Crones? Is this you?

Crones!

What do you feel when you hear that term? Does it make you want to run? Do you love it and embrace it? Are you confused about what it means? Does it conjure up pictures of witches and warts on the nose? Or does you minds eye see a beautiful wise woman?

I have to admit, I was one of the confused ones, and perhaps I’m still not sure about using the term. My head was full of all sorts of negative and positive images of what and who a Crone is. I don’t know where the negative stuff came from, perhaps just images of witches as I was growing up. I know that the positive images came from a friend who owned a store called Crone Magic as well as the circle of women we were all apart of as well as a wonderful book I just found.

As I continue to do research on the OlderWiserWomen book, the term Crone came up again and again. This time it comes, from the well respected author Jean Shinoda Bolen in her book “Crones Don’t Whine: Concentrated Wisdom for Juicy Women”.

I love the title, and it’s that title that drove me to the book. After starting out discussing the word crone and giving us yet another perspective on the word, she then identifies thirteen qualities that we want to nourish and expand upon. It’s a wonderful book and one I highly recommend.

Now that I was rethinking all of my preconceptions about the word Crone, I visited my local library and sure enough…I found a 1995 video titled "Celebration of Age: The Croning Ceremony". One of the things that I really liked about this video, is it discussed how we know we are ready for crone-hood, croning in different cultures, and the idea that those of us that are younger (but no so young) are Crones-in-Training. Though the video is 10 years old, it adds another perspective to the ideas and ways in which we can celebrate the women we were, the women we are, and most importantly, the women we are becoming.

While I’m not sure that I’m comfortable with the term Crone, I do like the term WiseWoman, which can be one in the same. I welcome your views on the term “Crone”. Is this a term you would use to describe yourself? Why or why not? What term would you use in place of Crone? Have you considered, or have you had your own “Croning Ceremony” Tell us about it?

Barbara C. Phillips, MN, NP
OlderWiserWomen.com
OlderWiserWomen on Ryze
Inspiring Women to Embrace and Enjoy the Magnificent Journey of Aging!