
Well done!