Welcoming Winter and the Crone Archetype
As the Hopi prophecy states, "When the grandmother's speak the Earth will be healed."
January represents a time of reflection on the past year as well as casting vision into the new. It's a season of death and rebirth - death of the old ways of being that no longer serve you, and rebirth of the new you in a "better-than-before" state of being.
What better time than this season of Winter to introduce you to the Grand Mother of the Feminine Archetypes, The Crone.
All feminine aspects revolve cyclically, so you will see them march in succession in repeating patterns throughout your life. They appear monthly along with your moon cycle, annually along with nature's seasons, and within the 4 primary phases of life.
The Crone reveals herself in our later seasons of life, at the New Moon, and when you are bleeding. She is last of the four feminine energy types and reveals herself in times when healing, wisdom, and peace are needed. She awakens in times of transition, ushering in new life or supporting in the transition of someone's passing.
Often the most feared and least understood of the Feminine, she "deals with death and the end of cycles ... [She] is winter, night, outer space, the abyss, menopause, advancement of age, wisdom, counsel, the gateway to death and reincarnation, and the Initiator into the deepest of Mysteries and prophesies"*. Meet the Crone, or the Wise Inner Woman.
The winter season is a call to women to embrace a new Crone archetype.
Maybe the image that springs to your mind is one that we fear, rather than appreciate; an old witch, a hag, a hunched over old lady.
These words have been so sadly misinterpreted in recent years. Hag in fact, is an ancient word meaning holy- to be whole, complete and wise. Crone comes from the word "Crown", and Witch is derived from "Wise One". The Crone is the final of the 4 stages of a woman's life and symbolizes entering in to a state of power and wisdom.
More than ever, we need the healing of the Crone archetype, the pause to look inward and dig into our own knowing, and wisdom of a way forward. Use this archetype within yourself to honor this past season, reflect, and build your intuition. Seek out ancestral wisdom from the Wise Women around you as well as connecting to the inherent Crone within. You are the Sage, Healer, Leader and Midwife, in your life.
Journal prompts to connect with the Crone:
Who in your life models the Wise Woman?
Reflect on this past year, what needs to die and what needs rebirthing?
What lessons have you learned that need to be embodied and integrated for maximum impact in your new year?
*Becvar, Dorothy S. "Tracking the archetype of the wise woman/crone." ReVision, vol. 28, no. 1, summer 2005, pp. 20+. Gale Academic OneFile, . Accessed 6 Jan. 2022.
