A Celebration of Age Yes that Age! - Creative Life Center

A Celebration of Age – Yes that Age! A Ritual of Juicy Croneness

Celebrate and share becoming a wise and honored one! Re-member who you are and live your life as a reflection of your true self. You who are juicy and full of life!

Marcia Chadly Director, Creative Life Center

updated February 2015

A Celebration of Age – Yes that Age!

Creative Life Center, 2014 www.CreativeLifeCenter.org P a g e | 1

The “C” Word

Let’s get everything out in the open and just say it. Crone! The “C” word is not bad! Crone is not “she who must not be named”. A crone is not a dried up old prune of a person. Never – nada – no! A crone is juicy and full of life in a way that she1 has never been before. She is all that she was as child, growing young woman, and woman nurturing children or other endeavors, and she is much more than what she has been. Her experience of living has led her to a place of knowing and she both embraces life and honors death. Becoming a crone is a transition to be celebrated and shared!

The crone is experienced and has life knowledge. She is respected and honored for her wisdom and keeping of tradition and ritual. At this time in her life she makes time and energy to delve into her own spirituality. She re-members (reconnects with) who she is

and seeks to live her life as a reflection of that true self. There is a freedom from the need to please others or society as she tunes in with her inner self.

The crone honors death. She enjoys every minute of life and yet when the time comes she sees death as a friend to be greeted rather than feared. Death is the next step in her life, a transition to what is beyond. Just as birth was a transition out of what was before and into life, death is a transition out of life and into what is beyond.

The crone embraces life. She knows the healing blessings of belly laughing and talking with friends. The crone enjoys spending the night in the arms of another. There is reverence for the mysteries shared by the plants and animals around her. She is alive to new possibilities in herself and others.

Excited now? Ready to be a crone? Being a Crone beats the alternative!

1 In this guide, the crone is assumed to be female and female pronouns are used. However, a man may also relate to the crone archetype and welcome it into his life with a croning ritual.

Say it with me… Crone – juicy, full of life crone!

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/



At what age does one move from “mother” to crone? When does one move from the stage where your energy is spent nurturing children or other endeavors to the stage of fully connected elder? There is not a predefined time. And remember this is a gradual transition – it doesn’t happen overnight. For some the transition to crone is a a significant birthday, at menopause, or upon becoming a grandmother.

“In my elder years, I am the crone. I honor the threefold Goddess within. I still laugh and can be silly and play. I am still passionate and full of lust. I continue to create beautiful things, and I look forward to the smile of a new day as something new and different than what was yesterday. I live in the present, rooted in the traditions of the past, ever mindful of the patterns of the future. Today and every day henceforth, I love and cherish who I am in my many faces of maiden, mother, and crone.” ~ Sirona Knight, Goddess Bless!

Spiritual questing, renewal, and self-development are often part of the transition and beyond, and find books and classes that intrigue and expand you – and plenty of friends to journey with!

Starting to get that Juicy Crone kind of feeling? Are you already living the Crone life? Time to celebrate!

Juicy Croning Celebration

Gather friends and celebrate the Juicy Crone(s) in your midst! Honor the lives that they have lived and the life yet to come. A croning might be a large party or an intimate gathering. The guests can be all female or mixed genders and ages. There are no rules. Follow your instincts and be creative!

The Creative Life Center offers a variety of events to take you from where you are to where you want to grow. We would love to support your Crone transition!


http://creativelifecenter.org/



Here is a celebration that can be adapted and used. (Please respect the Creative Commons copyright2.)

Create a comfortable and welcoming space for the ritual part of the celebration and have an area for food and fun afterwards. Sitting in a circle works well for a small group. A larger group may need rows of chairs for the ritual. Have seats of honor in front of the group or at the top of the circle for those being croned. At one croning ritual, the crone sat in the same rocking chair that she had used as she fed her babies.

Some of the symbols of crone are black, moonlight, waning moon, winter, and night. These symbols can be a source of inspiration to decorate your space. The life and personality of the crone(s) being honored might inspire the decor. Guests can be invited to write a blessing on a small cloth or paper flag. Those flags can then be hung as decorations, and at the end of the celebration, the crone can take home her blessing flags. In one croning celebration where the crone being honored was very in touch with chakras, chakra colors were used for the flags and for decorating the eating tables.

Example Croning Ritual

Participants

<Crone> Woman being honored

<Leader> One or more people who are leading the ritual

<Maiden> A guest who portrays the Maiden archetype. When possible, she is a young woman. She could wear a white shawl during her part of the ritual.

<Mother> A guest who portrays the Mother archetype. Ideally, she is a woman of childbearing age. She could wear a red shawl during her part of the ritual.

<Another Crone> A guest who portrays the Crone archetype. If possible, a woman who identifies as being a crone. She could wear a black shawl during her part of the ritual.

<All> Everyone – crone, leader, and all guests

2 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.





Before the Ceremony

Place a low table in front of where the crone will sit or a higher table behind or to the side. Create a simple ritual altar space on the table. A 3-wick candle could be used to symbolize the maiden/mother/crone cycle. Pictures of the crone – perhaps at multiple stages in her life could be displayed.

Print handouts with the order of the ritual and <All> responses. See an example handout here: http://creativelifecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Juicy-Croning-Celebration-Handout.pdf

Ask the crone being honored to prepare a statement of her intentions as a crone to be spoken during the croning. She may want to bring a written statement or notes to read from.

Prepare a physical object to use to mark the honoree as a crone. In this ritual a mantle (a rectangular shawl) is used. A flower, crown of flowers or other object could be used instead.

Gather the following to use during the ritual.

White rose or other single white flower

Red rose

Black vase or clear vase with a black ribbon

Chime or small bell

Matches


http://creativelifecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Juicy-Croning-Celebration-Handout.pdf

http://creativelifecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Juicy-Croning-Celebration-Handout.pdf



Welcome

Light the 3-wick candle or other candles.

<Leader> We are glad you are here to celebrate with (Crone’s name). Friends and family who could not be with us tonight also join us in spirit. For those of you that don’t know me, I am …

Give people a friendly reminder to turn off cell phones and let them know where the bathrooms are and any other housekeeping things that you would like to mention.

Several of you have mentioned that this is the first time that you have been to a Croning. Raise your hand if this is the first Croning that you have been part of. You are not alone! So, no worries – and in spite of what you might have heard, we will not be dancing naked under the moon!

<Leader> Let’s talk about the word “crone”. Historically, the word crone translates into crown or wisdom and is also connected to chronos, meaning time. In ancient days, elder women or crones were a respected and integral part of the community. They had power. As societies became patriarchal, that power was seen as a threat. The words crone and also hag (haggia or holy) and witch (wise) were changed to be derogatory words for a woman who lived beyond childbearing years. Women and society are starting to again value this stage of womanhood and to reclaim the word crone to mean a fully connected elder, a wise woman.

A Croning ceremony is to mark and honor the transition into the third stage of womanhood. Each phase of our lives is a reason to celebrate! The first stage is the Maiden and starts at puberty. It is a time of potential and beginnings. The second stage is the Mother and starts when a young woman takes on the role of nurturing commitments and responsibilities – might be children or another significant involvement. The third stage is the Crone. It marks a time when previous responsibilities are easing and the woman redirects her focus to bring forth her gifts.




Maiden, Mother, Crone a la Harry Potter

<Leader> Let’s talk a little more about Maiden, Mother, and Crone using Harry Potter characters as examples.

Hermione is one of the examples of the Maiden. She is potential, just beginning to see what that potential is. Her love of books and thirst for knowledge are reflections of this time of learning and growing. Hermione has the Maiden’s power of not knowing – the power of being able to do anything because she doesn’t know she can’t. Remember the polyjuice potion? No matter that it was years ahead of her skill and knowledge or that the ingredients were off limits. She was sure she could do it and did. Hermione’s focus is inward – on expanding her potential.

Molly Weasley is an example of the Mother. She is nurturer and protector of many things - of family and friends, of the Order of the Phoenix, and of her house and garden. Mrs. Weasley’s power come from her love for what she nurtures and she uses that power for protection. The pinnacle of that power is shown in her fight with Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix almost killed Mrs. Weasley’s daughter Ginny. Mrs. Weasley pushed aside three students and faced Bellatrix herself shouting, "Not my daughter you B*TCH!" Molly Weasley’s focus is outward – on nurturing and protecting others.

Professor McGonagall is an example of the Crone. She knows and values herself and knows her gifts. She uses her gifts to better the world by teaching and guiding students at Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall’s power comes from experience and knowledge and being grounded in who she is. Her ability to silence a classroom with a look comes from that power. Her juicy croneness is shown wonderfully in the final book/movie when she releases the stone guardians of Hogwarts to protect the castle and says with great enjoyment, "I've always wanted to use that spell!" Professor McGonagall balances her focus inward and outward.

This croning ritual was created for a woman who enjoys the Harry Potter book series. Use different examples of Maiden, Mother, Crone to personalize the ceremony for others.




Ritual

<Leader> Back to tonight … a woman might choose to have a Croning ceremony when she reaches menopause or a milestone birthday and feels the shift out of the Mother. The Croning ceremony acknowledges and celebrates a woman's age, womanhood, and power. (Crone’s name) has called us here to witness and bless her transition into this new and honored status. We came here to surround her in love and support.

Our ritual will begin with an interactive reading and then we will listen to a song. After the song, (Crone’s name) will speak her intention and then we will name her as Crone.

Chime three times to mark the start of the ritual.

Maiden, Mother, Crone Reading

<Maiden>, <Mother>, and <Another Crone> walk to front of the group together. Each will place an object onto the altar when it is their turn to speak. <Maiden> carries a white rose. <Mother> carries a red rose. <Another Crone> carries a black vase with water in it.

<Leader> Our reading reminds us that we all have the energies of the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone with in us. Please follow along on your paper, reading the responses for “All”.

<Maiden> Lays her white flower on the altar.

I am the Maiden. I am filled with freshness and wonder, and am alive with adventure. Uncommitted and sampling life, I explore my potential. I am the dawn, the spring, and the waxing moon. I am present in all new beginnings, starting within the hopes and plans for new beginnings. I am the Maiden. I dream of what I can become.

<All> Repeat the words above.




<Mother> Lays her red rose on the altar.

I am the Mother. I am the power of creation and life – nurturing, mature, fertile, and protective. Committed and responsible, I grow through nurturing my commitments. These may be children, career, cause, talent or some other personally significant involvement. I am the day, the summer, and the full moon. I am present in bringing activities to fruition. I am the Mother. I know exactly who I am.


<Another Crone> Sets the black vase on the altar and puts the two flowers into it.

I am the Crone. I am the woman wise with heart knowing who leads the way for others. Pulling back from previous concerns, I am free to delve deep into my own spirituality and redirected purpose as I bring forth my gifts. I am the keeper of tradition and understand the importance of death and renewal. I am the night, the winter, and the waning moon. I am present in the regrouping of energies needed during endings. Seek me when looking to understand the deepest of mysteries. I am the Crone. I know what I have been and will be.


<Crone>

I am the Maiden. I dream of what I can become. I am the Mother. I know exactly who I am. I am the Crone. I know what I have been and will be.

<All> And so it is.




Song

<Leader> Grandmother is a title that honors an elder woman, whether or not she has grandchildren – Grandmother is another word for crone. Listen to this song honoring Grandmothers.

Play a song related to “grandmothers”. One possibility is “Grandmother Chant” by Spiral Rhythm.

Crone’s Intention

Fill in the following paragraph with names of known female ancestors of the crone.

<Leader> (Crone’s name) daughter of xxx, granddaughter of xxx and xxx, great granddaughter, of xxx, xxx, and xxx, great great granddaughter of xxx – we, your family and friends, are gathered here to be witness to your intention as you become a Crone.

<Crone> Shares her intention as a crone.

<Leader> Please join in the response near the bottom of your paper.

<All> We support and bless your intention and you!

Marking the Crone

<Leader> In the company of these women gathered—seen and unseen—we present you this mantle to symbolize the beauty of your life and the owning of your power and position in the world. You are (Crone’s name), the Crone.

Chime three times to signify the end of the ritual.




Transition

In keeping with the humor often found in crones, transition out of the ritual and with a joke and invite laughter (and perhaps bawdiness) into the gathering. Now is the time for food and fun!

Additional Crone Resources

Creative Life Center

The Creative Life Center is all about connecting you to your inner wisdom. Connect with us and find the “you” you love!

Events in the Boulder/Denver, Colorado area www.CreativeLifeCenter.org/Events

Website: www.CreativeLifeCenter.org

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/CreativeLifeCenter

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/Cr8Life

Books

Celebrating the Crone: Rituals and Stories by Ruth Gardner

Crossing to Avalon by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.

Goddess Bless: Divine Affirmations, Prayers, and Blessings by Sirona Knight

Goddesses in Older Women: Archetypes in Women over Fifty by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.

Keep Your Fork Dessert is on the Way: Savoring the Second Half of Life by Barb Warner

Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.


http://www.facebook.com/CreativeLifeCenter



Online Resources

Fabric flags - A Ruby Moon www.arubymoon.com

Grandmother Chant by Spiral Rhythm http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/spiralrhythm2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaECu2LgUqU

Facebook Pages o The Tao Of Turning Fifty o Growing Bolder o Maiden, Mother, Crone… The Cycle of Life Women’s Group o OWL – The Voice of Women 40+ o Boulder Death Café and Death Café


http://www.arubymoon.com/

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/spiralrhythm2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaECu2LgUqU

A Celebration of Age Yes that Age! - Creative Life Center

Documents