Bony Old Crone
A-sittin' alone
A-stirrin' Her cauldron
And makin' a moan.....
The path of the Goddess Hecate is a path of the heart.
She is Hecate the maiden, Hecate the mother and Hecate
The crone. She is a triple goddess in her own right.
Unlike the detached meditations of the East, or the
Sedate Sunday prayer meetings of the church,
Witchcraft ceremony is passionate. The more deeply we
Feel about the Goddess when we pray to Her, the more
Moved we are by the liturgy, the more powerful the
Experience. There is a place of truth and love that
Reaches the heart. Devotion is a supremely personal
Matter, found by each of us in our own hearts. The
More you learn about the Goddess, the firmer your
Faith will become. Learning to see the Goddess in all
Things is part of it, too. See Her when you slice an
Apple across, sit under a tree, or watch a moonrise.
See Her when you perform simple tasks, such as
Sweeping, and recall the symbolism of brooms. A
Goddess view of cooking turns a pot into a cauldron of
Transformation, gardening into goddesshood, singing
Into sorcery.
Connecting with the moon is one of the essentials of
Witchcraft. In learning to keep time with Her cycles,
We can free ourselves from much of the structure of
Patriarchy. For women, the moon is especially
Connected to our blood, and so links us to all the
Mysteries of birth, life and death. The moon connects
Us with the trees and their stories and uses, as each
Of Her cycles is named for one of these living kinfolk
Of the earth. In a society based on solar concepts and
Imagery, Luna is especially helping in attuning us to
The dark side and the many qualities associated with
The deep self.
The Crone is the third and final aspect of the
Three-fold Goddess. She is the dark moon, the
Wintertime, old age and knower of mysteries. The Crone
Time brings the harvest of experience, when we reap
The accumulated benefits of all that we have learned.
The Crone is a teacher or wise one, sometimes called
The "wayshower" as she shines the light of wisdom for
All to see. She brings patience.
In myth and legend, the Crone is often seen with her
Great black cauldron stirring up brews for magical
Transformation or bringing the dead back to life.
She is the fairy godmother who has just what we need
To overcome the obstacles in our paths. She is the old
Woman of the woods, who lives alone in a humble
Cottage and can teach many secrets.
To admit the Crone is to admit the dark side of
Ourselves which is like the dark side of the
Moon----the Crone's moon.
The Crone's moon is hidden, and cannot be seen shining
In the heavens. It is significant that astronomers and
Astrologers call Her the New Moon, thereby effectively
Ignoring the presence of the Crone. Some witches feel
That we should return the word New Moon which would be
The first sliver of the moon in the sky to the Maiden
Goddess, which is Her proper place, and reinstate the
Old Moon (Dark Moon) as the Crone's. We can therefore
Count our moon cycles from the first appearance of the
Slender waxing crescent, that very first sliver, and
Acknowledge the darkening end as the time of the
Crone. To acknowledge this time is to allow for the
Natural cycles of our being as we move through the ups
And downs of living. This is a far healthier way of
Life where each of our phases is embraced and loved.
The association of loneliness with old age is a common
One. A wise crone understands the power that can be
Attained in solitude. She knows that all oneness is
The true meaning of being alone and is actually what
The word "alone" is made of. There is a point reached
In solitude when we no longer feel isolated because we
Have found our connection to all beings in the
Universe. Some witches, when the moon is waning, feels
The moon's power pulling them into solitude, beckoning
Them to working more within themselves. The Crone
Teaches us to withdraw from the world during the
Waning moon to find peace and sustenance for our
Return journey into the struggles of living. The dark
Moon of the self is a period of withdrawal from the
Everyday world. It offers an opportunity to commune
With ourselves and tap the creative potential therein.
To return to this way of life necessitates leaving the
"rat race" approach and validating slowness,
Inwardness and being here and now.
Solitude is one of the doorways to the deep self. It
Is especially useful for the cultivation of our powers
Of concentration. Most witches, as we begin to grow in
our magical abilities, find that we seek solitude more
and more, as it enables us to focus intensely on the
objectives of our spells, rituals and doing more work
within ourselves without distractions.
The Crone understands the power of silence. Many
spiritual journeys include a period of silence, or
teach its discipline. Some adepts take permanent vows
of silence, for it opens up energies on the psychic
level. Silence is the last step of magic, necessary
during the gestation or formation period of our
spell's workings for preservation and protection.
It is essential that we practice silence in our
meditation and rituals, for it opens the door to
universal consciousness.
The Crone is the knower of mysteries, secrets of
existence, or hidden things. She presides in the dream
worlds, guiding us through the unconscious labyrinths
of our deep minds. She teaches us the symbolism of our
dreams and helps us to understand and shape them to
our choosing.
Lastly, Crones understand endings, and utilize the
waning moon for banishing, or spells to rid ourselves
of unwanted or stuck energy.
We can become Crones in our uses and understanding of
the five elements of creation:
Spirit Crones are conversant on the psychic planes,
easily traveling in and out of our bodies, telepathic,
clairvoyant, prophetic, divining whether it be Tarot
cards, crystal balls, Runes, etc., understanding the
cycle of birth, life and death and the rituals
thereof, skilled in casting circles for small covens
or large, spells, and the uses of dreams.
Air Crones have profundity of thought, quickness of
tongue, are adept in poetry, myth and language, the
composing of verbal spells, the eloquence of asking
aid from forces and elements. Air is to know. The Air
Crone is also a Cutting Crone, for our minds are like
cutting edges that sort and separate our thoughts.
Naming a thing separates it out from the rest of
creation. Cutting is also criticism, pruning, saying
no, discipline. When we reach the crossroads of our
lives, such as the time of passing from child to adult
or maiden to mother, we must cut the umbilical cord of
our habits on the old path in order to be free to
embark upon the new. The cutting Crone is sometimes
called Atropo, the third of the three Fates in Greek
mythology.
Fire Crones possess understanding of the secrets of
fire and energy. They know the ways of conserving,
storing and spending energy wisely, using vital forces
with care and discrimination, rather than scattering
them carelessly and wasting them. Fire is also
kundalini, which a wise crone knows how to channel and
direct for desired purposes. Fire is will, in which
the Crone has achieved mastery. And on its simplest
level, fire is our natural source of heat and light,
and can be used for magic in many ways. A seasoned
witch usually knows how to build and sustain fires, as
well as to contain them safely, and extinguish them
when necessary.
A Water Crone is no longer a slave to her emotions,
nor does she repress or deny them. Water is to dare.
She is adept in her relationships with others, knowing
enough detachment for an overview, and enough caring
for compassion. She knows that her desires are sacred
and worthy of cultivation and fulfillment. The Water
Crone looks deep into her reflection in underground
waters. When the water catches the light of the moon,
she is there to find insight and divination.
A Wise Earth Crone knows her body, knows the earth, is
adept in health care for herself and others who seek
her aid. She is familiar with the seasons and methods
of planting and cultivation, herbology, and
agriculture. And she is also wise in ways of money,
seeing its connection to human love and service and
precious human energy. She is sensible, practical and
dependable, keeps her promises and understands
commitment, knows how to work as well as play.
The idea of "balance" can be misleading for it often
implies the adjustment of two opposing entities. For
example, the yin/yang symbol of the Orient, the
sun/moon dichotomy of the alchemists, the anima/animus
theory or the Jungians, the god/goddess universe of
the Druids and the tetragrammaton of magicians, in all
these systems there is an "attempt" to honor and give
equality to both ends of the polarity but do not be
deceived. While pretending to create a world
supportive of the female, they are still perpetuating
the dichotomy, and thus the role stereotypes that
oppress us all. This, witches must realize, is the
fatal flaw of even more advanced movements such as
Neo-Paganism, modern witchcraft and the New Age
spiritualities. Liberation can only come by returning
to the Goddess.
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