[Bit]

Ah, I learned that saying differently Jess, "Maiden Mother Warrior Crone"--and only Maiden tied to a specific age range. We're all different, eh?

So Dusa, "Crone" is the same word as "Crow" and it's tempting to think of it disrespectfully, yanno, old women in widow's weeds (black from head to toe), those raucous and troublesome "old crows" clustered around the village wells...

What people forget is that "Crone" and "Crow" are also the same word as "Crown." We were originally talking about the rightful tribal rulers, eh? The person who, in modern times, would be a Queen--and there was no male equivalent, since kings are a later invention, so we are talking about the ultimate power and authority in the land being vested only in female-bodied people.

Although the Greek image of Athena and Her Bird is indelible in our culture today, owls are not the only birds of wisdom. Tis the European Goddess's Sacred Crow who crowns a woman with wisdom and makes her a crone.

I'm so glad you included Butches in the discussion, because I have lived with two Butches who considered themselves Crones, and deservedly so--and I know there are many more.

That said, I must say that associating the image of power--a Crowned Woman with a Sacred Crow on her shoulder, reigning authority and avatar of the Goddess Herself for an entire people--associating that image with Femmes makes me glow inside. I love this reclamation of a term for ancient power by our largely invisible population which has difficulties being perceived by society as powerful in any way. Yes, let us take this word back; let us restore the image it once carried!

Today, Crone is generally acknowledged as "a woman fifty (sometimes 52) or over who has the benefit of a lifetime's experience and hard-learned wisdom to share," and it's most often used in the Pagan, Wiccan, Women's Spirituality, and Queer/Lesbian communities.

For me personally, a Crone is someone--no matter her age--who is allied with the Hag Goddesses, Hecate, Bridey, Mother Holle, Hel, Hurta, etc--all those ugly old-woman goddesses who were originally the power of the Earth Herself brought to vivid life in the most powerful image our ancestors could conceive: an old Crone, crowned with age and wisdom, leading the people safely through feast and famine alike.

How appropriate She comes to you now, at the beginning of Her Season of Snow. May She bless you abundantly with love and warmth, with family and happiness, and may She see you through the years with love and gentle care.